Hezbollah vacating its headquarters is a sign that a large-scale attack on Israel is imminent, U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Blane Holt told Newsmax on Monday.
An Israeli intelligence assessment suggests Iran is slated to launch an assault on the Jewish state "within days" in a joint attack with its Lebanese Hezbollah proxy, Axios reported Sunday night.
While appearing on "Wake Up America," Holt agreed with the assessment despite discussions continuing within Iran.
"We are going to see something very, very soon," the general told co-hosts Rob Finnerty and Sharla McBride. "What we know is, is that there has been a lot of internal debate back and forth in Iran about the severity and the level of the attacks that they want to do — the IRGC [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps ] in one place, [the] ayatollah in another place, and then their population in another place, because, you know, the regime worries about a revolution at any time in their own country.
"Hezbollah is the big indicator for me. They have cleared out their headquarters in Beirut. They've cleared out their political bureau and headquarters in Beirut, indicating to me they're now coming into bunkers, and they're getting ready to really up the level of attacks."
Iran is poised to attack Israel directly in retaliation for the assassination of Hamas' political leader in Tehran. Holt said that such an attack will also benefit Russia.
"They've got pressure from Russia," Holt said of Iran. "Russia's got its hands full with this invasion into Kursk that sounds completely unrelated. No, they're very related because to the extent that Iran gets going, it shifts all the attention to the Middle East, and then the Russians benefit in Europe. So it's very, very dangerous."
Holt, who appeared with retired U.S. Army Lt. Col. Tony Shaffer, added that the U.S.'s deployment of the USS Georgia to the region does not deter Iran.
"It doesn't so far, because we have never had our words right and then when we have had to strike, we've never done it with the lethality that we're capable of," Holt said. "Look at the United States Navy versus the Houthi rebels. And then you had some admiral, I don't know his name, but you had some admiral over the weekend say, 'Oh, how hard the Houthis are. And we never really can know where exactly they are' and that type of stuff.
"Does anybody not remember what happened in those early days of Iraq with shock and awe? If we want to vaporize something, we can do that tomorrow. So the problem is, if you're going to carry the big stick, you better prove you will use it. You better use it effectively if you have to. So you lose the effect of deterrence."
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Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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