President Donald Trump's Strait of Hormuz blockade "is working" and the resulting "cascade of effects" will undermine the Iranians, former Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie told Newsmax on Monday.
Appearing on "Wake Up America" with co-hosts Sharla McBride and Marc Lotter, Wilkie said the administration's aggressive strategy is already squeezing Tehran financially and could soon weaken the regime from within.
"The blockade is working," Wilkie said. "The Iranians have just a few more weeks of money left in their treasury. And then you will see, I think, a cascade of effects."
According to Wilkie, those effects could include fractures within Iran's powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, as rank-and-file members begin prioritizing their families over the regime.
He predicted that financial collapse could ultimately lead to the breakdown of the government's command-and-control structure.
Wilkie pointed to past unrest in Iran, including protests triggered when the national currency plummeted, as evidence that economic pressure can quickly destabilize the regime.
He noted that tens of thousands of Iranian citizens were killed in crackdowns earlier this year, underscoring the regime's fragility.
The former defense official also dismissed Iran's diplomatic outreach, including recent efforts to involve Russia and Pakistan in negotiations.
He argued that Tehran has a history of negotiating in bad faith, only to have agreements vetoed by hardliners once officials return home.
"They left Pakistan with one idea in mind," Wilkie said, referring to prior talks, "and then as soon as they got back to Tehran, the IRGC vetoed the agreement and the shooting started again."
Wilkie also highlighted Iran's growing ties to global adversaries, particularly Russia and China.
He said Iranian-made drones have been widely used in attacks against Ukraine, while Chinese shipments to Iranian ports have bolstered Tehran's missile capabilities.
Despite rising gas prices in the U.S., Wilkie backed Trump's argument that the short-term economic pain is justified to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.
"This is a threat that needs to be eliminated," he said.
The White House has acknowledged that the blockade and regional instability are contributing to higher fuel costs, with prices topping $4 per gallon in some areas.
Still, Trump has argued that preventing a nuclear-armed Iran is critical to avoiding far greater global disruption.
Wilkie agreed, warning that allowing Iran to rebuild its nuclear and missile programs would lead to a crisis "the likes of which the world really hasn't seen since World War II."
For now, he said, the administration's pressure campaign appears to be achieving its intended goal of pushing Tehran closer to a breaking point.
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Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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