FBI sharpens focus on counter-terrorism after Iran strikes
Officials across the US are on heightened alert after the US bombing of nuclear facilities in Iran.There is no specific threat but in recent days, the FBI and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have spoken with governors and law enforcement agencies across the country about the heightened threat environment. The FBI has also shifted some of its agents, who have been helping on immigration-related cases, back to counter-terrorism efforts, sources told the BBC's US partner CBS. Within two days of the Iranian strikes, US immigration officials arrested 11 Iranian citizens in the US, including men with alleged ties to Iran's military and paramilitary proxy groups.
Authorities have not suggested any of those arrested were involved or linked to a specific plot in the US, and the Department of Homeland Security has said there are no credible threats currently to US soil. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) told CBS, the BBC's news partner, that the arrests were part of President Donald Trump's efforts to deport immigrants in the US illegally.One man arrested in Minnesota is an alleged former member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard who has "admitted connections to Hezbollah", according to ICE. Another man who was arrested In Mississippi had been living in the US for eight years and had allegedly been designated by the US as a known or suspected terrorist. Another man arrested in Alabama allegedly served for three years as a sniper in Iran's military before moving to the US in 2024. The arrests came after DHS and the FBI hosted calls over the weekend with state leaders and hundreds of law enforcement agencies to inform them of the heightened threat environment and ensure they are being vigilant and reaching out to those who could be at risk, including those in the Jewish community, US media reported. In recent days, Republican lawmakers and Trump administration officials have spoken often about the threat of Iranian "sleeper cells" who infiltrated the US under the Biden administration.Although no direct or public threat has been made by Iran to attack the US homeland - and there is a current ceasefire in effect in the conflict between Iran and Israel - the country has a long history of sponsoring violent attacks in the US, says Dr Lorenzo Vidino from the George Washington University Program on Extremism. In 1980, shortly after Iran's Islamic Revolution, an Iranian dissident was assassinated in the US state of Maryland. More recently, the US says Iran has planned assassinations of American officials, including Trump and his former National Security Adviser John Bolton.Dozens of people with ties to Iran have been arrested in recent years, according to Dr Vidino, although many of those arrests stem from sanctions violations. He cites a man who sold restricted night-vision goggles to Iran, but adds it's unclear whether the individual had ideological ties to Iran or simply was a businessman seeking to profit. The men most recently arrested, he suspects, had been watched by the US for some time. But agents decided to swoop in to detain them in light of the recent flare-up in violence between the US and Iran.Other Iranians in the US have been arrested in the past while scouting potential targets for attacks.In a separate bulletin, the National Terrorism Advisory System warned of a "heightened threat environment in the United States". While it did not mention any specific threats, it said it to be especially vigilant against "low-level cyber attacks against US networks".Discussions between federal and local officials regarding national security has been commonplace since the 11 September 2001 terror attacks on the US. Terror events, mass shootings or attacks targeting a segment of the population often lead to an increased law enforcement presence and heightened security stance. Since the US involvement in Iran, police patrols have been increased in communities nationwide at certain sensitive sites, including buildings with connections to the US or Israeli governments, or to Judaism. Some FBI personnel, who were focusing on immigration enforcement as part of Trump's deportation goals, have reportedly been brought back to focusing on counter-terrorism, according to CBS News. On Sunday, the bureau distributed a memo to field offices telling them to focus resources on terror threats.The FBI has not confirmed any shift in priorities. "The FBI does not comment on specific operational adjustments or personnel decisions," the agency said in a statement. "However, we continuously assess and realign our resources to respond to the most pressing threats to our national security and to ensure the safety of the American people."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
25 minutes ago
- The Independent
These are the most sought-after workers in the UK right now
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging. At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story. The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it. Your support makes all the difference. Healthcare support workers are currently the most sought-after professionals in the UK job market, new research reveals, signalling key areas of demand within the economy. Data from jobs site Adzuna indicates that social care workers, sales assistants, and warehouse staff are also experiencing high demand from employers. Other roles attracting significant interest include software developers, cleaners, healthcare assistants, labourers, and project managers. Andrew Hunter, co-founder of Adzuna, said: "May reinforced the sense that the job market in the UK is gradually regaining its footing." He highlighted a positive shift, noting: "While overall vacancies dipped slightly, we've now seen three straight months of annual vacancy growth – a clear shift after more than a year of decline." Mr Hunter also pointed to rising remuneration. 'Advertised salaries continue to climb, too, with average pay up nearly 9 per cent compared to last year, comfortably outpacing inflation,' he said. Software developers, sales assistants, cleaners, and project managers are all in high demand (Getty Images) Despite the overall positive outlook, Mr Hunter expressed a watchful concern for specific sectors. "While certain sectors remain in strong demand and provide a backbone of stability, we will be keeping a close eye on the decline in roles for the previously steady healthcare and nursing sector, and how that may play out over the coming months." The research also found that the average time to fill a job stands at approximately 35 days, with a ratio of two jobseekers for every available vacancy. Business activity picks up Activity across the UK's private sector has grown in June as some easing of US tariff policy helped lift business sentiment, data from a separate survey shows. The volume of new business returned to growth in June, ending a six-month period of contraction, the survey found. This was primarily driven by the service sector – the largest part of the UK's economy, spanning industries including hospitality, entertainment and culture, finance and real estate. A further slight expansion of activity in the sector was contrasted by another drop in production for manufacturers, led by a decline in overseas export orders. Concerns over the impact of Donald Trump's tariffs on US imports were partly behind the slump, despite some businesses saying confidence had improved as a result of the president striking new trade deals with countries including the UK.
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Senate megabill would explode debt and kick 11.8 million off Medicaid: ‘Our fiscal house is basically on fire'
New estimates from the Congressional Budget Office have revealed that Senate Republicans' version of Donald Trump's spending package would lead to more Americans losing health coverage than the version of the president's flagship legislation that passed the House last month. The legislation would push 11.8 million Americans off insurance by 2034, according to the report from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. Over the same period, federal spending on Medicaid, Medicare and Obamacare would be cut by $1.1 trillion. More than $1 trillion of the cuts would be made to Medicaid. The estimates confirm the concerns of some Republicans who are worried about cuts to Medicaid, which amount to the steepest cuts to the federal healthcare program in history. Some Republicans, worried about the deficit and national debt, have pressed for further cuts, while others fear what deep cuts mean for their constituents. The estimates also clash with Trump's promise not to cut Medicaid apart from removing what he describes as fraud and waste. Washington Democratic Senator Patty Murray slammed the bill in a speech on the Senate floor on Sunday,. 'If you think you can look the American people in the face and tell them we have to bring down the debt after passing what might be the most expensive bill in history, if you think you can do that and then be taken seriously, you know what, if you believe that, maybe you are foolish enough to think that zero and a trillion are the same,' she said. 'I can tell you right now, if this happens, we will all laugh you out of the room because we have never seen anything like this, not in my time here in the Senate, not in my time on this planet,' she added. 'We are not going to let anyone forget that you're trashing the rules in order to pass this egregious bill.' Over a decade, the bill would add at least $3.3 trillion to the national debt, according to the CBO. The version passed by the House would have added $2.4 trillion. The public currently holds about $29 trillion in debt, with the CBO expecting the government to borrow a further $21 trillion over the next 10 years, leading to the assessment that the Republican legislation would worsen an already bad fiscal forecast. The $3.3 trillion estimate is also an undercount, as it doesn't include further borrowing costs, which would push the legislation's full addition to the debt closer to $4 trillion. 'Our fiscal house is basically on fire,' Democratic Senator Gary Peters said in remarks on the Senate floor on Sunday. 'But if our Republican colleagues jam through this bill, it's not going to pour water on that fire. It's going to pour gasoline on those flames.' Trump's 2017 tax cuts are also driving the costs. The president's 2017 tax cuts are set to expire this year, but Republicans want to extend them — amounting to another $3.8 trillion hit to the budget. Republicans have also added further tax cuts, including Trump's pledge not to tax tips and overtime, resulting in an overall Senate tax cut of about $4.5 trillion. Steep cuts to Medicaid and other parts of the social safety net are intended to offset those tax reductions. 'The national debt is at an all-time high, $36.2 trillion. Just in the last 16 years, it has tripled,' Peters noted in his remarks. 'Our annual deficits frequently exceed $1.5 trillion, including a record $3.1 trillion deficit in fiscal year 2020,' he said. 'Within the next decade, our country will spend more on servicing the debt than we do on any other federal account outside of Social Security,' Peters added.
The Guardian
an hour ago
- The Guardian
Senate opens debate on Trump's bill estimated to add $3.3tn to US debt
The US Senate opened debate on Donald Trump's sprawling domestic policy legislation on Sunday, the package of tax cuts, increased spending on immigration enforcement, and drastic reductions in funding for healthcare and nutrition assistance that the president calls his 'big beautiful bill'. Formal debate on the measure began after Democrats forced Senate clerks to read the entire 940-page bill aloud, to underscore their argument that the public is largely unaware of what the package Trump branded 'beautiful' actually contains, and to delay a final vote until Monday. After the debate, amendments could be brought up for consideration in a marathon session colloquially known as a vote-a-rama. The changes made to the bill in the Senate would pile trillions on to the nation's debt load while resulting in even steeper losses in healthcare coverage, the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office said in a new analysis, adding to the challenges for Republicans as they try to muscle the bill to passage. The CBO estimates the Senate bill would increase the deficit by nearly $3.3tn from 2025 to 2034, a nearly $1tn increase over the House-passed bill, which CBO has projected would add $2.4tn to the debt over a decade. The analysis also found that 11.8 million more Americans would become uninsured by 2034 if the bill became law, an increase over the scoring for the House-passed version of the bill, which predicts 10.9 million more people would be without health coverage. The stark numbers are yet another obstacle for Republican leaders as they labor to pass Trump's bill by his self-imposed 4 July deadline. After the new cost of the bill was released, Trump used his social media platform, Truth Social, to cajole and threaten lawmakers from his own party. In a Sunday evening post, the president urged Republicans concerned about adding to the debt not to 'go too crazy', and reminded them that elected officials who cross him tend not to stay in office long. 'REMEMBER, you still have to get reelected', the president wrote. Wavering Republicans probably understood Trump's comment loud and clear, coming just hours after one of their number, Thom Tillis, a North Carolina senator, voted against advancing the bill on Saturday and was subjected to a torrent of threats and attacks from the president. Tillis announced on Sunday that he would not stand for re-election in the 2026 midterms. Even before the CBO's estimate, Republicans were at odds over the contours of the legislation, with some resisting the cost-saving proposals to reduce spending on Medicaid and food aid programs, even as other Republicans say those proposals don't go far enough. Republicans are slashing the programs as a way to help cover the cost of extending some $3.8tn in Trump tax breaks put in place during his first term. The push-pull was on vivid display on Saturday night as a routine procedural vote to take up the legislation in the Senate was held open for hours as Vice-President JD Vance and Republican leaders met with several holdouts. The bill ultimately advanced in a 51-49 vote, but the path ahead is fraught, with voting on amendments still to come. Still, many Republicans are disputing the CBO estimates and the reliability of the office's work. To hoist the bill to passage, they are using a different budget baseline that assumes the Trump tax cuts expiring in December have already been extended, essentially making them cost-free in the budget. The CBO on Saturday released a separate analysis of the GOP's preferred approach that found the Senate bill would reduce deficits by about $500bn. Democrats and economists decry the GOP's approach as 'magic math' that obscures the true costs of the GOP tax breaks. In addition, Democrats note that under the traditional scoring system, the Republican bill would violate the Senate's Byrd Rule that forbids the legislation from increasing deficits after 10 years. In a Sunday letter to Jeff Merkley, an Oregon senator and the top Democrat on the Senate budget committee, CBO director Phillip Swagel said the office estimates that the finance committee's portion of the bill, also known as Title VII, 'increases the deficits in years after 2034' under traditional scoring.
