Middle East Forum chief strategist Jim Hanson joined Fox News to argue that Iran now faces a stark choice: accept a sweeping deal or face escalating U.S. pressure. Hanson said President Donald Trump is leveraging military deployments and economic tools, including a potential oil blockade, to force compliance. He emphasized that reopening the Strait of Hormuz is central to declaring victory and that growing international alignment is increasing pressure on Tehran to concede.
FOX: Jim Hanson, former U.S. Army Special Forces and chief strategist at the Middle East Forum, joins us now. Jim, you and I have been covering a few of these “excursions.” The president likes to take action usually on Fridays or over the weekend when the markets close. You’ve got a lot of Marines heading that way. What do you see happening at the end of the week?
HANSON: They’re going to take the deal or they’re going to pay the price. President Trump didn’t launch those Marines and all of the other assets into theater to be pushed back and ignored at the negotiating table. They’ve got one last chance—make a real deal. And it’s not a soft deal.
FOX: I’ve heard some leftists saying this is just Obama’s deal redone.
HANSON: Obama’s deal accomplished none of the things President Trump is demanding. There was still uranium enrichment, there were still missiles, there were still reactors going. President Trump wants that shut down. They either do that or I have a feeling they might shut off the spigot and the revenue stream at Kharg Island. I like the blockade idea—it’s less risky. We just tell anybody with a tanker, if you tank up at Kharg Island, that is now our oil and we’ll pick it up wherever you try to take it.
FOX: And that’s going to really set off Beijing, and they could lean on the mullahs to do the right thing. What about this alliance that’s forming? What are we looking at—almost two dozen navies now coming together to help keep the Strait open. Do you see something coming from that or is that just talk?
HANSON: Well, starting with talk is a good idea because a lot of those people were saying the wrong things before. They were all against this and up in arms that President Trump was doing this. Then all of a sudden he uncovers the fact that the Iranians had missiles that could have hit all those European capitals. So they now have to actually pay attention and understand they were being lied to. President Trump took the risk, did the right thing, and now they’re the ones who need the oil. They need to pony up and let’s all get together. Everything’s better when you’ve got everybody pulling in the same direction. And President Trump managed to make that happen.
FOX: And what kind of credibility is at stake for the United States with the Strait this week?
HANSON: Well, it needs to open. You’ve got to make the oil flow. And that’s going to require, I think, what President Trump said—it might be jointly controlled if he can get the Iranians to stop and promise not to attack the oil tankers. So that opens up. He’s got so much more leverage for everything else. And I think that’s one of the major goals. He’s already destroyed all their dangerous toys. They are almost neutered now. Open up the flow of oil and he could declare a pretty solid victory.
FOX: All right. Well, he said it was going to be about a five- to six-week excursion. We’re about three weeks in, so it’s halftime.
