US joins Israel in strikes against Iran, raising retaliation concerns

PHOENIX - A new chapter unfolds as the United States joins Israel's war against Iran.

Helping to make sense of this rapidly changing overseas situation is retired Marine Intelligence Officer and national security expert Hal Kemper. 

Many people are surprised by the swiftness of the U.S. action, as President Donald Trump had indicated a two-week deliberation period, but the strikes occurred within two days.

"Well, actually part of it was, he said within two weeks," Kemper said. "And of course, if Iran believes there was a two-week window, that's fine, because that's part of operational deception. But actually the language he said was within two weeks. And I remember at the time when he announced it, I was actually on the air. I said it could be two hours, two days, a week. We don't know what 'within two weeks' means."

Kemper noted that it literally happened within two days. "Part of that is in the art of war, if you will, is to deceive your enemy," he explained. "Part of that was, you know, surprised when it hit and even the B2 bombers, there was essentially a cover story that was put out as to where the B2s were going, which was not where they were going. And of course, where we know they went now. So a lot of very well-executed operational deception in concert with this overall."

Concerns about Iran developing a nuclear bomb have existed for years. When asked how close Iran was to building one, Kemper said, "Brian, we don't know. The weeks or months is kind of what's been put out. I even heard days for a while, but what they had done is they had enriched uranium up to 60%. They can easily get that 9%."

He continued, "Now, it's a little more difficult to actually make the fission device, the ball as it's called, of the fissionable material to put into a bomb, a device, a warhead, if you will, and then put it onto a missile. But you saw they got missiles that are actually making it through Israeli air defenses, and you can imagine if just one of those ballistic missiles had a nuclear device based on it, the catastrophic effects that would have on the nation-state of Israel."

Kemper said this was the thinking process in Israel, Washington, D.C., and the White House. "I think it was, it wasn't a matter of if, it was a matter of when Iran was going to try and do this. We saw North Korea. We didn't want to see it happening again in Iran, and so we decided to take action."

On social media, many Americans fear that the strikes have put a target on their backs. Law enforcement in New York is ramping up enforcement around certain sites, and agencies nationwide are being advised to monitor cyber activity.

"Well, Ashley, you bring up a really good point and that's of course the big concern," Kemper stated. "You saw that President Trump put in there retaliation will, you know, will be met. And we're watching that very closely. It's here in the United States. You know, Iran has a very extensive covert network. The accounts force, it's been operating for years."

Kemper added, "I personally know that Iran and Iranian proxies like Hezbollah have been operating in the United States in the Southwest. I believe I even remember seeing something, they're operating in Phoenix. So that's been going on for many years. They've never operationalized, they've never done a big attack. But the fear was that something might trigger that happening. So there's a legitimate concern in the U.S. for an asymmetric attack, a terror attack, or some sort of big cyber attack, or all of that."

What's next:

Another concern is potential attacks on U.S. bases in the Middle East, specifically in the Arab or Persian Gulf, and the possibility of Iran attempting to block the Straits of Hormuz. "Yes, retaliation is a big concern in this whole thing. And that's part of the operational risk that the President assumes," Kemper concluded.

Looking ahead, Kemper will be watching for Iran's response. "I'm going to watch to see what the Iranians do, what their response is, whether this overture. I mean, it's like, here's the olive branch for diplomacy. And then here's the sword of Damocles and you just saw we did. So I'm going to see which way the Iranians go," he said. "But I would say if the Iranians keep doing what they have been doing, there might be another strike or strikes."

On June 22, U.S. Secretary of Defense Perte Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine are expected to hold a joint news conference Sunday morning, a day after the country launched strikes against Iran.