US President Donald Trump said he has two sets of intelligence reports on Iran that contain significantly different information.
“There are two very different sets of intelligence reports. I have both, they are very different“, Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews near Washington before leaving for Michigan.
The US president refused to reveal what the documents contain. "I have other reports, but I won't discuss their content now," he said, adding that some of the intelligence on Iran has already been declassified, while others remain classified.
Warning of plans against Americans
The statement comes after Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton warned of increased Iranian activity against American personnel and citizens outside the United States.
In an October 23 memo to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Clayton wrote that "Iranian lethal plans against American citizens have reached an advanced stage, both in the Middle East and in certain other countries." The memo was cited by the Associated Press, Axios and CBS News.
The publicly released document did not specify specific targets, countries or whether an immediate attack was expected. It also said the intelligence community was working to disseminate sensitive information more widely to State Department employees who may be at risk.
Diplomatic presence reductions
Amid the warning, the United States is reducing staff at its embassies in Jordan, Lebanon, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. It had previously ordered non-essential staff and family members to leave U.S. diplomatic missions in Saudi Arabia.
U.S. officials have cited both alleged Iranian plans and threats from the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen as factors. Embassies in the four countries remain open, but with limited staff.
Trump also said there would be no U.S. strike on Iran on Oct. 25. He said Washington had good intelligence, but he did not specify why the two sets of reports differed or whether the differences related to assessments of Iranian intentions, Tehran's capabilities or the immediate risk to American citizens.
Sources: apnews.com, axios.com