A potential first wave of strikes on Iran would focus on strategic missile sites and launchers, the most immediate threat to U.S. forces and Israel, a former CENTCOM official told the Post.
According to Vice Admiral (ret.) Bob Harvard, former deputy commander of US Central Command (CENTCOM), the large concentration of US military assets in the Middle East is not only a demonstration of power, but also a sign that the US has the ability to destroy the Iranian regime’s power structure in a matter of hours.
“One thing he portrayed [President Donald] Trump does what he says,’ Harvard said The Jerusalem PostCiting the U.S. stance that it will not tolerate a nuclear-armed Iran withdrawing from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. “Now he’s earmarking assets for military action,” Harvard said.
“If he cannot meet the objectives related to the nuclear and ballistic missile programs, he is ready to mediate and act.”
If a strike is ordered, Harvard, who served as deputy commander of CENTCOM until 2013, detailed a hierarchy of targets designed to neutralize Iran’s offensive capabilities while sparing the general population. The priority, according to the former commander, will be “bottom-up”. The first wave will target strategic missile sites and launchers – a direct threat to US forces and Israel.
Bob Harvard, former deputy commander of US CENTCOM. (Credit: Courtesy)
The second priority is to neutralize the remnants of surrogates outside the country who risk retaliation against Israel.
US may attack IRGC headquarters
However, the most significant change in strategy relates to the regime’s internal grip on power. Harvard suggested that the campaign would target the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and tools used to repress the Iranian people, rather than the national infrastructure.
“You’re going to see the infrastructure,” Harvard said. “This is to get the Iranian people to change the government, so I think those kinds of targets will not be hit. It will only focus on things that enable the regime and the IRGC to suppress the people.”
Perhaps the most chilling warning to Tehran was Harvard’s description of modern U.S. war capabilities, which he noted are far superior to those seen in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. “What we’ve learned and what we’ve been able to develop technology-wise — it’s command, control, and targeting — it allows you to make your massive strike more effective,” Harvard said.
“Where earlier you could do 40 or 50 strikes a day, now we have the ability to do hundreds of strikes a day. That in itself completely changes the equation for governance.”
Harvard said the US now has the ability to cut down the IRGC’s command structure at high speed. “If you’re targeting the IRGC and want to search all their headquarters and facilities, you can do it in a few hours. That’s unprecedented.”
Harvard’s perspective is shaped not only by his military service but also by his personal history. His family lived in Iran from 1968 to 1979, and he was in the country as a senior at the U.S. Naval Academy just weeks before the fall of the Shah.
Recalling the 1979 revolution, Harvard said the turning point came when the military shifted from supporting the Shah to supporting the people. He believes similar dynamics are critical to any future change in Tehran. “This is a regime that has oppressed the people for 47 years,” he said. “Some of them want a big change.”
He stressed that any military action must be aligned to support the Iranian population, ensuring that target lists reduce the government’s ability to suppress communication and dissent without alienating the population.
“I don’t think anyone really understands the scale or the capability that we have because no one has seen it before,” Harvard said, adding a warning to other global powers. “If this happens, it will be illuminating for everyone to understand where we have come in terms of size, scale, speed and capability – be it Russia or China.”
