Jana Winter
WASHINGTON, March 2 (Reuters) – Iran and its proxies may launch an attack against the United States in response to an Israeli and U.S. strike that killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Saturday, according to a U.S. intelligence assessment reviewed by Reuters.
A threat assessment issued by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Intelligence and Analysis on February 28 stated that Iran and its proxies “may” pose a threat to the United States in targeted attacks, although a large-scale physical attack is unlikely.
The main concern in the short term, the report added, is that Iran-aligned “hacktivists” will conduct low-level cyberattacks on U.S. networks, such as website defacements and distributed denial-of-service attacks.
“While a large-scale physical attack is unlikely, Iran and its proxies could pose an ongoing threat of targeted attacks on the homeland, and if reports of the Ayatollah’s death are confirmed, there will almost certainly be an escalation of retaliation – or calls for action,” the Department of Homeland Security report seen by Reuters said.
In response to a request for comment, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement: “I am coordinating directly with our federal intelligence and law enforcement partners to continue to closely monitor and defeat any potential threats to the homeland.”
On Sunday, Iran confirmed reports that Khamenei was killed in an attack on Saturday that was initially announced by Israel and U.S. President Donald Trump.
The Department of Homeland Security’s assessment also said Iran is likely to continue attacking U.S. and allied targets in the Middle East and will almost certainly blame senior U.S. government officials for any protests triggered by Trump’s statements calling for regime change.
The air war launched by the United States and Israel against Iran on Saturday expanded on Monday, with Israeli attacks targeting Hezbollah hitting Lebanon and Tehran continuing missile and drone attacks on Gulf states that host U.S. military bases.
Authorities investigating Sunday’s shooting at an Austin, Texas, bar that killed at least two people said on Monday it was too early to tell whether the gunman was motivated by the Iran war.
A photo obtained by Reuters showed that the body of the gunman killed by the police was wearing a shirt with the Iranian flag printed on it, with “IRAN” written on the front in green, white and red. He also wore a sweatshirt emblazoned with “Properties of Allah,” a U.S. law enforcement official told Reuters.
(Reporting by Jana Winter and David Brunnstrom; Editing by Don Durfee and Christian Schmollinger)