Maryland experts say overall impacts from Iran war will be worse if conflict goes on too long
While all of the impacts from the U.S. and Israel's attacks on Iran are still unfolding, Maryland experts told WJZ that the longer the conflict lasts, the worse the economic impact could be across the country.
Overall, the impacts Americans will feel are expected to be economic-based. However, federal agencies are gearing up for the possibility of stateside Iranian retaliatory attacks.
Rising prices and cyberattacks
Since the initial attacks from Operation Epic Fury this past weekend, Iran has launched attacks on American bases and at American allies throughout the Middle East.
Some of Iran's retaliatory attacks have been aimed at oil vessels traveling through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical route where 20% of the world's oil is transported.
Joshua Shifrinson, who teaches international policy at the University of Maryland, said the route has virtually shut down because of the attacks, which means Americans should brace for higher prices at the pump.
"There still may be enough supply, but we're gonna see markets speculate on this and that's going to cause the price of gas and heating oil in the U.S. to grow," Shifrinson said.
Americans should also be more careful online.
Michael Vesely, the academic director at University of Maryland, Baltimore's Center for Cyber Health and Hazard Strategies, said cyberattacks will be easier for Iran to pull off.
But Vesely added that the FBI and other federal agencies will also be preoccupied in finding potential suspects for retaliatory attacks on U.S. soil.
"The first wave of concern is what are the independent actors who might be sensitive, allied with, or sympathetic to Iranian politics or the Iranian regime -- would they be willing to act independently," Vesely said.
The Baltimore FBI office wouldn't directly answer WJZ's question on how it's monitoring the situation.
Over email, a spokesperson pointed to FBI director Kash Patel's post on X, which said counterterrorism and intelligence teams are on high alert and ready to assist as needed.
The uncertainty factor
While a lot of violence and attacks have been made, Shifrinson said the real danger of this conflict has yet to be seen.
President Trump said Monday to expect the conflict to last four to five weeks.
However, Shifrinson said if it goes on too long the implications will be harder to keep tabs on.
The attacks will only get worse as well.
"If the war continues and Iran maintains itself, we're likely to see continued attacks on American infrastructure on oil vessels and on third parties who didn't even initiate the conflict," Shifrinson said.
