Retired general: U.S. has ‘got to stop’ Iran from maintaining control of Strait of Hormuz

Defense Retired general: U.S. has ‘got to stop’ Iran from maintaining control of Strait of Hormuz Comments: by Ryan Mancini - 07/05/26 4:23 PM ET Comments: Link copied by Ryan Mancini - 07/05/26 4:23 PM ET Comments: Link copied

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Retired Gen. Jack Keane on Sunday said the U.S. has “got to stop” Iran from maintaining control of the Strait of Hormuz.

“Certainly, if Iran does any major attack, that’s something that would put us back into major combat operations,” Keane said in an interview on “Sunday Morning Futures” with Fox News’s Cheryl Casone. “But Iran really still wants to maintain control of those straits in terms of when a ship can leave and where a ship will go, and also pay some form of insurance. We have got to stop that.”

Keane added that if Iran attacks more shipping vessels within the Strait of Hormuz for not abiding by rules set by Iran’s military, it would lead to limited strikes or “the other major event would be just full-out major combat operations out of frustration that Iran is never going to make a deal that’s consequential and meeting the objectives of the Trump administration.”

The U.S. and Iran have held negotiations toward a final peace deal after formally signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU), in which a key component was to resume the passage of ships through the strait. Iran has attacked vessels within the strait, with the U.S. sending retaliatory strikes back toward Iran.

The latest flare-up ended with both sides stating they were standing down to allow negotiations to resume.

Iran’s joint military command warned of a “forceful response” against oil tankers passing through the strait if they do not follow approved routes. This appeared to be a response to U.S. Central Command’s (Centcom) statement that a meeting with regional military officials the day prior “underscored their shared commitment to the free flow of commerce through the Strait of Hormuz.”

This threat was followed by Iran’s Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf warning the U.S. and Israel not to breach the interim peace deal.

Keane said President Trump is “not reluctant to use military force to put Iran back to the negotiating table,” but said he suspects Iran “will continue to violate the terms of the agreement,” likely pushing both parties back into conflict.

Iran has been in the process of holding a massive funeral for its former supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, since Friday. Khamenei’s son and successor as supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, has not yet been seen publicly since the war began, reportedly injured during the initial strikes on his country in February.

“Certainly, what they’re doing here, they started it on July 4. I don’t believe that was by accident. I think they chose that date, knowing what has happened in the United States of America in our 250th celebration,” Keane told Casone, referring to the U.S.’s 250th birthday.

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