Former National Security Council Chief of Staff Fred Fleitz told Newsmax that he agrees with President Donald Trump expressing displeasure at allied nations refusing to help protect the Strait of Hormuz during the conflict with Iran.
Fleitz told "Bianca Across the Nation" that during a short briefing with reporters on Monday, Trump was "justifiably frustrated because states that rely on this strait are not helping defend it."
Fleitz said U.S. dependence on the waterway is quite low compared with other nations. "We get maybe 2% of our energy through this strait. I think China gets 25% to 50%.
"Same thing for many European states, Japan, South Korea — it is in their interest to secure this waterway."
Fleitz said there is every reason to expect those who need the strait open to work to keep it that way. "I think that we can probably do it ourselves with our Navy, with airstrikes on the shoreline near the Strait of Hormuz.
"But I think the president is right. We have to have states who rely on this waterway to step up and help secure it."
Fleitz claimed that Trump is close to declaring victory against Iran's radical Islamic regime.
"I think it's clear that Iran's leadership has been destroyed. When I listen to the president's press conference today, it's pretty clear that he's moving toward declaring that we have won this war."
Fleitz said he supports that assessment. "We've wiped out Iran's nuclear infrastructure, their ability to make missiles, their ability to project power around the world, the security infrastructure in the country."
He further claimed the latest Iranian leader is out of the picture. "We don't know whether this guy is alive or if he's been incapacitated."
He said the path has been cleared for grassroots Iranian political activists to take over the country and bring peace to the Middle East. "We… achieved weakening the regime, so the Iranian people can take out the government.
"We were not going to achieve regime change through the air, but we achieved regime weakening. And I think we're going to hear that [from Trump] within a week."
Trump told reporters at the White House on Monday that he wished he could be more excited about allied support for protecting the Strait of Hormuz. "Some are very enthusiastic about it, and some aren't.
"Some are countries that we've helped for many, many years. We've protected them from horrible outside sources, and they weren't that enthusiastic.
"And the level of enthusiasm matters to me," the president added.
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Jim Mishler ✉
Jim Mishler, a seasoned reporter, anchor and news director, has decades of experience covering crime, politics and environmental issues.
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