U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi confirmed on Monday that she has issued a “high alert” threat about the possibility of sleeper cell attacks across the U.S.
The alert, which was issued during a U.S. House hearing, warns state and local officials to be on the lookout for Iranian nationals seeking to commit lone wolf-style terrorist attacks in response to the U.S. bombing of nuclear enrichment sites.
Although Iran and Israel reached a ceasefire agreement on Monday, it is fragile, and the possibility that individual Iranian actors will continue with an attack cannot be discounted, she told lawmakers.
“And I can tell you, we are on high alert, and everyone is looking at that very closely,” Bondi said.
Congressman Tony Gonzales (R-TX) asked the attorney general if she was aware of how many Iranian nationals who have been convicted of crimes are living in the U.S. Bondi replied that she was unsure but stated that more than 1,000 Iranian nationals entered the U.S. during the Biden-Harris administration.
U.S. Border Patrol reported arresting 1,504 Iranian nationals from 2021 through 2024. Nearly half of them, or 729, were released into the U.S. pending asylum hearings, Fox News reported.
Bondi’s remarks follow an advisory by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security issuing a “heightened alert” warning triggered by “a heightened threat environment in the United States.” DHS cited the possibility of Iranian sleeper cell agents “independently mobilizing to violence” in the event that Iranian leaders call for retaliation.
Asked by Gonzalez about the threat of so-called “sleeper cells,” Bondi replied that she would “not talk about that in this setting.”
Watch:
According to Attorney General Pam Bondi to @RepTonyGonzales on over 1,000 Iranians who have illegally entered the U.S. in recent years: “I can tell you we are on high alert and everyone is looking at that very closely.” pic.twitter.com/AlpzFWav9o
— CSPAN (@cspan) June 23, 2025
Tuesday’s congressional hearing was ostensibly geared toward discussions of replenishing the U.S. Justice Department’s budget for the coming fiscal year, but conflict in the Middle East dominated much of the discussion.
Despite brokering a ceasefire, Trump angrily tore into Israel and Iran for trading missile barrages in the early morning hours while urging Israel to turn around fighter jets that had been sent toward Iran.
“But I’m really unhappy if Israel is going out this morning because the one rocket that didn’t land, that was shot, perhaps by mistake, that didn’t land, I’m not happy about that,” Trump said about Iran’s failed missile attack on Monday.
Also on Tuesday, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement reported arresting 11 Iranian nationals, all of whom have been convicted of crimes beyond civil immigration violations. They come just six months after a radical ISIS-inspired man rammed his truck into a New Orleans crowd on Bourbon Street.
The DOJ last year brought charges against several Iranian nationals and U.S. citizens charged in a murder-for-hire plot that allegedly targeted President Trump during the 2024 election. One man, a member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), remains at large.
“The charges announced today expose Iran’s continued brazen attempts to target U.S. citizens, including President-elect Donald Trump, other government leaders, and dissidents who criticize the regime in Tehran,” former FBI Director Christopher Wray said at the time of the indictment.
