Iran has reportedly threatened to attack Fort McNair in Washington, DC, as well as the Deputy Army Chief of Staff, according to a report by The Associated Press published on Sunday.
Citing two unidentified senior US intelligence officials, the AP reports that communications intercepted by the National Security Agency (NSA) showed that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) was discussing carrying out a ‘USS Cole-like attack’ on Fort McNair in January, referring to the 2000 suicide attack on the US Navy’s guided missile destroyer at the port of Aden in Yemen, which killed 17 sailors.
IRGC communications also revealed threats to kill General Joseph M. Martin, reports the AP, who lives in Fort McNair.
According to the AP, the threats lie behind the military’s recent push for increased security around Fort McNair, including adding a 250 to 150-foot buffer zone of the Washington Channel. Leaders in the country’s capital have spoken out against the proposed changes, the news outlet notes, because they would reduce access to the waterway that runs parallel to the Potomac River.
The Hill has reached out to the Pentagon, the NSA and the Defense Intelligence Agency for comment and confirmation.
DC Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton
Eleanor Holmes Norton DC Deputy Blows Capitol Fencing: ‘No Reason’ To Keep People Away DC Residents Protest Capitol Screens With Bubbles, Picnics Biden To Meet Bipartisan Lawmakers On Infrastructure MORE (D), the district’s only representative in Congress, told the AP that other than a virtual meeting in January, the Pentagon has provided no further information that would justify the requested security measure.
“I have asked the Department of Defense to repeal the rule because I have seen no evidence of a credible threat that would support the proposed restriction,” Norton said. “They have tried to get their way, but their proposal is more limited than it needs to be.”
‘I have security clearance. And they haven’t shown me any secret evidence yet, ”she added.