# U.S. Cuts Diplomatic Staff in Gulf and Levant After Memo on Iran Assassination Plots

*Saturday, October 24, 2026 at 6:06 AM UTC — Hamer Intelligence Services Desk*

**Published**: 2026-10-24T06:06:28.545Z (4h ago)
**Category**: geopolitics | **Region**: Middle East
**Importance**: 9/10
**Sources**: OSINT
**Permalink**: https://hamerintel.com/data/articles/21366.md
**Source**: https://hamerintel.com/summaries

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**Deck**: A U.S. intelligence memo dated October 23 warns that Iran has “substantially increased” efforts to assassinate American diplomats and officials, with some plots in “advanced stages.” The assessment has already led Washington to reduce diplomatic staff in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Lebanon, Qatar and Jordan.

American diplomats in parts of the Middle East are working with smaller teams after U.S. intelligence warned that Iran is stepping up efforts to assassinate U.S. personnel.

A declassified memo dated October 23 and addressed to Secretary of State Marco Rubio says Iran has “substantially increased” attempts to target American diplomats and officials. According to the memo, some plots have reached “advanced stages” in the Middle East and beyond.

A separate report, attributed to Axios, says these threats, combined with fears of attacks by Yemen’s Houthi movement, prompted the State Department to reduce U.S. diplomatic staff in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, Qatar and Jordan.

The drawdowns affect how U.S. missions operate. Fewer diplomats on the ground can mean reduced consular services and less capacity for political reporting, negotiation, and coordination with local partners, even as security concerns grow.

Strategically, the memo signals that Washington now sees Iranian plotting against U.S. officials as active enough, and developed enough, to justify visible changes in its regional footprint.

Signals to watch include any public revision of U.S. travel advisories for the affected countries, noticeable shifts in security around U.S. facilities, and reports of disrupted or attempted plots that would confirm the memo’s warning.