Former FBI official warns of possible Iranian sleeper cell attacks on American soil

Chris Swecker, a former assistant FBI director, said Iran-linked groups such as Hezbollah could escalate efforts to carry out attacks against the US after Operation Epic Fury, including attacks on American soil. In comments to the Daily Mail, Swecker said, “We've got a cornered animal here, and if ever we're going to see attacks on the United States, this would be the catalyst for that.”

“It's a tinder box right now,” he added. “You've got the leadership of Iran in a state of desperation.”

Swecker speculated that sleeper cells may have previously been deterred by the threat of US retaliation but could now feel they have little to lose following the strikes. He said the intelligence community needs to “be on their toes” and “assume there are plans ongoing” for potential terrorist attacks in the US.

Swecker led the FBI’s Charlotte, North Carolina, office from 1999 to 2004 and said during that time he encountered these cells.

“We saw them disseminating propaganda, raising funds, training out into remote areas with shoulder weapons and relying on their training as former militia,” he explained. He said sleeper cells are likely waiting for orders and that “These people would be awakened to act and morph from financing cells, for example, into committing violence.”

While he noted that a domestic attack is unlikely, he said it remains possible.

“I just think you have to plan for that,” Swecker said. “They are a militia. They are organized. They are state-sponsored.”

Iran has launched a series of retaliatory attacks against US bases in the Middle East following attacks aimed at dismantling the Iranian regime. On Saturday, President Donald Trump confirmed that Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei had been killed in the attacks, and the president urged Iranians to speak out for change in their country.