Iran at a ‘decision point’ amid sleeper cell concerns, NATO ambassador says

U.S. Ambassador to NATO Matt Whitaker argued Iran is at a “decision point” following its war with Israel and U.S. airstrikes on its nuclear program — all while U.S. officials remain on high alert for sleeper cell concerns. 

Whitaker urged Iran to seek peace during “Sunday Morning Futures,” while noting that the U.S. is still dealing with the implications of an open border – and the national security implications of it – from the Biden administration. 

“It’s obviously a very dangerous world, Jason,” Whitaker told Fox News’ Jason Chaffetz on Sunday. “I think… President Trump, as a peacemaker, has made it safer, but at the same time, we’re still dealing with a lot of the consequences of four years of Joe Biden, including a porous border, where not only did we have, as Tom Homan points out, over 1,200 Iranian nationals that came into our country that we know of, but you had over a million known gotaways that we have no idea who they are, where they went, and that’s a real challenge.”

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“But, at the same time, you know, President Trump has been very clear about his policy towards Iran, that they cannot have a nuclear weapon,” he added. “And they’re at a decision point. They should move forward and seek peace.”

Over 1,500 Iranian nationals who illegally entered the U.S. at the southern border were arrested during the Biden administration, and nearly 50% of them were released back into the country, according to a senior U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) source last month. 

More specifically, Border Patrol agents arrested 1,504 Iranian nationals from fiscal year 2021 through fiscal year 2024. Of the 1,504 individuals who were arrested, 729 were released into the United States. 

Meanwhile, just hours after Trump addressed the nation about U.S. military strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, DHS released a new memo sounding the alarm on a “heightened threat environment in the United States.” 

The bulletin from the National Terrorism Advisory System did not cite any specific threats but comes as Iranian officials have threatened retaliation. 

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“It is our duty to keep the nation safe and informed, especially during times of conflict,” the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “The ongoing Israel-Iran conflict brings the possibility of increased threat to the homeland in the form of possible cyberattacks, acts of violence, and antisemitic hate crimes.”

Whitaker argued the growing threat of possible Iranian sleeper cell activity in the United States puts tremendous pressure on law enforcement to be right “100 percent of the time.”

“Iran should come to the table and should sue for peace, and should make a peace deal with the United States, with Israel, and just say, ‘No more. We want to be in the world where people seek prosperity and a bright future for their citizens,'” he said. 

“So, Jason… right now, this puts a lot of pressure on our law enforcement, puts a lot of pressure on… DOJ and the FBI to be right 100 percent of the time and seek out these sleeper cells and to make sure that they can’t activate,” he added. 

Fox News’ Greg Wehner, Bill Melugin, Julia Bonavita, Danielle Wallace and Ashley Papa contributed to this report.