Stephen Dinan | June 23, 2025
(The Washington Times) — America is at a heightened risk of attacks after the U.S. bombed nuclear targets in Iran, Homeland Security said in a new terrorism advisory alert Sunday, pointing in particular to the possibility of a hacking incident.
The notice said “hacktivists,” who are operating independently but with sympathy for Iran, and regime-connected hackers may decide the time is ripe.
And Homeland Security said it’s on the lookout in case Iran issues a “religious ruling calling for retaliatory violence” against the U.S.
“The likelihood of violent extremists in the Homeland independently mobilizing to violence in response to the conflict would likely increase if Iranian leadership issued a religious ruling calling for retaliatory violence against targets in the homeland,” the department said.
Some Iran-connected groups dubbed as terrorists by the U.S. had already issued calls for violence against the U.S. and Americans in the Middle East after Israel’s initial strike on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure.
President Trump’s decision to target three nuclear production sites with U.S. aircraft followed those initial Israeli attacks.
Homeland Security said Israel’s involvement increases the likelihood of antisemitic attacks, which have already been running at an elevated pace after Hamas’s murderous 2023 attack on Israel and that nation’s violent reprisals in Gaza.
The heightened alert lasts for three months.
