Distinguished Professor Jamsheed Choksy, director of the Inner Asian and Uralic National Resource Center at the Hamilton Lugar School of Global and International Studies, appeared on WISH-TV News 8 this week to assess the risk that escalating tensions with Iran pose to Indiana residents. Drawing on decades of fieldwork in Iran and across central and southwest Asia, Choksy offered a nuanced picture: direct physical attacks are unlikely, but the threat of cyberwarfare is real and growing.
In an interview with News 8 political reporter Garrett Bergquist, Choksy noted that Iran’s track record of carrying out attacks on U.S. soil has historically been poor. He pointed to a series of foiled assassination plots against Saudi diplomats and former President Donald Trump as examples of the Iranian government’s limited operational capacity inside the United States.
“I would say we should trust our local and federal authorities. They do a superb job,” Choksy said. “When the Iranian government has attempted to conduct attacks in the United States, they have actually bumbled them quite badly.”
Cyberattacks, Choksy argued, are a far more serious concern. He placed Iran’s offensive cyber capabilities in the same tier as those of Israel and Russia, attributing this strength in part to how computer science is taught in Iran—students there often study programming down to the source code level, a depth of technical training that is uncommon elsewhere. He urged individuals, businesses, and government entities to keep security software current, particularly during periods of heightened geopolitical tension.
“Whenever the United States is at war, local and state entities should be extra vigilant because yes, far more than being able to reach the U.S. mainland through weapons, cyberwarfare is becoming the new front of attack,” he said. “It can do billions of dollars in damage and it can affect a very large population, if not in terms of physical safety, certainly in terms of inconvenience and in terms of disrupting their daily lives.”
Choksy also urged Hoosiers to distinguish between the Iranian government and the Iranian-American community. Citing Pew Research Center data, he noted that roughly 750,000 Iranians and people of Iranian descent live in the United States, a diaspora that is broadly opposed to the current regime. Many Iranian-Americans have participated in protests against the government in Tehran—including demonstrations in Indianapolis—and some choose to identify as Persian rather than Iranian to distance themselves from the regime. Choksy noted that while both “Persia” and “Iran” are ancient names for the country, “Iran” did not become the nation’s official designation until 1935.
Choksy’s comments first aired as part of WISH-TV’s “All INdiana Politics” on March 29, and were also featured in a standalone written report by News 8 published March 27, 2026. The segment drew on Choksy’s expertise in Iranian and Persian studies, Central Eurasian history, and international security—areas that have made him a frequent resource for regional and national media on matters involving the Middle East.
