President Donald Trump affirmed on Wednesday that he is open to ordering the military to wipe out Iran’s Revolutionary Guard, a notable admission as the United States restarts its most consistent bombing campaign of Iran since the ceasefire was announced.
Trump was asked whether he “might wipe out the [the Guard] like you did ISIS,” during an interview on Fox Business.
“We will see what’s happening,” he added. “We received a call just as I was coming here that they want to meet. They always want to meet. But, you know, this should have been done by other presidents for many years. For 47 years, but really a lot longer than that.”
Trump has spent much of his political career railing against the “forever wars” in Iraq and Afghanistan, and while current officials maintain those conflicts were unlike the current one, it’s hard to see the U.S. military topple the Guard with only an air campaign, as has been the case so far.
He could authorize a mission to conquer Kharg Island or other islands off Iran’s coast that have key oil infrastructure, which could give the U.S. newfound leverage, though the operation would entail significant risk.
U.S. forces have carried out several rounds of strikes over the last week or so, which represents an increased tempo since Trump announced the ceasefire on April 7. There were several individual tit-for-tat strikes that usually began when Iran would attack a ship in the Strait of Hormuz, and the U.S. would target the area from which the strikes originated between then and the signing of the memorandum of understanding last month.
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The U.S. Navy also restarted its military blockade of Iranian ports this week, a tactic the U.S. had used during the ceasefire to apply economic pressure on Iran to get it to stop threatening to attack and attacking commercial vessels transiting the crucial waterway off its coast.
Trump also invoked but quickly abandoned plans to charge fees for American policing of the Strait of Hormuz. Iran wants to charge ships to transit the strait as well, which U.S. officials have said is unacceptable and violates international maritime law.