The US embassy in Thailand warned today that "foreign terrorists" could be looking to conduct attacks in areas of the capital, Bangkok, frequented by tourists and told its citizens in a message to be careful.
Embassy spokesman Walter Braunohler declined to give further details but said: "We're warning all US citizens to take caution when visiting public areas where Western tourists are known to gather in Bangkok."
Bangkok, a magnet for tourists with its vibrant nightlife and a transit point for those heading for Thailand's beaches, has faced political turmoil in recent years but threats of foreign attacks are rare.
The threat is "generic" and likely related to US moves to sanction Iran over its nuclear weapons program, according to Anthony Davis, a Bangkok-based analyst at IHS Jane's.
The US is "looking at pro-Iranian groups that might possibly react to what may very well go down in the Straits of Hormuz and possibly beyond," Mr Davis said. "It seems unlikely that terrorist attacks would be launched before the situation in the Middle East has escalated significantly."
Tensions over the ratcheting up of sanctions led Iranian vice president Mohammad Reza Rahimi to threaten on December 27th that Iran may block the Strait of Hormuz, the transit for about a fifth of the world's oil, if the European Union bans exports from the Islamic Republic.
Reuters