It's time to start 'CUTTING OFF' Iranian military capabilities: Retired U.S. Air Force general

Kaley, thank you so much.And right now, the United States turning up the pressure on Iran, unleashing devastating strikes on bridges and other key infrastructure, with new video revealing the damage near the Strait of Hormuz, as America's campaign to choke off Iran's main port and disrupt its supply lines continues.Well, I'm John Roberts in Washington.Sandra, good to see you back again.

Thanks, John.Good to be back with you.I'm Sandra Smith in New York.This is America Report.So reports this hour say parts of Iran are being asked to conserve power, with some residents told to turn off their air conditioners as U .S.

strikes strain the electrical grid there.And shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has fallen to a three -week low now that says oil prices climb back above that $80 a barrel mark.

Retired U .S.Air Force General Charles Wald joins us in just moments with his thoughts.

Yeah, looking forward to that.But first, let's get to our senior correspondent, Mike Tobin.He's got the latest out of Tel Aviv for us at this hour.

Hello, Mike.Hi there, Sandra.The blockade is being enforced.to Now Iran, as you know, has been firing at its neighbors.For the first time, they say they fired into Syria.Iranian media says the target was a U .

S.base.It's very near the Iraq and Jordanian borders.The Iranian media has planted things in social media indicating that U .S.personnel had been injured or even taken prisoner.

The U .S.says none of that is true.

Sandra, back to you.Got it.Mike Tobin with the update out of Tel Aviv for us.

Mike, thanks.John?All right, Sandra, let's bring in retired four -star Air Force General Charles Wald, former deputy commander of U .S.European Command.He served more than 35 years in the military and flew combat missions over the Middle East, so he is very familiar with the territory and very familiar with what's going on there now.

General, here's what the president said yesterday about where we are with Iran.

Listen to this.We are likewise winning big in Iran.And you will see the fruits of that labor very, very shortly.

So, we're targeting roads and bridges in and around Bandar Abbas.We took down that observation tower, control tower, whatever you want to call it, in Khabahar.But to what end?I mean, every time Iran comes to the table, they just fake like they're involved in negotiations, and then continue with their bad behavior.

No, you're right, John.I mean, I think the faking is over.We'll see what happens.But I would hold the line on this particular restart of attacking Iranian targets, particularly the ones that haven't traditionally been struck.They've usually been missile sites or sometimes drones, potentially boats.I think it's time to really start cutting off the Iranians from the ability to sustain military operations, particularly in the western side of Iran.

I applaud the targeting.I think it's the right thing to do.And there's no doubt about it.

These are military valid targets.So U .S.ground forces were involved for what I believe was the very first time, a verification boarding of a tanker, goes by the name of Wenyao.in the Gulf of Oman.We have got some video of that.

Well, it's not video, actually.It's still photographs of the Marines there on board that tanker.Some military analysts believe that, if you wanted to shut down attacks in the Strait of Hormuz, the easiest thing to do would be to put a ground force of some size in at Bandar Abbas, which is difficult to resupply, because it's a long way away.And now CENTCOM has bombed out the bridges.And if you took Bandar Abbas, that would pretty much shut down the IRGC's ability to threaten the Strait of Hormuz.What do you think of that idea?

We have got really strong professional military planners in CENTCOM, led by Brad Cooper, the commander.But my personal feeling is, we don't need to do that.I don't think we should.We have learned lessons in the past, where, after Afghanistan, for example, after we defeated the Taliban, We decided to invade Afghanistan.That was a mistake.I don't think we need to do that here, and we shouldn't.

Yeah, I remember what happened in Iraq as well, when we disbanded the military and then tried to reconstitute it.It was something of a mess.But the IRGC general, they have no desire to negotiate, and they have no compunction to just try to mess things up, not just with the United States vis -a -vis Iran, but everywhere in the region.

Yeah, no, I think you hit the nail on the head.They are not collaborative.They're not cooperative.They don't want to see an end state where there is a stable region in the Middle East.They want to be who they are and control everything.We're not going to get a good negotiation from them.

All they know is force.And all they need to know is that their military capability is going to be decimated, period.

So the president's former national security advisor for the Middle East, Victoria Coates, said this about how degraded Iran's military capability has become.

What they understand is force.What they understand is power.degradation of their ability to do really anything at this point.Our capabilities keep getting stronger.Our options keep getting broader.Theirs get smaller and smaller.

They're down to now pot shots at our partners in the region.

At what point, General, do you think the IRGC becomes so ineffective that it pretty much collapses of its own weight and then potentially opens up the possibility for some sort of organic regime change throughout Iran?

Yeah, it's tough to estimate.I think probably CENTCOM has a pretty good clue of what that limitation is.It's probably going to have to go beyond that for the IRGC to actually recognize it and give up.They're not going to give up easy.There isn't any give up and let's negotiate after this starts happening to them.So they're in a fight for their life, not just with the U .

S., but with their own population.So I think it's going to take a while.I know people are impatient, but I think we need to stick with it until they basically collapse from within.

All right.Well, we'll continue to watch what CENTCOM does as it prosecutes this conflict.General Wald, thanks for being with us.

Appreciate it.