Former US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warns of ‘strategic failure’ on Iran

Washington: Washington risks turning battlefield gains against Iran into a long-term strategic setback, former US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, urging restraint and renewed diplomacy as a fragile ceasefire holds.

In an interview to CNN’s Fareed Zakaria, Blinken said recent developments may amount to “tactical success… but strategic failure,” arguing that Iran retains key capabilities despite military pressure.

“You can have a tactical success… but… what are we left with at the end of this?” he said, noting Iran still has “highly enriched uranium… centrifuges… (and) missiles.”

He added that Tehran now has “a new, huge advantage, the Strait of Hormuz,” describing the situation as a turning point that increases Iran’s leverage.

The comments come after 21 hours of US-Iran talks in Islamabad failed to produce a lasting agreement, leaving only a tenuous ceasefire in place.

Blinken said President Donald Trump faces a difficult choice if negotiations do not yield results: escalation or compromise.

“It is an option” to restart the war, he said, but warned such a move would be “highly risky, highly costly.”

He urged the administration to avoid further military action. “Don’t go back to fighting… Keep the pressure on the Iranians by other means… and engage in diplomacy for however long it takes to get a deal,” he said.

Blinken said any deal would require concessions. “A deal is going to involve some compromise. Decide where you’re willing to compromise,” he said, adding that control and access to the Strait of Hormuz should be central to negotiations.

Drawing on his experience with the 2015 nuclear deal, Blinken said reaching an agreement with Iran is inherently slow and complex.

“In the whole history of the Revolutionary Republic… they’ve only made a fundamental compromise… twice,” he said, referring to the end of the Iran-Iraq war and the nuclear agreement.

He said one challenge is internal divisions within Iran. “One of the biggest mistakes… is to see it as a political monolith. It wasn’t,” he said.

At the same time, Blinken described Iranian negotiators as highly skilled. “These are master negotiators… incredibly challenging to deal with,” he said, recalling how talks often extended even after agreements appeared complete.

He said there may still be room for compromise on uranium enrichment, suggesting a deal could allow Iran to enrich “at very low levels with a very small stockpile,” offering a face-saving arrangement without recognising a formal right.

Blinken also reflected on efforts by the Biden administration to revive the nuclear deal after the US withdrawal under Trump. He said talks stalled partly because Iran sought guarantees that future administrations would not abandon an agreement again.

“Incredibly hard to do with our politics,” he said.

He added that negotiations were further complicated by Iran’s expanded nuclear programme and domestic political pressures in both countries.

Blinken said diplomacy remains the only viable path. “You’ve got to have strategic patience… the record shows that this can be done,” he said.

IANS