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Jul 02, 2026

Ex-Trump adviser Kellogg says prez should brace Americans for Round Two with Iran: ‘Buckle up’

Ex-aide Keith Kellogg says Trump should brace Americans for Round Two with Iran Email New York Post Read the Latest on Page Six

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Ex-Trump adviser Kellogg says prez should brace Americans for Round Two with Iran: ‘Buckle up’

By Caitlin Doornbos Published July 1, 2026, 8:20 p.m. ET

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President Trump shouldn’t waste time chasing a final Iran deal — and instead prepare Americans for resuming military operations by targeting Tehran’s economic lifeline, retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg told The Post.

“[We should be telling Americans] the fight’s not over. It’s going to take a day or two — buckle up,” Kellogg, a former Trump adviser, said in an interview Wednesday. “The American people are great about that … if they explain it to them, they’ll understand it.”

Kellogg is skeptical of the ongoing 60-day US-Iran talks outlined in the memorandum of understanding signed by Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian last month.

Lt Gen (R) Keith Kellogg speaking into a microphone at the Warsaw Security Forum 2025. 4
Kellogg is skeptical of the ongoing 60-day US-Iran talks outlined in the memorandum of understanding signed by Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian last month. NurPhoto via Getty Images

If the talks fail, Kellogg said the administration should consider taking Kharg Island, the critically important energy hub through which 80% to 90% of Iran’s oil exports flow.

“This is when you go to someplace like Kharg Island,” he said. “You can take it, wholly control the oil.”

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Kellogg said Trump deserves credit for trying diplomacy first — and for boldly acting to denuclearize Iran — but argued the MOU talks are unlikely to change the behavior of a regime that has spent decades using negotiations to buy time.

“They think differently,” said Kellogg, who served as the National Security Council’s chief of staff during the first Trump administration. “They use negotiation as a tool. They don’t see negotiation the same way we do.”

Kellogg’s comments come as Trump has discussed resuming full-scale war with Iran, but is opting to stay the course with diplomacy — for now.

The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that Trump has spoken to War Secretary Pete Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, about abandoning peace talks and launching additional strikes against the Islamic Republic, but has decided negotiations are currently the best way to ensure Iran dismantles its nuclear weapons program.

A US official on Wednesday told The Post that Trump “knows exactly how this regime negotiates,” and is willing to abandon the diplomacy if no progress is made.

Donald Trump stands at the top of the stairs of Air Force One, clenching his right hand in a fist. 4
“What the President has achieved on the battlefield and at the negotiating table is nothing short of remarkable and will strengthen American security for many years to come,” White House spokeswoman Olivia Wales said. Getty Images

“We are hopeful that Iran will come to the table to negotiate seriously, but we are prepared to walk away if they do not,” the person said. “If we are able to advance towards a good place, then we’ll continue the discussion.”

“President Trump reserves the right [to] return to combat or reinstitute the blockade at any time,” the official added.

Children wade in the Strait of Hormuz with cargo ships in the background. 4
The Iranian regime sees the Strait of Hormuz as its sovereign waters, and it will continue to keep the waterway under its thumb until crushed, retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg told The Post. AP Photo/Amirhosein Khorgooi

The US — along with Israel — started its war on Iran on Feb. 28 with the stated goals of preventing Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, destroying Iran’s ballistic missile and drone capabilities, annihilating its navy, stopping terror proxy groups, and encouraging the Iranian people to rise up to take out the regime.

With sustained fighting until an April ceasefire, the US and Israel knocked off key military targets and killed Iranian leaders, including Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. But the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is still calling the shots with the new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, and has exerted power over the Strait of Hormuz.

As long as the hardline regime remains in charge, Kellogg doubts that change can come through diplomacy alone.

A large cargo vessel in the Strait of Hormuz is visible in the background, while in the foreground, three individuals, including an adult and two children, wade in the water near the beach of Bandar Abbas. 4
The Strait of Hormuz should have been secured at the very start of the Iran war, retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg said. via REUTERS

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