The US Department of Homeland Security says the ongoing Iran conflict is causing a heightened threat environment in the United States. Low-level cyber attacks against US networks by pro-Iranian hacktivists are likely, and cyber actors affiliated with the Iranian Government may conduct attacks against US networks.
The department says Iran also has a long-standing commitment to target US Government officials it views as responsible for the death of an Iranian military commander killed in January 2020. The likelihood of violent extremists in the Homeland independently mobilising 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 US.
Multiple recent US 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 department also notes that the Iranian Government has publicly condemned direct US involvement in the conflict. Both hacktivists and Iranian Government-affiliated actors routinely target poorly secured US networks and Internet-connected devices for disruptive cyber attacks.
US law enforcement has disrupted multiple potentially lethal Iranian-backed plots in the United States since 2020. During this timeframe, the Iranian Government has also unsuccessfully targeted critics of its regime who are based in the United States for lethal attack.
If Iranian leadership were to issue a religious ruling calling for retaliatory violence against specific targets in the US, it could increase the likelihood that a supporter of the Iranian regime is inspired to commit an act of violence in the United States.
Since the start of the conflict, foreign terrorist organisations — including HAMAS, Lebanese Hizballah, the Houthis, and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, among others, have issued media releases calling for violence against US assets and personnel in the Middle East because of Israel’s attack.
The conflict could also motivate violent extremists and hate crime perpetrators seeking to attack targets perceived to be Jewish, pro-Israel, or linked to the US Government or military in the United States.
