The United States designated Iran a “State Sponsor of Terrorism” in 1984 and since then, Iran has actively engaged in or directed an array of violent and deadly acts

SUMMARY OF TERRORISM THREAT TO THE U.S. HOMELAND DURATION
This Bulletin will
expire on or before
January 18, 2020
at 1:00 PM EST
• The United States designated Iran a “State Sponsor of Terrorism” in 1984 and since then,
Iran has actively engaged in or directed an array of violent and deadly acts against the
United States and its citizens globally. The United States designated Iran’s Islamic
Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) a Foreign Terrorist Organization on April 15, 2019 for
its direct involvement in terrorist plotting.

On January 2, 2020, the United States carried out a lethal strike in Iraq killing Iranian
IRGC-Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani while Soleimani was in Iraq

Iranian leadership and several affiliated violent extremist organizations publicly stated
they intend to retaliate against the United States

At this time we have no information indicating a specific, credible threat to the Homeland.
Iran and its partners, such as Hizballah, have demonstrated the intent and capability to
conduct operations in the United States

Previous homeland-based plots have included, among other things, scouting and
planning against infrastructure targets and cyber enabled attacks against a range of U.S.-
based targets

Iran maintains a robust cyber program and can execute cyber attacks against the United
States. Iran is capable, at a minimum, of carrying out attacks with temporary disruptive
effects against critical infrastructure in the United States.

Iran likely views terrorist activities as an option to deter or retaliate against its perceived
adversaries. In many instances, Iran has targeted United States interests through its
partners such as Hizballah.

• Homegrown Violent Extremists could capitalize on the heightened tensions to launch
individual attacks.

• An attack in the homeland may come with little or no warning

The Department of Homeland Security is working closely with our federal, state, local,
and private sector partners to detect and defend against threats to the Homeland, and
will enhance security measures as necessary