US Embassy headquarters in Riyadh, March 3, 2026.
AFP (via Getty Images)
On Friday, U.S. embassy officials were on high alert around the Middle East following new reports that Iran is in the “advanced stages” of planning an attack on American personnel.
The New York Times reported that a memo from Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton said the agency had received information that Iran had “significantly increased its efforts to target American persons” in the region and that the threat was also extended to “certain other countries.”
The warning comes after the United States ordered non-emergency government workers to leave Saudi Arabia this week as attacks by the Iranian-backed Houthis intensify and the broader war between the United States and Tehran approaches eight months.
The Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis said it had destroyed two ballistic missiles fired by the group toward Taif and Yanbu on Saturday.
Despite rising tensions, Iranian officials told The Associated Press on Saturday that Tehran remained open to talks with the United States under the former Pakistan-mediated deal agreed in June. Iran’s ambassador to Islamabad, Reza Amiri Moghaddam, said Iranian authorities were willing to reopen the Strait of Hormuz if the Trump administration lifted the naval blockade, a proposal Washington rejected, according to the Associated Press.
With the fallout from the Iran war wreaking havoc on the U.S. economy, the Trump administration has vowed to postpone a military strike on Iran after the Nov. 3 midterm elections, and inflation and affordability are top concerns for voters who decide control of Congress early next month.
Rising tensions in the Middle East sent oil prices soaring this week. Benchmark Brent crude oil futures topped $116 a barrel, the highest in six months. US West Texas Intermediate rose 3.8% to settle above $103 a barrel.
