President Trump gave several updates on the current military operations in Iran during a press conference on Monday evening. As the press conference concluded, Trump opened up the floor for questions and was asked by one reporter if Iran has activated any sleeper cells inside the United States. Trump responded by sharing that his administration is already on top of it. Watch Trump here: .@POTUS on the potential for Iranian sleeper cells: "We've been very much on top of it. One of the things we have to do is get the Democrats to stop the Democrat shutdown because, as you know, the apparatus that looks into that (@DHSgov), Schumer the Democrats have shut it down." pic.twitter.com/n8Z5T5ZoNM — Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) March 9, 2026 Backup here if needed: BNO reported more on Trump’s response: After being asked whether Iran had activated sleeper cells inside the United States, President Trump said U.S. officials know “a lot” about them but blamed the DHS shutdown for limiting the response. Speaking at the White House on Monday, Trump was asked whether Iran had activated any sleeper cells inside the United States. He responded by saying Iran had “been trying for a long time” and that the U.S. was “very much on top of it.” “We know a lot about them, but the shutdown doesn’t allow us to do what we have to do,” Trump added, after blaming Democrats for the DHS shutdown. Trump was asked the question after a report by ABC News reported that the U.S. intercepted an encrypted message from Iran that reportedly discussed sleeper cells being activated. NEW: The U.S. has intercepted encrypted communications believed to have originated in Iran that may serve as "an operational trigger" for "sleeper assets" outside the country, according to a federal government alert sent to law enforcement agencies. https://t.co/3LK66mTlJG — ABC News (@ABC) March 9, 2026 ABC News reported more on the intercepted encrypted messages: The U.S. has intercepted encrypted communications believed to have originated in Iran that may serve as “an operational trigger” for “sleeper assets” outside the country, according to a federal government alert sent to law enforcement agencies. The alert, reviewed by ABC News, cites “preliminary signals analysis” of a transmission “likely of Iranian origin” that was relayed across multiple countries shortly after the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Khamenei, the supreme leader of Iran, was killed in a U.S.-Israeli attack on Feb. 28. The intercepted transmission was encoded and appeared to be destined for “clandestine recipients” who possess the encryption key, the kind of message intended to impart instructions to “covert operatives or sleeper assets” without the use of the internet or cellular networks. It’s possible the transmissions could “be intended to activate or provide instructions to prepositioned sleeper assets operating outside the originating country,” the alert said. “While the exact contents of these transmissions cannot currently be determined, the sudden appearance of a new station with international rebroadcast characteristics warrants heightened situational awareness,” the alert said. While the alert is careful to say there is “no operational threat tied to a specific location,” it does instruct law enforcement agencies to increase their monitoring of suspicious radio-frequency activity. What’s your assessment?