Republican strategist warns Iran war still “far from an off-ramp”

Adolfo Franco, a Republican political strategist and former adviser to US Senator John McCain, said the United States has achieved significant military gains in its campaign against Iran but warned the conflict is still likely “far from an off-ramp.”

Speaking to Al Jazeera, Franco commented on the progress of the war that Donald Trump had initially estimated could last at least four to five weeks.

“We’ve eliminated Iran’s air defences, its air force… and of course have attacked its facilities that produce and launch ballistic missiles and drones, which are significantly down,” Franco said.

Franco noted that Washington had never underestimated Iran’s ability to retaliate.

“We’ve never underestimated the power of Iran to retaliate and to do what it’s doing, and that’s why the president correctly said the conflict could last more than four weeks," he said.

“No one said this was going to be 12 hours or anything of that sort,” Franco added, though he noted that the United States appears to be “ahead of schedule.”

By Tamilla Hasanova