Washington Cuts Staffing at 4 U.S. Embassies Amid Warnings of Iranian and Houthi Threats
Key Facts
The U.S. State Department reduced staffing at its embassies in Jordan, Lebanon, Qatar and the UAE while keeping all four missions open, in a move the Associated Press said came amid rising security warnings. The announcement followed a memo National Intelligence Director Jay Clayton sent to Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Friday. Clayton warned that Iran had intensified efforts to target U.S. personnel. He wrote that "planning efforts for lethal operations against American citizens have reached advanced stages in the Middle East and other countries." A U.S. official told Axios that the threat of Houthi attacks and Iranian plots prompted Washington to reduce its presence and retain essential staff.
The four embassies were already under "restricted operations," which had reduced their staffing levels before the new decision, according to the Associated Press. The agency said the missions would remain open and that the new measure did not require staff there to leave their host countries. That differs from the State Department's decision on Wednesday regarding Saudi Arabia, which ordered nonessential personnel at the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh and its consulates to leave. The embassy building in Riyadh had sustained severe damage at the start of the war, the agency reported. The decision therefore distinguishes between a further reduction in staffing at 4 embassies and an existing departure order for U.S. missions in Saudi Arabia.
A U.S. official who spoke to Axios linked the reduction in the diplomatic presence to the threat of Houthi attacks and Iranian plots, saying Washington wanted to "reduce our presence and retain only essential staff." The State Department said the Iran-backed Houthis had targeted civilian airports and critical infrastructure in Saudi Arabia, causing civilian casualties and severe travel disruptions. The department added that hostilities could quickly spread beyond the immediate region. In a separate incident, the Saudi-led coalition said the Houthis launched 5 drones toward the kingdom in the early hours of Wednesday, October 21, and that its forces intercepted and destroyed them over Medina and the Eastern Province. The Associated Press reported that the attack was the latest since fighting between the coalition and the Houthis resumed in mid-July, with the group using missiles and drones in its attacks on Saudi Arabia.
The decision coincided with the U.S. State Department updating its Qatar travel advisory summary on October 23, when it cited an increased likelihood of armed attacks by the Iran-backed Houthis and Iran's efforts to target U.S. government officials in the region. The warning level and risk indicators were unchanged, the department said. The Jordan travel advisory, issued on August 29, points to the continuing risk of Iranian drone and missile attacks since hostilities between the United States and Iran began on February 28, as well as major disruptions to commercial flights. A U.S. official told Reuters that Houthi threats and Iranian plots against U.S. officials factor into decisions to adjust staffing at embassies under restricted operations. These warnings put staff security, air travel disruption and infrastructure at the center of Washington's calculations in the region.
U.S. officials denied that the staffing cuts were linked to possible new U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran. The denial comes as mediators try to bring Washington and Tehran back to formal talks, while the Associated Press described the war as having reached a stalemate. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned that "any further escalation around the Strait of Hormuz or anywhere else in the region will put civilian lives, the safety of countries in the region and the global economy at grave risk." The U.S. midterm elections are scheduled for November 3. The agency said the war had raised energy costs for Americans and created political problems for President Donald Trump and Republicans seeking to retain control of Congress.