According to a video on Fox News, on Monday June 1, 2026, retired four-star General Jack Keane cautioned American negotiators and the broader public that Iran’s stated willingness to reach a diplomatic agreement should not be mistaken for genuine intent to compromise, warning that the Iranian regime has a well-established pattern of entering negotiations with broad agreement before systematically obstructing every specific detail.
General Keane, serving as Fox News senior strategic analyst and chairman of the Institute for the Study of War, delivered the warning during a live interview in which he outlined the tactical approach he expects Tehran to adopt during the coming 60-day negotiation window agreed upon as part of the current ceasefire arrangement.
Keane drew on years of observation of Iranian negotiating behavior to paint a picture of deliberate delay and strategic obstruction.
He noted that Iran has consistently used the promise of a deal to buy time, secure financial relief, and recover militarily, while simultaneously resisting the specific language that would bind it to concrete and verifiable commitments.
In his words, General Jack Keane said, “Listen, for six weeks we’ve been gathering intelligence because that’s how long we’ve been under the ceasefire. And yes, they’ll say we want to make a deal, but at the same time when you get down to the details, they’re going to fight us over those details.
“They believe that the leverage that the United States has is truly a real one. We have leverage over their money. They want their frozen assets released.
“They want sanctions removed. We have got to use that as leverage. And their art of negotiations is solid. They drag out negotiations.
They promise, promise, promise and then when they get down to the details, they fight us over the details and they drag out negotiations and we keep going around in circles,” he said.
Keane urged the administration to resist any temptation to offer goodwill financial gestures before the core issues of nuclear weapons, ballistic missiles, and proxy financing have been fully addressed and agreed upon in writing…See More
