Donald Trump has addressed reports of potential Iranian sleeper cells in the United States and a possible drone attack revenge plot that would target California.
Fears of possible cells came after encrypted communications, believed to have come from inside Iran and intercepted by the US, were sent as an ‘operational trigger’ for ‘sleeper assets’ on Monday.
Those worries were further stoked Wednesday, as the FBI alerted California law enforcement to potential Iranian drone strikes on the West Coast in retaliation for the US war against Iran.
The president, speaking to reporters upon arrival at Joint Base Andrews following a rally-style event in Kentucky, said that federal law enforcement was probing the drone threat.
‘It’s being investigated. You have a lot of things happening and all we can do is take them as they come,’ he said.
Trump also continued to blame Joe Biden‘s immigration policies – calling him ‘the worst president in the history of our country’ – for the possible existence of sleeper cells.
‘I have been [briefed] and a lot of people came in through Biden with his stupid open border,’ he said.
‘But we know where most of them are. We’ve got our eye on all of them, I think,’ he added.
Donald Trump (pictured) said he’s been briefed on potential Iranian sleeper cells in the United States and a possible drone attack revenge plot that would target California
Fears of possible cells came after encrypted communications, believed to have come from inside Iran and intercepted by the US, were sent as an ‘operational trigger’ for ‘sleeper assets’ on Monday
The president also continued to tout the success of his war against Iran.
‘Iran is being absolutely decimated. We’ve knocked out all of their boats. I think we’re in very good shape,’ he said.
Previously, Trump has blamed Democrat Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer for the Democrats’ partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security, which he claimed is preventing his administration from doing anything about it.
‘One of the things we have to do is get the Democrats to stop the Democrat shutdown because, as you know, the apparatus that looks into that, Schumer and the Democrats have shut it down,’ Trump told the press.
He added that the move shows that the Democrats ‘probably hate our country a lot.’
The FBI alert surfaced as the Trump administration continued its sustained offensive against Iran.
‘Iran allegedly aspired to conduct a surprise attack using unmanned aerial vehicles from an unidentified vessel off the coast of the United States Homeland, specifically against unspecified targets in California, in the event that the US conducted strikes against Iran,’ the alert obtained by ABC News said.
‘We have no additional information on the timing, method, target, or perpetrators of this alleged attack,’ the FBI update continued.
Trump also continued to blame Joe Biden’s (pictured right) immigration policies – calling him ‘the worst president in the history of our country’ – for the possible sleeper cells
Previously, Trump has blamed Democrat Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (pictured) for the Democrats’ partial shutdown of the Department of Homeland Security, which he claimed is preventing the Trump administration from doing anything about it
This move follows a pattern of escalation in the Middle East, where the regime in Tehran has used drone warfare as its primary tool for retaliation.
Mexican drug cartel drone usage has also ticked up in recent months, raising the stakes for US border security and the safety of personnel operating in the region.
A government bulletin from September warned that an unverified tip indicated Mexican cartel bosses may have greenlit drone strikes targeting American law enforcement and military personnel along the southern border.
The bulletin noted that while such an attack on US soil would mark a dramatic and historic escalation, officials considered the scenario plausible, even as they acknowledged cartels have historically steered clear of provocations likely to trigger a heavy response from Washington.
The warning provided no details on how drone-capable ships might approach the US coast.
Officials have remained wary for years that Tehran might ‘forward-deploy’ hardware in anticipation of a direct military confrontation with Washington or Jerusalem.
The drone threat comes as Iran launched a cyber offensive against one of the world’s leading medical technology companies.
Michigan-based Stryker experienced a global outage on Wednesday, saying thousands of employees have lost access to work systems.
Iran has showed off a sprawling underground network of tunnels filled with row after row of drones and rockets
It employs approximately 53,000 people globally.
The company is a leading provider in advanced medical technologies that improve healthcare outcomes, including joint replacements, robotic-assisted surgical systems, trauma and neurotechnology products.
The Tehran-aligned Handala group issued a statement on Telegram, saying it wiped more than 200,000 systems and extracted 50 terabytes of data in retaliation for military strikes on Iran.
Handala emerged around 2022 and has claimed responsibility for a number of cyberattacks against Israeli and Western targets.
The group claimed it shut down Stryker offices in 79 countries and that all extracted data is ‘now in the hands of the free people of the world.’
Stryker is active in over 100 countries around the world.
‘Our major cyber operation has been executed with complete success,’ Handala said in a statement, describing the attack as retaliation for what it calls ‘the brutal attack on the Minab school’ and for ‘ongoing cyber assaults against the infrastructure of the Axis of Resistance.’
