Axios reported that, based on a new intelligence memo that was sent to Marco Rubio, the U.S. secretary of state, the Islamic Republic has significantly increased its efforts to target diplomats and U.S. officials in the Middle East and other parts of the world, and some assassination plots have reached advanced stages.

According to this report, U.S. officials say these threats are one of the reasons for the reduction of staff at U.S. embassies in several Middle Eastern countries.

The intelligence memo emphasizes the need to alert American staff to possible threats.

The U.S. State Department has ordered the departure of families and non-essential personnel from its diplomatic missions in Saudi Arabia, and it has also reduced the presence of personnel at embassies in the United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, Qatar, and Jordan.

A U.S. official told Axios that concern about Houthi attacks and Islamic Republic terrorist plots was behind this decision.