After the Israeli and U.S. military attacks on Iran’s nuclear weapons program, many pundits and national security experts warned of possible terrorist reprisals from radical Islamist groups both inside and outside the U.S. As it turns out, average Americans share this concern, the latest I&I/TIPP Poll results show.

In the latest national online I&I/TIPP Poll, taken June 25-27, a sample of 1,421 adults nationwide were asked: “In the wake of recent U.S. military action against Iran, how concerned are you about a possible terrorist attack on American soil?”

As it turns out, they’re very concerned.

Among those responding, 74% said they were either “very concerned” (37%) or “somewhat concerned” (37%). But in contrast, just 20% said they were either “not very concerned” (14%) or “not at all concerned” (6%). Another 6% said they were not sure.

This is another issue that receives an unusual level of bipartisan agreement.

Among Democrats, 82% call themselves concerned, while just 14% say they’re not concerned. By comparison, 69% of Republicans expressed concern, versus 26% saying they weren’t concerned. Similarly, 73% of independents said they were concerned, while 20% called themselves unconcerned.

Indeed, only two of the 36 demographic groups I&I/TIPP routinely profiles were below 70% on the “concerned” response: Those 18-24 years old (60% concerned, 29% not concerned), and males (69% concerned, 26% not concerned).

So roughly three of every four voting-age Americans fears a possible terrorist attack.

I&I/TIPP then moved to a follow-on question related to preparedness: “Do you believe the U.S. government is doing enough to prevent terrorist attacks?”

There, the “yes” answers (43%) were not a whole lot higher than the “no” answers (35%). And a sizeable 22% of those taking the poll were not sure. Summing up, those who were either sure the government wasn’t ready or were uncertain of U.S. preparedness had a 57% to 43% edge.

And on this question, unlike the first one, partisan bias clearly showed in the responses, a reflection perhaps of the polarized political opinion over President Donald Trump.

Among Democrats, 28% said the U.S. government was doing enough to prepare, compared to a hefty majority of 51% saying it was not. Another 21% were unsure.

Independents shared the Dems’ skepticism, with only 33% agreeing the federal government was ready for a terrorist attack, while 41% said no and 26% weren’t sure.

Republicans? A big majority of 65% felt the U.S. antiterrorism efforts were sufficient, versus only 17% who said no. But “not sure” once again was a frequent response (18%), not too far below the other two major U.S. voting blocs.

So while all agree the terrorism threat is real, there’s a split when it comes to whether we’re preparing for it or not.

But it’s pretty clear there’s a threat — in particular from Iranian backed terror groups in the Mideast, which already might be setting up new terrorist cells in the U.S. in retaliation

“The Biden administration arrested 1,504 Iranian nationals during fiscal year 2021 through fiscal year 2024, releasing 729 of these individuals into the country, according to Customs and Border Protection data obtained by Fox News,” The Daily Signal wrote, a day after the June 22 attack on Iranian nuclear facilities, “sparking vows of retaliation from the Islamic regime.”

But that’s just the official count. During the Biden years an untold number of illegals of both Mideastern and Iranian origin crossed the barely-guarded U.S. border.

U.S. border chief Tom Homan, speaking to Fox News’ Maria Bartiromo, said that his main concern was the “two million known got-aways” who crossed into the U.S. during Biden’s tenure, but have evaded being caught and deported.

According to Homan, Biden’s border laxity resulted in “the biggest national security vulnerability this country has ever seen.” Homan described how, during Biden’s years in office, the border patrol found “prayer mats” and “identification from people from Iran.”

“We know some terrorists have crossed that border,” Homan said, after U.S. officials sounded the alarm on possible terrorist attacks.

With even some American politicians hyping support for “globalizing the intifada” against the U.S. and Europe, Americans should expect more trouble of the terrorist kind.

Terroristic, cold-blooded murders of American Jews in public places are only the beginning. Given the rage of Iran’s leaders following the U.S.’ crippling bombing attacks on their nuclear arms program, U.S. anti-terror officials believe more Iranian terrorism against America will follow. It’s a question of when, where and how.

Indeed, the week before the June 22 U.S. attack on Iran, the Islamic nation’s top officials were already threatening the U.S. “with sleeper-cell revenge terrorist attacks inside the United States”.

Could they do it? Trump does have an anti-terror policy in place, and closing the border has certainly helped.

But former President Joe Biden let over 20 million illegals into the U.S. If only 1/100 of 1% of those were terrorists, that’s still 2000 terrorists.

As a reminder, it took just 19 al-Qaida terrorists to hijack four American planes and destroy New York’s World Trade Center and part of the Pentagon, killing nearly 3,000 in the process.

The point is, Americans are right to worry about those who have come here not yearning to breathe free, but to wreak revenge. But whether we are doing enough to stop the potential terrorists remains an open question.

I&I/TIPP publishes timely, unique, and informative data each month on topics of public interest. TIPP’s reputation for polling excellence comes from being the most accurate pollster for the past six presidential elections.

Terry Jones is an editor of Issues & Insights. His four decades of journalism experience include serving as national issues editor, economics editor, and editorial page editor for Investor’s Business Daily.