Retired four-star general believes peace more likely than expected in Israel-Iran conflict

The death toll in Israel and Iran has been growing since the two have begun exchanging missile attacks.

Iran’s leader warned that any American military involvement would cause “irreparable damage to them,” The Associated Press (AP) reported. Israeli airstrikes targeted Iran’s capital early Wednesday, a day after President Donald Trump demanded “unconditional surrender.”

However, Trump has not been clear if he would strike Iran, telling reporters at the White House Wednesday, “I may do it, I may not do it. I mean, nobody knows what I’m going to do,” according to The AP.

Retired four-star General Barry McCaffrey told “The Gee and Ursula Show” on KIRO Newsradio he does not believe the U.S. is involved.

“We are participating with some very sophisticated air defense systems in Israel, but the general posture of the United States has not yet gone into offensive operations against Iran,” he said.

McCaffrey added that the U.S. is “influencing the situation, but we’re not part of the war yet.”

Israel-Iran conflict goes back decades

The conflict between Israel and Iran goes back 80 years, McCaffrey said.

“The Ayatollahs, since the Shah was deposed, have chanted in large groups of citizens, ‘Death to Israel’ and ‘Death to America,'” he said. “And we do have international issues at stake. The Iranians could cut off the Persian Gulf, the supply of oil to the world, primarily in western Europe and Japan. So, there are issues that force us to pay attention to what they’re doing. But the immediate, proximate threat is nuclear weapons.”

McCaffrey noted the U.S. will do what is necessary to protect itself.

“The bottom line is the Israelis have correctly decided that their existence is at stake, and they will take unbounded measures to prevent that from happening. The United States is also publicly in the same posture. We will not tolerate them fabricating nuclear weapons,” he said.

However, McCaffrey believes a resolution is on the horizon.

“My gut instinct is that Trump has taken measures that enhance the likelihood of the Iranians coming back to a diplomatic, negotiated outcome. They’re in an unbelievably vulnerable position. Their proxies are all essentially neutered,” he said.

McCaffrey added, “I think peace is more likely than many would assume, and that Trump would be ill-advised to join in on the war.”

Listen to the full conversation below.

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