According to a report by Fox News, on Wednesday April 22, 2026, Retired Lieutenant General Keith Kellogg has called for a significant escalation in U.S. strategy toward Iran, urging the government to move beyond diplomatic engagement and toward a policy of aggressive economic isolation and direct support for internal resistance.
In a recent assessment of the current geopolitical standoff, the former high-ranking officer signaled that the window for diplomatic resolution has effectively closed.
“We’re done. The president gave them ample opportunity,” Kellogg said. “It was very gracious, an attempt to talk the way through it. Now let’s just finish it out, and I think we can finish it out. We can strangle them economically. We’re doing that with a blockade. Let’s compound the problem.”
Kellogg’s proposal for increasing pressure on the Iranian regime focuses on two primary pillars: heightened economic warfare and active, covert support for opposition movements.
Regarding economic policy, Kellogg suggests that the U.S. should refine its current blockade strategy to be more surgical, specifically targeting Iran’s fuel industry.
He argues that this approach is preferable to targeting broad infrastructure, as it aims to weaken the regime’s financial and operational sustainability while minimizing the humanitarian impact on the general civilian population.
Perhaps the most provocative element of Kellogg’s proposal involves the potential for direct military support to Iranian civilians. He explicitly endorsed the idea of arming opposition groups within the country, framing it as a strategic necessity to challenge the regime’s control.
“Kellogg said the U.S. should escalate pressure by targeting Iran’s fuel industry rather than infrastructure that primarily affects civilians, to further weaken the regime’s ability to sustain itself,” the report noted.
He further qualified this position, suggesting that for such an effort to be effective, it would require significant involvement from American military assets.
“He argued that arming civilians in Iran is a ‘good idea,’ but noted that any such effort should involve U.S. special operations forces providing weapons, training and support to help build an organized guerrilla campaign,” the statement concluded.
Kellogg’s comments represent a hardening stance among some national security voices who believe that the current policy trajectory is insufficient to curb Iranian influence and regional destabilization.