President Trump calls Iran war ‘a little trip’
President Donald Trump has brought up war with Iran as a “bit of a trip” during the Republican retreat.
President Donald Trump has said his administration is “aware” of possible Iranian sleeper cells operating in the United States, offering few details about their existence or the level of potential threat.
At a press conference on Monday, March 9, President Trump answered a question about whether the Iranian government had activated a secret organization, or cell, within the country.
“They’ve been trying for a long time, and we’re making pretty good progress,” Trump said.
“We are monitoring each and every one of them, yes. We know a lot about them,” the president added. He argued that the Democratic-led shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security is hampering the administration’s efforts to address these concerns.
The FBI is the leading agency in investigating and preventing acts of domestic and international terrorism. The Department of Homeland Security’s funding failure primarily affected FEMA, the Transportation Security Administration, and Customs and Border Protection. However, much of the Department of Homeland Security’s normal operations, including ICE operations, continues.
The Department of Homeland Security did not respond to requests for comment. When asked about President Trump’s comments about sleeper cells, the FBI said it had no comment.
ABC reported today that after reviewing federal alerts sent to law enforcement agencies, the United States has intercepted encrypted communications believed to be originating from Iran that could serve as a “trigger for operations” against “dormant assets” abroad.
What is a sleeper cell?
A sleeper cell refers to a group of operatives who operate in secret until operating within enemy territory. May refer to a spy network or terrorist group.
Since the U.S.-Israel war with Iran began on February 28, the administration has not issued any recommendations regarding the specific threat of Iran or Iranian-aligned sleeper cells in the United States.
But the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security were on combat alert and had already been in that state ahead of the U.S. and Israeli attack, USA TODAY reported. The United States placed Iran on high alert last June, fearing retaliation from Tehran, after the United States and Israel bombed three Iranian nuclear facilities during the 12-day war.
The Iranian regime has a long history of assassinations and other terrorist plots against Americans on U.S. soil and abroad, dating back at least 46 years.
These include plots the United States foiled against Iranian dissidents in response to the 2020 military attack that killed Iranian military leader Gen. Qasem Soleimani, and against President Trump and former national security adviser John Bolton.
On March 6, a federal jury convicted Iranian operative Asif Raza Merchant of participating in the 2024 Trump assassination plot and terrorist plot, long before the Iran War.
Contributor: Josh Meyer, USA TODAY.
Kathryn Palmer is USA TODAY’s political reporter. She can be reached at the following address: kapalmer@usatoday.com And to X@Kathryn Purml. Sign up for her daily politics newsletter here.
