Former National Security Council chief of staff Fred Fleitz said Sunday that negotiations between the Trump administration and Iran appear to have made progress, but warned any deal could quickly unravel if Tehran refuses to compromise on key issues such as control of the Strait of Hormuz and its nuclear program.
Fleitz cautioned that divisions within the Iranian government threaten stability. “The problem is the Iranian government is divided,” he stated. “We’re hearing from the Revolutionary Guard that they don’t want Iran to give up control of the Strait of Hormuz, and that Iran won’t do that.”
He added that if the Iranian government fails to uphold commitments, hostilities would resume: “I think there’s going to be a return to hostilities. But I do think our negotiators have made progress.”
On enriched uranium stockpiles, Fleitz expressed strong opposition to U.S. personnel removing material from Iran. “Let’s leave that enriched uranium in the ground,” he said. “It’s in the form of uranium hexafluoride. It’s highly toxic. It’s probably leaking. I’d like to see us bomb the heck out of it.”
Fleitz emphasized Iran would not voluntarily surrender the material and warned against risking American lives: “I don’t think Iran is going to hand it over. And I don’t want our soldiers risking their lives to conduct a hazmat excavation.” He further stated that even if Iran recovered the uranium, its nuclear program would remain years from operational capability: “They don’t have any nuclear facilities now. Even if they dug this stuff up, they’re ten years away from having a nuclear bomb.”
Fleitz concluded with a firm stance on U.S. policy: “We may have to have a situation where we’re going to say to Iran—we don’t care what you say. You can’t have a nuclear program. If you try to rebuild it, we’ll blow up every facility you have.”
