The Threat Posed by Hezbollah

In a statement for the record presented to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence this week about worldwide threats facing the U.S., Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats said that “During the next year, Hezbollah most likely will continue to develop its terrorist capabilities, which the group views as a valuable tool and one it can maintain with plausible deniability,” and added that “Hezbollah most likely maintains the capability to execute a range of attack options against U.S. interests worldwide.”

The statement included information about ‘disrupted’ attacks within the United States, as well as attacks, disrupted attacks and military adventurism around the world in places like Lebanon, Cyprus, Israel, Nigeria, Bulgaria, Syria, Kuwait, Yemen, Thailand, Peru and Bolivia.

U.S. officials know that Hezbollah has been operating  ‘sleeper cells’ within the U.S. since 9/11., but experts say the Iranian-backed terror group has primarily focused their efforts inside the U.S. on fundraising activities, sometimes via legitimate businesses.

As part of our special coverage on the terrorist threat this week, The Cipher Brief takes a closer look at Hezbollah and brings you insights into how the organization evolved, how it operates and how Cipher Brief Experts view the threat.

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