Iran's regime is "grasping at straws" as President Donald Trump signals U.S. warships will move within striking distance of Iran amid renewed talk of negotiations, Retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Blaine Holt told Newsmax.
He added on Newsmax's "Sunday Report" that internal pushback against Iran's leadership is growing, and that rather than calling the opposition protesters, he calls them "patriots and revolutionaries" fighting the regime as much as they can.
Holt also pointed to reports of recent blasts inside Iran and rejected the regime's public explanation.
"There were seven explosions yesterday at the exact same time," said Holt. "What did the regime say? Oh, they were gas leaks."
But the blasts "killed the chief of the Iranian navy," he said. "That's awesome."
Iran remains dangerous because of its instability and Tehran's significant missile capacity, Holt said.
"They've got 2500 missiles that could be launched in any direction as a final Hail Mary pass," he said, adding that Trump "is looking at demilitarized options and will listen to Iran."
The regime's broader posture, including support for regional proxies, should not be tolerated as Iran seeks to preserve its reach and rebuild its nuclear program, said Holt.
"But what their dream is, is that they keep their global force.
"Hezbollah invested in what they want them to do, along with Hamas and the Houthis. It's unacceptable," Holt said.
"And they're trying to rebuild their nuclear ambitions right now as we speak," he added.
"And they've been rebuilding the facilities. So it's the end game for them."
Holt framed Iran's next move as a choice between force and diplomacy.
"It's how are they going to leave the stage? They can do it via the USS Abraham Lincoln, or they can listen to President Trump and follow his leadership," Holt said.
American Foreign Policy Council Senior Vice President Ilan Berman said Iran may be less willing or able to accept the administration's new terms because the cost of any agreement has sharply risen since earlier overtures.
"The price for a deal between Washington and Tehran just went way, way up," Berman said, pointing to a previous attempt to reach a nuclear framework.
"Back in the summer after Operation Midnight Hammer, after the 12 Day War, there was an overture from Washington to Tehran to hammer out a deal for a durable framework for dealing with their nuclear program," he said.
"The Iranians didn't bite at that time."
Berman said the White House is now seeking far broader concessions that strike at the core of Iran's posture.
"Now you have a situation where the cost the president is expecting from Iran [is] zero enrichment, the out-shipment of highly enriched uranium, a cessation to ballistic missile development, an end to proxy support," he said.
"These are all things that are intrinsic to the regime."
Berman said Washington is less inclined to bargain around those demands now.
"There are things that maybe we would have been able to sort of finagle before.
"I think there's much less appetite in Washington to do that now," Berman continued. "So the bargain is much more stiff."
Berman also said the administration is applying similar pressure in the Western Hemisphere, describing a strategy that treats regional security as directly tied to homeland defense.
He said that "it's very clear that the White House thinks about hemispheric defense as homeland security."
That focus means countries such as Cuba and Venezuela "cannot be launchpads for external actors like Iran, like China, like Russia to menace the homeland," said Berman.
"I think the president is willing to ratchet up the pressure to make sure that stops."
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