"Hezbollah is a very real threat to us here in the United States," Simone Ledeen, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Mid-East Policy, told CBN News.

She says the Iran-backed group has a longer reach than many others in the region.

"They have sleeper cells here in the US in many cities across the country. This has been documented in multiple court cases, and we have reason to believe that they also have caches where they have stored materials around the country, in the event that someone hits the go button to start attacks. I believe they are pretty well prepared. They have been sitting in wait for the order to go, many believe, for years now," Ledeen said.

As official Washington proceeds with caution due to concern about sparking a wider regional conflict, experts like Ledeen warn we're already past that point.

"I think that we, collectively, are in an expanding regional conflict. And as much as we are resisting it right now, and the current administration is resisting responding to it right now, we are in it. So I think, actually, we should be reconsidering our strategic objectives. What's our endgame here, and how do we get from here to there? Because right now, here's not a good place for the United States to be at. It's not in the US interest to be sort of on the defense," Ledeen explained.

Since the start of the war in Gaza, radical forces have attacked US troops in the Middle East more than 160 times.

One of the most recent attacks was a drone strike in Jordan that killed three American soldiers and wounded 47 others. There was a serious close call in the Mediterranean when a US warship was forced to rely on a weapons system known as the Navy's "last line of defense," to destroy a Houthi missile only seconds from impact.

"We need to be aligning with our partners, the Israelis, the British, and some others, and maybe share some targeting packages and start executing some military operations to make sure that the Iranians, but also our other adversaries who are watching, understand that a red line has been crossed. Americans have been killed, the disruption of global shipping is not something that we are willing to accept, and let's sort of change the dynamic," said Ledeen.

Iran remains the common element behind all of these players, and Ledeen believes the regime has complete control over its proxies. Still, official messaging coming from leadership in Tehran following these most recent attacks is: We're not after a war with the US, but will respond strongly if, "an oppressive country or force wants to bully us." Subscribe for free to Breaking Christian News here

Caitlin Burke serves as National Security Correspondent and a general assignment reporter for CBN News.

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