Iran plans attacks on US diplomats as Trump weighs strikes after midterms

Tehran's targeting plans

Two Iranian officials, one of them a Revolutionary Guard member, told the New York Times that Iran's list of possible targets now includes American diplomats and personnel. The officials asked not to be named and called such attacks legitimate, arguing that Israel and the United States had killed dozens of Iranian officials and some of their relatives. The New York Times reported that Tehran was far along in planning such operations. The officials did not say whether Iran had the means to carry them out, and some sources cited by ANSA consider the plans largely theoretical because Iran lacks the capacity to strike deep inside the United States or Europe.

Intelligence warnings and evacuations

A declassified memorandum from Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, dated 23 October, says Iran has substantially increased efforts to target US personnel, with lethal plans already advanced in the Middle East and other countries. CNN, citing several well-informed sources, reported that Washington was hurrying to evacuate some diplomats and their families from posts in the region. Officials described the departures as frustrating and chaotic, since many staff had only recently gone back after being pulled out at the height of the war with Iran. The New York Times, citing anonymous sources, said threats against US officials, including ambassadors, had been assessed in recent weeks and that Iran had identified potential targets in Europe. A US official told the paper there was evidence of Iranian agents in the United States who were not simply Iranian citizens.

Trump and the prospect of renewed strikes

Donald Trump said Operation Epic Fury 2, the name given to the US operation against Iran in February 2026, could be launched soon. Speaking to reporters as he left for Georgia, he said there was a chance he would bomb Iran again but also a chance of a good deal, and he doubted Iranian officials would accept US demands. Describing Iran's leadership as very bad, he said its government had killed 75,000 protesters. The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump was weighing a resumption of large-scale strikes after the midterm elections on 3 November, and that the Pentagon had already drawn up several operational options while the US reinforced its military presence in the region.

Hormuz, Riyadh and northern Iraq

Abbas Araghchi, Iran's foreign minister, said nothing would return to the situation before the two recent wars, particularly in the Strait of Hormuz, where shipping routes would no longer be what they were. He added that Iran had told intermediaries the war must end on all fronts, otherwise peace would remain out of reach. The IRGC navy press office said two supertankers attempting an unauthorised southern route hit naval mines in the early hours, with explosions and fires disabling their engine rooms. The vessels were carrying more than 4.5 million barrels of crude oil. According to Fars, Iran also struck Kurdish positions in Erbil, northern Iraq, with drones.

Riyadh airport under Houthi threat

Several explosions were heard in Riyadh as Saudi Arabia prepared to reopen King Khalid International Airport after a two-week closure caused by Houthi attacks. The airport announced the resumption of flights, and Flight Radar showed a plane taking off in the early hours. Saudi Arabia, which leads a military coalition fighting the Iran-backed Houthis, has faced a series of attacks in recent weeks after a multi-year truce between the Houthis and Yemen's government collapsed. An attack on the airport earlier in October killed 13 people and injured more than 300, the deadliest in the kingdom in over a decade. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree warned airlines and travellers to avoid the airport, which he called unsafe and a military target.