The threat of offensive activity against the defense- and organic-industrial bases went up when the decision was made to attack Iranian leadership and military targets. With recent reporting suggesting that these attacks may go on for several weeks, concerns about the US’s ability to sustain such action take on more significance.
If you’re one of the companies that makes the munitions that are being dropped on Iran, or components for the planes and ships that are delivering those munitions, you’re a target.
It is important to keep in mind that Iran is not merely a regional power. It has no problem fielding operatives to deliver kinetic effects worldwide:
- In early 2021, a bomb exploded near the Israeli embassy in New Delhi, India. Indian investigators found a letter at the scene that explicitly called the blast a “preview.” The investigation eventually pointed directly to the “Quds Force,” which is the branch of the Iranian military specifically designed to carry out attacks and sabotage in foreign countries. (Source: The Times of India)
- In 2022, a man was arrested outside the Brooklyn home of an American journalist who has been a vocal critic of the Iranian government. The man was caught by police with a loaded AK-47 assault rifle and ammunition in his car. U.S. prosecutors linked this “murder-for-hire” plot to an Eastern European criminal group working on behalf of Iranian operatives. (U.S. Department of Justice)
- In March 2024, a popular TV host was attacked by three men outside his home in London. British counter-terrorism police later linked the attack to the Iranian government. (Source: Sky News)
- In late 2022, an operative working for Iran threw a firebomb at a building next to a synagogue in the city of Bochum, Germany. A German court ruled in 2024 that the plan was masterminded by “Iranian state authorities.” (Source: Iran International)
We like to think that our shops and plants, far away from a combat zone in the middle east, are immune to this sort of thing. But it is important to note that getting trained and motivated individuals into the US isn’t the challenge we might think it is (or at least should be):
- In June 2025, federal agents arrested an Iranian national who had originally been caught by the U.S. Border Patrol in 2023 while trying to cross into the country through the southern border. Investigators later discovered he was a former member of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)—an Iranian military group the U.S. calls a terrorist organization. (Source: U.S. Department of Homeland Security)
- Security reports from early 2025 highlighted a massive spike in the number of “Special Interest Aliens” from Iran being caught at the southern border. In just the last few years, over 1,500 Iranian nationals have been apprehended by the Border Patrol while trying to illegally cross the U.S.-Mexico border. (Source: U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee)
- In early 2025, ICE arrested 11 Iranian nationals across several states. Several of these individuals were found to have hidden military backgrounds, including one man who had served as a sniper in the Iranian army. U.S. Authorities carried out these arrests because they were concerned these individuals could be used as “sleeper cells” to carry out attacks in the U.S. (Source: Homeland Security Today)
As the New Year’s Day truck attack in New Orleans, the Time Square machete assault, the Boulder flamethrower attack show, it takes very little effort to cause serious damage and loss of life. No one expects you to be able to field a comprehensive force protection capability for your company and employees, but you can and should maintain a higher level of vigilance against suspicious activity and anomalous behavior. Pay attention to the physical security of your buildings, make sure visitors are authorized and their movements limited. Make a note of the number for your closest FBI field office and don’t be afraid to report your concerns.
