FBI Director Christopher Wray is to warn US lawmakers that tensions around the world could result in an attack on the country.
He referenced rising tensions in the Middle East due to Israel‘s war on Hamas in Gaza as a potentially major factor in security threats facing the US.
Wray is to tell Congress: “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.
“But now increasingly concerning is the potential for a coordinated attack here in the homeland, akin to the ISIS-K attack we saw at the Russia Concert Hall a couple weeks ago.”
The transcript of the speech was obtained by ABC News.
Wray is also set to tell Congress that it must reauthorize Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which allows the government to gather communications of non-Americans overseas on US-based platforms without the use of a warrant.
But this has been met with opposition from some Republicans in the House who say an amendment is needed to ensure US intelligence would need an additional warrant to access the data of Americans.
The American Civil Liberties Union has also argued for this, warning the policy could allow the government to engage in “mass, warrantless surveillance of Americans’ and foreigners’ phone calls, text messages, emails, and other electronic communications.”
Wray’s comments come after ISIS-K launched an attack on a concert at Crocus City Hall in Moscow last month.
The attackers killed over 130 people and set the venue on fire before being captured by Russian police.
In regards to the Middle East, Wray previously told the Senate Judiciary Committee that the number of threats is at a “whole other level” since Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel.
He added: “I’ve never seen a time where all the threats, or so many of the threats, are all elevated all at exactly the same time.
“This is not a time for panic, but it is a time for vigilance.
“We shouldn’t stop conducting our daily lives, going to schools, houses of worship and so forth. But we should be vigilant.”
