Obama's former DHS secretary sounds alarm on Iranian sleeper cells, calls it concern of 'highest magnitude'

Americans are being urged to stay vigilant pursuing the U.S. bombing of nuclear sites successful Iran implicit the weekend and a bid of arrests involving Iranian nationals wrong the United States. 

The erstwhile Homeland Security Secretary nether President Barack Obama is informing that the menace of panic sleeper cells connected American ungraded is simply a large interest for instrumentality enforcement.

"The beingness successful this state of undocumented migrants oregon Iranian nationals who person links to Hezbollah, IRGC, is, successful my judgment, a home instrumentality enforcement interest of the highest magnitude," said erstwhile DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson during an interrogation connected "Fox & Friends," Wednesday.

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Following the strikes, the Department of Homeland Security released a memo informing of a "heightened menace environment crossed the United States" owed to the engagement of the U.S. successful the struggle betwixt Israel and Iran. Iranian authorities tv has besides issued threats, stating that each American citizens oregon subject unit successful the portion became morganatic targets. 

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Earlier this week, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced the arrests of implicit a dozen Iranian undocumented nationals surviving successful the U.S. Some of those arrested were accused of convulsive crimes specified arsenic home assault, cause offenses, and weapons possession. One idiosyncratic had besides served arsenic a sniper successful the Iranian service arsenic precocious arsenic 4 years ago.

Johnson believes the menace whitethorn beryllium larger than the caller arrests suggest and that much migrants whitethorn beryllium seized successful connection to Iran.

"That’s not needfully each of them," helium said. "My educated speculation is that instrumentality enforcement has been tracking these individuals for a portion successful this state to travel leads, to spot who they are successful interaction with." 

Other officials person voiced akin concerns, with galore linking the accrued menace of sleeper cells to the Biden administration’s much lenient borderline policies. Border czar Tom Homan told FOX Business that astir 2,000 migrants slipped past instrumentality enforcement regular nether the erstwhile White House. 

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Former DHS Secretary Jeh Johnson warns of sleeper compartment threats successful the U.S. aft American airstrikes connected Iranian atomic sites. (Getty Images/Riccardo Savi)

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"We don't cognize who they are, wherever they came from, wherefore they're here, but they got away," said Homan connected Tuesday, going connected to telephone it the "biggest nationalist information vulnerability" the state has seen. 

Besides Iranian attacks, Johnson noted that those with extremist ties could enactment independently successful effect to the increasing tensions successful the Middle East.

"Sleepers don't needfully travel the absorption from their sponsors," helium said. "Somebody who's present successful the United States who has links to the IRGC, to Hezbollah, whitethorn determine to instrumentality matters into their ain hands."

The FBI has shifted immoderate of its resources to boost cybersecurity and grow counterterrorism initiatives successful effect to the threat. Johnson emphasized that Americans should not panic and proceed to unrecorded their lives arsenic normal. 

Instead, helium urged the nationalist to stay vigilant and study immoderate suspicious enactment to the authorities. 

"‘If you spot something, accidental something’ is inactive a valid nationalist information tool," helium said. "It does marque a difference."

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