Kennedy said the United States has achieved most of its objectives in Iran and suggested bringing American forces home could eventually become an option, even as questions remain over the Strait of Hormuz.
Speaking on Fox News’ “The Will Cain Show,” Kennedy addressed the sanctions, blockade and concerns about rising oil and gasoline prices.
“The sanctions, the blockade, for a while,” Kennedy said. “Of course, everyone has an eye on the price of oil.”
Kennedy said oil was trading at approximately $88 and acknowledged that consumers do not want to see gasoline prices rise. However, he argued that the broader global oil supply was still reaching its destinations despite the situation involving Iranian exports.
“I’m not minimizing the rise in the price of gasoline,” Kennedy said. “Nobody wants that.”
Kennedy added that officials do not know exactly how much oil is getting through and said those who possess that information are not making it public. Still, he urged viewers to keep the developments in perspective.
He then rejected calls from some people for the United States to reach an agreement with the Iranian government, arguing that Tehran cannot be trusted.
“Dealing with the Iranian government, it’s like dealing with a wild pack of monkeys,” Kennedy said. “I mean, they’re crazy.”
Kennedy said he would not accept promises from Iranian officials because he has no confidence that the government would honor them.
“You can’t trust them,” he said.
Kennedy also argued that the United States has already accomplished most of what it set out to do in Iran.
“We have degraded their military,” Kennedy said. “We’ve degraded their economy.”
He offered a stark assessment of the damage inflicted on Iran, saying the country had been “torn” into “an ashtray” and predicting it would require 20 years to recover from the hole it now faces.
However, Kennedy acknowledged that the continuing uncertainty surrounding the Strait of Hormuz remains a significant unresolved problem.
“And I don’t have an answer for that,” he said. “But in the meantime, I don’t think anybody does.”
Kennedy said the situation involving the strategic waterway ultimately depends on decisions made by the Iranians.
Despite that uncertainty, he suggested that withdrawing American forces could become one possible course of action now that the United States has achieved most of its goals.
“It would be an option,” Kennedy said.
He emphasized that he was not necessarily advocating for an immediate withdrawal, but said it should remain under consideration.
“I’m not saying I would do it, but it would certainly be an option at some point, now that we’ve accomplished most of our goals, for us to come home,” Kennedy concluded.
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