President Trump promised on Fox News there would be a forceful response following an attempted Iranian strike targeting a U.S. air base in Jordan. Dan Proft also cited Reuters reporting, relayed through the Telegraph, alleging that China has supplied Iran with roughly four hundred rocket launchers to help sustain retaliatory operations against American and Gulf state interests, and noted that President Trump publicly expressed skepticism about the accuracy of that report.
Proft welcomed K.T. McFarland, former deputy national security adviser to President Trump and author of Revolution: Trump, Washington, and We the People, to assess the current state of the conflict. McFarland said Trump addressed the China reporting directly during a recent Oval Office briefing, expressing doubt that Chinese President Xi Jinping would authorize direct weapons transfers to Iran given prior assurances made during their bilateral meeting. She said China is more likely providing intelligence support and continuing efforts to purchase Iranian oil, but that direct arms supply would represent a significant escalation, one likely to factor into a planned meeting between the two leaders in September.
McFarland described the ongoing cycle of ceasefires and renewed hostilities as tied closely to oil price fluctuations, explaining that each time prices approach roughly one hundred dollars per barrel, a ceasefire tends to take hold, only to break down again as prices ease. She argued that this back-and-forth pattern, while frustrating, has not meaningfully harmed the U.S. economy or driven domestic gasoline prices higher, while continuing to damage Iran economically through the ongoing naval blockade preventing shipping in and out of Iranian ports. McFarland pointed to a broader regional realignment resulting from the conflict, noting that Gulf Arab states, including Saudi Arabia, have moved from historical neutrality to active cooperation with the United States against Iranian-backed forces in Iraq. She also cited a roughly thirty percent increase in American crude oil exports in recent months, attributing the shift to global buyers seeking more stable alternatives to Middle Eastern oil amid the ongoing instability.
McFarland characterized the likely long-term outcome as a gradual internal shift within Iran, describing a scenario in which the country’s Revolutionary Guard leadership, deprived of steady revenue, gradually loses political standing relative to factions more open to negotiating with the United States. She agreed with a broader assessment suggesting Iran no longer retains meaningful offensive military capability, arguing the country is steadily losing ground strategically even without a singular, dramatic turning point.
Addressing concerns about the sustainability of U.S. air defense stockpiles, including reported depletion of Patriot missile interceptors and terminal high-altitude area defense systems, McFarland expressed confidence in America’s capacity to rapidly scale weapons production given congressional funding, drawing a comparison to historical wartime industrial mobilization. She also noted that the United States has previously sold Patriot and THAAD systems to Middle Eastern allies who could serve as an additional supply source, and pointed to a recent decision authorizing Ukraine to manufacture Patriot missiles domestically as a further avenue for expanding available inventory.