Retired Gen. Wesley Clark said Monday on Newsmax's "Wake Up America" that President Donald Trump could ultimately decide to send U.S. troops into Iran — not for an invasion, but to help secure American shipping and naval forces in the Strait of Hormuz.
Clark, the former NATO supreme allied commander, said the decision will depend entirely on how Trump assesses the developing situation in the strategic Persian Gulf waterway.
"It depends on how the president views this," he said. "Obviously, he's the commander in chief."
Clark noted that U.S. forces are already moving toward the region as Washington prepares options to counter threats against ships traveling through the Persian Gulf.
"We've got the 31st MEU en route that's going to take another 10 to 12 days to get there, maybe a little bit longer after they're there to get ready," he said.
But Clark warned that a single Marine expeditionary unit may not be enough if Iranian forces are heavily fortified along the northern shore of the Strait of Hormuz and on nearby islands.
"If we have in the Gulf the fortifications on these islands on the north shore of the Strait of Hormuz and the rest of the Persian Gulf, what we think might be there, it's going to take more than a single MEU to handle this," he said.
That could require a significantly larger U.S. presence aimed at protecting American and commercial vessels moving through one of the world’s most important energy corridors.
"So, you're talking about potentially a much larger U.S. force, not an invasion of Iran, necessarily," Clark said.
Instead, he explained, troops could be needed on land to eliminate threats such as missile sites, naval mines, and fast-attack boats targeting vessels in the Gulf.
"You're going to have to put troops on shore to stop the speedboats, the mining, the missiles, etc., getting at our ships in the Gulf," Clark said.
The general also cautioned that relying only on naval escorts could expose American forces and oil tankers to repeated armed confrontations.
"Naval escorts alone probably won't do the trick," he said. "You don't want to send naval escorts in there and have a gunfight every time and take the chance of losing an oil tanker or a destroyer without doing something on the ground."
Clark also expressed doubts that many European allies could quickly deploy naval forces if the U.S. seeks broader international help securing the strait.
"I don't think many other countries could project their naval force, say, like we can in the United States," he said.
Even if some NATO nations have minesweeping vessels available, Clark said deploying them would take time and face political challenges at home.
"To get them there is a long voyage," he said. "It won't be happening overnight."
"And so, these political leaders in these NATO countries are facing some tough choices against their population to do what President Trump is asking," Clark said.
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Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
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