Undercover terror cells operating on US soil could cripple the nation's infrastructure, potentially sending it "back to the Stone Age," if Donald Trump orders a nuclear strike on Iran, a former FBI agent has warned. The warning follows reports that Trump has weighed up a potential attack on Iran's heavily fortified underground nuclear sites.
Iranian state TV has broadcast drill alerts to residents, warning: "If the US targets Mount Kalang near the Natanz facility with a nuclear bomb, the danger could reach the surrounding areas."
Retaliation on US soil
Chris Swecker, a former FBI agent with 24 years at the bureau, told the Daily Mail that retaliatory strikes could see sleeper agents sabotage vital infrastructure at home. "I think the most realistic retaliation is that the many Hezbollah cells that are here in the United States already actually take matters into their own hands. They have that capability and they can conduct terrorist attacks here," he said.
Swecker, who has 45 years in law enforcement, said retaliation could target power grids, energy plants, or the global economy through digital warfare.
Cyber and physical threats
"We face a cyber threat, we face the physical threat. And if the financial system were to be compromised or shut down, it wouldn't take a nuclear missile, it could be done via cyber means," Swecker said. "Or they cut an underground cable that runs under the ocean. We'd be back in the Stone Age for a while."
He added that sabotaging essential services would spark mass panic: "You could put one city and render it back in the Stone Age by taking out the power grid or financial system. That would create huge panic in this country."
White House considering tactical nuclear option
Former CIA operative John Kiriakou claimed Trump's team is actively exploring a tactical nuclear strike. "I've heard the same thing from my own contacts at the White House, that the President is considering the use of a tactical nuclear weapon against Pickaxe Mountain so it will penetrate to the point that it will destroy everything that's underground," Kiriakou said on Piers Morgan Uncensored.
While Iran does not have the missile range to hit the American mainland directly, Swecker cautioned that Western targets abroad and the home front remain at risk. "We can't discount the possibility that someone pushes the button," he said. "That's one of the reasons that we couldn't have Iran with full nuclear capabilities, because they're not responsible, they're religious fanatics, and their goal is to basically subjugate Western civilization, eliminate Western civilisation."
Meanwhile, Iranian officials in Isfahan have told locals to hide in windowless basements, scrub off radioactive fallout, and stay bunkered down for at least 24 hours if bombs drop. Swecker dismissed Tehran's survival broadcasts as psychological warfare, saying: "This is just part and parcel of how they subjugate and manipulate their population. They want to put fear into them."
