A retired Israeli Defense Forces lieutenant colonel and University of Utah law professor says the Trump administration lacks an understanding of Middle East geopolitics, a situation that worries him a great deal.
Amos Guiora told FOX 13 News Thursday afternoon it is too early to tell where the ceasefire will go and whether the IDF's attack on Iranian-backed Hezbollah on Thursday will prompt Iran to attack Israel again.
"When the Iranians articulated a few hours ago that they're going to attack Israel, um, I think that's a threat I would take seriously, and that also then suggests to me that we have not, quote unquote, wiped them out," Guiora said.
Guiora said it is hard to know what is true anymore. He pointed to claims from the White House in June 2025 that Iran's nuclear capability had been wiped out, while Iran is now saying its navy ships will escort commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz.
"I remind you that last week the American public was told by the Secretary of Defense that the Iranian navy had been obliterated or destroyed. My warm recommendation to the Secretary of Defense is stick to the facts, and that's absolutely incorrect. Um, we've also been told that America controls all skies over Tehran. That's also we now know because the American planes have been shot down. That's incorrect. And in this, in this, um, amped up environment to engage your geopolitical, um, question, to engage in rhetoric that is easily refutable, um, maybe it scores you political points, but it certainly doesn't contribute to a rational-based discussion about an incredibly complex dilemma," Guiora said.
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