The United States intercepted a message that appears to serve as an “operational trigger” for sleeper cells. The alert, reviewed by ABC News, references a “preliminary signals analysis” of a communication to be “likely of Iranian origin.”
The intercepted piece was encoded and seems to be intended for “clandestine recipients” with the key in order to provide instructions to “covert operatives or sleeper assets.” The transmissions could be “intended to activate or provide instructions to prepositioned sleeper assets operating outside the originating country.”
“While the exact contents of these transmissions cannot currently be determined, the sudden appearance of a new station with international rebroadcast characteristics warrants heightened situational awareness,” the alert reads, noting there is “no operational threat tied to a specific location.”
The alert comes as U.S. counterterrorism agencies are monitoring sleeper cell risks amid the U.S.–Israel strikes on Iran and the recent shooting in Austin.
Following the strikes, FBI Director Kash Patel announced on X that the agency’s personnel are “fully engaged on the situation overseas” and ensured that he has “instructed our Counterterrorism and intelligence teams to be on high alert and mobilize all assisting security assets needed.” He added that task forces are “working 24/7, as always, to address and disrupt any potential threats to the homeland.”
Meanwhile, former Homeland Security advisor Charles Marino warned that the risk of sleeper cells is great. “We are facing a wide variety of threats here, and the problem is, they’re all located within our own borders right now,” he said during an appearance on “Fox & Friends First.”
