Iranian proxy militia groups claim to have active cells of operatives stationed in Washington, DC, as well as other U.S. cities, according to messages in online forums used by these groups.

These militias have been claiming to have the capability to strike American troops on their own bases. And they posted a picture of caskets with American flags draped on them. 

Is there truth in what these militias are spouting or is it just typical Iranian bluster? There may indeed be some truth to these statements. A former government official, who asked not to be identified, said that recently 11 Iranians were detained at the U.S. border with Mexico, trying to enter the U.S. illegally. They all had large sums of cash and travelers’ checks and were supposedly en route to Washington, DC.

The Kawtheryoon Electronic Team, a Telegram network used by Iranian militia groups, posted recently that “The axis of resistance today is stronger than before. Resistance cells are rooted even in America and its capital,” according to the Middle East Media Research Institute, which tracks radical groups.

According to a post in the Epoch Times, which posted more of the messages, the militias called on the Americans to get out of the Middle East. They also threatened Israel calling it the “Zionist enemy” and saying “[We] will summarize for you in words only the horror of the south, which is stronger than before, and we have thousands of men like Imad Mughniyeh.” 

Referencing the January 2020 drone strike that killed the Iranian Quds Forces commander and the commander of the PMF militias, the militias wrote, “Do not think that you and the Americans, by killing Qassem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, will survive the torment of the resistance.” The post added, “We lie in wait for you evil (sic) and the next thing is worse.”

The Biden administration has made it clear that it wants to restart diplomatic negotiations with the Iranians about the JCOPA, the nuclear deal that the Obama administration had signed with Tehran in 2015. President Biden, acting in what he thought was good faith, cut offensive aid to the Saudi-led coalition that fights the Iranian-led Houthi rebels in Yemen. He also rescinded the terrorist designation for the group and urged them to cease the violence in the country. 

The Houthis and their Iranian masters in Tehran read Biden’s action as weak and disjointed. They responded with an offensive against the oil-rich Marib province in Yemen while launching several airstrikes at Saudi Arabia. 

The Iranians continue to push aggressively in Syria and Iraq and Iranian-led militias hit U.S. bases and the American Embassy in the Green Zone of Baghdad. One U.S. contractor was killed and another died of a heart attack after the missile attack. 

Biden ordered a limited airstrike on an Iranian proxy militia at a border crossing between Iraq and Syria. But he called off a second one at the last minute when women and children appeared in the target area. The president attempted to sound forceful with Tehran when he stated that “Iran cannot act with impunity.” When asked by reporters what the message to Iran was, Biden warned Tehran to “be careful.” But Iranian militias then attacked an Israeli-owned ship in the Gulf. 

And now they are threatening action on U.S. soil.

These Iranian aggressive moves make it highly doubtful that Iran will get its wish for President Biden to ease economic sanctions against the country.