'WAR IS A TEST OF WILL': Strategist explains advantage to CRUSH Iran's economy

? RICH: JONATHAN HUNT LIVE FOR US. IN TEL AVIV, THANK YOU. FOR MORE ON THIS, LET'S BRING IN. THE FORMER AMBASSADOR AT LARGE. AND COUNTERTERRORISM COORDINATOR. UNDER PRESIDENT TRUMP'S FIRST. TERM, NATHAN SALES. AMBASSADOR, THANK YOU FOR. JOINING US TODAY. >> GREAT TO BE HERE. RICH: SO EVERYONE CONTROLS THE. STRAIT IS, APPARENTLY. IT SEEMS LIKE WE'RE GOING IN. CIRCLES HERE. WHAT IS THE STATE OF PLAY HERE, AND HOW DOES THE ADMINISTRATION. BREAK OUT OF IT? >> YEAH. WAR IS A TEST OF WILL. BUT DIPLOMACY IS ALSO A TEST OF. WILLS, AND RIGHT NOW WHAT WE'RE. SEEING IS BOTH SIDES DIGGING IN.

THEIR HEELS AND REFUSING TO. BUDGE. LONG TERM I THINK THE UNITED. STATES HAS A STRATEGIC ADVANTAGE. HERE BECAUSE WE HAVE THE ABILITY. TO CRUSH IRAN'S ECONOMY. WE'RE IMPOSING A BLOCKADE, WE'RE. IMPOSING SANCTIONS. THIS IS COSTING IRAN AN. ESTIMATED $435 MILLION A DAY, AND THAT STARTS TO ADD UP WITH. AN ECONOMY THAT'S ALREADY. FRAGILE. IRAN KNOWS THIS, AND THEY'RE. TRYING TO WEAPONIZE THE STRAIT. IN A SIMILAR WAY AND IMPOSE PAIN. ON THE UNITED STATES AND OUR. GULF PARTNERS IN THE REST OF THE. WORLD. THE QUESTION IS, WHO'S GOING TO.

BLINK FIRST? WHO HAS A HIGHER THRESHOLD FOR. ECONOMIC PAIN? I THINK IT'S THE UNITED STATES. I THINK OUR ECONOMY IS MUCH MORE. RESILIENT AND DURABLE, AND THE. IRANIANS ARE REALLY GRASP. ING AT STRAWS HERE. ULTIMATELY, WAR AND DIPLOMACY. ALIKE, WHO IS GOING TO BE ABLE. TO IMPOSE THEIR WILL ON THE. ADVERSARY. RICH: DURING PRESIDENT TRUMP'S. FIRST TERM, YOU WERE AT STATE, I. WAS COVERING STATE. IT WAS THE TIME OF MAXIMUM. PRESSURE WHERE THE U.S. WAS. PUTTING MAXIMUM DIPLOMATIC. SANCTIONS AGAINST IRAN. THIS IS A REGIME THAT APPEARS ON. THE SURFACE TO HAVE VERY LITTLE.

CONCERN FOR THE WELL-BEING OF. ITS CITIZENS, LET'S SAY. HOW DIFFICULT IS IT TO GET, TO. COMPEL THE IRANIAN REGIME TO. ACTUALLY CHANGE ITS PAVER? IT -- BAER? IT SEEMS LIKE THIS IS SOMETHING. THE U.S. HAS BEEN AT FOR YEARS. >> SO WE DON'T WANT OUR. SANCTIONS TO IMPOSE PAIN ON THE. INNONOCENT IRANIAN PEOPLE BECAUE. THEY'VE BEEN SUFFERING UNDER. THIS REGIME FOR 47 YEARS. THEY ARE OUR FRIENDS, OUR. NATURAL ALLIES, WE HAVE A SHARED. AGAINST IN THE -- AGAINST IN THE.

REGIME HAVING LESS MAUER. WHAT YOU DO IS YOU TARGET THE. IRGC. IT'S NOT JUST THE SHOCK TROOPS. OF THE ISLAMIC REVOLUTION, THEY. ALSO RUN THE ECONOMY. THEY HAVE SO SO PENETRATED THE. IRANIAN COMPANY, THERE'S FRONT. COMPANIES, BANKS, CONSTRUCTION. COMPANIES, INFRASTRUCTURE. WHEN YOU IMPOSE SANCTIONS ON. WHAT SEEMS LIKE LEGITIMATE. IRANIAN ECONOMY, YOU'RE ACTUALLY. HURTING THTHE POWER BEHIND THE. THRONE, THE SHOCK TROOPS OF THE. IRANIAN REVOLUTION. SO KEEP UP THE PRESSURE NOT JUST. ON THE REGIME AS SUCH, BUT ON. THE PRESSURE POINTS WITHIN THE.

REGIME RESPONSIBLE FOR. MAINTAINING THE GRIP ON POWER. THAT'S THE IRGC, THAT'S THE. BASIJ MILITIA AND OTHER UM. INSTRUMENTS OF REPRESSION --. INSTRUMENTS. RICH: HOW DIFFICULT IS IT TO. KEEP UP WITH HOW THE IRGC. TRANSFORMS ITSELF AND HOW IT. TRIES TO EVADE AMERICAN. SANCTIONS AND THAT UNDERGROUND. ECONOMY THAT IT HAS DEVELOPED. AND PROFITED ON AS A RESULT OF. THESE SANCTIONS? >> YEAH, IT'S A GREAT QUESTION. AND OUR SANCTIONS TARGETTERS ARE. THE BEST IN THE BUSINESS. THEY HAVE INFORMATION FROM OPEN.

SOURCE, THEY HAVE OTHER KINDS OF. INFORMATION THAT THEY USE TO. IDENTIFY UNDERNEATH THE SURFACE. WHAT ARE THE MOVING PIECES THAT. ARE EVOLVING AND CHANGING IN. ORDER FOR THE IRANIANS TO. SUSTAIN THEIR CAMPAIGN OF. SANCTIONED INVASION. IT'S A GAME OF A MOLE. WE'VE GOT A REALLY --. WHACK-A-MOLE. WE'VE GOT A REALLY BIG HAMMER, BUT WE'VE9 GOT TO BE VIGILANT TO. KEEP THE PRESSURE UP. RICH: AND PART OF THIS GAME --. OR NOT GAME, IT'S A WAR -- OF. MAKING SURE THAT ONE SIDE.

OUTLASTS THE OTHER, THERE IS. CONCERN OR REPORTING THAT THE. U.S. WEAPONS STOCKPILES, PARTICULARLY REAPER DRONES -- I. THINK "THE WASHINGTON POST" SAID. THE MILITARY HAS LOST ROUGHLY. 25% OF ITS REAPER DRONES -- HOW. MUCH OF A VULNERABILITY IS THAT. FOR THE U.S.? >> IT'S A BIG PROBLEM, AND THIS. IS A WAKAKE-UP CALL. IT'S, LIKE, THE THIRD OR FOURTH. WAKE-UP CALL ANT THE STATE OF. THE U.S. INDUSTRIAL -- ABOUT THE. STATE OF THE U.S. DEFENSE. INDUSTRIAL BASE. WE NEED TO INNOVATE OUR WAY OUT. OF THIS PROBLEM, PUT MORE. RESOURCES. CONGRESS NEEDS TO APPROPRIATE. MORE MONEY FOR AIRPLANES, FOR.

OTHER PLATFORMS, FOR MUNITIONS. BECAUSE IT'S NOT JUST T ABOUT. IRAN, IT'S ABOUT CHINA AND. RUSSIA. THOSE ADVERSARIES ARE WATCHING, ARE WE ABLE TO SUSTAIN A FIGHT. AND THAT'S HOW YOU AVOID A FIGHT. IS DO DEMONSTRATE CONVINCINGLY. TO YOUR ENEMIES, LIKE RUSSIA AND. CHINA, THAT WE HAVE AN. OVERWHELMING MILITARY ADVANTAGE. OVER THEM. IF OUR DEFENSE INDUSTRIAL BASE. CAN'T KEEP UP, THE RUSSIANS AND. THE CHINESE ARE GOING TO TES.