Washington — The FBI is intensifying its focus and resources on counterterrorism threats after the United States carried out strikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities over the weekend, and Iran countered with an attack of its own on an American air base in Qatar.
Two sources told CBS News that a memo was distributed to FBI field office directors in the past 48 hours instructing them to focus resources on terror threats, including domestically.
The memo follows a separate, unrelated internal report sent earlier this month in which the FBI forecasted that it would need to concentrate resources on Iran in the coming months. The report stated that a priority would be “helping to apply maximum pressure on the Islamic Republic of Iran and its terror proxies. This includes investigating, prosecuting, and otherwise disrupting financial and logistical networks, operatives, and front groups; targeting related foreign-based hacking operations; targeting the leaders and members of terrorist groups and terror proxies responsible for capturing, harming, or killing American citizens, and seizing illicit Iranian oil exports.”
It comes after the FBI has received multiple internal complaints from employees about being pulled off counterterrorism and counterintelligence tasks to focus on immigration enforcement, according to two other sources who spoke to CBS News. The complaints warned of pressure being placed on FBI agents to “maximize the number of immigration arrests.”
An FBI spokesperson said the bureau “does not comment on specific operational adjustments or personnel decisions. However, we continuously assess and realign our resources to respond to the most pressing threats to our national security and to ensure the safety of the American people.”
President Trump has made a crackdown on illegal immigration and mass deportations a focal point of his second term. He has invoked a wartime law known as the Alien Enemies Act to swiftly deport migrants, rolled back programs shielding people from the threat of deportation, and approached other countries about accepting migrants who are not their citizens.
Workplace arrests by immigration authorities in Los Angeles County earlier this month sparked protests and led the president to call roughly 4,000 members of the California National Guard into federal service under a law known as Title 10. His administration has also deployed more than 700 active-duty Marines to Los Angeles.
Heightened terrorism concerns
The National Terrorism Advisory System issued a bulletin Sunday warning that the Iran conflict has created a “heightened threat environment” in the U.S.
“Since the start of the conflict, we have seen media releases by foreign terrorist organizations … some of which have called for violence against US assets and personnel in the Middle East,” the advisory warned. “Multiple recent Homeland terrorist attacks have been motivated by anti-Semitic or anti-Israel sentiment, and the ongoing Israel-Iran conflict could contribute to US-based individuals plotting additional attacks.”
The U.S. carried out precision strikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities, Mr. Trump announced in an address to the nation Saturday night. He said the assault, dubbed Operation Midnight Hammer, aimed to cripple Iran’s nuclear program.
In response to the strikes, Iran launched a ballistic missile attack targeting the U.S. Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar on Monday. Mr. Trump indicated that the U.S. was given advance warning of the Iranian attack, and there were no American or Qatari casualties.
The attack came after Israel launched strikes against Iranian nuclear and military targets starting June 13, which prompted missile counterattacks by Iran. As of Tuesday, at least 974 people have been killed in Iran, according to the organization Human Rights Activists in Iran. Israeli officials have said at least 28 people in Israel have died in Iran’s missile attacks.
A ceasefire announced by President Trump between Israel and Iran appears to be holding on Tuesday, with the two sides halting their exchange of fire after 12 days.
contributed to this report.
Pat Milton, an award-winning journalist, is the senior producer of the CBS News Investigative Unit, specializing in national security, the FBI, Intelligence and federal law enforcement.
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