During an appearance on Fox Tv from 00:56 on Saturday, July 18th 2026, retired U.S. General Jack Keane has defended President Donald Trump’s decision to launch military operations aimed at regaining control of the Strait of Hormuz, arguing that Washington exhausted diplomatic options before resorting to force.
Speaking during an interview on Fox News, Keane said the U.S. administration had shown restraint by agreeing to a ceasefire and signing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Iran, but claimed Tehran failed to honour the agreement.
According to him, the only firm commitment contained in the MOU related to the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most strategic shipping lanes, while other issues were left for future negotiations.
“Well, first of all, it’s obvious President Trump gave these guys about as much rope as you possibly could give them when you consider we went to a ceasefire back on April the 8th,” Keane said.
He continued, “We actually had a document the two presidents signed, the MOU, and the only agreement in the MOU, Bret, was the straits. Everything else was a promise to come.”
Keane alleged that Iran moved swiftly to violate the understanding by attempting to assert control over the Strait of Hormuz only days after the ceasefire.
“And within days, they literally began to attack and take control of the Straits of Hormuz. So the President’s decision, ‘I’ve had it, we’re going to forcibly take control of the straits,’ is the right call,” he stated.
The retired general also referenced what he described as an earlier U.S. operation, saying similar efforts had previously been interrupted before achieving their objectives.
“We did this with Project Freedom, remember, on May the 4th, we did the same thing, and in 36 hours we stopped it after the Saudis took our air space and air base away from us using it and said the operation was not going to succeed,” Keane said.
He explained that the current military campaign was designed to continue beyond the earlier aborted effort.
“So we’re back at it again. The plan then was for about two weeks to conduct this operation, he added….See More