Retired general calls Trump’s Iran nuclear strike ‘bold and good move’

Retired Gen. Barry McCaffrey told MSNBC’s Nicolle Wallace on Saturday that President Donald Trump‘s strike on Iran’s nuclear program was, in many ways, a “bold and good move.” 

“I think from a strictly military perspective, this was a decisive, bold, consequential attack. Iran was in a weakened condition. The U.S. had the technology to carry out what is probably a long-term impact, on Iran’s nuclear program,” he said. 

Trump announced Saturday that the U.S. had struck three Iranian nuclear sites. The president said the Iranian nuclear enrichment facilities were “totally obliterated” during a brief address from the White House. 

“So I was surprised he ordered the attack. But, I think it was in many ways a bold and good move, certainly for Israel and, to some extent, the United States,” McCaffrey said. 

General Barry McCaffrey speaks onstage at the “American War Generals” panel during the National Geographic Channels portion of the 2014 Summer Television Critics Association at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on July 8, 2014 in Beverly Hills, California.   ((Photo by Frederick M. Brown/Getty Images))

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“By the way, the reason I was surprised, I think it’s a political disaster for him. His own party is split apart [on] the issue. The Democrats oppose it, the American people oppose it, and it presumes there won’t be an Iranian counterstrike,” McCaffrey added. 

The retired general said Iran was likely to retaliate and added “we’re at war with Iran right now.”

Asked by Wallace if the president believed they were at war with Iran, McCaffrey said Trump was “hopeful” about a negotiation. 

“I think he’s probably incorrect on that. Again, I would assert that the Iranians have very few viable military options, one of which, however, to close the Persian Gulf, affects the price of oil dramatically,” he told Wallace. 

President Donald Trump on June 15, 2025 (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)

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Iran lashed out at Israel after the U.S. struck three Iranian nuclear sites on Saturday.

Retired U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt told CNN’s Anderson Cooper on Saturday that he was impressed by the U.S. strikes against Iran’s nuclear sites, praising Trump’s use of “deception and trickery.”

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“I‘m fascinated and, candidly, I‘m impressed,” he said. “I never really could understand what the two-week pause meant, or what it was for, what was left to negotiate, what were we going to expect the Iranians to offer? In many ways, it was much like a Trump deal. I mean, he‘s trying to make a deal to buy an apartment, but all of a sudden the apartment was destroyed, so where‘s the negotiation? So I think the use of deception and trickery in this case, first of all, was successful. But second of all, saved the potential loss of American lives.”