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Senior officials from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey travel to Tehran as bellicose rhetoric heightens High-level diplomatic delegations from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan have travelled to Tehran in an attempt to prevent renewed fighting between Iran and the US and Israel as rhetoric sharpens on both sides . Security officials and diplomats at Monday’s meeting were expected to discuss how Iran could persuade the Houthis in Yemen to end their crippling missile and drone attacks on infrastructure in Saudi Arabia . With fighting raging across Yemen, the Houthis claimed to have closed Riyadh airport and inflicted heavy damage on the Saudi economy. Continue reading...

President Donald Trump said he is nearing a decision on whether he will make a deal with Tehran or resume attacks on the Islamic republic. Iranian and Houthi threats against Americans in the Middle East continue to grow while Trump has suggested that US strikes on Iran could resume after the Nov. 3 midterm elections. Abeer Abu Omar reports on Bloomberg Television. (Source: Bloomberg)

President Donald Trump said it’s “getting to be decision time” on whether he will make a deal with Tehran or resume attacks as Iranian and Houthi threats against Americans in the Middle East continue to grow.

Saudi Arabia says it intercepted Houthi missiles and drones, while the Houthis claimed attacks on airports and energy sites amid rising regional supply risks.

U.S. intelligence finds Iran has "substantially increased" its efforts to target American diplomats and officials in the Middle East and beyond, with lethal plots reaching "advanced stages," according to an Oct. 23 memo to Secretary of State Marco Rubio obtained by Axios. Why it matters: U.S. officials say the intelligence is one reason the State Department is drawing down personnel at several American embassies across the Middle East, amid mounting fears of a broader regional conflict. U.S. officials also fear that Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen could expand their attacks beyond Saudi Arabia to other countries in the region. Adding to the volatile security environment is the prospect of renewed U.S. and Israeli military operations against Iran, potentially after the midterm elections. What they're saying: "We may do another little Operation Epic Fury, or [the Iranians] will agree [to a deal]," President Trump said at a rally in Florida on Friday. "If they're smart, they will just say, 'Let's get down to business,' but I doubt they will do that because perhaps they're not smart." Driving the news: In the one-page, unclassified memo obtained by Axios, Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton warned Rubio that intelligence about Iranian assassination plots needs to reach more U.S. personnel than are currently authorized to receive it. The memo does not identify specific targets, countries outside the Middle East or the nature of the plots, but says the underlying intelligence has already been shared with senior State Department officials. Clayton offered to downgrade as much of the sensitive intelligence as possible so Rubio could share it more widely with personnel potentially at risk. State of play: Earlier this week, the State Department ordered family members and nonessential personnel to leave the U.S. Embassy in Riyadh and consulates in Jeddah and Dhahran. On Friday, the department also ordered reductions in U.S. diplomatic and government personnel at embassies in the United Arab Emirates, Lebanon, Qatar and Jordan, a U.S. official said. "We decided that due to the threat of Houthi attacks and Iranian terror plots we need to reduce our footprint and keep only essential staff," the official said. CNN first reported on the reduction in staffing at the four embassies. Read the full memo .

The U.S. military has been quietly reducing its footprint at posts in the Middle East due to ongoing threats from Iran and Yemen's Houthi rebels, officials tell CBS News. CBS News' Ramy Inocencio has more details.

The U.S. military has also been quietly reducing its footprint at posts in the Middle East due to regional threats from the Houthis and direct threats from Iran, CBS News has learned.