Trump: U.S. 'on top of' possible sleeper cells
Offers little detail on level of potential threat
By: Kathryn Palmer
USA Today
..... President Donald Trump said the administration is "on top of" possible Iranian sleeper cells operating inside the United States, offering few details about their existence and level of potential threat.
.....
At a press conference on March 9, [2026] Trump responded to a question about whether undercover groups, or cells, located within the country.
..... "They've been trying for a long time, and we've been very much on top of it," Trump said.
.....
"We're watching every single one of them, yeah. We know a lot about then," the president added. He alleged the Democrat-led shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security was impeding his administration's efforts to address such concerns.
..... The FBI is the lead agency for investigating and preventing acts of domestic and international terrorism. The funding lapse for the Department of Homeland Security has primarily affected FEMA, the Transportation Security Administration and Customs and Protection. However, much of Homeland Security;s typical work, including ICE operations, continue.
..... The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to requests for comment. When asked about Trump's remarks about sleeper cells, the FBI said it had no comment.
..... ABC reported the United States has intercepted encrypted communications believed to have originated in Iran that may serve as "an operational trigger" for "sleeper assets" outside the country, according to the news outlet's review of a federal government alert sent to law enforcement agencies.
..... A sleeper cell refers to a group of operatives who are working undercover until activated inside enemy territory. It can refer to a spy network or terrorist group.
.....
The administration has not released any advisory about specific threats of Iranian or Iran-aligned sleeper cells in the United States since the U.S.-Israel ware with Iran began on February 28. [2026]
..... However, the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security are on a war footing, USA today has reported, and had already been in that status in the lead-up to the U.S. and Israel strikes. The United States went on high alert last June [2025] over concerns of retaliation from Tehran, after the United States and Israel bombed three Iranian nuclear sites during the 12-day war.
..... The Iranian regime has a history dating back at least 46 years of assassinations and other terrorist plots on U.S. soil and against Americans overseas. Those include plots the United States has disrupted against Iranian dissidents, and against Trump and his former National Security Adviser John Bolton, in response to a 2020 military strike that killed Iranian military leader General Qassem Soleimani.
..... On March 6, [2026] a federal jury convicted an Iranian operative, Asif Raza Merchant, op taking part in a terrorism attempt and plot to assassinate Trump in 2024.
..... Contributing: Josh Meyer, USA Today