US Intelligence Intercepts Iran Communique Regarding Sleeper Cells

U.S. intelligence agencies are reviewing an encrypted communication believed to have originated inside Iran that may have been intended for covert operatives abroad, according to an alert reported by ABC News.

The message was described by officials as a possible “operational trigger” directed at what analysts refer to as sleeper assets — individuals embedded in foreign countries who maintain low profiles until receiving instructions.

The transmission was detected shortly after the reported killing of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in a joint U.S.-Israeli airstrike in Tehran on Feb. 28. Iranian authorities later elevated his son, Mojtaba Khamenei, to the position of supreme leader.

According to the intelligence alert, the encrypted signal was transmitted across multiple countries and flagged by U.S. monitoring systems. Analysts assessed that the communication was likely of Iranian origin and may have been intended for clandestine recipients who could decode the message using predetermined passcodes.

Officials said the transmission showed characteristics consistent with “international rebroadcast characteristics,” which can be used to distribute coded instructions over long distances without relying on internet-based communications.

The alert indicated that the transmissions resemble methods historically used to convey instructions to “covert operatives or sleeper assets” without relying on internet communications.

The signals could “be intended to activate or provide instructions to prepositioned sleeper assets operating outside the originating country,” the alert said, according to ABC News.

Concerns among security officials have increased regarding the potential presence of Iranian sleeper cells within the United States, especially as the conflict enters its second week.

Last year, the Daily Mail reported on what it termed a “passport pipeline” involving operatives linked to Iran traveling through Venezuela before reaching Western countries. This pathway could allow networks to establish a foothold close to the U.S.