The United States is reducing staff at its embassies in four Middle Eastern countries, Jordan, Lebanon, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, over fears that Iran could attack American citizens and officials.
In a memo to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the US director of national intelligence said Iran’s activity aimed at targeting Americans in the Middle East and elsewhere had increased significantly. Intelligence indicates that attack plans are also at an advanced stage, the memo said.
US officials said the decision to cut embassy staff was linked to threats from Iran and from Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis.
The embassies are not closing, however, and no mandatory departure of US staff has been ordered from the four countries. In Saudi Arabia, non-essential US staff and their family members have been ordered to leave.
US officials denied that the staff cuts were linked to any possible new US or Israeli strikes.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards navy, meanwhile, has threatened to attack US military bases in the region if the United States keeps helping commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz.
With the war at a stalemate, mediators are trying to bring Washington and Tehran back to formal talks. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned that rising tension around the Strait of Hormuz could put regional security and the world economy at greater risk.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report