Mark Esper, the former defense secretary under President Donald Trump, has a blunt message for anyone thinking the U.S. can bomb its way to victory in Iran: don't count on it. Instead, he argues, the smarter play might be to squeeze the Islamic Republic economically.
In an interview with the Financial Times on Wednesday, Esper cast doubt on whether sustained aerial strikes would be enough to change Iran's grip on the Strait of Hormuz. He laid out two paths forward: "One option is you resort to full military onslaught. The other one is you strangle them economically."
The second option, he noted, would require "time, patience [and] discipline," along with international backing. And it might come with a cost for Americans: higher gas prices.
Esper, who served during Trump's first term, also raised a bigger-picture concern. "Because my big concern globally is China," he said, warning that a prolonged conflict with Iran could stretch the U.S. military budget and readiness thin, potentially leaving the country exposed elsewhere.
Speaking to security experts in Aspen on Tuesday, Esper suggested that any strategy against Iran should be measured by "two yardsticks": a return to free maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz and a nuclear deal stronger than the one negotiated by former President Barack Obama—the same deal Trump later abandoned.
