The following is the transcript of an interview with retired Gen. Frank McKenzie, former commander of United States Central Command, broadcast April 14, 2024.
MARGARET BRENNAN: And we’ll now turn to the former commander of U.S. Central Command, General Frank McKenzie, who is also the author of a new book, “The Melting Point,” available in June. General, welcome to Face The Nation. Given what you’ve just seen unfold over the last 24 hours, I wonder if you think deterrence has been restored? And as for the range of options available to Iran, how extensive was its action last night?
GEN. FRANK MCKENZIE: Well, first of all, it’s nice to see you, Margaret. I think it was a big attack from Iran. I think that was as close to maximum effort as they could generate. And- and I’ll illustrate it this way. Iran has more than 3,000 missiles of various types scattered throughout the country. They have around 100 missiles – probably a few more – mainly in western Iran, which can target Israel. From what the Israelis say, I believe they fired most of these weapons at Israel. The Israelis obviously managed to intercept most of them. Iran could not repeat last night’s attack tonight if it had to. Now they are also using cruise missiles and drones to try to present a multidimensional problem to the Israelis. It was a maximum effort. Today, Iranians will backtrack and talk about moderation. There was nothing moderate about this attack, and I think John Kirby understood that well when he spoke to you earlier about the nature and scope of the Iranian attack. It was blind. And it was designed to cause victims. So we should just consider that when we look at it. Now, has the terrace been reset? I think the Israelis have done a magnificent job, with our help and that of other countries in the region, including the United Kingdom. And so I think now the Iranians have to sit back and consider: what they considered their most important capability, their ballistic missiles, their drones and their cruise missiles, have now been used in a major combat test. And frankly, this test failed. So I think that Israel is much stronger this morning than yesterday. And Iran is relatively weaker than yesterday.
MARGARET BRENNAN: But now these are political decisions that Israeli leaders will make. And as you heard John Kirby say, decisions have not yet been made about the nature of Israel’s retaliation. If you were in your former position, would you advise Israeli leaders to withdraw here? How concerned are you about regional escalation?
GEN. MCKENZIE: So I think one of the opportunities for the winner of a major battle that has just been fought, and which Israel has won, is the opportunity to exercise restraint. And I would advise restraint. There will be voices urging Israelis to abandon Iran’s nuclear program, which in my opinion is a false pipe dream anyway. But I would say if you need to do something, and maybe they need to do something, I’ll be specific, I’ll be brief. The fact is that Israel can set whatever price it wants to charge. The wide gap between Iranian fanaticism and enthusiasm and Israeli competence is now laid bare for all to see. The Israelis will therefore be able to do what they want. But sometimes, when you’re in this position, showing some restraint is the best strategic option you can take.
MARGARET BRENNAN: President McCaul was here. And he said, we see now that Iran is no longer 10 feet tall. It sounds like you’re saying Israel can ignore this.
GEN. MCKENZIE: I don’t think Israel can ignore that, because I think Israel still has to worry about Lebanese Hezbollah in northern Lebanon. They have the capacity to harm Israel if they enter into combat. Interesting last night there was some tactical back and forth on the northern border. But nothing compares to the scale of the fires that LH, the Lebanese Hezbollah, could have set off if it had wanted to enter the fight. The fact that they did not choose to do so is, in my opinion, very, very important. This is a very important thing to note, because they know and understand what Israel can do to them. I never considered Iranians to be 10 feet tall. I don’t think the Israelis either. I have a healthy respect, at least for their enthusiasm, and for their willingness to undertake the things that we saw last night. But now Iranians must rest and eat, even if they will never say it publicly. They’re going to have to examine, reexamine some of the most fundamental concepts of how they built their military.
MARGARET BRENNAN: And Lebanese Hezbollah has not entered into this conflict so far in any substantial way. I know you’ve been warning for a while, he’s the player to watch. You were directly involved in the elimination of IRGC commander Qasem Soleimani during the Trump administration, and Iran’s retaliation at that time was also considered quite mild. How concerned should the United States be, at this time, about the presence of American personnel and troops in countries like Iraq and Syria? As you know, this is a hot topic at the White House this week as the Iraqi Prime Minister visits.
GEN. MCKENZIE: Our forces spread across Iraq and Syria, supporting the Iraqi armed forces and counter-ISIS operations and supporting our SDF partners in eastern Syria, these forces are vulnerable to an Iranian or Iranian proxy attack, we let’s recognize it. I think that’s why the president was very forceful in warning them. It is also very instructive that the Iranians did not choose to attack us, even though they carried out a major strategic attack on Israel. So they listened to that. The Iranians know that we have the capacity, if they choose to fight us, to hurt them very badly. And I think the Iranians will think long and hard before launching attacks against us in the future.
MARGARET BRENNAN: If Israel were to respond, would you have suggested targets? What would you expect?
GEN. MCKENZIE: Well, Israelis are spoiled for choice, both inside and outside of Iran. My–my only strategic advice would be, you want to be narrow, you want to make sure that it’s a–it has a definable beginning and end, and the Iranians know when it’s over. But the fact is that Israel can set its price now. And it’s a very heady position. But it is also a position that calls for strategic restraint and a long-term view. And Israel has an opportunity here, I think, to demonstrate that, and seize the diplomatic initiative, really, in an arena where they’ve had difficulty doing that over the last few months.
MARGARET BRENNAN: We’ll see if they make that political decision. General, thank you very much for your analysis. We’ll be back right away.
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