The Hill:

BY RYAN MANCINI

Former CIA Director David Petraeus said that if the Trump administration decides to carry out strikes on Iran amid escalating tensions and threats between President Trump and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, it “will not bring about regime change, sadly.”

The retired general said in an interview that aired Sunday on the “Cats Roundtable” radio show hosted by John Catsimatidis on WABC 770 AM that Khamenei is “such an idealogue, he’s so hard-lined, that it appears that he may not budge on the issues that really matter,” prompting Trump to take military action.

“Look, candidly, I’m all for taking the missile program down further or [bring] damage to the security forces, but we should be very clear-eyed,” Petraeus said. “This will not bring about a regime change, sadly.”

Petraeus accused Iran’s supreme leader of not being able to “negotiate seriously” about the country’s nuclear program. U.S. and Iranian diplomats held negotiations on Tuesday in Geneva, Switzerland, focused on the nuclear program with no deal in place as of early Sunday.

Iran’s nuclear capabilities, Petraeus said, are “so threatening to our partners and allies in the region, including Israel, and the support that [Iran] provide to these murderous proxies like Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis and Shia militia in Iraq.”

“So, unless he demonstrates some flexibility, I think they’re going to be at the receiving end of a very, very substantial demonstration of American military power,” he added.

Petraeus also noted Trump’s 10-day deadline for Iran to make a deal with the U.S. and make “some serious concessions, which they have not been willing to do before.”

Trump on Thursday warned of “steep consequences” if negotiations fail, having previously said last week it would be “a bad day for Iran, very bad.”

The timeline mirrors the previous one last June before U.S. stealth bombers launched an attack on three of Iran’s uranium enrichment plants as part of Operation Midnight Hammer. This left Iran’s nuclear program significantly damaged, a claim the Iranian regime denied.

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