The news follows revelations that electronic communications between al-Qaeda leaders were behind the shuttering of nearly two dozen diplomatic posts over the weekend. In the intercepted messages, al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri reportedly ordered the leader of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula — the group’s Yemeni affiliate — to carry out an attack as early as this past Sunday. The New York Times originally withheld the names of the leaders involved at the behest of U.S. intelligence officials, but revealed them after they were published by McClatchy Newspapers. The United States is keeping 19 diplomatic outposts in the Middle East and Africa closed through this week due to the threats. The recent security fears have been used by some lawmakers to defend the National Security Agency’s sweeping spy programs, which have come under fire after they were revealed by Edward Snowden. A reporter noted the timing of the threats during a briefing with State Department spokesperson Marie Harf.

Reporter: “Couldn’t it be argued that suddenly we’re hearing about this potential threat to U.S. interests and U.S. persons and property at a time when there’s a lot of debate and a lot of criticism of this program as well as other NSA types of surveillance.”

Marie Harf: “I can assure you that that in no way, at all, period, 100 percent, affects how we evaluate threat information coming in, specifically in terms of this threat.”