Retired Marine intelligence officer Lt. Col. Hal Kempfer, chief executive officer of Global Risk Intelligence and Planning Inc. (GRIP), and host of the STRAT podcast, and Stefano Ritondale, U.S. Army veteran and chief intelligence officer for Artorias, joined a panel discussion with NTD.
Kempfer discussed President Donald Trump’s options for escalating the war in Iran, such as amphibious raids, or taking some of the islands and turning them over to Gulf allies as an occupation force until the United States can achieve a satisfactory agreement with Tehran.
Ritondale discussed the president’s options in deploying ground troops to the islands around the Strait of Hormuz and leveraging military forces in Iran’s Khuzestan province, which borders Iraq.
Kempfer spoke about the logistics of opening the Strait of Hormuz, the possibility of the sea lane being mined, how the United States’ European allies have the necessary minesweepers, and the possibility of a natural coalition coming together to clear the Strait and keep it open.
Ritondale also discussed the fighting taking place within the Iranian regime, with cliques and factions fighting against each other rather than against the United States, hindering their ability to conduct legitimate negotiations with the American side, enabling the Trump administration to conduct additional strikes in association with the Israeli military.
Kempfer said the United States must finish the mission in Iran to keep the global economic engine running.