U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi confirmed Monday that she has issued a “high alert” warning regarding the potential for sleeper cell attacks across the United States.
The alert, delivered during a U.S. House hearing, urges state and local officials to remain vigilant for Iranian nationals who may attempt lone wolf-style terrorist attacks in retaliation for the U.S. strikes on Iran’s nuclear enrichment facilities.
Although Iran and Israel reached a ceasefire agreement on Monday, the truce remains fragile, and the risk that individual Iranian actors may still carry out attacks cannot be ruled out, Attorney General Pam Bondi told lawmakers. “And I can tell you, we are on high alert, and everyone is looking at that very closely,” Bondi said.
Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX) asked Bondi whether she knew how many Iranian nationals convicted of crimes are currently living in the United States. The AG responded that she did not have that figure but noted that over 1,000 Iranian nationals had entered the U.S. during the Biden-Harris administration.
According to Fox News, U.S. Border Patrol arrested 1,504 Iranian nationals between 2021 and 2024. Of those, nearly half—729 individuals—were released into the U.S. pending asylum hearings.
Bondi’s remarks follow an advisory by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security issuing a “heightened alert” warning triggered by “a heightened threat environment in the United States.” DHS cited the possibility of Iranian sleeper cell agents “independently mobilizing to violence” in the event that Iranian leaders call for retaliation.
When Gonzales asked Bondi about the potential for sleeper cell activity, the AG responded that should could not discuss the intelligence in an open hearing.
Tuesday’s congressional hearing was officially convened to discuss funding for the U.S. Justice Department in the upcoming fiscal year, but tensions in the Middle East largely overshadowed the budget conversation.
Also on Tuesday, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced the arrest of 11 Iranian nationals, all of whom had prior criminal convictions beyond civil immigration violations. The arrests come just six months after a radical, ISIS-inspired attacker drove a truck into a crowd on Bourbon Street in New Orleans.
Last year, the Department of Justice filed charges against several Iranian nationals and U.S. citizens involved in an alleged murder-for-hire plot targeting Trump during the 2024 election. One suspect, identified as a member of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), remains at large.
