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Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2026/03/01/opinion/iran-trump-bad-faith.html
Iran Got Trump All Wrong
(New York Times) Gen. (ret.) Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr. - For decades, Iran managed to bluff American presidents. Our strikes on Iran on Saturday are evidence that this long-term strategy of negotiating in bad faith is bankrupt. The military campaign underway is the direct result of Iranian leaders' foot-dragging, obfuscation and delay tactics. Our forces will continue to hit regime targets inside Iran and simultaneously reduce its ability to respond. The military does this by striking leadership nodes and by seeking out and destroying Iranian missile storage areas, transporters and launch sites. We have practiced these missions for years. One thing is certain: Without pressure, nothing will change. There is opportunity in the death of the supreme leader. We should not squander this moment, when Iran is uniquely weak and vulnerable and we hold all of the advantages. We can also seek to return to negotiations. If we do so, it should not be a dialogue of equals. It should be between the victor and the vanquished. We should require Tehran to accept an end to its nuclear program; limitations on ballistic, cruise and land-attack missiles; limits on proxy forces; and, lastly, a declaratory policy that recognizes Israel's right to exist. I know from personal observation that Mr. Trump does not seek a prolonged conflict with Iran. I do believe that there are worse things than war, though - continued Iranian exportation of terror across the region and maltreatment of Iran's own people, to name a few. This military campaign may allow us to find a path forward to long-lasting peace in the region, and with the death of the supreme leader, an opportunity for representative government in Iran. The writer is a former commander of U.S. Central Command.