U.S. Military Assets In The Middle East Could Wipe Out Iran’s Power Structure In Hours Former Top Commander Says
The military assets the U.S. has amassed in the Middle East could wipe out Iran’s power structure in a matter of hours, according to a former top commander.
The claim was made to the Jerusalem Post by Vice Admiral (Ret.) Bob Harward, the former deputy commander of the US Central Command, which has the Middle East under its area of responsibility.
Harward said President Donald Trump has “illustrated” that he “does what he says,” and “now he has positioned the assets for a military action.” “If he cannot meet the objectives regarding the nuclear and ballistic missile program, he’s willing to go beyond mediation and act,” he added.
Trump said on Thursday that he will make a decision regarding whether to strike Iran“over the next probably 10 days.” “We may have to take a step further or we may not,” Trump said during an address at an event inaugurating the Board of Peace.
Trump did not elaborate further, but reports have detailed that he met with his top advisers on Wednesday to discuss the matter.
According to Axios, one official said Iran needs to present a proposal to Washington by the end of the month. “The Iranian foreign minister told Kushner and Witkoff a lot of positive things but the devil is in the details. The ball in Iran’s court, so lets see,” an official told Axios. However, another official called talks a “nothing-burger.”
Elsewhere in the interview, Harward detailed how strikes could be conducted if the order is given. He said the priority would be “bottom-up,” meaning that the first wave would target strategic missile locations and launchers, which are the direct threats to U.S. forces and Israel.
They would go on to neutralize targets outside the country that could also pose a risk of retaliation and then aim at the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
“This is to provide the Iranian people a change in government, so I think those types of targets will not be hit. It will be focused only on the things that enable the regime and the IRGC to suppress the people,” Harward said.
“Where previously you could do 40 or 50 strikes a day, we now have the ability to conduct hundreds of strikes a day. That in itself changes the equation completely for the regime,” he added.
Originally published on Latin Times
