Trump's intelligence chief has put the warning in writing. In a one-page memo dated October 23, Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton told Secretary of State Marco Rubio that Iran's plots to kill Americans have reached advanced stages in the Middle East and in certain other countries — and the memo, marked unclassified, is now published in full.
Clayton wrote that intelligence received through various channels shows Iran has "substantially increased efforts to target U.S. personnel," and that "the lethal plotting efforts by the Iranians against U.S. citizens have reached advanced stages in both the Middle East and certain other countries."
The memo's purpose is to widen who can see that intelligence. Clayton said certain intelligence and analysis on Iranian efforts to target U.S. government officials are relevant to more people than are currently cleared to receive them, so the material is being downgraded: it has already been provided to appropriately cleared senior staff on Rubio's team, and the intelligence community will downgrade as much as possible so Rubio can share it with State Department personnel at his discretion. Rubio holds both offices — Secretary of State and National Security Adviser — and the memo was copied to CIA Director John Ratcliffe.
What the memo does not contain is just as clear: it names no individual targets, names no countries beyond the regions it describes, and gives no methods and no timelines.
There has been no on-the-record response to the memo from Rubio, Clayton, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the White House or the CIA.
Never miss a story.
Join our Telegram channel and get every article link the second it's published.
Join Telegram Channel