Transcript: Gen. Frank McKenzie on "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan," April 5, 2026

The pursuing is the afloat transcript of an interrogation with retired Gen. Frank McKenzie, erstwhile commandant of U.S. Central Command, that aired connected "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan" connected April 5, 2026, moderated this week by senior White House and governmental analogous Ed O'Keefe.

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ED O'KEEFE: We're joined present by the erstwhile caput of U.S. Central Command, retired General Frank McKenzie. General, Happy Easter. 

GEN. FRANK MCKENZIE: And the aforesaid to you, Ed. 

ED O'KEEFE: So it took conscionable nether 48 hours to find the missing weapons systems officer. After the pitchy they were successful went down successful a distant and mountainous country of southwestern Iran, the weapons serviceman was hiding successful a mountainous crevice. We're told by a elder medication official, what's your appraisal of however the hunt and rescue cognition went?

GEN. MCKENZIE: So I deliberation I'd gully 2 lessons from it, Ed. First of all, the excellence of the associated force, our quality to rapidly pivot, to look for a downed aerial crewman. We bid for this endlessly. It's a portion of each clip we nonstop aerial unit implicit force territory, we person detailed, elaborate plans to spell get them. It's a precise basal portion of who we are arsenic American warring men and women. So that program swung into action. I deliberation it was executed beauteous effectively. As always, you've got idiosyncratic connected the ground, whitethorn beryllium injured. They got to get to a presumption wherever they tin fell until you tin get to them. All that seemed to enactment retired precise well. And you know, we did, successful fact, suffer a mates of craft successful that successful that mission. But I would conscionable archer you, it takes a twelvemonth to physique an aircraft. It takes 200 years to physique a subject contented wherever you don't permission anybody behind. You instrumentality the craft commercialized immoderate time successful a concern similar this. The different lesson, I think, is simply a hard acquisition for Iran. First of all, they were not capable to find the missing aerial crewman. Second, you know, they enactment retired a wide entreaty to their radical to crook him successful reward, asking for each kinds of leads, that does not look to person been successful. And that would- I deliberation that's possibly a motion of disaffection, don't know, but you can't, you can't beryllium blessed with that if you're a elder person successful Tehran this morning.

ED O'KEEFE: Yeah, you cognize Iran's Revolutionary Guards present claiming work for attacks connected petrochemical plants successful the UAE, Kuwait and Bahrain. They pass its attacks against U.S. economical interests volition intensify if attacks connected civilian targets successful Iran are repeated, does Iran and its proxies clasp the capableness to inflict superior harm astatine this point?

GEN. MCKENZIE: They person the quality to inflict damage. They bash not person the quality to summation wide effects. And by wide effects, I mean firing many, galore dozens of rockets, missiles oregon drones. I deliberation that capableness has been eroded steadily since this run began. And frankly, astatine astir positive 30 days into this campaign, I deliberation if you're astatine Central Command, you've got to beryllium reasonably satisfied with wherever you are close now. In fact, Ed, erstwhile I was the CENTCOM Commander, if you had fixed maine this concern astatine positive 30 days, I would person rejected it arsenic being excessively optimistic by far. So we've had bully effect. Our effects are going to continue. It's going to beryllium progressively harder for them to motorboat missiles and rockets. We whitethorn not get to zero for a while, and I deliberation there's inactive immoderate clip ahead, but everyone realizes that. But I deliberation we're connected way here. This run is moving precise effectively, and I judge the gait volition prime up each day.

ED O'KEEFE: To your earlier point, the president said thing absorbing to Fox News this morning, revealing for the archetypal clip that the U.S., earlier this twelvemonth had sent a quote, batch of guns to the Kurds, who unrecorded successful bluish Iraq, bluish Iran for usage by protesters. So helium wanted them to usage these weapons. And said, you know, inferring present that helium was sending weapons to person the Iranian radical emergence up connected Wednesday night, though, successful his large speech, clarifying what the warfare is each about, helium said, This run is not astir authorities change, but if they are now, successful fact, arming protesters. What mightiness that signal?

GEN. MCKENZIE: Well, I deliberation you privation to enactment unit connected this authorities successful each mode that you can. Arming Kurds surely increases unit connected the Iranian regime. We cognize from past that enactment successful Iran responds erstwhile existential unit is applied to the regime. Arming the Kurds moves you a measurement person toward that adjacent if your eventual purpose is not authorities change, getting the authorities and Tehran to a spot wherever they'll marque a woody that's to our liking, is going to beryllium the inevitable by merchandise of intolerable unit that's placed over- connected them. And I deliberation each of these adhd unneurotic to bash that. 

ED O'KEEFE: You said past week, a occurrence for the White House is that the Strait of Hormuz reopens, but that captious passageway, of course, remains efficaciously choked off. The president this Easter morning, utilized some, shall we say, colorful language, to endanger Iran again to reopen the strait, if the U.S. launches its ain subject cognition successful the coming days to unfastened the strait, what's it going to instrumentality militarily to bash that?

GEN. MCKENZIE: Well, fto me, fto maine say, archetypal of all, we bash person the quality to unfastened the strait. Should we take to bash it successful what you're seeing present are the- what I would telephone the precursor of the archetypal steps successful specified a run you privation to trim Iran's quality to occurrence abbreviated scope rockets and missiles into the strait against warships. You privation to instrumentality retired their accelerated onslaught craft. Think of them arsenic cigaret boats, large, almighty outboard engined boats that tin contention retired and get among ships and origin nonstop harm that way. What we're doing is we're going aft each those vessels. And that's wherever a 10s onslaught aircraft, onslaught helicopters and different dilatory moving, debased altitude platforms are truthful precise effective. So we're successful the process of removing those close now. At the aforesaid time, we're moving to get escaped of Iran's excavation stockpile. The mines are precise dangerous. They had thousands erstwhile the warfare began. I person nary uncertainty we importantly (UNINTELLIGIBLE) them, now. Of course, it doesn't instrumentality galore mines to origin a important blockage to satellite shipping. So each of that is underway close now, and you privation to trim those to a debased level earlier you enactment your warships up determination to really benignant of trial the waters successful that strait. I person nary thought what Admiral Cooper's determination making process is going to beryllium for that, but I deliberation we're good connected the mode to achieving those goals.

ED O'KEEFE: Can the strait beryllium reopened with an aerial and naval run oregon are you going to request crushed troops?

GEN. MCKENZIE: I deliberation it could beryllium opened with an aerial and naval campaign, and the usage of crushed troops would astir apt beryllium on the enactment of raids. And remember, a raid is an onslaught with a planned withdrawal, wherever you don't program to stay. The 1 objection mightiness beryllium Kharg Island. I cognize the president has talked astir it. I deliberation it has a unsocial spot successful Iranian culture, due to the fact that of 1 thing, if you prehend it, you're holding Iranian soil. Secondly, it is the captious mode done which each their lipid supplies pass. By seizing it, you person the accidental to chopped that off, inflicting grievous harm connected the Iranian economy, and yet with the opportunity, perhaps, to instrumentality it arsenic portion of a dialog process. Further, you don't permanently harm the planetary system by destroying the infrastructure. So I deliberation Kharg Island is simply a precise lucrative target. I'm definite we're looking astatine it hard close now. I person nary thought if we're going to take to spell up there. 

ED O'KEEFE: In our past 30 seconds oregon so, here, General, bottommost enactment this. The president says 2 to 3 weeks is each that it's going to take? Would you hold with that? Or is it going to instrumentality longer? 

GEN. MCKENZIE: You know, I ever hesitate to enactment clip connected a- to enactment a timeline connected a subject cognition similar this, but I would accidental the Iranians would beryllium precise good served to perceive to President Trump erstwhile helium says he's going to deed him due to the fact that he's pro- he's proven that he's consenting to bash that. So that's the acquisition I would larn from from his astir caller pronouncement, and from really what we've done successful the warfare to this day, if the president says we're going to bash something, we're astir apt going to bash it. And it astir apt is bully clip for the Iranian enactment to instrumentality enactment of that fact. 

ED O'KEEFE: All right, we'll permission it there. General McKenzie, blessed Easter again. Thank you for spending immoderate clip with america this morning. We admit it.