FBI Director Christopher Wray will inform lawmakers that the bureau’s “most immediate concern” is that individuals or small groups inspired by events in the Middle East will carry out attacks against the U.S. homeland.
While there was a “heightened risk of violence in the United States before Oct. 7,” that threat has grown with a “gallery of foreign terrorist organizations call for attacks against Americans and our allies,” Wray will say in his opening remarks before the House Appropriations Committee on Thursday afternoon.
“Given those calls for action, our most immediate concern has been that individuals or small groups will draw twisted inspiration from the events in the Middle East to carry out attacks here at home,” Wray’s opening remarks, which were obtained by the Washington Examiner ahead of the hearing, say.
The director will also warn lawmakers that the FBI is “increasingly” concerned about the possibility a terrorist group could carry out a “coordinated attack here in the homeland.” He likened the concern to last month’s ISIS-K terrorist attack on the Moscow concert hall, which left around 150 people dead.
Wray is appearing in front of the committee to discuss the bureau’s fiscal 2025 budget request.
“This is by no means a time to let up or dial back,” he will say in reference to their funding. “This is a time when we need your support the most — we need all the tools, all the people, and all the resources required to tackle these threats and to keep Americans safe.”
In addition to the Moscow bombing, ISIS-K took responsibility for a bombing earlier this year in Iran near the burial site of slain military commander Qassem Soleimani. In both instances, the U.S. had intelligence ahead of time about a possible attack and they warned Tehran and Moscow, but neither country acted in time to stop the attack.
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“We should believe them when they say” they want to attack the United States, retired Gen. Frank McKenzie, the former leader of U.S. Central Command, said a couple of weeks ago. “They’re going to try to do it.”
McKenzie’s successor, Gen. Michael Kurilla, told lawmakers on the Senate Armed Services Committee in early March that ISIS-K could carry out a terrorist attack in Eurasia or Europe within six months but did not specify a time frame for when they might have the capability to attack the U.S. homeland.