Exclusive: Intelligence report warned of Iran's 'persistent threat' to US as White House downplayed the risk
Source: Reuters
April 7, 2026 8:44 PM EDT Updated 8 hours ago
WASHINGTON, April 7 (Reuters) - The FBI warned U.S. state and local law enforcement of an elevated threat posed by Iran's government to targets in the United States last month even as the White House sought to downplay the likelihood of an attack, a law enforcement intelligence report reviewed by Reuters shows.
In the March 20 report, the FBI and other federal intelligence agencies cautioned that Iranian government "poses a persistent threat" to U.S. military and government personnel and buildings, Jewish and Israeli institutions, and Iranian dissidents in the U.S. Despite those warnings, the FBI and National Counterterrorism Center had not identified broad threats to the American public, the report said. President Donald Trump publicly has minimized the possibility of Iranian attacks on American soil in response to other intelligence assessments in recent months.
When asked outside the White House on March 11 whether he was worried about Iran perpetrating an attack in the U.S., Trump said, "No, I'm not." The Republican president escalated his rhetoric around the conflict this week, saying on Tuesday that "a whole civilization will die tonight" if Iran did not meet his demands but later delaying the threatened assault by two weeks. The March 20 report - titled "Public Safety Awareness Report" - was issued weeks after Reuters and other news outlets reported that the White House blocked the release of a similarly described intelligence product.
At the time, the White House said it was ensuring any information was properly vetted before release. “The entire Trump administration is working together to protect the homeland and the American people – as they always do," White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said in a statement. "Media outlets should not attempt to irresponsibly sow fear by reporting on individual law enforcement memorandums that may lack broader context. The FBI and NCTC did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Read more: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/intelligence-report-warned-irans-persistent-threat-us-white-house-downplayed-2026-04-08/
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