US DIPLOMATIC MISSIONS ON HIGH ALERT OVER GULF
The State Department says many U.S.
diplomatic missions overseas are on high alert for possible
retaliation from Iran for Monday's attack on two Iranian oil
platforms by American forces in the Gulf.
    At the same time, the Pentagon announced on Tuesday that
U.S. forces have begun escorting another Kuwaiti tanker convoy
southward through the Gulf from Kuwait.
    The State Department renewed its warning to Americans not
to travel to Iran because of what spokeswoman Phyllis Oakley
called, "its virulent anti-American policies and support for
terrorism."
    "The threat to Americans has increased significantly," she
said in announcing that the department was reiterating advice
it last made in January. The department said about 2,600
American citizens live in Iran, the overwhelming majority dual
nationalities.
    Oakley said no specific warning has been issued to U.S.
diplomats and Americans living abroad in the aftermath of the
U.S. attack on the oil drilling platforms, but "many of our
missions are on a high state of alert."
 Reuter
