Retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg, who served as a special envoy under President Donald Trump, has a blunt message for the administration: the Iran negotiating team needs a serious upgrade. In a Monday appearance on Fox News Channel's "America Reports," Kellogg didn't mince words, saying the current team—which includes Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, Steve Witkoff, and Vice President JD Vance—isn't up to the task.

"You don't want real estate guys negotiating this," Kellogg said. "You want real hardcore people that can negotiate tough." He added, "And I don't think we have that right now."

Kellogg, who served as acting National Security Advisor from 2018 to 2019 and later as U.S. Special Envoy for Ukraine and Russia, knows a thing or two about high-stakes diplomacy. His critique comes as the U.S. is nearly five months into a military conflict with Iran that has disrupted global markets and pushed oil prices higher. The fighting has intensified over the past ten days with sustained U.S. airstrikes, while Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) reported that two oil tankers exploded near the Strait of Hormuz.

Kellogg's main argument is that the nature of the war has fundamentally changed, and the U.S. strategy needs to catch up. "The war has changed right now in Iran," he said. Airstrikes alone, he argued, won't be enough to secure a victory. Instead, he laid out a multi-pronged approach that goes well beyond what the current team appears to be pursuing.

Kellogg's Roadmap on Iran

Kellogg's plan is not for the faint of heart. First, he called for the deployment of ground troops—not to march all the way to Tehran, but to secure strategic targets that would give the president leverage. "You're going to need ground troops to do something. That doesn't mean they go all the way to Tehran," he said. The goal would be to gain control over key parts of Iran's economy and infrastructure.

Second, he urged the president to continue targeting key Iranian leadership and strategic assets to pressure the regime. The idea is to make Iran's leaders fear for their survival and weaken the IRGC, which many see as the real power behind the throne.

Third, Kellogg proposed seizing Iran's Kharg Island and another strategic island to the east. Kharg Island handles the vast majority of Iran's oil exports, so taking it would disrupt the regime's primary revenue stream. "It gives the president leverage," Kellogg said, even as he acknowledged the risks of escalating the conflict.

Finally, he called for the U.S. to support Iranian opposition groups and revolutionaries seeking to overthrow the current regime—potentially with special operations assistance, similar to what the U.S. did in Afghanistan. He also urged Trump to make the case directly to the American people, arguing that preventing a nuclear Iran is vital to avoiding a regional arms race and protecting future generations.

Former Trump Officials Back Tougher Iran Plan

Kellogg isn't alone in pushing for a more aggressive approach. Mark Esper, who served as defense secretary in Trump's first administration, recently warned that relying solely on aerial strikes might not lead to victory. Instead, he suggested focusing on economically "strangling" the Islamic Republic. "One option is you resort to full military onslaught. The other one is you strangle them economically," Esper said earlier this month.

John Bolton, Trump's former national security advisor, went even further. He argued that the IRGC, not Iran's civilian leadership, is driving Tehran's military and security decisions. Bolton said the U.S. should make dismantling the IRGC its primary objective, pointing to recent attacks on U.S. bases and the deaths of American service members as justification for a broader campaign aimed at regime change.

The chorus of former Trump officials calling for a tougher line suggests that the current strategy may be facing internal criticism. Whether the administration will heed Kellogg's advice—and swap out the "real estate guys" for "hardcore" negotiators—remains to be seen. But with the conflict dragging on and global markets feeling the heat, the pressure to change course is only growing.