US President Donald Trump said Americans would not be wrong to fear retaliatory attacks on US soil as the war with Iran continues, according to remarks made in an interview with Time magazine.
When asked whether people in the United States should worry about domestic attacks linked to the conflict, Trump told Time, “I guess.”
“But I think they’re worried about that all the time,” Trump added. “We think about it all the time. We plan for it. But yeah, you know, we expect some things. Like I said, some people will die. When you go to war, some people will die.”
Comments come amid ongoing US–Iran conflict
Trump’s remarks came as the war with Iran, triggered by joint US–Israeli strikes on Tehran, continued to evolve with no defined timeline for conclusion.
In the same interview with Time, the US president said the conflict does not have a fixed end date.
“I have no time limits on anything,” Trump said. “I want to get it done.”
Trump also said that ending the conflict would involve Iran appointing a new leader following the killing of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in a joint US–Israeli strike on February 28.
“One of the things I’m going to be asking for is the ability to work with them on choosing a new leader,” Trump told Time. “I’m not going through this to end up with another Khamenei. I want to be involved in the selection. They can select, but we have to make sure it’s somebody that’s reasonable to the United States.”
Intelligence assessment warns of possible targeted retaliation
A US intelligence assessment reviewed by Reuters warned that Iran and allied groups could attempt retaliatory actions against the United States following Khamenei’s killing.
The assessment, prepared by the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Intelligence and Analysis, said a large-scale physical assault inside the United States is considered unlikely but that threats remain.
It stated that “a large-scale physical attack is unlikely, [but] Iran and its proxies probably pose a persistent threat of targeted attacks in the Homeland.”
The report added that retaliation could take the form of targeted operations or cyber activity, including potential actions by Iran-aligned “hacktivists” such as website defacements or distributed denial-of-service attacks against US networks.
US officials offer differing public assessments
Other members of the US administration have sought to reassure Americans that domestic security risks remain under control.
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said during a press briefing at US Central Command in Florida that the administration had no concerns about the protection of the homeland.
“I don't have any concerns about whether or not the homeland will be covered down on,” Hegseth said.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem also said US authorities are monitoring potential threats.
“I am in direct coordination with our federal intelligence and law enforcement partners as we continue to closely monitor and thwart any potential threats to the homeland,” Noem told Reuters.
Conflict has already caused casualties abroad
The conflict has already led to American casualties outside the United States.
Six Americans were killed when an unmanned aircraft struck a US facility in Kuwait during the fighting. However, no attacks linked to the conflict have so far taken place inside the United States.
Attacks and plots by foreign adversaries and extremist groups within the United States were a recurring feature during the War on Terror in the early 2000s.
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