NEW YORK (1010 WINS) – The NYPD's deputy commissioner of counterterrorism says Iranians have already been caught “carrying out suspicious surveillance activities at city landmarks and in the subways.”
In an op-ed in the Daily News, John Miller says that the FBI-NYPD Joint Terrorism Task force has previously arrested several Hezbollah sleeper agents in the city, including Ali Kourani and Samer El-Debek. They were arrested over the past couple years after “long-term investigations” by authorities.
Cities across the U.S. are ramping up security as a result of the deadly strike after Iran vowed retaliation. Cyber attacks are among the threats feared by officials.
Miller said U.S. intelligence officials and the NYPD are investigating when and where Iran may retaliate.
“We already know that Soleimani directed the most experienced terrorist organization under his control to study New York City closely for the day the Iranian government decided conditions were right to strike on U.S. soil,” Miller wrote.
He went on to write: “Whether it is Iran, Hezbollah, Al Qaida or ISIS, the terrorists will continue to focus on New York as the media capital of the world as well as America’s safest big city. We will continue to need the help of our citizens as our best spotters for what looks suspicious in their own daily environments.”
Mayor de Blasio says the city is on heightened alert after Soleimani’s death and that the NYPD had deployed additional armed officers to major sites across the city. The Daily News also reports that there may be more bag checks in the subway and more armed police at popular sites.
Still, authorities say there is no credible threat against the city.
“We were reached out to very early on, through the Joint Terrorism Task Force, to advise us of the strike and the potential targets," Miller said. “We have thought of this scenario in advance, and multiple different versions of it."