Retired Gen. Jack Keane, a Fox News senior strategic analyst, said Monday that the United States may need to resume “major combat operations” for several weeks in order to accomplish President Donald Trump’s stated objective of securing control of the Strait of Hormuz.
Appearing on Fox News with anchors Bill Hemmer and Dana Perino, Keane said the conflict has changed significantly from where it stood just one week earlier, arguing that diplomatic efforts ultimately failed after Iran allegedly violated an agreement concerning the strategic waterway.
Hemmer opened the interview by asking whether the conflict now looks substantially different after nine consecutive nights of military operations.
“Well, certainly, yes,” Keane replied.
Keane said military operations had paused following a ceasefire on April 7 after 39 days of fighting, leading to roughly 90 days of diplomacy between the United States and Iran.
According to Keane, those negotiations produced a signed memorandum of understanding that included an agreement concerning the Strait of Hormuz, which he said was signed by both the president of Iran and the president of the United States.
He explained that the agreement included one completed provision and another 60 days of negotiations intended to address more difficult issues in the future.
Keane argued that Iran failed to uphold its commitments only days after signing the agreement.
“We have said many times on this broadcast: You can’t trust the Iranians,” Keane said. “They lie about what they intend to do, and even if they sign a deal, they likely will not comply with it.”
According to Keane, Iran was expected to publicly declare that the Strait of Hormuz would remain fully open as international waters without restrictions, tolls, insurance fees, or other limitations. He said that announcement never occurred.
Instead, Keane said the United States has been responding militarily ever since what he described as Iran’s violation of the agreement.
He said current operations are focused on opening, securing and ultimately controlling the Strait of Hormuz after diplomacy failed to achieve that objective.
“So now we’re conducting the Battle of the Strait of Hormuz to forcibly open the strait, secure it, and eventually control it,” Keane said. “That is what has taken place, and huge progress is being made.”
Keane acknowledged that casualties have occurred during the operation, saying that “casualties are part of war.” He said three people had died, including one non-combatant, with a possible fourth fatality. He also referenced the thousands of Americans he said Iran has killed since 1983.
He argued that securing the Strait of Hormuz remains one of Iran’s highest strategic priorities because it provides influence over regional oil distribution.
“What is the fuss all about with the Strait of Hormuz?” Keane asked. “From Iran’s perspective, this is a strategic asset that exceeds the nuclear deal in terms of importance to their enterprise.”
Later in the interview, Perino asked Keane about a statement issued by Iran’s supreme leader, the Ayatollah, who warned that the United States should expect greater costs if the conflict escalates. She also referenced anonymous reporting in The Washington Post concerning U.S. munitions and military capabilities.
Keane said he could not comment on the specific reporting because he did not know the details.
“What I have been told is that over these 90 days of diplomatic effort, we’ve come to full magazine depth again, and the Israelis are at full magazine depth as well,” he said.
Keane expressed confidence that the United States has the resources needed to carry out the president’s mission.
“I’m confident we can execute the mission the president has given us,” he said.
He added that the U.S. military is prepared to return to “major combat operations,” which he estimated could last about two weeks, targeting objectives beyond those currently associated with operations in the Strait of Hormuz.
“If we’re prepared to do that, with targets considerably more extensive than what we’re dealing with at the Strait of Hormuz, I think we’re in good shape,” Keane said.
Hemmer closed the interview by thanking Keane for joining the program and said Fox News would check back with him later in the week for further updates on the conflict.
