U.S. Special Forces Veteran Says Iran Must ‘Give Up’ Nuclear Ambitions to Secure Deal

As diplomatic efforts between the United States and Iran remain at a standstill, U.S. Army special forces veteran Jim Hanson has stated that Tehran must abandon its nuclear ambitions entirely if it hopes to reach any agreement, warning that negotiations are effectively “on life support.”

Speaking in a recent television interview, Hanson dismissed the idea of a covert U.S. or Israeli operation to extract Iran’s nuclear bomb materials, calling such an undertaking too large and logistically impractical. “I think it’s much more likely that they will force Iran politically to take a deal that allows us to go in and dig out the nuclear material as opposed to running some sort of covert operation to go in and sneak it out because it’s too big an undertaking,” Hanson said. He added that “the Iranians probably aren’t lying about this for once,” acknowledging that the materials are buried.

Hanson emphasized that economic pressure and a blockade remain critical tools. “They need to give up on this and try to find some other place they can feel good about a deal, because they aren’t getting to keep their nukes.”

Asked about Iranian tactics, Hanson said Tehran is “100% doing what they always do — trying to run out the clock and counting on the media and the left and the opposition to go ahead and pressure President Trump.” He dismissed the possibility that President Trump would be pressured or rushed, stating, “This is too important to let politics overcome what is an existential threat.”

Hanson predicted that negotiations have “flat lined” and that the next phase would see targets “near and dear to the regime’s heart… explode and turned into smoldering rubble.”

Referring to an upcoming presidential trip to China, Hanson suggested the president may use the visit to secure Chinese cooperation. “He wants to go to China and see if he can talk Xi into going ahead pressuring the regime into giving this up using their economic power,” Hanson said. “He’s a dealmaker — that’s what he loves to do. It’s two big guys, major two superpowers… let them help us make the Strait open and the world a safer place.”

The interview also included comments from principal deputy press secretary Anna Kelly at the White House, who stated that Iran “has been incredibly decimated, militarily — their navy is at the bottom of the ocean. The ballistic missiles are destroyed. Their production facilities are demolished.” Kelly added that Iran is “being totally crippled economically by the weight of Operation Economic Fury,” and that the president “has all the cards at his disposal because Iran is getting weaker by the day while the United States is getting stronger and stronger.”

When asked about a potential timeline for U.S. or Israeli military action, Hanson said that while explosions “wouldn’t surprise me” as early as tomorrow, he believes the president will leave the threat lingering during the China visit.