FBI sharpens focus on counter-terrorism after Iran strikes

The United States officials are on increased alert after the American bombing of nuclear installations in Iran.

There is no specific threat, but in recent days, the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have spoken with governors and law enforcement organizations across the country of increased threat.

The FBI also moved some of its agents, who helped in immigration cases, returning to the efforts to combat terrorism, sources said to the American BBC CBS partner.

Within two days of Iranian strikes, US immigration officials arrested 11 Iranian citizens in the United States, including men who have presumed links with Iran’s military and paramilitary proxies groups.

Authorities have only suggested any people who were involved or linked to a specific plot in the United States, and the Ministry of Homeland Security said there was no credible threat to American soils.

Immigration and customs application (ICE) told CBS, the BBC information partner, that arrests were part of President Donald Trump’s efforts to illegally expel immigrants to the United States.

A man arrested in Minnesota is a former alleged member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guardian who “admitted links with Hezbollah”, according to Ice.

Another man who has been arrested in Mississippi had lived in the United States for eight years and was designated by the United States as a known or suspected terrorist. Another man arrested in Alabama would have served for three years as a sniper in the Iranian army before moving to the United States in 2024.

The arrests occurred after the DHS and the FBI organized calls during the weekend with heads of state and hundreds of organizations responsible for the application of laws to inform them of the increased threat environment and ensure that they are vigilant and reach out to those who could be in danger, including those of the Jewish community, the American media reported.

In recent days, Republican legislators and Trump administration officials have often talked about the threat of Iranian “sleeping cells” who have infiltrated the United States under the Biden administration.

Although no direct or public threat has been made by Iran to attack the American homeland-and there is a current cease-fire in force in the conflict between Iran and Israel-the country has a long history of sponsorship of violent attacks in the United States, explains Dr. Lorenzo Vidino of the program of the University of George Washington on extremism.

In 1980, shortly after the Islamic Revolution of Iran, an Iranian dissident was murdered in the American state of Maryland. More recently, the United States claims that Iran has planned assassinations of US officials, including Trump and his former national security advisor John Bolton.

Dozens of people related to Iran have been arrested in recent years, according to Dr. Vidino, although many of these arrests come from violations of sanctions. He quotes a man who sold night vision glasses limited to Iran, but adds that it is not clear if the individual had ideological ties with Iran or was simply a businessman seeking to take advantage.

Men have recently arrested, he has suspected, has been monitored by the United States for some time. But the agents decided to dive to hold them in the light of the recent push of violence between the United States and Iran.

Other Iranians in the United States have been arrested in the past while having potential targets for attacks.

In a separate bulletin, the National Council system on terrorism warned against an “increased threat environment in the United States”.

Although he mentioned no specific threat, he said that he was particularly vigilant against “low -level cyber attacks against American networks”.

Discussions between federal officials and local officials concerning national security are common since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 against the United States.

Terrorist events, mass fire or attacks targeting a population segment often lead to an increased presence of the police and an increased security position.

Since the participation of the United States in Iran, police patrols have been increased in communities on a national scale on certain sensitive sites, including buildings with links with American or Israeli governments, or in Judaism.

Some FBI members, who focused on applying immigration as part of Trump’s expulsion objectives, were reduced to focus on the fight against terrorism, according to CBS News. On Sunday, the office distributed a service note to field offices by telling them to concentrate resources on terrorist threats.

The FBI did not confirm any change in priorities. “The FBI does not comment on operational adjustments or specific personnel decisions,” the agency said in a statement.

“However, we are continuously assessing our resources to respond to the most urgent threats to our national security and to ensure the security of the American people.”