In the latest in the Iran War, U.S. forces launched a new round of strikes against Iran on Wednesday, July 8, 2026, a day after the Islamic Republic targeted ships in the Strait of Hormuz. The escalation came just hours after President Donald Trump warned the attacks marked the ceasefire’s end and vowed further military action.
Kurt Volker, former U.S. Ambassador to NATO, joined “Arizona Horizon” to break down the rapidly evolving situation.
“We do not want to have a full-scale war with Iran because that risks driving up oil and gas prices which we don’t want,” Volker said.
Volker noted that the U.S. would not like to see Iran take control of the Strait of Hormuz because Iran could charge fees for passing ships. He added that what we would like to see instead is “free, open navigation”.
As for how the U.S. will continue their actions in this war with Iran, Volker says that he does not believe that the U.S. has a plan but rather a “wish list”. Some of these things include keeping oil and gas prices down and avoiding a “full-scale war”, amongst other things.
“So we’re trying to push back but only push back enough to get things back to where they were and kick this down the road,” Volker said.
When it comes to the previously signed memorandum of understanding, Volker noted that according to President Trump, it is dead. However, Volker added that he believes that it can still be a “temporary solution” to refer back as conflict continues.
Volker also shared that throughout this war in Iran, the conventional forces like the Iranian Air Force and Navy have been “wiped out”. However he also explained the other forces that Iran can implement.
“They still have their proxy groups, they still have the speedboats they can move around, they have mines, they have missiles. They can hit their neighbors in the gulf states which creates another global shock when that happens and puts pressure on us to not let that happen. So Iran has a lot of leverage here,” Volker said.
