Retired General Wesley Clark stated today that an intensified air campaign should define the next phase of any potential military effort involving Iran, rather than an immediate deployment of ground forces.
Clark, a former NATO Supreme Allied Commander, emphasized that achieving air superiority remains critical before broader strategic objectives can be realized. “You’ve got to continue the intense air campaign,” he explained. “You’ve got to shift the targeting. You’ve got to get air supremacy over Iran. We don’t quite have that yet.”
Clark described the necessity of sustained aerial operations near strategic maritime chokepoints such as the Strait of Hormuz, a vital corridor for global energy shipments. “You’ve got to put continuous air over the Iranian coastline in and around the Strait of Hormuz,” he said. “You’ve got to pick up the targets and take those targets out the best you can from the air.”
He highlighted the dispersed and concealed nature of Iranian military assets, including speedboats hidden in tunnels, coves, and civilian infrastructure. “Some are in tunnels, some back in coves, some in garages, speedboats that can be pushed into the water,” Clark noted, underscoring the difficulty of neutralizing such threats through conventional methods alone.
Clark also referenced intelligence from within Iran, suggesting internal actors may assist U.S. and allied forces by calling in targets for Israeli or American operations. “You’ve got to get help from some people on the ground,” he clarified, specifying that these individuals were Iranians “in the process of calling in targets.”
The retired general characterized the approach as a gradual campaign aimed at degrading Iran’s operational capabilities over time. “You’re going to grind this out,” Clark stated. “With each day, hopefully you’ll make it so there are less and less effective means for the Iranians to resist the passage of ships.”
While not ruling out future ground troop involvement, Clark stressed that such a move should occur only after Iranian defenses have been significantly weakened. “At some point, we may be able to get away without putting the troops in,” he added. “If we do, we want to make sure we’re going against a very heavily destroyed enemy base.”
