Before President Trump ordered U S strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, law enforcement officials quietly ramped up surveillance of Iran-backed operatives inside the United States, multiple sources told CBS News.
FBI Director Kash Patel has been increasing efforts to monitor possible domestic sleeper cells tied to Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed terrorist group designated by the United States as a foreign terrorist organization, according to U S officials. The stepped-up operations began earlier this month when Israel launched its Operation Rising Lion offensive, CBS News reported.
Both the White House and FBI declined to comment.
The threat from Iranian operatives on U S soil has long concerned administration officials, especially since President Trump ordered the killing of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani in January 2020.
Just last year, federal prosecutors charged an operative from Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, along with two U S based individuals, in a plot to surveil and assassinate critics of the Iranian regime. Prosecutors say the IRGC operative admitted to investigators that he was being pushed by senior Iranian officials to plan an attack targeting President Trump.
U S law enforcement and intelligence officials have spent years warning about Tehran’s ability to direct or inspire terror plots inside America, a concern that has only grown since Soleimani’s death. The FBI, Department of Homeland Security, and other agencies have dedicated significant resources to countering the threat.
Potential targets are wide-ranging. In recent years, prosecutors have charged individuals for plotting to kill former national security adviser John Bolton and Iranian American journalist Masih Alinejad, both frequent critics of the Iranian regime.
Bolton was granted Secret Service protection in 2021, but President Trump revoked that protection earlier this year.
At the same time, the White House has confirmed that President Trump is actively considering a strike on Iran’s uranium enrichment facility at Fordo, a move that would align the United States with Israel’s current campaign against Iranian nuclear and military targets.
CBS News previously reported that the White House is weighing options for a broader military response.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday the president will make a final decision “within the next two weeks,” adding that there remains “a substantial chance of negotiation that may or may not take place” with Iran.
Iran, for its part, has threatened retaliation if the United States were to strike, which took place late Friday and early Saturday morning as part of “Operation Midnight Thunder.”
Retired Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt told CNN Saturday night that he was “impressed” by the “deception and trickery” used by the Trump administration ahead of Saturday’s air strikes on Iran’s nuclear program.
“I’m fascinated and, candidly, I’m impressed. I never really could understand what the two-week pause meant or what it was for. What was left to negotiate? What were we going to expect the Iranians to offer?” he said to CNN host Anderson Cooper.
“In many ways, it was much like a Trump deal. I mean, he’s trying to make a deal to buy an apartment, but all of a sudden, the apartment was destroyed. So where’s the negotiation? So I think the use of deception and trickery in this case—first of all—was successful. But second of all, saved the potential loss of American lives,” he said.
President Trump announced the strikes on his TruthSocial account before he addressed the nation.
“We have completed our very successful attack on the three Nuclear sites in Iran, including Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan. All planes are now outside of Iran air space,” he said.
“A full payload of BOMBS was dropped on the primary site, Fordow. All planes are safely on their way home. Congratulations to our great American Warriors. There is not another military in the World that could have done this. NOW IS THE TIME FOR PEACE! Thank you for your attention to this matter,” he said.