What to Know About the U.S. Water Systems Cyberattacks

“This is what modern warfare looks like, and it further illustrates there’s no plan to win a war with Iran,” Walz said.

Emphasizing comments that he recently shared on X, Trita Parsi, Executive Vice President of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, said that it would be reasonable for Iran to attempt cyber attacks as a “warning” that it is prepared to retaliate for U.S. strikes.

And Parsi tells TIME that Iran is more than capable of fulfilling the threat.

“Iran is a highly capable cyber power, only one tier below the U.S., China, and Russia, and in some aspects on par with Israel,” he says. “It has in the past demonstrated a clear ability to target industrial control systems, water facilities, and energy infrastructure.”

The joint statement issued last week by federal agencies also underscored Iran’s cyber capabilities. “Iranian cyber actors continue to target U.S. critical infrastructure,” said Assistant Director Brett Leatherman of the FBI’s Cyber Division. However, he added, “The FBI is committed to identifying, disrupting, and imposing costs on those responsible. Sharing timely, actionable intelligence is a critical part of that work.”