Iran may be activating sleeper cells outside the country, alert says

U.S. intelligence has intercepted encrypted communications believed to have originated in Iran that may serve as an operational trigger for sleeper assets positioned outside the country.

A federal government alert sent to law enforcement agencies states the transmissions were detected shortly after the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a U.S.-Israeli attack on February 28.

Preliminary signals analysis identified a message “likely of Iranian origin” relayed across multiple countries. The encoded transmission was directed at clandestine recipients holding the encryption key.

Such communications are typically used to issue instructions to covert operatives or sleeper assets without using the internet or cellular networks.

The alert warns that the messages could be intended to activate or provide orders to prepositioned sleeper assets operating abroad.

While no specific threat has been tied to a particular location, law enforcement agencies have been directed to increase monitoring of suspicious radio-frequency activity.

This interception provides direct evidence that Iran maintains a global network of sleeper cells ready for immediate activation in retaliation for Khamenei’s killing.