Economic pressure on Iran could ‘DISMANTLE’ the regime: US Navy SEAL veteran

[00:00:02]Do you believe that Iran has moved nuclear centrifuges into Pickax Mountain? And when you say we're not done yet, what is left to finish?

[00:00:10]>> Well, I think that they they may have.

[00:00:13]We don't have it on record, it doesn't mean anything unless they have the material. You're talking about the centrifuges. We follow the material.

[00:00:20]That's where the action is. We'll be hitting that area pretty soon. Uh and and very heavily.

[00:00:27]>> All right. Uh, so he laid it out pretty clearly. Joining us, Brian Hook, former Iranian envoy. Mike Cerelli, retired US Navy Seal and host of The Unsung of Arlington on Fox Nation. Gentlemen, thank you coming on set. Um, well, you heard it, Brian. What's What's your what's your take on it?

[00:00:46]>> Well, the president is at a point now where I think it's always the nuclear piece has always been his biggest objective >> and that is the intolerable risk. the national security risk is the nuclear peace. So I think he needs to keep his focus there. I look at Iran and the and the threats that they present and I think that they're most vulnerable on their economy. It's a Marxist economy.

[00:01:11]It's this strange combination of theocracy and a Marxist economy that's very fragile.

[00:01:17]>> I think the naval blockade and a very very tough economic pressure campaign on the regime is likely to weaken them. And the president has another two and a half years to really weaken them economically and that can produce a lot of very good results.

[00:01:35]>> Yeah. Well, I hope so. But just one quick one. Um Mike Cerilli, the Houthy Houthy piece, they haven't done it yet.

[00:01:43]They're saying they're going to do it.

[00:01:45]Uh but we're not going to stand by and let them do it, are we?

[00:01:48]>> No. Or or we'll end up playing maritime whack-a-ole. I mean, if the Gulf is the front door, Bob El Mandav is the the back door. So, we can't allow that. Ryan and I were talking earlier, the price of oil would surge circumventing around Africa. That just causes delays and costs go up, not only for the logistics, but for the consumers.

[00:02:05]>> That's why I asked, I mean, oil prices went up a couple bucks today, but it could be a lot worse. Uh I And a lot of people don't know what to make of it. Um not that it comes in from left field. I mean, they've done this before, but we've bombed them before. I mean, wouldn't we just unleash on them? We We can't afford at this stage of the game to have $150 oil just, you know, >> correct.

[00:02:28]>> That problem, I thought was taken out a few weeks ago, but maybe not.

[00:02:34]>> Well, the the Iranians can activate the Houthis, but I think of Iran as a strategic problem. I think of the Houthies as a tactical problem.

[00:02:42]>> And energy traders tend to price probability, not certainty.

[00:02:46]If the Houthies are able to modestly disrupt >> traffic and if people are able to get workarounds, I don't think we're going to see a sharp increase.

[00:02:57]>> But if the Houthis are able to disrupt shipping through missiles, proxies, and drones, then we could be at sort of elevated energy prices. The Houthis are an entirely more manageable challenge.

[00:03:09]Just like you said, they don't have a blue water navy. They don't possess control of the Baba Mand. We have hit them before. Israel has hit them before.

[00:03:18]Our navy is very good at escorting ships through the Gulf. And so I feel like the Houthies are a more manageable problem.

[00:03:25]Are >> these Thomas Jefferson's barbar ps pirates?

[00:03:28]>> Yes.

[00:03:29]>> Yeah. This is a this is a ragtag militia.

[00:03:32]>> Mr. Jefferson taught us how to deal with >> it is. Yes, we have dealt with this years ago. Yeah. Exactly. So I feel like this is manageable.

[00:03:38]>> Um Mike's really covert action is something General Keane and I spoke about on the show last night.

[00:03:45]the CIA, MOSA, we have security services. We have done this before, particularly during the Reagan years, providing money, cash, military weapons, whatever it takes. Uh maybe that's going on right now, but um it would seem to me that would be an important piece of this.

[00:04:03]>> It's it's a layered on top of what we're doing, the economic fury, the military strikes, the the diplomacy with the regional partners. It is an addition unconventional warfare that could put further pressure on this regime and will ultimately dismantle.

[00:04:17]>> Do you think I hate to even ask you but is it going on now co I mean it just seems so obvious that you think it's got to be going on but covert action would be an important part of overthrowing this regime and I think Mr. Trump by the way more than ever wants to overthrow this regime. He has lost his patience with them. They've crossed too many red lines. You can see it in his public statements. It's a whole different thing. He's not talking about peace deals or memorandums of understand. So anyway, covert action would just seem to be a natural.

[00:04:51]>> I would assume it's going on. When I talk to my contacts, that's the one thing I don't want to know is don't tell me. Yeah. But this is a US military.

[00:04:57]We've done it, you know, in partnership with the with our agencies. It has to be going on. It's part of the strategy.

[00:05:03]>> And Brian, on your economic point, it's a very important point. I get it. But do we have the luxury of a couple more years of squeezing them down?

[00:05:13]>> Econ economic fury. We gave in. It's not that easy. You know, we had the sanctions. It was set up. Uh Scott Besson, I called him the best wartime Treasury Secretary since World War II, and I meant it. But he was forced to undo some of those sanctions and let them say now it's not that easy to put it back together again. Well, I think on the military side, the president can keep answering every Iranian provocation, but I think the long-term strategy should be around an economic pressure campaign because that's where Iran is at its most vulnerable.

[00:05:46]>> No, I I agree. I agree.

[00:05:49]>> And I think you can put it back together.

[00:05:50]>> I want to see double barrel punching here. Military and econ. I want to give them everything we got. I'm not kidding.

[00:05:56]I'm not give them everything. It's just speaking as a citizen. Blah blah blah.

[00:06:00]Brian Hook, Mikeelli, both were nice to see you on set, both of