Over the past 24 hours members on both sides of the conflict have urged leaders to compromise and show flexibility. U.S. officials emphasized deterrence yesterday during Congressional testimony which is a significant shift from last week’s push for retaliation. Iranian Intelligence Minister Hojjat-ol Eslam Mahmoud Alavi spoke openly with Iranian media this week favoring flexibility towards Iran’s enemies. It seems that for the time being, direct military tensions may be beginning to ease. This does not mean an easing of the threat posed by Iran, specifically the IRGC, in cyber-space. Long before tensions between the United States and Iran began to escalate again the IRGC was targeting U.S. allies in the Middle East, European companies, and a number of entities within the United States.
Analyst Notes
While any easing of tensions will limit any open actions by Iran, they will likely not feel the same sort of constraint when it comes to cyber-attacks.