Monday marks 10 days of the U.S. and Israel’s war with Iran.
Mojtaba Khamenei, the 56-year-old son of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was named as Iran’s next supreme leader, after his father was killed in early U.S.-Israeli strikes.
Meanwhile, over the weekend, President Trump told reporters Iran was to blame for a strike, which killed 175 people at a girls’ school in Iran, despite video evidence showing a U.S. Tomahawk missile landing near the school.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, though, said his department is investigating the attack.
Retired Army Gen. David Petraeus spoke on Monday with Here & Now‘s Robin Young about what comes next and how this war ends “when President Trump decides that it ends.” Petraeus served as CIA director under President Obama and in leadership roles during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.
6 questions with Retired Army Gen. David Petraeus
Can we get a brief reaction to the video showing a U.S. missile hitting the school compound? It does seem further proof that it was the U.S. that struck this school.
“Well, having not seen it, having not been aware of what the targeting information was, whether that was mistaken, all you can do in the wake of any of this, these kinds of situations, is try to understand exactly what happened, determine why it happened. You know, our guidance for dealing with the press was be first with the truth and then come out and be first with the truth.
“If it was a mistake on our part, we should acknowledge it. If it was determined to be some other, we should point that out and show why it is that we have concluded that it was not our tomahawk. This stuff does happen when it does happen again. You have to determine what took place. Why did it take place and how do you prevent it or at least minimize the risks of it happening in the future?”
To the new leadership, Ayatollah Khomeini’s son, Mojtaba Khamenei. Just before that announcement, Iran’s more moderate president came out with an apology to Gulf states for Iran’s attacks on them. What is the choice of a continuation of this repressive regime say to you?
“So, a couple of reactions here. First, the [Iran] president’s statement was seemed to be reassuring and it was certainly well-received. And then right after that, of course, missiles and drones hit infrastructure throughout the Gulf states. So, it shows something about which the president has complained in the past – that he has very little power.”
This is the president of Iran.
“Yeah. So, and then, of course, the selection of the supreme leader’s son who’s not even an ayatollah, by the way, he’s a mid-level cleric. And we’re going to have to see whether his character is that of his father or not, one would assume, given his own experience and expertise, time with the Revolutionary Guards Corps, time certainly in his father’s office, that he would be similarly hard line, ideological and clerical. But let’s wait and see, see what his statements are and so forth. If he the same as his father, then we’re in for a tough situation here.”
How you’re feeling about the war now? What’s your sense today?
“I think that the military operations have been hugely impressive. They have focused on a number of different targets, the regime leaders, the air and missile defenses, because, again, that allows us to use non stealthy aircraft in the airspace. That brings in the B-1, B-52 bombers and also, of course, going after the regime forces in general, their headquarters, their infrastructure, the logistics bases and so on.
“And also, over time, the remnants of the nuclear infrastructure that were so dramatically damaged or destroyed during the 12-day air campaign. So, all of this actually, from an offensive standpoint, has gone quite impressively. But clearly, you now have a hardliner in. If he’s not going to be willing to negotiate, that is problematic.
“And I think perhaps the most immediate challenge that I’m sure is in the subject in the White House today and Central Command in the Pentagon, is when can we start escorting ships? When can we reestablish freedom of navigation in the Gulf and through the Strait of Hormuz? Noting at least two countries had to stop producing oil in that region because they’re out of storage space. And apparently the Saudis are starting to slow down as well.”
When you led U.S. troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, in Iraq, you famously shifted U.S. strategy from, you know, consolidating forces on large bases to this population-centric counterinsurgency approach. What can we take from Iraq to apply to Iran, or are they completely apples and oranges?
“That was a completely different war. We were conducting a counterinsurgency operation against essentially terrorists, extremist insurgents and Shia militias supported by Iran. We pulled that country out of a civil war. But that does not bear much resemblance to what we see right now.
“We are conducting major offensive conventional combat operations. This is a big war. I think the president is right not to rule out anything, including boots on the ground. Keep the Iranians guessing. Keep the option open if you decide you need it. I mean, there are various options you could actually pursue. It might give you considerable leverage without extraordinary risk.
“But what you need to think that through very, very carefully, and I actually was a bit relieved, perhaps to hear the president in a way recognize that even tens of thousands of Iranian Kurds are not going to challenge a million men under arms.
“So, again, I think keeping options open is correct. Obviously, thinking very, very carefully about them before choosing one of them when it comes to putting boots on the ground is also correct.”
What do you think the end looks like?
“Well, it depends. I think there are a number of indicators that the national security team is watching, you know, the achievement of military objectives in particular. And is there the emergence of serious opposition forces that might lead us to continue a bit longer to give them a chance? We don’t see it yet, but watch that space. So, I think all of these indicators, the metrics in each of these different areas, bears careful watching. And it is they that will determine the decision, I think, for when to cease hostilities from our perspective, because I really have always thought it ends when President Trump decides that it ends. But I think what will guide that decision or the timing will be these items that I’ve just enumerated.”
This interview was edited for clarity.
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Hafsa Quraishi produced and edited this interview for broadcast with Micaela Rodriguez. Michael Scotto adapted it for the web.
This article was originally published on WBUR.org.
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