Iran had communicated to US President Donald Trump that it could activate sleeper-cells terror inside the United States if the country is attacked.
The communication was made last week, days ahead of the US surprise attack on three Iranian nuclear sites — Fordow, Natanz, and Esfahan — making an official entry into the Middle East conflict.
The message was delivered to the US President through an intermediary at the G7 summit in Canada last week, which Trump left early amid escalating conflict between Iran and Israel, NBC reported quoting US officials. Israel Iran war LIVE Updates
However, neither the US nor the Iranian Mission to the UN has responded to the report.
The report, quoting a European diplomat, further said that the US and its allies believe that Iran has the capability to attack European and American nationals beyond US soil and beyond the Middle East.
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The revelation comes a day after Donald Trump announced launching surprise strikes on a key underground uranium enrichment site at Fordow, along with nuclear facilities in Isfahan and Natanz early Sunday.
Iran has meanwhile threatened US bases in the Middle East, saying that the military bases used by the American soldiers could be attacked in retaliation.
US on high alert following Iran attacks
The Donald Trump administration and the law enforcement agencies in major US cities are on high alert for any potential retaliation.
The police departments in New York, Washington DC and Los Angeles released advisories stating that they are deploying additional forces to religious, cultural, and diplomatic sites across the city.
The Department of Homeland Security has also warned that the “Iran conflict is causing a heightened threat environment in the United States.”
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There could be an increased possibility of terrorist attacks in the US homeland, particularly “if Iranian leadership issued a religious ruling calling for retaliatory violence against targets in the Homeland,” according to the statement.
The US State Department also issued a worldwide caution alert for its citizens travelling or living abroad, saying the conflict in the Middle East could put those traveling or living abroad at an increased security risk.
Iran issues warning
Iran has issued a warning threatening US bases in the Middle East following the US air strikes on its nuclear sites.
Ali Akbar Velayati, an advisor to Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said bases used by US forces could be attacked in retaliation.
“Any country in the region or elsewhere that is used by American forces to strike Iran will be considered a legitimate target for our armed forces,” he said in a message, according to IRNA news agency.
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“America has attacked the heart of the Islamic world and must await irreparable consequences,” he added.
President Masoud Pezeshkian also vowed that the US would “receive a response” to the attacks. Meanwhile, people gathered in central Tehran on Sunday to protest against US and Israeli attacks, waving flags and chanting slogans.
