Darren Mott, former FBI special agent and cybersecurity expert, and Justin Fulcher, former senior Pentagon official, joined a panel discussion with NTD's Iris Tao.
Mott notes that few kinetic targets remain for the United States beyond small mine-laying ships in the Strait of Hormuz, but added that terrorist proxies and cyber proxies continue to pose significant threats worldwide.
While the U.S. military has decimated Iranian forces over the past two weeks, Iran still has capabilities to disrupt commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, he said.
Although U.S. and Israeli efforts have neutralized Iran's regional naval and missile capabilities in the region, Fulcher points out that Iran still launches drones daily and has caused the traffic through the Strait of Hormuz to reduce sharply. He argues more should be done to neutralize these threats.
Mott says Navy escorts could help to safeguard shipping until risks are eliminated. Fulcher says we are seeing signs the Trump administration is moving to implement naval escorts, after first ensuring the elimination of military and kinetic threats.
Mott says China is remaining silent in the conflict because it relies on open shipping lanes for its own interests, and is closely watching U.S. actions, in part with the intention of possibly preparing to invade Taiwan.
Fulcher also discussed Iran's cyber terrorism targeting civilian infrastructure and applications, with the intention of putting pressure on the Trump administration's posture.
Mott warns Americans to be vigilant about incoming emails, especially those related to the Iran conflict or requesting refugee donations, as these could be part of Iran's cyber warfare efforts targeting the United States.