Who Bombed The Capital On 'Designated Survivor'? There Are Suspects From Several Countries

The ABC show Designated Survivor might be about the last Cabinet member standing who is granted the presidency because everyone above him has died, but there is another, bigger story to the plot. It's the bombing of the Capital Building that sets all of the events of the show into motion, but who bombed the Capital on Designated Survivor? There may only be one episode so far this season, but already there are plenty of countries to suspect of the crime, including the United States.

Among the FBI agents going through the wreckage of the bombing and the general in the Situation Room with the new president, Tom Kirkman, there are plenty of possibilities that end up floating around. Among the usual worries are Isis or other Islamic extremist groups of the Middle East, or countries in the Middle East in general. But it isn't too early to speculate on all of the possible suspects who could have bombed the Capital on Designated Survivor. Since there is so much ground to cover and the first episode can only do so much, it is entirely possible that as the season goes on, there will be more light shed on countries or specific groups of people who could have committed the crime, but from the first episode alone, we have a lot to go on.

Iran

Iran is mentioned as the first possible country to have bombed the Capital Building on Designated Survivor because of their Navy destroyers moving through the Strait of Harmoz, where they say 30 percent of the world's oil passes through. Tom ends up briefly meeting with the Iranian ambassador and seems to convince him to move the fleet, but no one is really out of the woods yet as far as suspects go.

Terrorists We've Never Heard Of

Terrorists are mentioned multiple times in the series premiere of Designated Survivor as the suspects for the bombing of the Capital, but not always by specific name. Instead, this leaves room for terrorist groups we've never heard of or are fictional within the world of the show.

An American Terrorist

Just like Timothy McVeigh in connection with the infamous Oklahoma City bombing, it is entirely possible that the culprit who organized the bombing of the Capital Building was an American terrorist out to exact some kind of act of war or religion-fueled attack on the government or the country as a whole.

Russians

Although Russia isn't mentioned as a direct threat when the team on the ground are initially assessing the situation at the wreckage of the Capital, a search dog does find a bomb that the agents claim is made of Russian materials. This could be something that comes up later on, involving someone who is just highly skilled in the ways of the military, or someone from Russia specifically.

Someone Within The U.S. Government

There is a scene near the end of the first episode of Designated Survivor, when Aaron Shore, the chief of staff, and General Harris are talking in secret about how much they want to get Tom Kirkman out of his newly appointed place as the president. Of course it could just be because they both want Tom out office because they don't think he can properly run the country, but the way they're so secretive about it makes it seem like they know something else. Like, they didn't like the way the country was begin run even before and might have used their connections to do something about it via the bombing of the Capital Building.

It's probably way too soon to tell who bombed the Capital on Designated Survivor, but it's not too soon to start speculating about it and to suspect pretty much anyone in opposition of Tom as the new president.