SriLanka, Oct. 25 -- Iran has intensified its efforts to target US personnel, with alleged plots by Tehran to kill American citizens reaching "advanced stages," a senior intelligence official in the Trump administration warned in a memo reviewed by Reuters.

The warning, issued by Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton, came after Washington reduced staffing at its diplomatic mission in Saudi Arabia earlier this week amid escalating attacks by Iran-aligned Houthi forces.

The attacks, occurring on one front of the regional conflict triggered by the war with Iran, have coincided with an increase in assaults on commercial shipping in the strategically important Strait of Hormuz. The conflict is approaching its eighth month.

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