Retired U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg told Newsmax Tuesday that the ceasefire between the US and Iran shows that the world is learning that President Donald Trump means what he says.
"The guy is a living action verb, and the difference is courage," Kellogg said on "Rob Schmitt Tonight."
"He has done something as a president of the United States that no president before him has done," Kellogg said.
"He not only talked about it, he actually did it, and I think people are now starting to realize this guy really means what he says," Kellogg added.
"Some of these people take a long time for him to get it, but now he's got it — he's got their attention," Kellogg continued.
Kellogg said while he doesn't trust the Iranians to keep their end of the ceasefire, he is willing to see how this plays out over the next two weeks.
"They've got to role play, they now know the president's very serious about it," Kellogg said.
"He'll commit forces if he has to, bomb if he has to — now it's back over to them," he said.
The retired general said he believes the U.S. had enough leverage to get Iran to meet their demands.
"They realize they are now dealing with an individual who's very serious about action. And, you know, to him, results count," Kellog said.
"I think they now realize that they realize that this is a guy who's very willing to take Kharg Island to take their oil supply, to take their lifeline.
"He'll open up that Gulf if he has to. So you're going to do it voluntarily or by force.
"You're going to do one of two ways.
"I think they want to survive, and I think they'll hopefully start to negotiate and realize this is this is a losing game for them," Kellogg added.
"And it's great. Kudos to the president of the United States. It's great kudos to our military. But, you know, the resolve is absolutely incredible to watch," he said.
Kellogg said whoever is leading Iran will realize they now have to deal with Trump.
"They're going to face somebody with great resolve," Kellogg said.
"But when you look at somebody like Karachi, who's their foreign minister, or you look at Vahid, who's the leader of the Republican Guard, these are all hardliners.
"But I think, they are realistic as well," Kellogg added.
"They realize what's going to happen, and we've gone far enough down the line that some of these people now are starting to say, 'maybe it's better we get along with these guys.'
"And over time, hopefully you'll have a change of government, too," Kellogg continued.
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Sam Barron ✉
Sam Barron has almost two decades of experience covering a wide range of topics including politics, crime and business.
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