Iran’s embassy in South Africa issued a threatening message aimed at two U.S. Navy officers as their warship arrived back in San Diego Friday after completing a historic 357-day deployment that included combat operations against Iranian forces.
The warning, posted on X Nov. 13 with images naming the USS Spruance’s commanding officer and executive officer, led a regional security expert to caution that Iran’s public identification of U.S. service members should prompt an immediate response from Washington.
The embassy named Cmdr. Leigh R. Tate, who commands the Spruance, and Lt. Cmdr. Jeffrey E. York, the destroyer’s executive officer.
“We will find you,” the embassy posted on X.
The officers had previously been highlighted in a March 28 post that accused them of directing Tomahawk missile strikes that allegedly killed 168 children at an elementary school in Minab, Iran.
“Remember these two criminals,” the earlier message said. It also asked, “Don’t they have children of their own?”
Behnam Ben Taleblu, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said the statements from Tehran should not be dismissed, citing Iran’s record of pursuing attacks against American officials.
“This should be setting off alarm bells in Washington, in the White House, the Pentagon, and even within CENTCOM,” Taleblu told News Media. “The Islamic Republic has literally identified personnel that they allege are involved in strikes against the regime, and they’re talking about retribution.”
“If indeed there is any plot to go after these individuals, it is critical they’re detected, they are disrupted, they are defeated,” he added.
An Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, the USS Spruance launches a Tomahawk Land Attack Missile during Operation Epic Fury. (U.S. Navy/Handout via REUTERS)
The embassy’s warning came one day after President Donald Trump cautioned Iran against assassinating senior American officials.
During a Nov. 12 interview with radio host Hugh Hewitt, Trump was asked how the United States would respond if Iran killed a high-ranking U.S. official.
“They will not exist very long, any longer,” Trump said.
His remarks followed reports that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had moved from his Washington-area home to a military installation because of Iranian threats against his life.
Bessent confirmed the relocation Friday during an interview with CNBC, saying the Secret Service had directed him to make the move.
“Why am I going to be afraid when the brave military personnel in the Gulf, President Trump, constantly receive death threats?” Bessent said.
He characterized Iran as “like a dangerous cornered animal” and said the threats would not weaken the administration’s campaign of economic pressure against Tehran.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent gestures during remarks at the U.S.-China Relations Gala Dinner on Nov. 10, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II)
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and senior White House adviser Stephen Miller have also reportedly shifted into military facilities or other secure housing because of the heightened risks.
In a separate X post, Iran’s embassy in South Africa mocked the officials over their protective arrangements.
“Rubio, Bessent, Hegseth, and other U.S. officials live in constant fear, haunted by the crimes committed, and now confined to military bunkers for their own protection,” the embassy wrote, adding that the officials should show themselves in public from time to time.
The latest statements came as U.S. authorities announced new developments in cases involving alleged Iranian-backed plots against Americans.
On Nov. 10, the FBI placed Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps operative Shahram Poursafi on its Most Wanted Terrorists list over an alleged assassination scheme against former senior U.S. officials, including former national security adviser John Bolton.
The Justice Department also announced terrorism charges that day against three men accused of participating in nearly 20 attacks and attempted attacks in Europe and the United States. The cases included an alleged plan targeting a British air base where American forces were stationed.
Those announcements followed an Oct. 23 U.S. intelligence assessment that Iranian efforts to target American personnel overseas had grown significantly, with some operations reportedly nearing completion.
The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer left San Diego on Nov. 21, 2025, with the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group. Its mission was extended as U.S. forces carried out Operation Epic Fury against Iran. (Sandy HUFFAKER / AFP via Getty Images)
The embassy’s post appeared as the Spruance returned Nov. 13 to Naval Base San Diego, completing the longest deployment by a U.S. Navy destroyer since World War II.
The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer departed San Diego Nov. 21, 2025, as part of the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group. Its deployment was extended while American forces conducted Operation Epic Fury against Iran.
According to a Navy statement, the Spruance covered more than 88,000 nautical miles and fired dozens of Tomahawk land-attack cruise missiles at Iranian military targets from February through August 2026.
The vessel also brought down 12 unmanned aerial vehicles and four anti-ship cruise missiles while facing repeated threats from Iranian drones and missiles.
“Spruance, in particular, as the alternate air defense commander was, I would say, instrumental in defending the carrier, defending the force from those inbound threats,” Tate said in Friday’s statement.
The destroyer also took part in the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports. In April, it intercepted the Iranian-flagged cargo ship Touska after the vessel failed to heed repeated American warnings. (CENTCOM/Handout via REUTERS )
The Spruance also participated in a U.S. blockade of Iranian ports. In April, the destroyer intercepted the Iranian-flagged cargo vessel Touska after its crew failed to respond to repeated warnings from American forces.
U.S. Central Command said the ship’s engine room was evacuated before the Spruance fired rounds that disabled the vessel.
Tate described leading the destroyer through the prolonged mission as “an honor of a lifetime.”
“Spruance sailors made a difference,” Tate said in Friday’s statement. “They represented their families, their ship and the United States Navy with distinction.”
At the same time, Iranian officials have continued issuing threats against U.S. military facilities overseas.
On Nov. 11, Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, warned that Tehran could target American bases in Europe if the United States resumed military action against Iran.
Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, attends a ceremony at the shrine of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in southern Tehran on June 4, 2026. Rezaei is a former Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps general and a member of the Expediency Discernment Council, as well as secretary of the Supreme Council for Economic Coordination and the Iranian government’s Economic Committee. (Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto)
“If the Americans make a mistake and attack us, we will not limit ourselves to nearby bases,” Rezaei told Al Mayadeen.
Taleblu said the embassy’s latest message reflects a broader and increasingly aggressive pattern of threats directed at American personnel.
“This is an escalation of the course that we’ve been on,” he said, citing hostile statements from Iranian diplomatic accounts and hard-line commentators during and after the conflict.
“So this is basically incitement and invective from the world’s foremost state sponsor of terrorism, one which unfortunately has a track record of carrying these things out, even with a delay.”
He referenced threats against U.S. military personnel that followed the accidental American downing of an Iranian civilian airliner in 1988.
“Something like this is not unprecedented in the 47-year shadow war between the Islamic Republic and America,” Taleblu said, warning that the confrontation has increasingly shifted from covert activity toward open combat and more direct threats on social media.
News Media has contacted the Pentagon and the White House seeking comment.