Iran's threats on U.S. soil: sleeper cells, lone wolves, cyberattacks and eerie numbers code

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With U.S.and Israeli forces continuing offensive strikes on Iran, federal counterterrorism authorites are warning that the desperate theocracy could launch retaliatory strikes on American soil using sleeper cells, affiliated Iranian terrorist groups, lone wolf sympathizers or targeted cyberattacks.Within days of the killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Feb.

28, cryptic messages were broadcast globally on a new shortwave radio frequency.“Tavajjoh! Tavajjoh!” the message began, using the Persian word for “attention.” The eerie male voice then read a seemingly random string of numbers.

The monotone transmission recalled the manner in which deep-cover Cold War spies for the KGB and CIA once received orders.Using a special encryption code, the operatives could translate the numerals into a readable message.

Although messages from so-called number stations have been broadcast for decades, they are now less prevalent in the digital encryption age.Still, federal authorities warned local law enforcement that they had detected a new broadcast of a likely encoded sequence that could be “an operational trigger” for “sleeper assets” potentially on U.S.

soil.California The escalating Iran conflict has sent a chill through military communities across California, which is home to more than 157,000 active-duty military personnel.Although counterterrorism investigators have so far found no credible specific threat, a memo to police agencies, first reported by ABC News, calls for local law enforcement to be on heightened watch.

The alert describes the “preliminary signals analysis” of the transmission, “likely of Iranian origin,” that was relayed across multiple countries and intended for “clandestine recipients” who possess the encryption key.“Sleeper cells have always been a concern when it comes to Iranians and their proxies,” said Hor...