Iran reportedly threatened to attack Fort McNair in Washington, DC, as well as the Army’s deputy chief of staff, according to an Associated Press report published on Sunday.
Citing two unidentified senior US intelligence officials, the AP reports that communications intercepted by the National Security Agency (NSA) showed that the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) discussed carrying out “USS Cole-style attacks” on Fort McNair in January, referencing the 2000 suicide attack against the United States Navy guided missile destroyer in the port of Aden, Yemen, which left 17 sailors dead.
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 Army’s recent pressure to increase security around Fort McNair, which would include the addition of a buffer zone 250 to 500 feet from the Washington Canal. Leaders in the country’s capital have spoken out against the proposed changes, notes the news service, as they would reduce access to the waterway, which runs parallel to the Potomac River.
The Hill contacted the Pentagon, the NSA and the Defense Intelligence Agency for comment and confirmation.
DC Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton
Eleanor Holmes NortonDC’s delegate detonates the Capitol fence: ‘There is no reason’ to keep people away. DC Residents Protest Bubble Capitol Fence, Biden Picnics to Meet with Two-Party Infrastructure Lawmakers MORE (D), the district’s only representative in Congress, told the AP that, in addition to a virtual meeting in January, the Pentagon did not provide any additional information to justify the requested security measure.
“I asked the Department of Defense to repeal the rule because I saw no evidence of a credible threat that supported the proposed restriction,” said Norton. “They have been trying to get what they want, but the proposal is more restrictive than necessary.”
“I have a security certificate. And they still haven’t shown me any confidential evidence, “she added.