White House halts security bulletin warning of Iran-related threats

By Nicole Jao, Ted Hesson and Nandita Bose

The White House has halted, at least for now, a federal security bulletin warning of a heightened threat to the U.S. in light of the conflict in Iran, a Trump administration official told Reuters.

The bulletin from the FBI, Department of Homeland Security, and National Counterterrorism Center is meant for state and local law enforcement agencies. The Trump administration asked an agency to hold the immediate release of the bulletin for review to ensure its accuracy, said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal government matters.

The warning, which was drafted by DHS’ Office of Intelligence and Analysis, did not offer sufficient insight and was not well written, the official told Reuters.

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The Daily Mail reported on Friday the White House blocked the release of the bulletin that contains specific details on how Iranian proxies may carry out attacks across the United States.

The FBI and the National Counterterrorism Center did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A U.S. Department of Homeland Security spokesperson told Reuters it is normal procedure for the agency to share intelligence bulletins with the White House for review before they are sent out.

"The White House is coordinating closely with all government agencies to ensure information being disseminated is accurate, up to date, and has been properly vetted — even if that means taking additional time to review to ensure nothing is done in a vacuum,” the White House said in a statement.

The attack on Iran is the biggest U.S. military operation in the Middle East since the 2003 invasion of Iraq.

Since last week, the U.S. completed over a dozen charter flights and evacuated thousands of Americans from the Middle East, the State Department said on Saturday.