PoliticsFBI Director Kash Patel Axed Key Iran Specialists Just Days Before Donald Trump Launched 'Operation Epic Fury'
FBI Director Kash Patel fired Iran threat specialists days before Donald Trump launched 'Operation Epic Fury.'
March 3 2026, Published 12:01 p.m. ET
Just days before the United States launched a major military operation against Iran, FBI Director Kash Patel fired more than a dozen agents and staff members from a counterintelligence unit focused on foreign threats.
The firings targeted the Bureau's Washington-based CI-12 unit.
Why Did Kash Patel Fire Agents?
Kash Patel dismissed more than a dozen agents from the FBI's CI-12 unit days before the U.S. strikes.
The team handles sensitive investigations involving espionage, intelligence breaches and hostile foreign activity inside the United States, including threats linked to Iran.
Those who were removed had previously worked on the classified documents investigation involving Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago property. That inquiry examined the alleged retention of sensitive government materials.
The shake-up followed revelations that Patel's and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles' phone records had been subpoenaed during the earlier probe.
Sources say those removed had worked on the Donald Trump classified documents probe.
Patel sharply criticized the prior FBI leadership over the move, saying, per The Daily Beast, "It is outrageous and deeply alarming that the previous FBI leadership secretly subpoenaed my own phone records — along with those of now White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles — using flimsy pretexts and burying the entire process in prohibited case files designed to evade all oversight."
The timing of the dismissals has raised concerns within the FBI and the Justice Department.
CI-12 previously played a role in monitoring potential retaliation by Iran after the 2020 U.S. drone strike that killed Gen. Qasem Soleimani.
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'Robust Counterintelligence Operation'
The CI-12 squad tracks foreign espionage and Iranian-linked threats on U.S. soil.
In the years since, Iranian-linked actors have faced charges in alleged plots targeting American officials.
A joint FBI and Department of Homeland Security assessment described Iran's security services as "adaptable and opportunistic," outlining how operatives allegedly relied on intermediaries, burner phones and cryptocurrency to obscure involvement.
One person familiar with the current threat environment told CNN there is nothing to indicate there have been any increased threats or activated "sleeper agents" since the latest U.S. strikes.
Even so, law enforcement agencies have intensified monitoring, which is typical during overseas conflicts.
The FBI declined to discuss specific personnel matters. In a statement to CNN, the Bureau said it "maintains a robust counterintelligence operation, with personnel all over the country."
"Our teams remain fully engaged across the country and [are] prepared to mobilize any security assets needed to assist federal partners – as well as state and local law enforcement," an FBI spokesperson added.
'Operation Epic Fury'
Patel blasted prior FBI leadership over subpoenas of his phone records.
The FBI Agents Association previously warned, in a statement to CNN, that removing experienced personnel "weaken[s] the Bureau by stripping away critical expertise and destabilizing the workforce, undermining trust in leadership and jeopardizing the Bureau's ability to meet its recruitment goals — ultimately putting the nation at greater risk."
Trump announced the launch of "major combat operations" against Iran, describing the effort as "Operation Epic Fury," just days after the counterintelligence unit was pared down.
