JINSA VP for Policy Blaise Misztal Debating Curt Mills: War Was “Only Option” to Deter Iran

Appearing on the new Daily Caller debate series, moderated by Emily Kopp, JINSA Vice President for Policy Blaise Misztal defended U.S. strikes on Iran against Curt Mills, executive director of The American Conservative magazine—founded by Pat Buchanan—arguing for foreign policy restraint.

Misztal emphasized that military action was necessary due to Iran’s four decades of escalating threats to American security, destabilizing activities in the Middle East, and deadly efforts to kill, main, and terrorize American citizens and service members.

Meanwhile, Mills called for non-interventionism and downplayed Iran’s threat to global security, urging President Trump to cut his losses and exit the Middle East entirely, leaving the Gulf Arab states to sort out their affairs with the Iranian regime.

During the contentious but civil engagement, Mills pressed for America to turn inward and find a diplomatic offramp with Iran, while Misztal justified military action being necessary to deter the Iranian government’s pursuit of a nuclear weapon, pointing out the regime torpedoed all past attempts at diplomacy. When Mills challenged, Misztal was quick to point out that American diplomatic efforts spanning multiple Republican and Democrat administrations failed in their objective—even when an agreement is reached, whether the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) or the recent Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), the Iranians immediately violate the terms.

Key Quotes from Blaise Misztal’s Debate

Opening statement:

• “Iran is a threat, it destabilizes the Middle East and directly undermines U.S. interests there. It tries to attack the United States and build relationships with other U.S. adversaries with global repercussions, and not taking this threat seriously enough for too long has led to a point where this war became one of the only options, if not the only option, for dealing with that threat.”

U.S. presence in the Middle East:

• Refuting Mills’ claims that the United States has failed to pull out of the Middle East, Misztal argued that, “Multiple presidents have tried [to withdraw from the Middle East], and every time they try, terrorism and instability with a direct source in Tehran spiral out of control, requiring a U.S. return and U.S. intervention in order to protect our interests, our citizens, and our homeland, and that’s exactly what is happening now.”

Iran’s Strategic Leverage:

• Responding to Mills’ point that Iran now has two “Trump cards” with its potential of a nuclear breakout, as well as its leverage in the Strait of Hormuz, Misztal answered that “Iran’s ability and desire to close the Strait of Hormuz did not magically appear out of thin air as a result of U.S. bombing. It existed beforehand, and it was exactly the possibility and the threat of the combination of Iran’s nuclear program and its stated willingness and desire to close the Strait that was part of the problem. Because what happens if Iran both gains nuclear capability and closes the Strait of Hormuz? Then, our ability to reopen the Strait, to avoid economic catastrophe, without risking a nuclear war, goes to zero.”

U.S. Goals in Iran:

• Highlighting the importance of U.S. military operations in Iran, Misztal argued that “We need to open the Strait of Hormuz. Beyond that, we have to do what President Trump said on February 28th when he started this war. We have to prevent a nuclear Iran. We have to degrade its ability to project power. We have to sever the links between Iran and the proxies and terror groups that it arms and funds. And ideally, we should be supporting the Iranian people and giving them the tools and the opportunity, when the time is right, for them to get rid of this regime, as they demanded and as they tried to do back in January before they were killed brutally by the tens of thousands in the streets. Ultimately, that has to be the objective of U.S. policy.”

History of U.S.-Iran Diplomatic Relations:

• Responding to Mills’ claims that the United States fails to pursue diplomacy with Iran and that Israel has “sabotaged“ American attempts to negotiate with the regime, Misztal emphasized that “The number of times that the Iranians have been given the chance to reach a deal with President Trump and have failed to do so is staggering, and we have seen what happens when there is a deal with the Iranians. We saw it with the JCPOA when the moment they entered into the deal in January of 2016. What did they do? They took hostage American sailors and held them at gunpoint…What happened the moment that we signed the MOU? They continued to shoot missiles and drones at ships going through the Strait of Hormuz, failing to honor the deal that said they had to open the strait. So yes, we have tried diplomacy, and we see what happens: either refusal to get a deal or refusal to honor it.”

Watch the video on the Daily Caller.