As America approaches the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, FBI Director Kash Patel has offered a timely reminder of what counterterrorism is supposed to do: stop violence before Americans are forced to mourn it. Speaking recently with law-enforcement partners in New York, Patel highlighted the FBI-led Joint Terrorism Task Forces — now more than 200-strong nationwide — as one of the country’s most effective defenses against terrorist threats. The message matters. The JTTFs exist to connect intelligence, pursue leads, investigate threats, gather evidence, make arrests, and act before warning signs become tragedy.

That mission is especially urgent as the confrontation with the Islamic Republic of Iran enters a more dangerous phase. Iran does not need to launch missiles at the United States to threaten Americans at home. It can rely on intelligence operatives, cyber actors, proxy networks, criminal intermediaries, illicit finance, and covert facilitators. These are the tools of an asymmetric campaign: methods designed to blur the line between a conflict overseas and a threat on American soil.

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The lesson of 9/11 is not that every warning indicates an imminent attack. It is that warnings must be assessed seriously, intelligence must be shared quickly, and institutions must not wait for certainty when credible signs of operational preparation are already visible. Counterterrorism succeeds not through panic or indiscriminate suspicion, but through disciplined investigation, sound intelligence, and timely disruption.

The FBI has made clear that Iran presents a threat across several fronts: foreign intelligence activity, terrorism, cyber operations, sanctions evasion, illicit procurement, and transnational repression. The bureau states that it is committed to identifying and disrupting Iranian intelligence and military operations that threaten Americans, U.S. national security, or critical infrastructure. Its public record includes investigations into attempted terrorist attacks and kidnappings, espionage and foreign-influence activity, cyberattacks, and alleged plots targeting U.S. officials and........

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