America’s sleeper agent nightmare comes true as hidden invasion emerges: Ex-FBI boss

A threat already lurking inside America could bring devastation to millions, a former FBI official has warned.

Chris Swecker, who spent 24 years with the bureau, said Iran-backed Hezbollah cells already in the country have the capability to launch terror attacks on US soil.

The warning comes as federal prosecutors in New York announced terrorism charges against three alleged Iran-backed operatives in a case that includes a plot to bomb a Manhattan synagogue.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has also moved to a US military base following Iranian threats against his life, Reuters reported, citing two people familiar with the matter.

President Donald Trump has been holding urgent meetings with his national security team to decide whether the US will reopen its bombing campaign against Iran as peace talks drag on.

Swecker warned that a US nuclear strike could trigger retaliation targeting American nuclear power plants and other critical energy facilities.

‘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 told the Daily Mail.

Swecker said Americans must be prepared for potential retaliation if Washington launches what would be the first wartime nuclear strike since 1945.

The former FBI official, who has 45 years of law enforcement experience, also warned of possible state-sponsored cyberattacks targeting the US financial system or causing blackouts across major cities or entire regions.

‘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 explained.

‘Or they cut an underground cable that runs under the ocean. We’d be back in the Stone Age for a while.’

Swecker’s assessment of a potential global crisis came after the Pentagon, former FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino and several European nations all issued urgent warnings for the public to prepare for a doomsday scenario.

Swecker told the Daily Mail that North Korea, Russia and China, all allies of Iran, possessed the capability of launching nuclear attacks that are believed to be able to reach US soil.

However, the former assistant director of the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division said it was unlikely those nations would actively defend Iran using weapons of mass destruction.

‘I think the biggest threat is the terrorism threat, the threats against US targets overseas that are more accessible, because I think the president has indeed put [Iran] in a state where they have limited capabilities.’

The threat of state-sponsored cyber terrorism became a reality on October 31, when the FBI confirmed that North Korea had successfully stolen $6.3billion from cryptocurrency giant Binance.

‘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,’ Swecker explained.

‘An economic ripple effect, if you will, just because of the way I think a lot of people in the United States don’t believe that this sort of thing can happen.’

Swecker also warned that Americans living or traveling overseas would also become an immediate target in the wake of a US nuclear strike in Iran. 

‘[Iran] can’t reach our mainland with any nuclear capabilities right now, unless we’re dramatically wrong about what their capabilities are, but I don’t believe that they have the capability to reach US soil with a missile,’ he added.

The threat of nuclear escalation has reached an apocalyptic tipping point over the last month, as President Trump reportedly began reconsidering his stance on never using nuclear weapons in the conflict with Iran.

John Kiriakou, a member of the CIA from 1990 to 2004, claimed Trump was now seeking to ‘break’ the ‘final taboo’ around using nuclear weapons.

‘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 told Piers Morgan Uncensored.

Iran has openly discussed plans to build centrifuges to support its nuclear enrichment efforts at Pickaxe Mountain, known as Mount Kalang to the Iranians.

The complex is also estimated to be large enough to house an entire enrichment plant, leading Trump to declare that the US would not allow Iran to develop weapons-grade uranium for bomb-making.

Podcast host and former Fox News personality Tucker Carlson claimed on November 2 that a US nuclear strike was only ‘days away.’

Swecker told the Daily Mail that the decision to attack Iran has largely been based on their ‘fanatical’ government’s pursuit of a nuclear weapon. 

‘We can’t discount the possibility that someone pushes the button,’ Swecker warned.

‘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 civilization.’

Iranian state media began broadcasting public alerts around October 26, telling its citizens that populated areas may be struck by nuclear bombs or contaminated with deadly radiation from nearby fallout zones.

One Iranian video specifically warned: ‘If the US targets Mount Kalang near the Natanz facility with a nuclear bomb, the danger could reach the surrounding areas.’ 

The Iranian preparedness videos and safety advice were released by officials in the province of Isfahan, where Pickaxe Mountain is located.

The clips, ranging from two to eight minutes, explained what people should do in the event of a nuclear explosion or radioactive contamination, featuring images of both the US and Iran under nuclear attack.

Key recommendations included seeking shelter in a basement or central room away from windows, closing doors and windows and turning off ventilation systems that pull in outside air.

Iranians were told to stay inside for at least 24 hours after a potential nuclear bomb is dropped.

The videos also warned citizens not to look at the bright flash of the explosion, to protect themselves from radioactive dust by removing clothing they were wearing outside during the blast.

Swecker called the videos effective ‘propaganda’ by the Iranian government, which he said is trying to scare its own people and portray the West as evil bullies and predators.

‘This is just part and parcel of how they subjugate and manipulate their population. They want to put fear into them,’ Swecker explained.

However, the veteran agent said he was glad the Iranian regime is now concerned about the war going nuclear, claiming that respect and fear of the US is what has kept Iran from becoming a more capable global threat.

Swecker noted that if the pressure were eased, Iran could rebuild its capabilities quickly with the aid of its allies in Russia and China quietly supplying intelligence, money and weapons.