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Keith Kellogg urges US to 'finish the job' against Iran by seizing islands, strangling economy
By Taylor Penley
Published April 22, 2026
Retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg is urging the U.S. to "finish the job" against Iran, calling for the seizure of strategic islands, crippling its energy sector and arming insurgents inside the country after a fragile ceasefire was extended in a bid to keep negotiations alive.
"Let’s not negotiate anymore. Let’s just walk away. Let’s finish the job," Kellogg said Tuesday on "Hannity."
Kellogg, who previously served as a special envoy for Ukraine and Russia under the Trump administration, argued that Iran’s damaged leadership and economic collapse present an opportunity to intensify pressure rather than pursue diplomacy.
He highlighted Iran’s "fractured" command structure as a point of weakness, arguing that the U.S. should compound pressure through economic and military means to force the regime to "buckle."
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Retired Lt. Gen. Keith Kellogg speaks during the Warsaw Security Forum in Poland, on Sept. 30, 2025. (Marek Antoni Iwanczuk/NurPhoto)
"As I say, let's create more problems for them and try to figure this out," Kellogg said.
"That's why I keep going back to take something like Kharg Island or seize the islands in the Strait of Hormuz with... the ARGs that you've got there, and you've got elements of the 82nd [Airborne]. They can take Kharg Island."
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Vice President JD Vance speaks during a news conference after meeting with representatives from Pakistan and Iran in Islamabad, Pakistan, on April 12, 2026. (Jacquelyn Martin/AP)
"All of a sudden, now you're creating and compounding the problem for them [Iran] to try to solve, and I don't think they can solve it because they don't have the leadership left that can figure this out."
Kellogg's remarks come as the U.S. extends the ceasefire with Iran after failing to secure a quick agreement, with intermediaries seeking more time for talks.
Kellogg, however, dismissed the value of continuing negotiations, arguing that sustained pressure is key to bringing the conflict to an eventual close.
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"We're done. The president gave them ample opportunity," he 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 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.
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.
https://www.foxnews.com/media/keith-kellogg-urges-us-finish-job-iran-seizing-islands-strangling-economy