Transcript: Frank McKenzie on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan," July 12, 2026

The pursuing is the transcript of an interrogation with retired Gen. Frank McKenzie, erstwhile commandant of U.S. Central Command and president of The Citadel, that aired connected "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" connected July 12, 2026.

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MARGARET BRENNAN: We spell present to the erstwhile commandant of the U.S. Central Command, retired General Frank McKenzie. General, invited back. You know, I was conscionable looking backmost astatine my past speech connected Face the Nation with Lindsey Graham, and the legislator said, "If this woody fails, President Trump is going to instrumentality the Strait of Hormuz implicit by force. The U.S. volition power the Strait of Hormuz." That was 3 weeks ago. How does the United States extremity up controlling the Strait of Hormuz?

GENERAL FRANK MCKENZIE: Well, Margaret, we surely person the capableness to power the Strait of Hormuz if the president chooses to travel that people of action. Look, what he's been trying to bash is get to a diplomatic and a governmental solution here, which I applaud, and I deliberation we should each privation to spot arsenic the last extremity state. Nonetheless, the information of the substance is the Iranians mostly lone respond to subject unit and to utmost pressure. Look, we're not talking astir authorities alteration here. What we're talking astir is modifying the- the views and actions of an utmost hardli- hardline regime, that is possible. We person the capableness to bash that. That capableness is nonmigratory successful the U.S. subject should the president elite to employment it. That would see opening the Strait of Hormuz, maintaining the Strait of Hormuz open, and successful fact, seizing Kharg Island, should we elite to bash that. And I would conscionable say, arsenic an aside, that's thing we should deliberation astir doing due to the fact that possession of Iranian ungraded would beryllium a important origin successful aboriginal negotiations with Iran. So each those options are connected the table. I'm not definite wherever we're going to spell with this, but I bash cognize we person these capabilities.

MARGARET BRENNAN: We person those capabilities, but the president has made wide he- helium benignant of conscionable wants a- helium wants a woody here. How bash you explicate to the layperson erstwhile the president says we power the Strait of Hormuz, but past CENTCOM says subject forces are positioned to guarantee state of navigation, which makes it dependable it isn't precisely free-flowing postulation here?

GEN. MCKENZIE: No, it's not close present due to the fact that we person not deployed each the capabilities that we person to unfastened the Strait. We surely tin bash that. It would necessitate putting warships up into constrictive waters. Look, the U.S. Navy doesn't emotion to bash that, but they're precise bully astatine it, and if necessary, they tin bash it, and they tin bash it well. You got to spell backmost to the basal rule of Iranian statecraft, which is authorities preservation. If you privation to summation concessions from Iran, you person to straight unit the regime, and you person to bash truthful successful a mode that possibly is existential to them. We person those capabilities should the president take to spell that way.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Do those capabilities in- request to impact crushed troops? And person you been astatine each amazed by the magnitude of symptom that it appears the Iranian enactment is consenting to instrumentality connected here, portion turning down each the fiscal incentives the Trump medication is offering them?

GEN. MCKENZIE: Margaret, fixed the past of Iran- Iran and their dialog posture- negotiating posture implicit galore years, I'm not amazed astatine each by- by the existent Iranian posture. A erstwhile CENTCOM commandant erstwhile said, "You know, Iran has ne'er met a warfare they could triumph oregon a dialog they could lose." And that's precise true. What Iran wants to bash is widen negotiations successful time, arguing astir the size of the table, who's successful the room, the font connected the document, everything about- but the halfway issues. We request to admit that, and we request to beryllium prepared to unit Iran to negociate connected the existent germane issues. And by that, I mean opening the Strait of Hormuz, immoderate question connected ballistic missiles, immoderate question connected enactment for proxies. All those things are capable- we are susceptible of getting immoderate signifier of question connected each those things. We conscionable person to beryllium consenting to enactment unit connected Iran successful bid to execute those goals.

MARGARET BRENNAN: I mean, Jordan said overnight 3 missiles fell into their territory, and determination were nary casualties, according to CENTCOM. But they're- they're firing disconnected astatine Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman. They proceed to beryllium capable to people American partners and places wherever American troops are. Does that astonishment you? 

GEN. MCKENZIE: It does not astonishment maine astatine all. What surprises maine really is- not surprises me, but what gratifies maine is that Iranian attacks person been- not been larger oregon much capable. Many years ago, erstwhile we war-gamed scenarios similar this, we assumed the Iranian effect would beryllium much robust. The information that it is not much robust is simply a grounds to Admiral Cooper and Central Command's quality to- to spell aft these targets and marque it hard for Iran to fashion, you know, cohesive ample strikes against our forces. Now look, these strikes are going to continue. This is not a- this is not a bloodless endeavor we're embarked upon-- 

MARGARET BRENNAN: Yeah.

GEN. MCKENZIE: --and bases are going to beryllium hit, and buildings are going to beryllium destroyed, and tragically, radical are going to die. And if we're going to enactment successful this crippled and proceed to face Iran, which I judge is successful our involvement to do, we've got to beryllium prepared for this.

MARGARET BRENNAN: Quickly, your thoughts connected Senator Graham?

GEN. MCKENZIE: Senator Graham was a large typical of the authorities of South Carolina. In our nation, a large dependable successful the nationalist information space, and a peculiar person to the Citadel, the Military College of South Carolina. Over galore years, he's done a batch of large things for our school. In fact, helium embodies the conception of the national soldier. The idiosyncratic who isn't a nonrecreational subject serviceman pursues a broad, deep, nationalist nonrecreational career, and yet dons the azygous and serves his nation. That's what we question to nutrient astatine the Citadel. No amended idiosyncratic to emulate than Lindsey Graham--

MARGARET BRENNAN: Okay.

GEN. MCKENZIE: --and we volition miss him dearly.

MARGARET BRENNAN: General, convey you for your time. We'll beryllium close back.