NEW YORK, March 17. /TASS/. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has instructed the American diplomatic institutions abroad to put pressure on the local governments to take action against Iran amid an alleged "elevated risk of attack" from the Islamic republic, ABC News quoted a cable it has at its disposal.

According to the document sent on Monday to the American embassies and consulates around the world, they should urge the states to "move expeditiously to diminish the capabilities of Iran and Iran-aligned terrorist groups from attacking our respective nations and citizens" in conditions of, allegedly, "an elevated risk of attack" from the Islamic republic and its supporters. These theses must be conveyed "at the highest appropriate level" by March 20 as part of an assignment entitled " Elevated Concern of IRGC Activity" (IRGC, elite army units - TASS)."

"We assess that the Iranian regime is more sensitive to collective action than unilateral action, and that joint pressure is more likely to compel behavior change by the regime than unilateral actions alone," the cable says.

The State Department said these "advocacy efforts" should "be coordinated with Israeli diplomatic counterparts."

The American diplomatic institutions are also instructed to "swiftly" urge the local governments to declare the IRGC and Hezbollah terrorist organizations, providing additional arguments in support of their position.

"Such a designation will intensify the pressure on the Iranian regime and limit its ability to sponsor terror activities across the globe that jeopardizes the safety and security of your populations," the cable says.

On February 28, the United States and Israel launched a military operation against Iran hitting major cities, including Tehran. The White House justified the attack with missile and nuclear threats allegedly coming from Tehran. The IDGC retaliated with sweeping attacks on Israel. US facilities in Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia were also attacked.

Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and some other key Iranian figures were killed.