{"id":122186,"date":"2025-06-27T17:00:40","date_gmt":"2025-06-27T15:00:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/?p=122186"},"modified":"2025-06-27T08:50:34","modified_gmt":"2025-06-27T06:50:34","slug":"27-00-111","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/?p=122186","title":{"rendered":"US Justice Department Warns of Threats to Jewish Targets as Concern Mounts Over Iranian Sleeper Cells"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>US Justice Department Warns of Threats to Jewish Targets as Concern Mounts Over Iranian Sleeper Cells<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/h5>\n

Ailin Vilches Arguello<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

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Iran\u2019s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei listens to the national anthem as Air Force officers salute during their meeting in Tehran, Iran, Feb. 7, 2025. Photo: Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader\/WANA (West Asia News Agency)\/Handout via REUTERS<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

The US Department of Justice is closely tracking potential threats to the Jewish community nationwide amid growing concerns over Iranian sleeper cells launching attacks and fallout from recent\u00a0American and Israeli military strikes on Iran\u2019s nuclear facilities<\/a>.<\/span><\/p>\n

On Wednesday, US Attorney General Pam Bondi reiterated the Trump administration\u2019s recent warnings about potential Iran-linked sleeper cells and domestic radicalization, following escalating tensions in the Middle East during the 12-day Iran-Israel war.<\/span><\/p>\n

During her testimony on Capitol Hill, Bondi reassured lawmakers that all federal agencies are working around the clock to keep Americans safe and are closely monitoring any potential national security threats.<\/span><\/p>\n

Sleeper cells are\u00a0covert operatives or terrorists<\/a>\u00a0embedded in rival countries who remain dormant until they receive orders to act and carry out attacks.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIran, of course, is a threat. They have been a threat, and they always will be a threat to our country,\u201d Bondi said in her testimony. \u201cAnd we are working hand in hand with all of our agencies to protect Americans and to keep us safe.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Tehran\u2019s ability to coordinate or inspire attacks on American soil has long been a concern for US law enforcement and intelligence officials \u2014 a fear that only deepened after US President Donald Trump ordered the\u00a0assassination of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani<\/a>\u00a0in 2020.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to Janatan Sayeh, a research analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD), a Washington, DC-based think tank, the threat from sleeper cells remains credible due to the Iranian regime\u2019s ongoing desire to avenge Soleimani\u2019s death.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cTehran takes its reputation seriously and holds long-standing grudges,\u201d Sayeh told\u00a0The Algemeiner<\/em>. \u201cIts defeat in\u00a0the recent 12-Day War<\/a>, when top generals, nuclear scientists, and major nuclear infrastructure were lost, will likely deepen its motivation to retaliate, including the possibility of action on US soil.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Last weekend, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents arrested a former member of Iran\u2019s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) with suspected Hezbollah ties, a former Iranian army sniper, and a terror watchlist suspect during a sweep targeting illegal Iranian migrants across the country. Both the IRGC and Hezbollah, an Iranian proxy based in Lebanon, are US-designated terrorist organizations.<\/span><\/p>\n

When entering the US, Iranian migrants are flagged as \u201cspecial interest aliens\u201d and undergo heightened federal screening for possible terrorism ties, given Washington\u2019s designation of Tehran as a state sponsor of terrorism.<\/span><\/p>\n

In last weekend\u2019s ICE operation, five of the 11 Iranians arrested had prior criminal convictions, including grand larceny as well as drug and firearm possession.<\/span><\/p>\n

Bondi noted that the administration had arrested 1,500 undocumented Iranian immigrants in the US, saying she would discuss the issue further in a classified setting.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHave they invaded our country? Absolutely,\u201d Bondi said.<\/span><\/p>\n

For decades, Iran and its proxy Hezbollah have\u00a0established a strong foothold in the Western Hemisphere<\/a>, leveraging alliances with governments such as Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua to expand their influence and support terrorist operations and illicit activities.<\/span><\/p>\n

Backed by Tehran with an estimated $700 million in annual funding, Hezbollah is regarded by experts as the world\u2019s most technically sophisticated terrorist organization, although the group suffered severe losses during its war with Israel last year. Active in at least 15 US cities, the Islamist movement was responsible for more American deaths than any other terrorist group prior to 9\/11.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhile the [Iranian] regime often tries to obscure its role to deflect responsibility, that effort doesn\u2019t always succeed, especially given how deeply Israel has penetrated its intelligence apparatus,\u201d Sayeh told\u00a0The Algemeiner<\/em>.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cTo hedge against these vulnerabilities, Tehran has strengthened ties with Western criminal networks. This allows the regime to distance itself from the assassination and terror plots it orchestrates,\u201d he continued.<\/span><\/p>\n

Following the\u00a0US strikes on Iran\u2019s nuclear sites<\/a>, law enforcement agencies across the country have ramped up surveillance of Iran-backed operatives amid growing fears of retaliation.<\/span><\/p>\n

Beyond facilitating illicit financing, these operatives act as sleeper agents, poised to carry out terrorist attacks on US soil on behalf of Iran if given such an order.<\/span><\/p>\n

According to NBC News, Iranian officials warned Trump during last week\u2019s G7 summit that they would deploy \u201csleeper cells\u201d to carry out attacks on American soil if Washington decided to strike.<\/span><\/p>\n

Although no specific or credible threats have yet emerged, US Customs and Border Protection says the threat of sleeper cells has \u201cnever been higher.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

But this is far from a recent development. It\u2019s an ongoing pattern, with Iranian and Hezbollah agents repeatedly documented over the past two decades surveilling and collecting intelligence on multiple targets throughout the US.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cTehran has a record of using Iranian nationals to carry out assassination plots and attacks inside the United States,\u201d Sayeh told\u00a0The Algemeiner<\/em>. \u201cThese operations are typically run by either the Ministry of Intelligence or the IRGC, often through coordination between specialized departments.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

One notable case is the foiled 2011 plot in which US authorities uncovered an Iranian plan to assassinate the then-Saudi ambassador to the US by bombing Caf\u00e9 Milano, a Washington, DC, restaurant frequented by American officials.<\/span><\/p>\n

In May 2023, the Justice Department announced that Alexei Saab, 46, was sentenced to 12 years in prison followed by three years of supervised release for receiving military-type training from Hezbollah, marriage fraud, and making false statements.<\/span><\/p>\n

In 2000, Saab entered the United States, where he lived while remaining a Hezbollah operative who \u201ccontinued to receive military training in Lebanon and conducted numerous operations.\u201d According to law enforcement and Saab\u2019s own admission, he surveilled various \u201csoft targets\u201d in the US for potential future attacks.<\/span><\/p>\n

One Hezbollah operative\u00a0told the FBI during interviews in 2016 and 2017 that if the US and Iran went to war \u201cthe US sleeper cell would expect to be called upon to act.\u201d That operative, Ali Mohamed Kourani, and another Hezbollah member were carrying out preoperational surveillance for potential Hezbollah attacks in the US and Panama,\u00a0according<\/a>\u00a0to federal prosecutors.<\/span><\/p>\n

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US Justice Department Warns of Threats to Jewish Targets as Concern Mounts Over Iranian Sleeper Cells Ailin Vilches Arguello Iran\u2019s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei listens to the national anthem as Air Force officers salute during their meeting in Tehran, Iran, Feb. 7, 2025. Photo: Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader\/WANA (West Asia News Agency)\/Handout […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[6],"tags":[26,24],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122186"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=122186"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122186\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":122203,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/122186\/revisions\/122203"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=122186"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=122186"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reunion68.se\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=122186"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}