Terrorist “sleeper cells” possibly aided by Democrats’ open-border policies could be gearing up in the US to retaliate for the joint US-Israel airstrikes against Iran, counterintelligence experts warned Sunday.
Although no specific credible threats have yet been publicly revealed, counterterrorism agencies are already dedicating resources to thwarting potential revenge attacks on US soil, according to those familiar with the situation.
“If ever there’s going to be a Hezbollah cell or a Hamas cell act in the United States in a violent way, it’s now,” said Chris Swecker, a former assistant FBI director, to Fox News.
“We know that they have cells here. We also know that there are lone sympathizers, many of whom have come out in these protest groups,” he said — claiming that the open-border policies of the Biden administration were a gift for would-be terrorists seeking to infiltrate the US.
Last summer, Customs and Border Protection warned about the increased possibility of terrorist sleeper cells when more than 700 Iranian nationals were allowed to remain in the US after crossing the border illegally in the past four years, according to a leaked memo obtained by The Post at the time.
“We just come off four years of open borders, and I have said before that that was an open door for terrorists to terrorist cells and terror sympathizers to infiltrate,” Swecker said.
“Many were already here, but it’s impossible that they would not infiltrate into these particular groups and sort of act as catalysts, as enablers.”
The deeply troubling warning comes at the start of Operation Epic Fury — a US-Israel military campaign launched Saturday morning that took out multiple senior Iranian officials and killed Iran’s longtime Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
FBI Director Kash Patel said Saturday that US counterterrorism and intelligence agents were placed on high alert as the campaign kicked off.
“Last night, I instructed our Counterterrorism and intelligence teams to be on high alert and mobilize all assisting security assets needed,” Patel wrote on X. He said teams nationwide are “working 24/7, as always, to address and disrupt any potential threats” on US soil.
“While the military handles force protection overseas, the FBI remains at the forefront of deterring attacks here at home – and will continue to have our team work around the clock to protect Americans,” Patel said.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said she is “in direct coordination with our federal law enforcement partners as we continue to closely monitor and thwart any potential threats to the homeland.”
Law-enforcement sources told The Post that Sunday’s bloodbath at Buford’s Backyard Beer Garden in Austin early Sunday was potentially an act of vengeance over the US attack on Iran.
Sources said the killer — who was from Senegal and became a naturalized citizen in the US in 2013 and applied for asylum in 2016 — was possibly wearing an undershirt featuring the Iranian flag or other Iran-related imagery.
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