(The Center Square)–The U.S. departments of State and Homeland Security issued warnings to Americans on Sunday in all 50 states and living abroad of heightened security concerns and potential terrorist attacks after President Donald Trump’s targeted strikes against Iranian nuclear sites.
The State Department issued a Worldwide Caution Security Alert advising U.S. citizens overseas to exercise increased caution.
“The conflict between Israel and Iran has resulted in disruptions to travel and periodic closure of airspace across the Middle East,” the warning states. “There is the potential for demonstrations against U.S. citizens and interests abroad,” which is why the warning “advises U.S. citizens worldwide to exercise increased caution.”
It’s encouraging Americans to review travel advisories by country identified on a map, to enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program to receive email updates from local U.S. embassies or consulates while overseas, and to regularly review security alerts and travel advisory information.
The Department of Homeland Security issued a National Terrorism Advisory System Bulletin for all U.S. citizens stating, “The ongoing Iran conflict is causing a heightened threat environment in the United States. Low-level cyber-attacks against U.S. networks by pro-Iranian hacktivists are likely, and cyber actors affiliated with the Iranian government may conduct attacks against US networks.
“Iran also has a long-standing commitment to target US Government officials it views as responsible for the death of an Iranian military commander killed in January 2020,” the warning states, noting that violent extremists living in the U.S. may be motivated to commit violence in response to the targeted attacks against Iran. Such attacks “would likely increase if Iranian leadership issued a religious ruling calling for retaliatory violence against targets” in the U.S., the warning adds. Recent terrorist attacks in the U.S. were motivated by antisemitic or anti-Israel sentiment, the warning notes, “and the ongoing Israel-Iran conflict could contribute to US-based individuals plotting additional attacks.”
The DHS NTASB states that hacktivists and Iranian government-affiliated actors have routinely targeted poorly secured U.S. networks and Internet-connected devices for disruptive cyberattacks. U.S. law enforcement agencies have also disrupted multiple potentially lethal Iranian-backed plots in the U.S. since 2020, it notes.
Since the Iran-Israel conflict, DHS said it’s seen statements issued by foreign terrorist organizations, including Hamas, Lebanese Hezbollah, Iranian-backed Yemeni Houthis, and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, among others, calling for violence against Americans living in the Middle East. Violent extremists and hate crime perpetrators could also attack Jewish or pro-Israel targets, the U.S. military or U.S. government targets, the bulletin notes.
The warnings were issued after a series of events occurred before the targeted strike against Iran. This includes a conflict between Israel and Iran and Trump receiving a threat from Iran while attending the G7 summit in Canada that if he ordered strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities, Iran would activate sleeper cells in the U.S. to launch terror attacks against Americans, NBC News reported. Trump cut his time at the G7 Summit short, rushed back to the White House for an emergency national security briefing, and on Saturday announced targeted strikes against Iran.
Border czar Tom Homan and others have told The Center Square no one knows how many Iranians are in the U.S. who could make up an unknown number of sleeper cells. More than two million foreign nationals illegally entered the U.S. under the Biden administration as gotaways – those who illegally entered between ports of entry to intentionally evade capture, The Center Square exclusively reported.
From fiscal years 2021 through 2024, Border Patrol agents apprehended 1,504 Iranian nationals who illegally entered the U.S. between ports of entry nationwide, The Center Square reported. More than 700 of them were released into the country by the Biden administration.
The greatest number of Iranians who illegally entered the U.S. and were apprehended and the greatest number of Iranians released into the U.S. by the Biden administration were in 2023 and 2024, according to the data.
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