War Secretary Pete Hegseth said Monday that the Trump administration is monitoring for potential domestic threats related to Operation Epic Fury, the U.S. military campaign in Iran.
Concerns about Iranian sleeper cells have persisted since last year. Those fears intensified after the FBI said it is investigating a “potential nexus to terrorism” in connection with a shooting in Austin, Texas, on Sunday that left two people dead and 14 injured, The Daily Wire previously reported.
“Well, across the inner agency in full coordination, of course, we’re paying attention to any potentialities there. This is a former regime, a regime that seeks to export that ideology, to try to sow terror,” Hegseth said when asked by The Daily Wire.
“We’re ready for that. We’ve seen these types of folks before. And the American people can rest assured that we’re vigilant on that,” he added.
Hegseth appeared alongside Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine at the Pentagon on Monday morning, where they outlined the opening phase of the operation. Officials said the campaign aims to dismantle Iran’s missile and nuclear capabilities and degrade its naval forces.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and other leaders were killed in the strikes. President Donald Trump has since encouraged the Iranian people to rise up against the country’s theocratic government.
“This is not a so-called regime change war. But the regime sure did change, and the world is better off for it,” Hegseth said.
He also brushed off criticism of the operation being compared to the Iraq War, saying, “This is not Iraq. This is not endless. I was there for both.”
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem posted to X over the weekend that she is in “direct coordination with our federal intelligence and law enforcement partners as we continue to closely monitor and thwart any potential threats to the homeland.”
The Department of Homeland Security is currently facing a funding lapse, and the war in Iran is raising calls from Republicans in Congress to end the shutdown, which began amid disputes over federal immigration enforcement tactics.
In June 2025, DHS’s National Terrorism Advisory System issued a bulletin warning of potential risks tied to tensions with Iran. The bulletin, which expired in September, noted that the likelihood of danger within the United States could increase if Iranian leadership called for retaliation.
“Multiple recent Homeland terrorist attacks have been motivated by anti-Semitic or anti-Israel sentiment, and the ongoing Israel-Iran conflict could contribute to US-based individuals plotting additional attacks,” the bulletin said.
Anti-Iranian regime rallies took place in the United States over the weekend after Operation Epic Fury began, including in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C.
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