The US issued new security alerts overnight into Saturday to its diplomatic missions in the Middle East, including the embassy in Jerusalem. The alerts follow intelligence that Iran is trying to target senior American officials in the region.
US missions in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Qatar and Bahrain also got alerts. Besides the threat to officials, US authorities pointed to a growing threat from the Houthis in Yemen.
Americans in the region have been urged to stay more alert and to be ready for cancelled flights, closed airspace and a rapid escalation of fighting. The administration has already ordered a cut in diplomatic staff at several missions in the region.
The embassy in Jerusalem told Americans to find out where the nearest protected shelter is and to download the app of Israel's Home Front Command. Consular services in Israel are working as normal, the embassy said.
Last month, the US director of national intelligence said Iran had greatly stepped up its efforts to target Americans abroad. He said some of the assassination plots were at an advanced stage.
The alerts come as the Houthis attack Saudi Arabia and fight the Saudi-led coalition. The Houthis have hit airports and critical infrastructure in the kingdom. The strikes have killed people and caused widespread disruption.
The Houthis accused the "Saudi enemy" of striking a civilian market in Yemen. They speak of a "massacre of civilians in al-Wazi'iyah, in Taiz province, in which more than 30 civilians were killed and wounded". Besides those killed, they say 8 people were wounded.
The coalition said it intercepted two ballistic missiles that the Houthis fired at the Saudi city of Najran.
On Friday, an Iranian semi-official news agency reported that two missiles hit Qeshm island in southern Iran. It was not immediately clear whether there were casualties or damage.