Keane issues warning: This will empower Iran

President Trump staying at the White House this weekend, reportedly meeting with his national security team on whether to launch new strikes against Iran.Iran's state -run media claims its top negotiator told Pakistan's army chief that Iran's armed forces have been rebuilt during the ceasefire.Welcome to a special edition of Saturday in America.I'm Jonathan Hunt, in for Kayleigh McEnany.Let's get right to it with our foreign correspondent, Jeff Paul.He's in Dubai with more on the conflict in the Middle East.

Yeah, Jonathan, and all eyes right now are on Iran, especially for the folks here in the Gulf and throughout the Middle East, to see if there are any sort of developments between the U .S.and Iran.Now, Tehran is reportedly reviewing the latest peace proposal, all while Secretary of State Marco Rubio says slight progress has been made.In fact, we know a delegation from Pakistan has just arrived in Tehran, which includes the country's army chief.They're meeting with the Iranian foreign minister and the Speaker of the Parliament.

As Pakistan to hammer out a ceasefire deal between both sides.Now, for those who call Iran home, they're hoping progress can be made before the situation there gets any worse.Residents who live along Iran's southern coast say the closure of the Strait of Hormuz has been devastating.

I'm absolutely upset, because the economic pressure from the closure of the Strait of Hormuz is falling on the people.Those who work at the docks, for example, are now almost all unemployed.If this strait is reopened, the economy will improve.

Now, Marco Rubio, who just landed in India after NATO meetings in Sweden, was just asked a little while ago if he's heard from Iran.Here's what he had to say.

There is a chance that whether it's later today, tomorrow, in a couple days, we may have something to say.But this issue needs to be solved, as the President has said, one way or the other.Iran can never have a nuclear weapon.The straits need to be opened without tolls.They need to turn over their enriched uranium.They need to turn over their highly enriched uranium.

We need to address that issue.We need to address the issue of enrichment.These are the President's points consistently.And his preference is always to deal with it in a diplomatic way.The President's preference is always to solve problems such as these.through a negotiated diplomatic solution.

That's what we're working on right now.But this problem will be solved, as the president's made clear one way or the other.We hope it's done through the diplomatic route.That's what we're working on, and perhaps there'll be something to talk about on that topic while I'm here on this visit at some point.

Now, as you just heard there, U .S.Secretary of State Marco Rubio saying maybe they'll have some news to announce today, maybe tomorrow.Of course, this entire region is standing by watching to see if that happens.One other thing, Jonathan, to give you a little color from here on the ground in the UAE, an advisor for the president here says at this very moment, he believes there's about a 50 -50 chance that the U .S.

and Iran can make a deal.And he said that because in the past, Iran has often, in his words, sort of overestimated or overplayed the cards that are in their hands.

And, Jeff, do you get the idea there that the UAE and other Gulf countries very much want this to be a deal that is done diplomatically, or do they prefer the idea of the U .S.and Israel going in and basically finishing the job, as The Wall Street Journal put it, and getting rid of the current Islamic regime in Iran?

I think the diplomatic route is what most Gulf countries prefer.Just a few days ago, you had leaders in Qatar, Saudi Arabia and here in the UAE quite literally pushing President Trump to hold off on what was talked about as a planned attack of Iran to allow for negotiations to continue, and President Trumplistened to those calls.And you can hear how Marco Rubio is phrasing it, that they want this diplomatic process or the negotiation process to take place.But, you know, as time goes on, without any sort of news or any sort of reply, I think the patience could be running out.But I think for the countries here in the Gulf, they prefer this to be negotiated in a diplomatic way.

Jonathan.

All right, Jeff Paul in Dubai today.Thank you so much.Great to see you, Jeff.So where does the U .S.and Iran conflict go now?

Foreign Ministry also saying just a few moments ago, according to Reuters, that there has been an emphasis this week on decreasing disagreements.So, do you think we are getting closer to an agreement, General?

I honestly don't know.All of these statements that we're hearing, we've been hearing them for six weeks, and I think the pattern is pretty similar.You know, people Talk to our negotiators about making a deal.And we're willing to make concessions on X, Y, and Z. And then when it really gets down to it, those concessions are not made.It's one of the reasons why, in dealing with the Iranians, that I really prefer not making a deal and going back to combat operations.I think there's three primary reasons for that.

Number one, if we make this deal, It's going to empower Iran.By that I mean, listen, they are bruised and weakened, to be sure, but they will remain intact as a result of it.They're going to conclude that they were able to—to back down the world's number -one economic and military superpower.That's going to embolden them in terms of their control over their own population and also our allies in the region, and going right back to where they were in terms of what their strategic goals are.the deal itself.

Any deal that they will agree to, and we will likely grant, will have to provide financial relief for them.And that will enable them, with billions of dollars, to recover the regime.That means that the idea that this regime would eventually go away and collapse as a result of weakening them, the regime, so that they would be vulnerable to their own population goes completely off the table.And we'll be dealing with this regime for years to come.That's the reality.And number three, even if they sign on a dotted line and put their signatures affixed to it, Do we really believe that they're going to accomplish the goals that are stated in that agreement?

Or are they going to do everything that they can do to reverse those goals and cheat and obfuscate and begin to support the proxies with the money they've received, begin to recover their ballistic missile program, and then covertly try to recover their nuclear program.Those are the reasons I think it's preferable to finish what we started and get back to combat operations.We've got a couple of weeks to go.The regime will be much more weakened as a result of it, and it will be dealing with economic collapse.

And, General, so it sounds like you very much agree with what the Wall Street Journal said, which we can put up on the screen here.Mr. President, finish the job in Iran, the Wall Street Journal wrote, and free the world from this hideous regime.Your bold action, something no other president has done, is push the Ayatollahs to the brink.Now is the time to finish them off.But, General, if we'rethat path and try to finish off the Islamic regime in Iran, what is it going to take, General?

Because the U .S.military has done an incredible job in the mission that they have so far been charged with, but it hasn't come close, it appears, to finishing off the regime.So what does it take to follow your preferred path?

Well, we've been gathering intelligence for six weeks.The fact of the matter is, we've got a lot of good resolution on the remaining military and economic targets.We have the capability to reduce those military targets quite dramatically.And also, we have the capability to take away from them every single revenue source that they have by attacking their capabilities to produce that revenue, whether it's at Karg Island or whether it's inside the country itself.The power of the military to do that is quite significant.And we never said it would produce regime change.

We did say it would so weaken the regime that it would be vulnerable to its people and its resistance.That goal is still quite achievable.We don't leave the regime with anything of consequence.They don't have the revenue to rebuild.They don't have the revenue to pay the people that are working for them.And obviously, I think, with the assistance of the CIA in

to use that empowerment with our allies and partners.They will threaten to take down the Straits of Hormuz again and use that as leverage.And that is why we have to physically take the Straits of Hormuz back from them.

All right.General Jack Keane, it is always an honor to talk to you, sir, on this Memorial Day weekend.Thank you for your service to our country and to our viewers this morning.Thank you, General.

Yeah, great talking to you, John.