‘This Country Is in Deep Trouble’: Leon Panetta Sounds Alarm on Iran War

The U.S. is in “deep trouble” when it comes to the Iran war, said a former top CIA official who compared the months long conflict to America’s involvement in Vietnam.

Leon Panetta, who led the Central Intelligence Agency during President Barack Obama’s administration, made the remark during a Thursday appearance on CNN in which he was asked who had the “upper hand” in Iran.

“Well, history tells us that forever wars do not end well,” Panetta said.

“And I think that’s the box we’re in right now,” he added. “Whether it was Vietnam, whether it was Iraq, whether it’s Afghanistan, or whether it’s Iran right now, the problem is that there really is no clear objective that the president is trying to put his arms around.”

“So he continues military attacks, which intelligence makes clear is not going to move Iran. And at the same time, the American people are paying a very heavy price as a result of oil prices going sky high and the cost of living increasing as much as it is,” Panetta noted.

“And so he he’s basically in a box right now trying to figure out if there’s a way out. And frankly, I think right now, this country is in deep trouble in terms of figuring some kind of strategy that can end this war. It does not look well at this point.”

Anchor Brianna Keilar asked Panetta how the U.S. gets back to the negotiating table with Iran.

“There’s only one way I’ve thought of to achieve any kind of leverage in dealing with Iran, and that relates to the Straits of Hormuz,” Panetta said, continuing:

It was a mistake in the MOU to imply — and it did strongly imply — that Iran would control the Straits of Hormuz. That was a bad mistake, and the result is they continue to use that as leverage to get back at the United States.

What the United States has to do in order to get any kind of leverage here is, it has to take control of the Straits of Hormuz and be able to control the free access that is necessary in order to be able to restore our economy.

If the president doesn’t take any action to be able to take control of the Straits of Hormuz, then I think we’re only left with the hope that somehow we’re going to get back to a negotiating table that is now not only going to consider what happens in the nuclear area, but is going to consider what happens to the Straits of Hormuz as well.

That’s going to be a very complicated negotiation.

At an event at the Environmental Protection Agency Thursday, Trump said the U.S. was “doing very well against the Islamic Republic of Iran” — despite a vote in the House to end the war.

“They would like to do something, but I say, they’re not ready yet. They need more of the same. They’re not ready yet. They have some evil intentions. We cannot let them have a nuclear weapon,” the president added.

Watch the clip above via CNN.

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