As Iran War Rages, U.S. Sees Rising Terror Plots and Iran‑Linked Cyberattack at Home

The Christian Science Monitor reports that since U.S. attacks on Iran began in late February, federal agencies have quietly tightened security amid a growing mix of domestic and Iran‑linked threats, even as the government’s main public warning system stays silent. Installations such as Hunter Army Airfield in Savannah have suspended “trusted traveler” gate access, several military bases around the country have raised force protection levels after drone sightings over Fort McNair in Washington, D.C., and officials are probing a Texas bar shooting and an Iran‑sponsored cyberattack on a Michigan medical‑equipment company that are said to be tied to the Middle East conflict. FBI data show reported foiled terror plots more than doubled from 299 in 2020 to 640 in 2025, and Trump‑era officials told Congress last week that lone‑offender threats and Iranian cyber operations are mounting despite administration claims that the country is safer. Yet the National Terrorism Advisory System, the formal channel for public alerts, has not issued a bulletin since a September 2025 warning tied to an earlier U.S. strike on an Iranian nuclear site expired, a gap former counterterrorism officials call "mystifying." The story underscores a widening disconnect between the classified threat environment and what Americans are officially told, raising questions about whether withholding NTAS alerts is a prudent effort to avoid panic or an omission that leaves the public unprepared.