FBI Director Kash Patel’s vengeful firing of FBI agents who worked on the probe into classified documents at President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate left the department without an elite global spy unit that monitors threats from Iran.
Patel fired a dozen FBI agents last Wednesday after learning that his and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles’ phones had been under subpoena as part of the probe into Trump’s hoarding of top secret records at Mar-a-Lago.
His firing of the global espionage unit, known as CI-12, came days before the U.S. and Israel jointly launched Operation Epic Fury, with airstrikes on Iran that have led to a wider conflict throughout the Middle East.
Strikes on Iran during Trump’s first presidency were followed by a series of Iranian operations in the U.S. to try to assassinate Trump and some of his allies.
CI-12 probes illegal media leaks and the mishandling of classified documents. The unit consisted of veteran agents trained on threats and spy operations, with a special focus on the Middle East, including Iran, sources told MS Now.
The unit also investigates Cuba and some terrorist organizations, but does not handle threats from China or Russia, according to the report.
On Monday, people inside the FBI were bracing for more potential firings of agents and staff on CI-12, according to the report.
FBI spokesperson Ben Williamson told the outlet that the FBI does not comment on personnel matters.
Williamson countered that the FBI maintains a “robust counterintelligence operation, with personnel all over the country, who delivered record results in 2025, including a 35 percent increase in counterintelligence arrest, six of the Ten Most Wanted Fugitives captured, and multiple foiled terrorism plots just in December alone.”
“Our teams remain fully engaged across the country and prepared to mobilize any security assets needed to assist federal partners — as well as state and local law enforcement,” Williamson added.
Since Trump took office, the FBI has purged staffers connected to probes into the president, as well as those tied to the investigation into January 6 rioters.
Patel has also dismissed at least 30 agents who appeared to lack the necessary conservative bona fides.
“Some took a knee in a show of solidarity with the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests; another implemented government policy denying religious exemptions for the covid vaccine; a third displayed a gay pride flag,” The Wall Street Journal reported in November.
The most recent firing, which included agents with specialty training in handling threats from Iran, came just days before the U.S. and Israel jointly began airstrikes on Iran on Saturday.
The U.S. and Israel’s coordinated attacks against Iran killed the country’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and other top officials.
The strikes, named by the U.S. as “Operation Epic Fury,” have prompted Iran to launch a wave of missiles across the Middle East, including Israel, neighboring Gulf states, and targets crucial to the world’s oil and natural gas production.
In a letter to Congress Monday, Trump admitted that it is “not possible at this time to know” how long the U.S. attacks on Iran would last.
In an official notification to Congress about his war on Iran, the president set out how he does not have a clear timeline for the military action.
“Although the United States desires a quick and enduring peace, it is not possible at this time to know the full scope and duration of military operations that may be necessary,” Trump wrote Monday.
Following the letter, a Truth Social post from the president on Monday also caused alarm, after he wrote that “wars can be fought forever.” Trump has previously said the bombing could last “four to five weeks.”
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