Harward said the most consequential element of such a campaign would target the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps rather than Iran’s national infrastructure.
By Vered Weiss, World Israel News
The deployment of US military forces across the Middle East has placed Washington in a position to carry out rapid, large-scale military operations against Iran if diplomatic efforts collapse, according to Vice Adm. (Ret.) Bob Harward, a former deputy commander of US Central Command.
Harward told the Jerusalem Post that the buildup reflects President Donald Trump’s decision to back diplomatic pressure with credible military readiness, particularly over Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs.
He cited the US withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action as an example of Trump following through on stated policy positions. “One thing he’s illustrated is that [President Donald] Trump does what he says,” Harward said. “Now he’s positioned the assets for a military action.”
Harward said Trump has indicated he would authorize force if negotiations fail to achieve US objectives. “If he cannot meet the objectives regarding the nuclear and ballistic missile program, he’s willing to go beyond mediation and act,” Harward said.
According to Harward, who served as CENTCOM’s deputy commander until 2013, any US strike plan would be structured to degrade Iran’s military threat while avoiding damage to civilian systems.
Initial strikes would focus on missile launchers and strategic missile sites that pose a direct risk to US forces and Israel.
Subsequent actions would address Iranian surrogate forces outside the country that could carry out retaliatory attacks against Israel.
Harward said the most consequential element of such a campaign would target the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps rather than Iran’s national infrastructure.
“You’re not going to look at infrastructure,” he told the Jerusalem Post. “This is to provide the Iranian people a change in government, so I think those types of targets will not be hit. It will be focused only on the things that enable the regime and the IRGC to suppress the people.”
He said improvements in command, control, and targeting capabilities have expanded the scale and pace of US operations far beyond those seen in Iraq or Afghanistan. “Where previously you could do 40 or 50 strikes a day, we now have the ability to conduct hundreds of strikes a day,” Harward said.
Harward added that US forces now have the capacity to dismantle the IRGC’s leadership rapidly. “If you’re targeting the IRGC and want to go after all their headquarters and facilities, you could probably do that in a matter of hours,” he said.
Drawing on his experience living in Iran from 1968 to 1979, Harward said any military action would need to undermine the regime’s ability to control the population. “This is a regime that for 47 years has oppressed its people,” he said. “The bulk of them want change.”
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