Iran’s efforts to mount attacks against US extend far beyond its military. Here’s what to know | CNN Politics

As the US sends large numbers of troops to the Middle East, preparing for a possible ground incursion, Iran’s willingness to inspire lone-wolf attacks, lead cyber hacks, and conduct assassination operations abroad is likely to increase, terrorism experts and US law enforcement officials told CNN. In the early days of the war, officials raised concerns that Iran might activate “sleeper cells,” a kind of covert agent who has sat undetected in the US waiting for an order to carry out a terror plot. But in recent years, Iran has instead depended heavily on an everything-and-the-kitchen-sink approach to attacks abroad — with a key focus on inspiring domestic attacks and, at times, working to hire known criminals to assassinate its enemies, several experts told CNN. The Justice Department has foiled several assassination plots in recent years, including against President Donald Trump, top US officials and Iranian dissidents. In those cases, Iranian officials, often through proxies, have hired low-level criminals — sometimes recruiting from inside US prisons — to act on their behalf. In early March, a Pakistani man was convicted of attempting to carry out political assassinati