NEWSMAX
Ret. VADM Harward to Newsmax: Trump Will Act After Midterms
VIDEO
By Jim Thomas | Saturday, 03 October 2026 06:46 PM EDT
Retired Navy Vice Adm. Robert Harward, a former SEAL, told Newsmax's "Saturday Agenda" that Iran has been waging an asymmetric war against the United States for decades and that Washington should press until Tehran's regime falls.
Harward, former deputy commander of U.S. Central Command, and retired Gen. Wesley Clark, a former NATO supreme allied commander, appeared on the Saturday broadcast as the Pentagon sent a third carrier to the Middle East and President Donald Trump signaled renewed strikes on Iran after the November midterm elections.
Harward connected the deployment to Wednesday's attempted hijacking of an Israel-bound FlyDubai flight, in which a co-pilot allegedly stabbed the captain.
Trump told reporters Iran would be struck "very hard" if investigators tie Tehran to the attempt.
"Iran's been at war with us asymmetrically in operations like this for decades now," Harward said. "They've used agents, they've used surrogates, they've gone after our cyber activities."
The third carrier, Harward said, telegraphs long-term commitment.
"We have to see this through," he said.
The USS Theodore Roosevelt strike group departed San Diego on Sunday, followed by the Makin Island Amphibious Ready Group carrying more than 2,000 Marines, officials told Al Jazeera.
By late November, three U.S. carriers and two amphibious groups are expected to be in position near Iran.
The retired admiral said rotating assets will let U.S. forces target Iranian missile and drone launch sites, storage depots, and manufacturing capacity, which he called essential to blunting Tehran's long-term threat.
He said financial strangulation could create a "tipping point" for internal unrest.
Clark said Iran is unlikely to open a fight before Election Day because its leverage is slipping. "I think President Trump will try to finish it after the midterm elections," he said.
Clark called for keeping sanctions and the naval blockade in place and renewing airstrikes on Iranian command and control and air defenses. He singled out Pickaxe Mountain, Iran's deeply buried complex near Natanz, as a target that may require new bunker-busting weapons or special forces to penetrate.
The retired general warned Washington must also prepare for an Iranian counterstrike, including missiles capable of reaching U.S. bases in Europe and Gulf allies.
"The only way to end this is with regime change," Clark said. He urged arming internal opposition groups, bringing the Kurds into the fight, and pushing past objections from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan."We don't need, really, a peace agreement that keeps this regime in power," Clark said. "What we need is to finish off this regime."
Harward added that Iranian contacts have told him people are "willing to go" with outside support, echoing earlier unrest.
"After the midterms, the president will act," he said.
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READ MORE: https://www.newsmax.com/newsmax-tv/robert-harward-wesley-clark-iran/2026/10/03/id/1271607/
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