Gen Jack Keane: This is STUNNING...

Pleasure. We welcome back to the show General Jack Keane Fox News senior strategic analyst General Keane. Thank you, sir So I guess a lot of people are worried maybe including myself that Iran may have lost the war But they're trying to win the peace. Okay now we can bat this around

But I believe you and many others myself included are at least talking about this. What do you make of it? Well, I can understand some of that. I mean, it's the straights of the moves that are driving this thing more than anything. But a couple of points to make up front. I thought the briefing that Secretary Hagseth

and Chairman Kaine gave the other day, where they provided actually more details than they've ever provided before in what 38 days of accomplishment at war here really looked like. And it was stunning in terms of how much of Iran's offensive and defensive capability and future capability in terms of their industry we have destroyed. I don't think there's an air campaign in history that comes anything close to the 38 days of destruction that we

have rendered on this regime. And they are not the same country anymore and certainly not the same regime anymore and not the same military anymore, you know, as a result of it. And we can't underestimate how much goodness has been in those 38 days. The president said he was going to stop this nation from being a predator in the region, and we've gone a long way to accomplishing that for sure, and also sponsoring world terrorism

and a nuclear existential threat. But there's more work to be done for sure. We've got a ceasefire here and a potential negotiated deal. I would have preferred I think to just keep going to the end and then negotiate. Our hand would have been considered to be stronger. But listen, I'm sitting here on the sidelines with opinions. I'm not in the room. I don't have the information. I don't get intelligence briefings. The president has information about what Iran is thinking

and what they likely want to do. And based on some of that information, I'm assuming is a reason why we've gone to a ceasefire with an opportunity to negotiate. My problem with that whole process is that, number one, Iran took the Straits of Hormuz and controlled it for one reason only, and that was to stop the war. So they accomplished that here because they knew what was happening to them.

The second thing is they are in control of it and they are still in control of it today. The Navy IRGC is telling the merchant ships out there, you want to pass through, you need our permission, you got to pay a fee. If you don't, you're going to be destroyed en route. So they're very much in control of it. And the war has stopped and we're going into negotiations. And clearly my problem with the negotiations, Larry, again, I give the motivation comes

from information they have and I don't. But just looking at Iran and their history of negotiations, these guys are masters at this. They delay, they obfuscate they lie they cheat their promise. They're likely promising on negotiation team in the last several weeks that they're really prepared to make a deal. Finally is that truth or is that lie. The history would suggest it's a lie. And they're just setting us up because what?

They want to delay this more than two weeks, three weeks, four weeks, five, six weeks. And why do they want to delay it? Because by delaying it that long, the economy is recovering as a result of oil prices, markets going up, political pressures off the president. And they're counting on the fact that the president will lack the resolve and will to go back in several weeks down if that's necessary and there's no deal

because he's promised, you don't make a deal with me and give me everything I have, I'm coming back for you. They believe if the time drags out, there's a reluctance to do that. But let me tell you something, Larry, you and I know our president here. Here's a couple of things. One, he's responsible for those accomplishments I just made. Nobody took this regime on. Seven previous presidents is willing to confront them and and substantively be taken down. That's number one. Number two, I don't believe the man is

capable of making a bad deal here. And he's not going to make a bad deal That's his foundation and his mantra And the third thing here is he has the resolve and commitment to go in and finish it He told the American people what this is about at the beginning This in the IDF's mind and in our military planners' mind, they both have about two more weeks to finish this off.

We've got that to do. And then we have an ace up our sleeve, as I refer to it. It's Karg Island. We can tell the Iranians, after we finish all of our objectives, that we're going to take control of Karg Island or we're going to destroy it.

And we want all the nuclear enrichment, everything else, assuming the deal falls through. And if they don't give it to us, it's the president's choice. We take control of it and we own 90% of the oil distribution or we destroy it. And that would force an economic collapse I think of this regime over time and possibly a turnover to somebody else. Yes. We still have strong cards to play is what I'm putting on a table here and and we have lots of muscle here to bend these people to our will and we got to take advantage

of it. Well that's basically you know Pete Hegseth yesterday the day before General said you know the military is not going anyplace and General Kane made the same point in his briefing the military is staying right where it is. You and I know that Mr. Trump will never go wobbly he will never go wobbly he will never make a bad deal and I think you know know, I believe it was yesterday you called for an ultimatum. I think in effect, President Trump made an ultimatum yesterday that if these negotiations

don't work out in the next 10 days or so, all hell's gonna break loose. He said it several times. Some people may not believe him, but to know him is to believe him. And I think he's absolutely doing it. I mean, my, you know, it just occurs to me, General, again, I know even less than you know.

So you say you don't have the information, I have even less. But just looks to this reporter like we are very close to the end of this war. That it's really one way or another, one way or another, we are very close to the end of this war, that it's really one way or another, one way or another, we

are very close to an end of this war. No, I agree with that. Certainly even kinetically, we're close to it for sure. And I think we're going to walk away here, we're accomplishing our objectives. I mean the two strategic objectives now are one taking away their nuclear program what's left of it enrichment and whatever other capabilities they have. Either we take control of it or they voluntarily give it to us and two making sure

that the Straits of Hormuz returns to free navigation. Those are two strategic issues. The second one, the Straits of Hormuz, is a recent one, but it's always been a strategic asset, just like any strait is. Panama Canal, the Suez Canal, the Strait of Taiwan, the Bab Al-Mandab Strait leading into the Suez Canal.

These have always been strategic assets. The problem is Iran has got control of one of them here and that cannot stand. We cannot let that stand no more than we can let them keep their nuclear capability. I personally and we'll talk about this in the days ahead. I was hoping for a Venezuela like solution becauselike solution because I don't want Iran right now to have the capability to raise any money, to rebuild right now.

I don't want that at all. In fact, I'd rather the regime – I know they may be down to the fourth level of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard. They may be down to, you know, 95 IQs, but they're still there. And as you said, just like the mafia, they still have a piece of this. I don't want to have any of that stuff. Take it out. No way. That can all... we can rebuild later

if we find somebody that we trust. So we'll have to see how this thing shakes out, but I don't think the president will go wobbly, General. I don't. I just think we are very, very, I don't know if you said it, we're on the five yard line or the two yard line or the one yard line. I'm hoping that that's about where we are. Give you the last word, sir. Yeah, well, I agree. I agree with that assessment. I mean, the thing I've always been opposed to a negotiated settlement of this as opposed to a surrender.

Yeah, that that to me is what negotiation should be about. That's why I say at the end of it. But the reason I don't I'm not in favor of it is because at the end of the day, even though they give us what we want, we throw them a lifeline and that lifeline is removal of sanctions. They're going to get unfrozen assets, they're going to get billions of dollars and that regime lives on. Yep.

After everything that they have done in the region, they don't deserve that in my judgment. We should weaken them as much as possible. 100%. We are where we are. If we're going to do a negotiation and we're going to do one. If they're going to get a deal, it's got to accomplish everything that the president is willing to take away from them militarily. They've got to give it back to us through those negotiations.

And he will not do a bad deal. I'll go back to that.

Yeah, agreed. 100%. Couldn't agree more. General Jack Keane, thank you, sir. Yeah, agreed. 100%. Couldn't agree more. General Jack Keane, thank you, sir. As always, thanks for helping us. We appreciate it.