Secret FBI Report Contradicting Trump's Iran Threat Statements. The White House downplayed the risks
The FBI warned U.S. state and local law enforcement of an increased threat posed by the Iranian government to targets in the United States last month, even as the White House sought to play down the likelihood of an attack, a law enforcement intelligence report reviewed by Reuters shows.
In the March 20 report, the FBI and other federal intelligence agencies warned that the Iranian government “poses a persistent threat” to US military and government personnel and buildings, Jewish and Israeli institutions, and Iranian dissidents in the US.
Despite these warnings, the FBI and the National Counterterrorism Center have identified no overall threats to the American public, the report said.
What was Trump saying?
US President Donald Trump has publicly downplayed the possibility of Iranian attacks on US soil in response to other intelligence assessments in recent months.
When asked outside the White House on March 11 if he was concerned about the possibility of Iran carrying out an attack in the US, Trump replied: “No, I'm not.”
The Republican president has stepped up his rhetoric around the conflict this week, saying on Tuesday that “an entire civilization will die tonight” if Iran does not meet his demands, but later delaying the threatened attack by two weeks.
The March 20 report — titled “Public Safety Awareness Report” — was published weeks after Reuters and other news outlets reported that the Trump administration had blocked the release of a similarly described intelligence product.
At the time, the White House said it ensures that any information is properly vetted before publication.
“The media should not try to sow fear”
“The entire Trump administration is working together to protect the homeland and the American people — as they always have,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said in a statement.
“The media should not try to irresponsibly sow fear by reporting on individual law enforcement memoranda that may not have a larger context,” Jackson said.
The FBI and the National Counterterrorism Center did not immediately respond to Reuters requests for comment.
Ali Karimi Magham, a spokesman for the Iranian mission to the United Nations, declined to comment.
Ordinary Americans oppose the war
Americans had negative views of the war, with two-thirds of them saying the US should quickly end its involvement, a Reuters/Ipsos poll last month showed, making public perception of any threat particularly relevant.
The March 20 FBI report was obtained through public records requests by the national security transparency nonprofit Property of the People and provided to Reuters.
The report highlighted the “potential for increased physical threats” to US targets from the Iranian government after the conflict began.
“Violent extremists of various ideological orientations, including those opposed to the US or Israel, may also view this conflict as a justification for violence,” the report said.
Methods used by Iran
The report notes that Iranian security services have attempted to kidnap and kill American citizens in recent years. While it states that most plots in the US involved firearms, other methods included “stabbings, car attacks, bombings, poisoning, strangulation, suffocation and arson”.
Tehran prefers to use agents with legal status in the US or access to the US, the report said. The Iranian government has in the past monitored social media, live broadcasts and map apps to pick targets and assess security measures, the report said, adding that the government has also used hacking tactics such as phishing emails.
The Iranian government “also attempted to lure victims to other countries located geographically closer to Iran, almost certainly for the purpose of kidnapping and possibly executions,” the report said.
The report warned that law enforcement officials should remain alert to possible threats and share relevant information with federal authorities.
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