The latest announcement from Tehran should command the immediate attention of the American national security establishment. Fars News Agency, one of the Islamic Republic’s principal state-aligned media outlets, has announced the launch of an intelligence and surveillance system called “Alaj,” whose declared purpose is to identify and track Iranians abroad who Tehran considers to be acting against the regime’s interests and national security.

The announcement should not be dismissed as another exercise in intimidation. When a regime with a long record of extraterritorial terrorism openly establishes a mechanism for identifying, monitoring, and pursuing its adversaries beyond its borders, Washington must ask a more urgent question: Does Iran have sleeper cells on U.S. soil, and are existing networks being prepared for a more dangerous mission?