Amid increasing tensions in the Israel-Hamas war, former NATO commander Admiral James Stavridis explained on Saturday how Iran could "spark a wider conflict."
On October 7, Hamas led the deadliest Palestinian militant attack on Israel in history. Israel subsequently launched its heaviest ever airstrikes on Gaza. As of Saturday, at least 1,400 people had been killed in Israel, the Associated Press reported, citing the Israeli government. More than 7,300 Palestinians had been killed in Gaza, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, the AP said. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said his country is "at war" and has cut off supplies of food, fuel, electricity and medicine into Gaza.
In an interview on MSNBC's The Katie Phang Show on Saturday, Stavridis expressed how Hezbollah, a Lebanese militant group that is backed by Iran, could escalate the intensifying conflict between Israel, Lebanon, and the Middle East region.
"Someone asked me on an interview a couple days ago: 'What could spark a wider conflict?' There is a one word answer, and it is Iran. Iran because they control this evil creature they've created, Hezbollah, a Shiite terrorist organization which is 10 times the size of Hamas down in Gaza. Iran has created them, armed them, they have 130,000 surface missiles poised to launch at Israel, if Iran chose to unleash those, we've got a wider war," he said.
Stavridis added that another avenue Iran could choose to take that would escalate the conflict involves the possible closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway that connects the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.
This is considered significant as about a fifth of the volume of the world's total oil consumption passes through the Strait on a daily basis.
"Or Iran could choose to close the Strait of Hormuz, 35 percent of the world's oil goes through there, we've got a wider war. The administration is very focused on Iran," Stavridis said.
According to Reuters, since the Israel-Hamas conflict, analysts and market observers have noted that the conflict could prompt the United States to tighten sanctions on Iran, which may spur Tehran to take retaliatory action against ships in the Strait in Hormuz.
"If the conflict broadens to include the closure of the Strait of Hormuz—the world's busiest oil-shipping channel—it would shut down the region's oil trade, supercharging oil prices," JP Morgan said in a note, according to the news agency.
Meanwhile, there is still deep concern over Iran's role in supporting both Hamas and Hezbollah against Israel, and threats of escalation from Tehran over Israel's approaching ground offensive in Gaza.
As concerns grow, the House Foreign Affairs Committee said last week it is drawing up legislation to give the go-ahead for U.S. military force in the Middle East if Iranian-backed forces become involved in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, the committee's chair has said.
"I hope I never have to mark this bill up," Representative Michael McCaul, a Texas Republican, told CNN on Monday, adding lawmakers were drafting the legislation "in the event that it's necessary."
"But we have a situation in the Middle East that's growing day by day with intensity," he said. "And if Hezbollah gets involved, Iran has already threatened...if IDF (Israel Defense Forces) goes into Gaza that they're gonna come out."
Additionally, national security adviser Jake Sullivan told CBS last week, "We can't rule out that Iran would choose to get directly engaged some way. We have to prepare for every possible contingency. That's exactly what the president has done."
Although it is not clear if Iran will chose to escalate the conflict, Stavridis said on Saturday that Marines are waiting and ready to support Israel.
"I'll close with something you are not hearing on the microphones and that is the sound of two aircraft carriers strike groups, 2,000 marines in the waters off the coast of Lebanon, slicing through those waters and very prepared to support Israel by striking Hezbollah, if Iran unleashes that attack," he said.
Newsweek has reached out to Stavridis via email for further comment.
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Natalie Venegas is a Weekend Reporter at Newsweek based in New York. Her focus is reporting on education, social justice ... Read more
