Former CIA analyst and senior fellow at the America First Policy Institute Fred Fleitz stated that Iran has not abandoned its plans to destroy Israel. Speaking on Monday’s “The Chris Salcedo Show,” Fleitz noted that comments from Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian declaring war with Israel and the United States carry little weight, saying, “I don’t read much into this response.”
Fleitz emphasized that Iran routinely makes threats, stating, “This is just what Iranian leaders do. I don’t discount the fact that they still want to destroy the state of Israel.”
Iranian President Pezeshkian recently asserted to an interviewer that “In my opinion, we are in a full-fledged war with America, Israel, and Europe; they do not want our country to stand on its feet.”
Fleitz highlighted concerns about Iran’s potential development of a nuclear production facility, noting the existence of a deeply buried weapons of mass destruction site known as Pickaxe Mountain that could be used for building nuclear weapons or missiles. “We don’t know yet,” Fleitz said. “We know Iran is working on that.”
The former House Intelligence Committee staff member reported that President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu engaged in serious discussions during their meeting at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago. Fleitz questioned whether the United States should attack Iranian sites, stating, “Is it necessary to attack these sites? Do we wait to see what happens?”
Fleitz added, “Those are very, very significant and dire issues that the U.S. and Israel [are] going to have to consider.”
Trump informed reporters after his meeting with Netanyahu that he would not hesitate to order a military strike against Iran if evidence emerged that Iran was rebuilding its nuclear program following a June U.S. strike on Iran. “I hear Iran is trying to build up again, and if they are, we have to knock them down,” Trump said. “We’ll knock the hell out of them.”
Trump also indicated openness to negotiating a “deal” he described as “much smarter.”
