Former Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie said Wednesday that the current ceasefire with Iran represents only a temporary pause in hostilities, warning that the regime remains untrustworthy and continues to pose a threat to global security.
"A ceasefire is only a pause, right? It is not the total cessation of hostilities," Wilkie said on Newsmax's "Wake Up America."
He added that while Trump "always defaults" to diplomacy, the "right thing to do in any conflict," care must be taken when dealing with the Iranian leaders."
"But look, these are the last people on the planet that you can trust," he said of the Iranians.
Wilkie made the remarks following comments from War Secretary Pete Hegseth that Iran's regime structure may have shifted, though its ideology remains intact.
Wilkie also pointed to ongoing concerns about Iran's nuclear program, saying the regime still possesses roughly 440 kilograms of uranium that has not been accounted for and has not formally abandoned its pursuit of nuclear weapons.
"We know it's not been destroyed," Wilkie said. "They've never backed away formally from their desire to achieve a nuclear weapon."
Wilkie highlighted continued threats to the Strait of Hormuz, calling any attempt by Iran to charge vessels for passage through international waters a violation of long-standing U.S. principles.
"The notion that we would allow them to charge vessels to transit international waters is a violation of every notion of America's perception of freedom of the seas," he said.
Looking ahead, Wilkie said the next two weeks will test whether diplomacy can succeed, but warned that military action could resume if Iran does not reduce tensions.
"If they don't relieve the pressure on the straits, then I think the campaign continues," Wilkie said, adding that previously identified infrastructure targets tied to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard are "absolutely legitimate military targets."
Wilkie also raised human rights concerns, citing mass killings by the Iranian regime.
"Just in the month of January, the mullahs killed 45,000 of their own people," he said. "That's the kind of savagery and dark-age leadership that exists in Iran."
While noting that regime change is not an explicit military objective, Wilkie said the U.S. could hope for an internal uprising similar to past revolutions.
"We can only hope that the people are able, as they were with the Shah, to come to the streets, force the army to turn its guns on the regime, and finally end this nightmare," he said.
Addressing reports of a proposed peace framework, Wilkie said several elements — including protections for Iran's regional proxy groups — would be unacceptable.
"The protection for Iran's regional proxies, that's never going to fly," he said. "Outfits like Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood are as prime an enemy of our Arab allies as they are of the Israelis."
Wilkie said any final agreement would require Iran to abandon its nuclear ambitions and cease support for militant groups, adding that key U.S. demands are unlikely to be compromised.
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