War In Iran Touches Michigan

(Source: MIRS.news, Published 03/13/2026) While the news of the war in Iran may seem like something distant and unconnected to Michigan, businesses have been directly attacked by Iran state agents and actions from the war may have caused one attack on Michigan soil.

Retired Brig. Gen. Michael McDaniel, who served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Homeland Defense Strategy under former President Barack Obama and served as No. 2 in the Michigan National Guard under former Gov. Jennifer Granholm, said the state has a large target with its multitude of defense contracts and globally based corporations.

“The second would be any companies or businesses that are doing business with an Israeli company of any sort, because they’re going to be targeted as well, and probably in greater intensity than we are,” McDaniel said.

He said companies that rely on internet-based operating systems or industrial controls systems that have exposure to the internet would also be open to potentially being hacked, such as Portage-based Stryker being hit by an Iranian-linked hacking group Handala on March 11.

McDaniel said the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the primary Iranian military force, had a force of 50 to 60 decentralized hacker groups to carry out cyberattacks.

He said cybersecurity is paramount for companies and governments right now.

He said there was also the possibility of physical attacks from radicalized or aggrieved people in different places in the state. He pointed to Ayman Ghazali who was killed after driving a truck into the Temple Israel synagogue in West Bloomfield Township. The Detroit News reported he had relatives killed in Israeli attacks in south Lebanon.

“I think that there are going to be a lot of individuals who are dispirited and disaffected, not necessarily having pledged allegiance physically to a group, but are seeing this as an opportunity to either seek revenge for grievances from previous, or as we see with the guy from West Bloomfield, new grievances,” McDaniel said.

He said this isn't going to be a short-term problem. He pointed to author Salman Rushdie who was attacked by a man with a knife at a speaking event in 2022 after Iranian leader Ruhollah Khomeini called for his death in 1988.

“This isn’t something that’s going to subside tomorrow. Our alertness, or vigilance, is going to have to extend for years, I think. We used to talk about ‘the new normal.’ Well, the new normal is back, and we’re going to have to keep doing it,” McDaniel said.

He said the Legislature could help by passing SB 502, supported by Sen. Sue Shink (D-Dexter), which would update the anti-terrorism threat law, but would take some finessing in the language because of possible infringements to First Amendment rights.

“There’s a difference between hate speech, which is protected speech, and terrorist threats, which are not,” McDaniel said.

He said money in the budget should shore up cybercriminal divisions at the Michigan State Police and sheriff’s offices.

McDaniel said also to look out for signs of radicalization from family or neighbors. Signs can include a strange change in behavior. Many people end up being radicalized online after being heavily influenced by groups. The typical “lone wolf” attacker usually isn't alone. A community is likely pushing the person.

“It’s vigilance online, as well as vigilance in your daily movements. Even though it is a cliché, ‘See something, say something,’ still works,” he said.

Attorney General Dana Nessel said people should report threats and suspicious activity and acts of violence to local law enforcement.

She directed people to go to the MSP Stop a Plot webpage for more information.

Nessel said she also supported SB 502 and said it would put tougher protections in place for threats of violence, like the one at the synagogue.

“Antisemitism is on the rise, and too many communities are living in fear,” Nessel said.

Michigan State University Professor of Supply Chain Management Jason Miller said the closing of the Straits of Hormuz would impact everything in Michigan. Gas prices have spiked as the 20% of the world’s oil supply has ground to a halt and crude oil has hit $100 a barrel.

Miller said nitrogen fertilizer was spiking in price because about half the world’s supply traveled through the exit of the Persian Gulf between Oman and Iran. There were several metals, primarily aluminum, that also came out of the Middle East countries.

“That is then compounded because of the tariff situation,” he said.

If the Straits stay closed for a week, the ramifications will compound. Prices will keep going up.

If the Straits remained closed for three or four weeks, it could trigger a slide into a global recession.

“There is literally nothing that can be done from a short-term basis to deal with this, we can’t magically pump more oil, and because there’s so much uncertainty about what’s happening, you’re not going to see a rush by oil drillers,” Miller said.

He said metals, like steel and aluminum, usually take nine months to start showing signs of price increases, while oil is one of the more immediate commodities.

He said at this point it was purely a military issue, and the energy price shock coming from this would be felt far up the stream of the supply chain.

“This is the brutal reality of energy shocks, there’s nothing that can be done quickly,” he said.

He said if the blockage of the Straits were to last a week that it would start impacting other goods that rely on oil after about a month or two. Even if the closure were to end on Saturday, it would take days for the prices to start to come down again.

“The rule of thumb, that I’ve heard folks say, is each additional day of disruption takes about five days to dig out. If this would resolve itself tomorrow, it would take several weeks to unwind the disruption that has taken place,” Miller said.

He said a month of closure would see significant impacts on the U.S. economy.

The caveat he put in place was that it wasn’t expected to be an energy shock like what happened during the 1973 oil embargo because of the Yom Kippur War, when oil prices rose roughly 300% in the span of a year.

He said the concern was that U.S. consumers were struggling with more credit card debt, the 30-year mortgage rates on housing were starting to climb again, and tariffs were continuing to damper the economy.

He also said if crude oil reaches $200 a barrel it could start a cascade that would cause a scale back on artificial intelligence investments.

“Energy shocks are a unique beast, and that’s the thing we don’t know how this is going to play out, because it also has a geopolitical element to it beyond pure economics,” Miller said.