President Donald Trump should continue targeting Iran's ability to disrupt shipping through the Strait of Hormuz before considering an occupation of Kharg Island, retired Army Gen. Wesley Clark told Newsmax on Thursday.
"Iran thinks it's winning right now because they control the Strait of Hormuz," Clark, a former NATO Supreme Allied Commander, said on Newsmax's "Wake Up America."
"The reports say that the majority of them were targeted against Iranian assets that would be used to block the Strait of Hormuz, both in the strait and then northwest up the Gulf, and so this makes a lot of sense to me, and I'm glad to see us tightening the noose on Iran there," he added.
Clark said Iran still believes it holds the upper hand because it can threaten one of the world's busiest shipping lanes despite repeated U.S. strikes.
"They haven't won," he added. "They think they've won. And until they lose that leverage, they're going to be tough to negotiate with."
Trump announced during the NATO summit in Ankara, Turkey, that U.S. forces had struck Kharg Island after overnight attacks on nearly 100 targets in Iran. He also suggested again that the United States could take control of the strategically important island.
Clark said keeping Kharg Island under threat would give Washington greater leverage than immediately seizing it.
"I think it's good to hold Kharg Island hostage. I think it's good to be talking about it," he said. "As long as you have Kharg Island in your gunsights, then the Iranians have to worry about it. And it does us more value, actually, as a hostage than it does if we go in there and smash a bunch of equipment."
Instead, Clark endorsed the reported strategy of targeting Iran's military assets around the Strait of Hormuz.
"I like the approach that Admiral [Brad] Cooper is taking," he said. "He's going after the targets that Iran is using to attack shipping. And step by step, bit by bit, pick by pick, he's going to take out their ability to keep the strait closed."
"Once we've got them out of there, everything else that they have is going to fall apart, and they will negotiate, I think," Clark said. "But so I would keep Kharg Island just like the president said, keep your eye on it, keep them worried about it, and get the Strait of Hormuz open."
Clark also dismissed Iranian threats that no American troops would leave alive if the United States occupied the island, while cautioning against launching a ground operation.
"I don't think they can do that," he said. "I think, though, that before we would take Kharg Island, we would have eliminated most of those Iranian forces that are there defending it one way or another."
"The problem with it is once you've got it, you've got it. You're sitting there, you're occupying it, you're within 20 miles of Iran. And so you open the door to a wider ground operation to protect those troops. And there's no reason to do that just yet."
Turning to the NATO summit, Clark said he was encouraged by progress in U.S.-Turkey relations, including the possibility of Turkey acquiring F-35 fighter jets if it removes its Russian-made S-400 air defense system.
"I think the summit came out pretty well, really," he said. "Turkey has always been a sort of enigmatic, sometimes difficult ally, but a very important ally and in a critical position."
"That's a step forward," Clark added. "And the closer we can work with Erdogan and Turkey, it's just one more element of being able to help stabilize the region."
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