'We don't have the stomach': Gen Jack Keane criticizes US stance on Iran as Antony Blinken denies involvement in Israeli airstrike

NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK: During a press conference following a G7 meeting of foreign ministers in Capri, Italy on Friday, April 19, Secretary of State Antony Blinken claimed that the United States had no involvement in Israel's predawn airstrike on Iran.

Retired General Jack Keane joined co-host Brian Kilmeade on 'Fox & Friends' shortly afterward to discuss Blinken's remarks, asserting that the current administration does not "have the stomach" to go after Iran's financial resources, which enable them to procure weapons for themselves and their proxies.

Antony Blinken's statement

Blinken refrained from confirming whether the federal administration had been informed of Israel's plans before the attack, which is perceived as a response to the drones and missiles launched by Iran at Israel on April 13.

“The reports that you've seen, I'm not going to speak to that except to say that the United States has not been involved in any offensive operations,” he said, adding that the G7 was focused on avoiding a wider war in the region.

"You saw Israel on the receiving end of an unprecedented attack, but our focus has been on, of course, making sure that Israel can effectively defend itself, but also de-escalating tensions, avoiding conflict."

According to the Voice of America, Antonio Tajani, the Italian Foreign Minister who chaired the G7 meeting, stated that the US had informed the G7 partners that it received "last-minute" information from Israel regarding its actions.

Gen Jack Keane's reaction

While Keane acknowledged that potential sanctions on Iran's weapons and steel industry, as mentioned by Blinken in the press conference, could be worthwhile, he expressed his belief that allowing Iran to maintain its oil industry enables it to accumulate significant funds and behave aggressively.

"We need secondary sanctions going after the Chinese companies that are buying all that oil," he told Kilmeade. "We got to step up here and get on with this. The previous administration had Iran in the tank with 200,000 to 300,000 barrels of oil in a day. Now it's close to 4 million barrels of oil a day."

"No wonder they have all the money to buy ballistic missiles, rockets, and other long-range missiles for their proxies because they are flush with this money. And it's unfortunate we are not going after that. I don't think we have the stomach to go after it, because it's all about China."

Kilmeade pointed out that such actions could potentially drive up the price of gas, which is the last thing President Biden would want, especially in the lead-up to the election.