Friday on Fox Business Network’s “Mornings with Maria,” former House Speaker Newt Gingrich warned that if the United States had been unwilling to take on the threat from Iran, the ultimate consequence would be nuclear weapons used against American cities.
“Well, and it is becoming much worse when you look at the cost of this. I mean, look, this morning, we’ve got a new threat from Iran,” host Maria Bartiromo said. “They’re going to start targeting U.S. banks. But already, people are watching oil prices spike out of control. I mean, look at oil this morning, which, of course, crude is sort of looking to be stabilizing right now, but it’s at $95 a barrel. Brent has already hit $100. It is hovering around $100 a barrel right now. Iran’s new Supreme Leader claims the Strait of Hormuz must remain effectively closed to affect the enemy, right? I mean, you’ve got Brent and crude down a fraction this morning. But even you posted this on X. You say, ‘Iran’s strategy in this conflict is clearer than many people realize. It is not about defeating the United States militarily. It is about disrupting oil enforcing global pressure for a truce.’ Yes, and if we see this kind of move going into the midterm elections, this is going to affect even more, and that is the Republican leadership. Is it not?”
Gingrich replied, “Sure. Look, there are two parts to this. First, the goal has to be to replace the religious dictatorship, which has said openly since 1979 that it’s at war with the United States. The Iranian parliament, just weeks ago, was chanting Death to America. The Iranian revolution has literally killed Americans, killed 200 and some Marines in Lebanon, for example. So, this is a very dangerous government, and we cannot end this war without replacing it, or we will have been defeated and they will go right back to being dangerous. But second, the center of gravity in this war is the Straits of Hormuz. It’s not Tehran. If the Navy and the Air Force can intervene and maybe the Coast Guard and can stop the effort to close the straits, which Reagan did in the 1980s when I was a member of Congress, if we can reopen the straits, the price of oil will collapse. Everyone will be relatively happy, and the American people, as long as we don’t put in ground troops, the American people will accept whatever it takes to eliminate a country.”
“Remember, the Iranians had their way,” he added. “The threat right now would be nuclear weapons taking out an American city. That’s what’s at stake. And when I watch these people who want Iran to win, every time you see somebody on TV who talks about a truce, they’re talking about the Iranians winning. And I cannot understand the logic that says, why don’t we have let our mortal enemy get nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles? Because sooner or later, they will use them, and they will use them against American cities.”
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