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Gen. Jack Keane, a retired four-star, said the US should use war against Iran while the regime is “very weak,” arguing that Tehran continues to lie about its nuclear ambitions as President Donald Trump keeps the door open to a new deal.
“I think we’re coming to the truth that the military option is the best option here,” Keane said on “Fox & Friends Weekend.”
Trump faces “this historic opportunity that no other president has had” to set the stage for a regime collapse, which could herald lasting peace in the Middle East and be the president’s defining legacy, he said.
An aerial view of the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group while operating in the Arabian Sea, escorted by two warships and two US Coast Guard ships, as warplanes from Carrier Air Wing Nine conduct aerial missions over the Arabian Sea, on Feb. 6, 2026. (US CENTCOM/Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)
A senior Fox News strategist acknowledged that Trump has developed a pattern of using diplomatic pressure to achieve his goals, but he was still pushing for war on Iran, saying “if [Iran] make any kind of deal, the first thing they’re going to want is relief from sanctions.”
He said that even an agreement in favor of the US will not be beneficial for America, the region or the people of Iran because it will extend the life of the ayatollah’s regime, which is now the “weakest” it has had politically, economically and militarily.
IRAN RELEASES PHOTOS OF KHAMENEI TO ENCOURAGE JOINING IRGC, OPPOSITION GROUPS SAY
Buses burned during Iranian protests are seen in Tehran, Iran, on Jan. 21, 2026. (Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via Reuters)
Not only is Iran destabilizing the Middle East, using its proxies to attack Israel and oppressing its own people, Keane said, but the regime has “persisted on big lies…
“They have one nuclear plant in Iran. It represents … less than 1% of the power to supply and support their electricity grid,” he said. “That’s all bullshit. They’ve been lying about this for years, and they’re still doing it.”
TRUMP’S SPECIAL OFFICER WITKOFF AND KUSHNER VISIT US AIRCRAFT CARRIER AMID IRAN TENSIONS, TALKS
Keane’s comments come after US special envoy for peacekeeping operations Steve Witkoff, Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner and Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of US Central Command (CENTCOM), visited USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea on Saturday scheduled for deployment.
Their visit follows Friday’s nuclear talks between the US and Iran in Oman, which included Witkoff and Kushner. Trump described the meeting as “very good.”
“Iran looks like it wants to make a deal very badly,” he told reporters Friday aboard Air Force One en route to Mar-a-Lago. “We’ll have to see what that contract is.”
He has made it clear that he will only make a deal with Iran if they agree that there are no nuclear weapons.
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Fox News Digital’s Brie Stimson contributed to this report.
