U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv. Photo: Wiki Commons.

JNS.org – The United States is temporarily shutting embassies and consulates across the Middle East and Asia on Sunday as a precautionary measure due to a terror threat related to Al-Qaeda.

“The Department of State has instructed certain U.S. embassies and consulates to remain closed or to suspend operations on Sunday, August 4th,” State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf told reporters.

Although not specified by the State Department, CBS News reported that U.S. intelligence “has picked up signs of an Al-Qaeda plot against American diplomatic posts in the Middle East and other Muslim countries.”

The diplomatic posts to be temporarily shuttered include Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Mauritania, Sudan and Djibouti according to CBS News.