Iran still wants a nuclear device and may want one even more now as a deterrent against further conflict, retired Army Gen. David Petraeus told Newsmax on Tuesday, warning that the United States must match Tehran’s brinkmanship and be prepared to return to fighting if negotiations fail.
Petraeus, a former CIA director and former U.S. Central Command commander, made the comments on “The Record With Greta Van Susteren” hours before President Donald Trump announced he was extending the two-week U.S.-Iran ceasefire indefinitely until Tehran submits a peace proposal.
Trump said on Truth Social that he was acting at Pakistan’s request and cited Iran’s “seriously fractured” government, while directing the U.S. military to continue its blockade of Iranian ports.
Asked what he would do if he were president, Petraeus described the standoff as “a bit of a test of wills” and pointed to visible splits in the Iranian government.
He noted that Iran’s foreign minister recently said the Strait of Hormuz was open to traffic, only for the commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to countermand that statement, declaring it closed.
“We know that they’re very good at brinksmanship, and I think that we’re going to have to show that we are good at brinksmanship as well,” Petraeus said. Both sides want a negotiated end, he added, but Washington should avoid appearing “too eager.”
Iran’s conventional forces have been heavily degraded, Petraeus said, with its missile stocks, drones, naval assets, and remaining airpower largely destroyed, alongside damage to infrastructure used to manufacture and assemble missiles.
