Trump administration puts ALL US embassies on alert as Washington braces for Iran retaliation strikes

The cable sent from Washington instructed all diplomatic posts to report their security practices as soon as possible.

The order, which came from Undersecretary of Management Jason Evans and was signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, cited the "ongoing and developing situation" in the Middle East as the reason for the urgent security reviews.

The diplomatic posts have been instructed to form Emergency Action Committees (EAC), multidisciplinary teams designed to identify and plan for threats.

The documents, first seen by The Washington Post, order the embassies to share information with US citizens where appropriate, due to the State Department's "No Double Standard Policy" which says important security information must be made available to the public.

While similar orders have been sent to individual embassies, this marks the first order sent to all posts globally as a result of the Iran war.

A State Department spokesman told The Washington Post it did not comment on internal communications and said EAC meetings were standard for "risk management and preparedness protocols".

It remains unclear if the directive from the State Department was based on new warnings or intelligence.

The State Department added the "timing and frequency" of EAC meetings were not necessarily connected to new intelligence.

In Wednesday's early hours, a drone targeted the US embassy in Baghdad, Iraq and an explosion was heard near the area.

Three explosive drones also targeted a US diplomatic facility near Baghdad International Airport, security sources told Reuters.

Earlier this month, the US embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, had parts of its roof collapsed after a drone attack this month.

And while concerns are mostly related to the Iran war, a US embassy in Oslo recently experienced an explosion, which is being investigated as a terror attack.

Three brothers, all in their 20s and all Norwegian citizens were arrested in connection with the attack.

And Canadian police are investigating gunshots heard outside a US consulate in Toronto, in what officials described as a "national security incident".

Further cables from Washington have revealed Tehran has targeted US diplomatic personnel beyond embassies.

Militia groups had conducted 292 attacks on US facilities since February 28 and in some cases armed men had attacked homes asking for information about US citizens, according to one cable.

Another incident, also seen in a cable, disclosed that an apartment building in Israel housing US diplomatic officials was struck by an unexploded Iranian ballistic warhead.

This incident did not cause any injuries, but the cable said the incident highlighted the importance of sheltering in place.

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