Terrorism expert warns U.S.-Israeli military strike in Iran could raise security concerns in NYC

"I think the traditionally we see the houses of worship are across the board...the synagogues, virtually every, every religious institution is covered under the abundance of caution. When asked how concerned New Yorkers should be and how real the risk of retaliation on U.S. soil may be, Lifrieri said it is an ongoing concern."

"The cyber is clearly a key issue with Iranians. They have a very good strong capability. U.S. secret services put out a report talking about the things that we could do to safeguard ourselves. But then on the flip side of it, you also have the smaller localized attacks where you could have small individual cells conducting multiple simultaneous attacks."

"The good news is post-911, we've really learned a lot of great lessons. The current leadership with the FBI has really taken a strong stand on trying to get local law enforcement involved with them. So years ago where you had that break between the agencies, today you got a lot better cooperation and it's critical."

Following potential U.S.-Israel military action against Iran, the NYPD has increased patrols across New York City as a precautionary measure. Terrorism expert Sal Lifrieri identifies houses of worship as traditionally vulnerable targets during periods of global unrest, noting that synagogues and religious institutions require heightened protection. The threat landscape encompasses both sophisticated cyberattacks, where Iran possesses significant capabilities, and smaller localized attacks conducted by individual cells. Lifrieri emphasizes that intelligence sharing between federal and local law enforcement agencies is critical for effective security response. Post-9/11 improvements in inter-agency cooperation have strengthened coordination efforts, enabling better information exchange that could prevent attacks planned across different jurisdictions.

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