US cuts embassy staff in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, UAE, Jordan and Lebanon as spy chief warns Iran plots are at 'advanced stages'

The United States is reducing staff at its embassies in Qatar, the UAE, Jordan and Lebanon and has ordered non-emergency diplomats and their families out of Saudi Arabia, after US Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton warned that Iran "has substantially increased efforts to target US personnel", CBS News and Reuters, via Business Recorder, reported on Saturday 24 October.

What the memo says

Clayton's unclassified memo of 23 October went to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, with CIA Director John Ratcliffe copied. It says lethal plotting against US citizens has "reached advanced stages in both the Middle East and certain other countries", according to Reuters. Axios first reported the memo.

What the US is doing

On Saturday the State Department also updated its travel advisories for more than a dozen Gulf and Middle East countries, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, Iraq and Israel, citing the higher Houthi threat. Earlier the same day, the Saudi-led coalition said it intercepted two Houthi missiles aimed at Taif and Yanbu (our story).

Iran's answer and Trump's line

Iran's armed forces chief of staff Ali Abdollahi said on state TV that Iran would "not allow U.S. military ships in the Persian Gulf under any circumstances and at any time", CBS reported. President Trump has said any new strikes on Iran would wait until after the 3 November midterm elections, and on Friday said "the Hormuz Strait is ours".

Why it matters in Pakistan

• Oil: Brent crude rose 3.5% on Friday to more than $117 a barrel, its highest since March and up from under $97 at the start of October, according to CBS. That is the main reason diesel in Pakistan has risen four days running, to Rs 393.66 a litre from 24 October (today's fuel prices).
• Workers and families in the Gulf: The advisories cover the countries where most overseas Pakistanis work. None of the steps reported so far apply to Pakistani nationals or to Pakistan's own missions, but flights and airports in the region can be disrupted at short notice, so check with your airline before travelling.
• Remittances and markets: Bitcoin fell below $80,000 on the same news (our story). Track the riyal and dirham rates on our SAR to PKR and AED to PKR pages.