“The U.S. bears responsibility for all consequences of its rogue adventurism.” With these words, the United States has been warned by Iran that the killing of Qassem Soleimani, head of Iran’s elite Quds Force, will not go unanswered. 

The Trump administration claims that the attack was in retaliation to the attack on the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad on New Year’s Eve. 

Currently, the U.S. Military is on High Alert. The continental United States should also be placed on a state of heightened awareness due to the severity of the threat made by Iran. Police and local Emergency Services should also raise their awareness level.

The Iranian Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, stated in a message released on Friday that Iran will take “tough revenge on the criminal who killed Soleimani.” He also declared three days of public mourning in the country.

If Iran is going to strike back it will most likely do so after the days of mourning have passed.

The greatest threat to the U.S. homeland I feel could come from Lone Wolf attacks in public places. Individuals who have an ideological connection to Iran might just feel this is their chance to make a statement and become famous — or, more like, infamous. The Lone Wolf attacks could take the form of vehicular attacks such as the truck attack in Nice, France in 2016, or the attack by the jihadist who ran down pedestrians and cyclists on a Manhattan bike path, killing eight in October 2017.

A very popular form of Lone Wolf attacks these days seems to be knife attacks. Mainly because of the ease of getting a knife and the concealability of such a weapon. Great Britain has seen a sharp rise in the number of knife attacks: From the first of the year until September over half of the 110 homicides in London had been knife attacks.

The best advice for the public is to have increased situational awareness: Pay attention to your surroundings when you are out in public. Take those earbuds out of your ears when you are in an area with large amounts of people. Stay aware so that you can notice events happening around you. Trust your intuition: if something doesn’t look right to you avoid that area. If a person is acting strange keep your distance. A little common sense goes a long way these days.