Former NATO Supreme Allied Commander Wesley Clark stated Monday that despite reports to the contrary, Iran has not shut the door on diplomatic talks with the Trump administration.
“Diplomacy is not finished,” he said.
Clark noted it has been a regular tactic of the radical Islamic Iranian regime to say one thing and then do another.
“So when someone says they reject, OK, fine. But the talking is probably still going on,” he added. “There’s probably pressure from both sides.”
Clark stated that Iranian leaders know President Donald Trump is not bluffing about threats of military action.
“The Iranians have to understand that President Trump does mean what he says,” he said.
Clark also indicated that reports of Trump ordering the military to target several Iranian-held islands near the Strait of Hormuz likely have substance.
“He is going to go after those civilian facilities,” Clark explained, adding that the question will be whether they are truly civilian or have dual-use purposes.
“And if they’re dual-use and they’re supplying power to nuclear research to factories that are producing military equipment and so forth, that’s a legitimate military target.”
Clark expressed confidence that it would be proven that the islands are legitimate military targets. However, he noted that most of these power plants likely fall under the dual-use category. “My guess would be they would fall under the dual-use approach,” he said. “And I think lawyers would say that it is not illegal.”
Clark questioned whether an invasion of the islands would serve a purpose related to the fall of the regime.
“Obviously, no one wants to see an escalation. The president doesn’t want to see it,” he said. “We want the war to stop. But the Iranians are the ones that are driving this forward at this point.”
Clark added that the Iranian leadership is nearing the point of failure. “If the people turn against it, it’ll collapse very, very quickly. They’re struggling,” he stated.
Yet, Clark warned that Iran can still inflict damage. “They do feel like they’ve got a real grip on the Strait of Hormuz. They feel that’s a strategic weapon,” he said. And Iran has enough left in its arsenal to be able to punish, take out petroleum facilities and desalination plants from U.S. allies in the Gulf.
Clark also predicted that NATO countries hesitant to support Trump attacking Iran will come around and be supportive. “They’re going to need to be with us because they’re more dependent on this in terms of physical supplies than we are,” he added.
On Monday, President Trump warned Tehran it had to make a deal by the end of the day Tuesday or face consequences, stating that Iran could be taken out in one evening—possibly “the night might be tomorrow night.”
