Retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Blaine Holt told Newsmax on Saturday that Iran is "unifying" key Gulf states rather than splitting them, saying Tehran "miscalculated" by striking across the region as Israel and its neighbors faced incoming Iranian fire.
Asked what Gulf governments might do after attacks in the region, Holt said, "Well, I think we've received it," calling Iran's response "just a complete miscalculation on the part of the IRGC," referring to that nation's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
He said that Iran was trying "to sow dissension and to sow chaos amongst the alliance," but he argued "the opposite has happened."
On "Saturday Report," Holt said Iran fired into Arab states expecting them to "turn on the United States, maybe even Israel," but instead "they're all coming together and unifying: Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the [United Arab] Emirates."
He added, "They're all coming around and saying, you know, we've always known who you [Iran] were, and now we're ready to get into the fight."
Reuters reported Saturday that Iran fired missiles at Gulf cities and that Kuwait, Qatar, the UAE, and Bahrain said they intercepted missiles after U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran, while Jordan also intercepted missiles, in events that shook cities across the region.
Focusing on Bahrain, Hold said the imagery he saw "really does look like the Juffair Hilton" in Manama, Bahrain's capital, and he added, "And if that's the case, I hope it was evacuated beforehand, because normally we put a lot of service people there."
He said, "I have certainly stayed in the Juffair Hilton," and added, "And so we'll just have them all in our prayers."
As the discussion shifted to Israel and air-raid alerts in Tel Aviv, Holt said he believed viewers were watching Iran "throw everything they have up at us," adding, "Those things have to be intercepted."
He said that "a couple might get through" and that lives are at risk.
Holt said Iran "probably doesn't have adequate guidance and targeting systems anymore," and he added, "We've done a lot of 'blinding them' work."
He argued Iran would escalate and send up everything it has once it believed "the game is completely up for them."
"We should assume that," Holt said.
The Associated Press reported Saturday that the U.S. and Israel launched a major attack on Iran and that Iran retaliated by firing missiles and drones toward Israel and U.S. military bases in the region.
Holt also warned that the conflict could extend beyond overseas strikes, saying, "They have active cells and terror groups here that are in league with the cartels in the United States," and he added, "Hopefully, they see that the fight is not worth it for them."
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Jim Thomas ✉
Jim Thomas is a writer based in Indiana. He holds a bachelor's degree in Political Science, a law degree from U.I.C. Law School, and has practiced law for more than 20 years.
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