Following Israeli strikes on Iran, one retired military officer told NewsNation, The Hill’s sister network, that the U.S. should stay out of the fight.
Iran has already vowed retaliation and the U.S. has shifted military assets into the region in case they are needed.
Retired Lt. Col. Daniel Davis told NewsNation that the path forward depends on whether Iran chooses to prioritize revenge or regime survival, with revenge being the more dangerous option.
“Iran can bring substantial damage to Israel if they choose to go down the path of revenge, because then they’re not going to be concerned about what happens next,” he said. “They’re going to be concerned about how much damage they can cause in the meantime.”
Iran could consider the U.S. involved in the attack because it had forewarning and because the country supplies military aid to Israel. Secretary of State Marco Rubio denied any U.S. involvement in the initial attack and President Trump has urged Iran to reach a deal on dismantling its nuclear program.
“I will just categorically say that no matter what happens in terms of Israel and Iran, we should not get involved,” Davis said. “It is not our war to fight.”
“It shouldn’t have started at all, and we should not sacrifice American troops, which we surely would do if we get into a fight there,” he said.
His comments come as the two nations continue to exchange fire.
