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A new memo circulated by US intelligence claims that Iran is in the 'advanced stages' of plots to kill American officials in the Middle East and elsewhere.
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Iran → sign → East
The news comes amid another spike in oil prices and rumors that Donald Trump may resume strikes on Tehran after the midterm elections.
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Trump → come → elections
The memo, written by Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton and addressed to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, suggests the information should be used as part of a continued effort to draw down personnel at US embassies.
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information → write → embassies
Clayton said his teams 'have received intelligence that Iran has substantially increased efforts to target US personnel.
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Iran → say → personnel
'
'The lethal plotting efforts by the Iranians against US citizens have reached advanced stages in both the Middle East and certain other countries,' Clayton wrote.
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Clayton → reach → East
Three US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, confirmed to the Associated Press that the memo was sent to Rubio in his capacity as secretary of state and national security adviser.
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memo → speak → state
The memo emerged shortly after the State Department announced it is reducing staff at the US embassies in Jordan, Lebanon, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates.
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it → emerge → Jordan
The three officials said the threats from Iran and Yemen's Iranian-backed Houthi rebels are related to the staffing changes.
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threats → say → changes
A new memo circulated by US intelligence claims that Iran is in the 'advanced stages' of plots to kill American officials in the Middle East and elsewhere
The news comes amid another spike in oil prices and rumors that Donald Trump may resume strikes on Tehran after the midterm elections
The embassies involved are all under what is known as 'restricted operations' status that has already reduced the size of their personnel footprints.
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that → circulate → footprints
The embassies will remain open.
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embassies → remain → ?
However, unlike in Saudi Arabia, where nonessential US personnel and their families were ordered Wednesday to leave the country, staff in the other four countries are not compelled to depart.
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staff → order → countries
In announcing the staffing drawdowns this week, the State Department pointed specifically to increased threats from Yemen's Houthi rebels and did not mention threats to US personnel directly from Iran.
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Department → announce → Iran
There has been a resurgence of fighting between a Saudi-led coalition and the Houthis, with the militant group launching missile and drone strikes against Saudi Arabia.
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group → lead → Arabia
US officials have adamantly denied the drawdowns are tied to any potential new US and Israeli strikes on Iran.
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drawdowns → deny → Iran
The Daily Mail has reached out to the White House and the State Department for comment.
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Mail → reach → comment
Oil prices spiked on Thursday after a report revealed Donald Trump and Israel have drawn up plans to unleash new attacks on Iran once the midterm elections are over.
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elections → spike → Iran
The memo, written by Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton and addressed to Secretary of State Marco Rubio (pictured), suggests the information should be used as part of a continued effort to draw down personnel at US embassies
Brent crude rose 2.68 percent to $111.74 per barrel.
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crude → write → barrel
The President is just 12 days out from the midterm elections and is scrambling to lower fuel prices.
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President → scramble → prices
Soaring gas prices have sent the cost of living spiraling, leaving Republicans staring down the real prospect of losing both the House and Senate in less than two weeks.
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cost → soar → weeks
US and Israeli commanders have mapped out a 'short but intensive' operation targeting Iran's nuclear sites, energy infrastructure and missile and drone arsenal, the New York Times reported.
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Times → map → sites
Trump has even floated dropping the 22,000-pound GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast bomb, known as the 'Mother of All Bombs,' on Pickaxe Mountain, a nuclear site buried deep inside granite.
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Trump → float → granite
Officials say the president is smitten with the weapon partly because of its nickname.
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president → say → nickname
Some US planners are convinced a three-day pounding could tip Iran's battered economy over the edge and force Tehran to cave on its nuclear program after nearly eight months of war.
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pounding → convince → war
Trump vowed earlier this month not to strike before the vote, and the full US armada, including three aircraft carriers and thousands of Marines, won't be in place until early November anyway.
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armada → vow → November
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth flew to Israel this week to hash out the new strikes with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
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Hegseth → fly → Netanyahu
Clayton (pictured) said his teams 'have received intelligence that Iran has substantially increased efforts to target US personnel'
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Iran → picture → personnel
An oil tanker burns after being hit by an Iranian strike in the ship-to-ship transfer zone at Khor al-Zubair port near Basra, Iraq, late Wednesday, March 11
But there is no guarantee the attack goes ahead, with Trump repeatedly pulling the plug on fresh combat operations, including at the last minute earlier this month.
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Trump → burn → minute
Since the war began, Iran has triggered severe global oil shortages by choking off the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow waterway that carries a fifth of the world's oil, with speedboats, mines and explosive drones.
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that → begin → speedboats
One Tehran analyst said Iran would hit back at any strike on Pickaxe by targeting major Saudi refineries, including Aramco's, to send energy prices soaring and squeeze American voters
Trump, speaking at a rally Friday in Florida, touted the US military operations in Iran, which were dubbed 'Operation Epic Fury,' and said that 'we may do another little Epic Fury, or they'll agree.'
Mediators have been trying to bring Washington and Tehran back to formal talks as the war has reached a stalemate.
According to Iranian state television, the Revolutionary Guard navy this week again threatened to strike US military bases in the region if the United States keeps helping guide commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway for the global energy trade.
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States → say → trade
'Any further escalation around the Strait of Hormuz or elsewhere in the region will put civilian lives and the well-being of all regional states and the global economy at great risk,' Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote in an opinion column in the Financial Times this week.
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Araghchi → put → Times
The Aporia
