US reduces embassy staffing in Mideast amid Iran plots

The U.S. has ordered the departure of diplomatic personnel and adjusted staffing at embassies across the Middle East as a result of Iranian efforts to target Americans. Jay Clayton, then nominee to be director of national intelligence, testifies during his Senate Select Intelligence Committee confirmation hearing in Dirksen building on Wednesday, July 15, 2026. Clayton warned about the increased risk to American officials in the region from Iranian attacks. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call/Zuma Press/TNS) (Tribune News Service) — The U.S. has ordered the departure of diplomatic personnel and adjusted staffing at embassies across the Middle East as a result of Iranian efforts to target Americans, as well as threats from Houthi militants in Yemen, according to an American official.

The State Department had previously said the U.S. was ordering some diplomatic staff to depart only from Saudi Arabia as a result of the growing risk from the Houthis, but had called reports of broader U.S. evacuations across the Middle East “inaccurate.” The U.S. official, who requested anonymity, citing rules, said Friday night that the Houthi and Iranian threats were informing staffing adjustments at embassies in the region already under “restricted operations.” In an unclassified memo dated Oct. 23, which was posted on social media by an Axios reporter and confirmed accurate by the U.S. official, Director of National Intelligence Jay