America is at a heightened risk of attacks after the U.S. bombed nuclear targets in Iran, Homeland Security said in a new terrorism advisory alert Sunday.
The notice said cyber attacks from pro-Iranian hacktivists against U.S. networks are likely, and attacks from state-affiliated actors could occur.
Homeland Security said it’s on the lookout in case Iran issues a “religious ruling calling for retaliatory violence” against the U.S.
“The likelihood of violent extremists in the Homeland independently mobilizing to violence in response to the conflict would likely increase if Iranian leadership issued a religious ruling calling for retaliatory violence against targets in the homeland,” the department said.
Some Iran-connected groups dubbed as terrorists by the U.S. had already issued calls for violence against the U.S. and Americans in the Middle East after Israel’s initial strike on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure.
The State Department also issued a “Worldwide Caution” alert warning of the “potential for demonstrations against U.S. citizens and interests abroad.”
The U.S. Embassy in Qatar on Monday recommended American citizens there shelter in place until further notice “[o]ut of an abundance of caution.” Following the U.S. security alert, the UK urged British nationals in Qatar to do the same.
Several major cities, including the nation’s capital, said they’d step up security in sensitive areas, including places of worship.
Iranian UN Ambassador Amir Saeid Iravani blasted the attacks at an emergency Security Council meeting, where he said that Iran’s armed forces will determine the “timing, nature and scale” of its response.
Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said at a news conference that Tehran “reserves all options to defend its security.”
President Trump, in a Saturday Truth Social post, warned that any retaliation against the U.S. will be met with “FORCE FAR GREATER THAN WHAT WAS WITNESSED TONIGHT.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on CBS News’ “Face the Nation” Sunday that there are no plans for the U.S. to engage in further attacks on Iran unless they attack Americans or U.S. military sites.
The heightened alert lasts for three months.
