Trump Says a “BIG DECISION” on Iran Is Coming

We'll keep watching that. Meanwhile, breaking just moments ago, President Trump telling Axios he's approaching a major crossroads in the war with Iran, saying, quote, I have a big decision coming up. Do I want to go in and annihilate the Iranian regime or do I not? It's a big decision. Anything could happen with me. Let's bring in former U.S. sitcom deputy commander Robert Harward. First off, how do you perceive those comments? What does that tell you about how he may plan to proceed here? Well, I think all the comments by both the president and the Iranian regime have in some extent meant to confuse and maybe even dissuade the other side. So there's a lot of psychological warfare going on here, and I don't know if this is part of it or not. But I do know if we don't solve the problems in the Bab Al-Mandab with the Houthis and the Iranians and straights, we're going to have long-term problems. So I'm sure the president's considering that, and I'm sure that's going into his equation. As we've seen with negotiations, they've gone nowhere, and I don't think he expects them to go anywhere. So unless this is capitulation that they're going to agree to acknowledge the straits are open to all traffic, that nuclear weapons are off the table and they're not going to fund surrogates, I think he'll continue to press. I think that's the decision he's facing right now. A retired U.S. Navy SEAL, Mike Sorelli, was on earlier, and he is making the case that Iran is losing the war of endurance. Listen. The Houthis are having a good week. They're winning terrain. But ultimately, Iran is losing the war of endurance. And this may be a pyrrhic victory for the Houthis. They may win now in the short term, but they have a real problem, the fact that they will lose the war because their sustainability is their vulnerability and it's dependent on Iran. The Wall Street Journal editorial board also asked the question, who will stop the Houthis, Mr. Harward? All of this argues for a regional military response to the Houthis, but who will lead it? Saudi Arabia spends $70 billion a year on defense and has a capable air force, but it can't defeat the Houthis alone or merely from air. Retaking the strategic islands and ports will require ground troops. Your thoughts on that, sir? Well, again, always the U.S. should lead, and here's an opportunity to do that. And if you look historically, not only the Saudis have been fighting in Yemen, so have the Emiratis, so has the U.S. Historically, Egypt did before. Now that the Baba Mandab and the Straits of Hormuz and the whole Red Sea is challenged, all those countries have a vested interest. So I think it's the best interest of the United States to bring that coalition together and solve that problem and maybe leverage that coalition to then solve the Iranian problem. I would agree with my shipmate there, Mike, that Iran is losing the war. And where they're losing, most importantly, is financially. They're losing $500 million a day. And when it gets to the point where they can't drive cars because there's no fuel, then it's over. There was, without a doubt, a country can't sustain itself internally. And if you think the people are ready to revolt now, when you get to that stage, they'll be in the streets. And this time, maybe with close air support from the U.S. and all, that don't involve U.S. boots on the ground, but other elements of power we can leverage to help the people of Iran. So I agree. If we stay the course, this is inevitable. The regime will have to renounce the Islamic Revolution. That's where hopefully this is all going. We'll hear you on that. We'll see where the president goes with this big decision he says is coming up on the Iran war. We'll be watching all of it, of course. Thank you very much, Robert Harward. Thank you for joining us. Good to be with you. John?