Iran has made threats against Fort McNair, an Army base in the nation’s capital, and against the Army’s deputy chief of staff, said two senior US intelligence officials.
They said communications intercepted by the National Security Agency in January showed that Iran’s Revolutionary Guard discussed mounting “USS Cole attacks” on the base, referring to the October 2000 suicide attack in which a small boat stopped alongside the destroyer of the Navy in Yemen. port of Aden and exploded, killing 17 sailors.
Intelligence also revealed threats to kill General Joseph M. Martin and plans to infiltrate and guard the base, according to officials, who were not allowed to publicly discuss national security issues and spoke on condition of anonymity. The base, one of the oldest in the country, is Martin’s official residence.
The threats are one of the reasons why the Army has been pushing for more security around Fort McNair, which is next to Washington’s bustling, newly developed Waterfront district.
City leaders have struggled with the Army’s plan to add a buffer zone about 250 feet to 500 feet (75 to 150 meters) off the coast of the Washington Canal, which would limit access to up to half the width of the busy canal running parallel to the Potomac River.
The Pentagon, the National Security Council and the NSA did not respond or declined to comment when contacted by the Associated Press.
As District of Columbia officials battled increased security along the canal, the Army offered only vague information about threats to the base.
At a virtual meeting in January to discuss the proposed restrictions, Army Major General Omar Jones, commander of the Washington Military District, cited “credible and specific” threats against military leaders living at the base. The only specific security threat he offered was that of a swimmer who ended up at the base and was arrested.
Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, the district’s only representative in Congress, was skeptical. “When it comes to swimmers, I’m sure it must be rare. Did he know where he was? Maybe he was just swimming and found his way to his shore?” she said.
Jones admitted that the swimmer “was not a great example there, but our most recent example” of security breach.
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He said the Army increased patrols along the coast, erected more restricted area signs and placed cameras to monitor the Washington Canal.
Perplexed city officials and frustrated residents said the Army’s request for the buffer zone was an exaggeration by the government on public channels.
Discussions about the Fort McNair proposal began two years ago, but the recent intelligence gathered by the NSA has prompted Army officials to renew their request for restrictions.
The intercepted conversation was between members of the Quds Force of Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and focused on possible military options to avenge the death of former Quds leader, General Qassem Soleimani, in Baghdad in January 2020, the two intelligence officials said.
They said Tehran’s military commanders were dissatisfied with their counterattacks so far, specifically the results of the ballistic missile attack on Ain al-Asad airbase in Iraq in the days after Soleimani’s death. No US military personnel were killed in that attack, but dozens suffered concussions.
Norton told the AP that in the two months since the January meeting, the Pentagon has not provided it with any additional information that would justify restrictions around Fort McNair.
“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 are trying to get what they want, but the proposal is more restrictive than necessary.”
She added: “I have a security certificate. And they still haven’t shown me any confidential evidence” to justify the proposal. Norton pointed out that the Washington Navy Yard and the Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling, which also have access to district waters, do not have restricted areas along their coasts and did not request them.
The proposed changes, described in a notice from the Federal Register, would prohibit both people and vessels from “anchoring, mooring or wandering” within the restricted area without permission.
The notice specifies the need for security around the Navy Helicopter Squadron, which carries American presidents, and the quarters of general officers and staff located by the sea. The southern tip of Fort McNair is home to National War College, where mid-level and high-ranking officers for admiral or general study national security strategy.
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The Washington Channel is home to one of the city’s biggest urban renewal efforts, with new restaurants, luxury residences and concert halls. The waterway flows from the point where the city’s two main rivers, Potomac and Anacostia, meet.
It is home to three marinas and hundreds of boat ramps. About 300 people live aboard their boats on the canal, according to Patrick Revord, who is the director of technology, marketing and community engagement for the Wharf Community Association.
The channel also operates with water taxis, which serve 300,000 people each year, river cruises that receive 400,000 people a year and about 7,000 kayaks and paddleboarders annually, Revord said during the meeting.
Residents and city officials say the restrictions would create unsafe conditions by narrowing the channel for larger ships that cross the waterway alongside smaller motor boats and kayaks.
Guy Shields, a retired Army infantry colonel and member of the Capitol Yacht Club who opposes restrictions around Fort McNair, said during the meeting that waterway restrictions would not increase safety.
“These buoys will do nothing to increase safety. This will increase congestion in an already congested area,” said Shields. “And I will say, the signs do not stop people with bad intentions.”
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It is unclear whether the new intelligence will change the city’s opposition to the Army’s security plan.