Iran’s embassy in South Africa posted a “We will find you” warning aimed at two U.S. Navy officers as the USS Spruance returned to San Diego on Friday, Nov. 13, after a 357-day deployment that included combat operations against Iranian forces.
The Nov. 13 post on X included images identifying the destroyer’s commanding officer, Cmdr. Leigh R. Tate, and its executive officer, Lt. Cmdr. Jeffrey E. York. A regional expert said the public targeting of U.S. service members by Iran should raise serious concern in Washington.
The embassy had named the two officers in a March 28 post, accusing them of ordering Tomahawk missile strikes that killed 168 children at an elementary school in Minab, Iran. “Remember these two criminals,” it wrote then, asking whether they had children of their own.
Behnam Ben Taleblu, a senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, said Tehran’s language should be taken seriously given its history of alleged plots against American officials.
“This should be setting off alarm bells in Washington,” Taleblu said, naming the White House, Pentagon and U.S. Central Command. He said Iran had identified people it accuses of taking part in strikes against the regime and was speaking openly about retaliation.
If there is a plot against the officers, Taleblu said, it is essential that authorities detect and disrupt it.
The embassy’s warning came a day after President Donald Trump cautioned Iran against killing senior American officials. Asked in a Nov. 12 interview with radio host Hugh Hewitt what would happen if Iran killed a top U.S. official, Trump said, “They will not exist very long, any longer.”
The exchange followed reports that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent had moved from his home in the Washington area to a military base because of threats from Iran. Bessent confirmed the move in a Friday interview with CNBC, saying he was following Secret Service guidance.
“Why am I going to be afraid when the brave military personnel in the Gulf, President Trump, constantly receive death threats?” Bessent said. He described Iran as acting “like a dangerous cornered animal” and said the threats would not stop the administration’s economic pressure campaign.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and senior White House official Stephen Miller have also reportedly moved to military or other secure housing amid security concerns.
In a separate X post, Iran’s embassy in South Africa mocked U.S. officials for their security arrangements. It claimed Rubio, Bessent and Hegseth were living in fear and confined to military bunkers, and suggested they should make occasional public appearances.
The comments came as U.S. authorities announced new developments in alleged Iran-backed plots. On Nov. 10, the FBI added Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps operative Shahram Poursafi to its Most Wanted Terrorists list over an alleged assassination plot against former senior U.S. officials, including former national security adviser John Bolton.
That same day, the Justice Department announced terrorism charges against three men accused of involvement in nearly 20 attacks and attempted attacks in Europe and the United States. The allegations included a plot against a British air base that houses U.S. forces.
The announcements followed an Oct. 23 U.S. intelligence warning that Iranian efforts to target American personnel abroad had increased substantially, with some plots reportedly at an advanced stage.
The Spruance’s return to Naval Base San Diego on Nov. 13 marked the end of the longest deployment by a U.S. Navy destroyer since World War II. The Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer left San Diego on Nov. 21, 2025, with the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group. Its deployment was extended as U.S. forces carried out Operation Epic Fury against Iran.
The ship covered more than 88,000 nautical miles and fired dozens of Tomahawk land-attack missiles at Iranian military targets from February through August 2026, according to a Navy statement. It also destroyed 12 drones and four anti-ship cruise missiles while facing persistent threats from Iranian drones and missiles.
Tate said the Spruance served as an alternate air defense commander and played a major role in protecting the carrier and the wider force from incoming threats.
The destroyer also took part in the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports. In April, it intercepted the Iranian-flagged cargo ship Touska after repeated warnings went unheeded. U.S. Central Command said the Spruance ordered the crew to evacuate the engine room before firing on the vessel and disabling it.
Tate called leading the ship during the extended deployment “an honor of a lifetime.” He said the crew had represented their families, their ship and the Navy with distinction.
Iranian officials have also threatened U.S. military installations abroad. On Nov. 11, Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said Tehran could attack American bases in Europe if the United States resumed strikes on Iran. He told Al Mayadeen that any response would not be limited to nearby bases.
Taleblu said the embassy’s latest posts reflected a growing pattern of threats against U.S. personnel, including rhetoric from Iranian diplomatic accounts and hard-line commentators during and after the war. He described the statements as incitement from a state with a record of carrying out threats, sometimes after a delay.
He also pointed to threats against U.S. military personnel after the accidental American shootdown of an Iranian civilian airliner in 1988. Such rhetoric, he said, was not unprecedented in the decades-long shadow conflict between Iran and the United States. He warned that the confrontation had increasingly shifted from covert activity toward open warfare and public threats on social media.
