Iran's decision to suspend its interim agreement with the United States is part of a "propaganda war" after the regime repeatedly violated the deal itself, former National Security Council Chief of Staff Fred Fleitz said Sunday on Newsmax.
"The gall of Iranian negotiators and spokesmen really has no limits," Fleitz told Newsmax's "Wake Up America Weekend." "Iran has never abided by this agreement. It's violated it seriously. It has accelerated its violations with attacks on ships in the strait."
Iran has announced it was suspending its commitments under a preliminary agreement with the United States, with both sides accusing the other of violating the accord.
The memorandum was intended to reduce hostilities and ensure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz but unraveled after renewed U.S. airstrikes inside Iran and Iranian missile and drone attacks targeting American forces and U.S. allies across the region.
Fleitz dismissed Tehran's claim that Washington failed to uphold its commitments under the memorandum of understanding, maintaining Iran was the first to breach the agreement.
He added that the United States gradually increased its military response before President Donald Trump ordered a broader air campaign.
"The U.S. slowly increased its retaliation until the president was just tired of this and decided he would engage in massive airstrikes," he said.
Fleitz maintained Iran is now attempting to portray itself as the victim despite its repeated violations.
"They're trying to win the propaganda war," he said. "When we hear statements like this, Newsmax will repeat it honestly. But CNN is going to say that this is some actual significant statement by the Iranian government. It clearly is not."
Fleitz also said that current U.S. strikes are focused on securing the Strait of Hormuz by targeting military assets that threaten commercial shipping.
"These attacks are concentrating on locations that can threaten ships in the strait, including Bandar Abbas, which is where a lot of the attacks had been organized from," he said.
He said U.S. forces are knocking out "platforms and radar sites, storage facilities" to "basically reduce, maybe eliminate Iran's ability to attack the strait."
"We'll see whether this will work out, but it is a major focus of the current attacks," Fleitz said.
Retired Army Maj. Mike Lyons, who also appeared on the show, said Iran's missile strike that killed two U.S. service members in Jordan shows the regime still retains significant capabilities despite weeks of U.S. operations.
"The issue, though, is the fact that the Iranians were able to strike deep inside Jordan like they did," Lyons said. "It shows they still have capability here."
Lyons said the United States must continue targeting Iran's remaining mobile missile launchers and cautioned that even a heavily degraded arsenal can remain dangerous.
"If the Iranians started with 10,000 ballistic missiles and we degraded 90% of them, that still leaves about a thousand left," he said. "They fight basically asymmetrically, but the one or two that get through are damaging."
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