Abbott warns Iranian ‘sleeper cells’ inside US must be taken ‘seriously’
Gov. Greg Abbott, R-Texas, joins ‘Mornings with Maria’ to address the deadly Austin shooting, warn of potential sleeper cells and sound the alarm about border-related security threats.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has warned that Iranian “sleeper cells” operating inside the United States pose a serious threat following Operation Epic Fury, saying the threat should be taken “seriously” as the Lone Star State ramps up security efforts.
“You see when a war like this breaks out, when the United States may face a country like Iran, that you can have a sleeper. [cells] or lone wolves playing,” Abbott told Mornings with Maria on Monday.
“That’s why we’ve increased the number of Texas Department of Public Safety officers out on the streets and patrolling critical areas and why I’ve sent the Texas National Guard to do the same,” he said.
FBI RAISES HIGH VIGILANCE COUNTERTERROR GROUPS AMONG IRAN IRANIANS
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott speaks during a news conference with US Secretary of Agriculture Brooke Rollins at the Texas Capitol on Aug. 15, 2025. (Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman via Getty Images/Getty Images)
Tensions flared following a deadly shooting incident in Austin early Sunday morning, when suspect Ndiaga Diagne, an American citizen born in Senegal, opened fire near a bar in the city, killing two and wounding 14.
Diagne was wearing a sweater that read “PROPERTY OF ALLAH” during the attack.
According to media reports, law enforcement officials found the flag of the Islamic Republic of Iran and portraits of its leaders in his home.
IRAN REGIME ‘WILL CONTINUE,’ PRINCE REZA PAHLAVI SAYS AS ECONOMIC CRISIS IS DIFFICULT
A protester holding a portrait of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei reacts outside City Hall during a demonstration against US and Israeli attacks on several cities across Iran on February 28, 2026, in Los Angeles, Calif. (Qian Weizhong/VCG/Getty Images/Getty Images)
“There are other details that we will release about the gunman and his association with terrorism that will clarify [that] “This was a lone wolf game where this shooter intended to wreak havoc here in Texas, here in the United States, because of his ties to and sympathies with Iran,” Abbott said.
Abbott and other Republicans have long warned of the consequences of open borders under a Biden administration. He echoed those warnings during an appearance on FOX Business, telling Maria Bartiromo that the shooting raises more questions.
GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE
President Donald Trump addresses the American people following the US and Israeli strikes against Iran.
“It is doubtful that many people like these who are here in the United States, who come from other countries,” he said.
“The United States should do a much better job of trying to vet and…progressively vet those who come into our country who might be dangerous.”
Asra Q. Nomani of Fox News Digital contributed to this report.
