Headline:

Sondland: Washington risks squandering its military advantage over Iran

Summary:

The latest:

America has crossed the Rubicon with Iran and cannot return to the prewar world, former US Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland wrote in an opinion piece published by Fox News on November 12, 2026. He argued Washington has attacked Iranian military infrastructure, badly damaged its economy and shown willingness to use overwhelming force — and is now at risk of trading that advantage for a quick exit.

Details:

• The core argument: Sondland wrote that the real question is whether America squanders the military advantage it has gained, and that the answer depends on understanding the difference between stopping a war and achieving the objectives for which it was fought. He described declaring victory and moving on as a terrible mistake.
• The stated objective: He argued the United States does not need to occupy Iran, install a new government or demand a surrender ceremony in Tehran. The goal he set out is narrower: making it exceedingly difficult for the government to rebuild the capabilities that threaten America, Israel and US allies.
• The prescription: Sondland called for a combination of diplomacy, sanctions and sustained military force. He wrote that leverage must be real, and dismissed what he called strongly worded statements from Washington and warnings that all options remain on the table, saying Iran has heard such warnings for decades.
• On the government: He wrote that the Islamic Republic is not simply another country with disagreements over trade, borders or recognition, and that hostility toward America and Israel has been woven into its revolutionary ideology since 1979. He framed this as a judgment about the government, not the Iranian people.
• The record he cites: Sondland listed the 1979 embassy seizure that held 52 Americans hostage for 444 days, and the 1983 Beirut Marine barracks bombing that killed 241 American servicemen, carried out by Hezbollah, which he wrote Iran helped create and arm.
• More cases: He cited the 1994 AMIA Jewish community center bombing in Buenos Aires, which killed 85 people and for which an Argentine court later held Iran responsible while concluding Hezbollah carried out the attack. He also cited a 2011 Iran-linked plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador in a Washington restaurant.
• On negotiations: Sondland wrote that Washington can and must negotiate, but should be realistic about the outcome. He said he does not believe talks will turn the Islamic Republic into a Western-style democracy or a reliable friend of Israel, though they may buy quiet, win concessions or reduce danger for years.
• His framing of diplomacy: He described diplomacy with Iran as buying peace one day at a time while keeping enough leverage to make renewed aggression unattractive. He argued the cited incidents spanned decades under both Republican and Democratic administrations, during confrontation and engagement alike.
• The presidential line: In Veterans Day remarks carried by Fox News, President Donald Trump said America did not start a war with Iran. No further White House detail was given on the campaign’s duration or its objectives.

Background:

Sondland served as US ambassador to the European Union during Donald Trump’s first term and was a central witness in the 2019 impeachment inquiry. He writes here as an outside commentator, not in any official capacity.

Between the lines:

The piece is an argument aimed at Sondland’s own side. Its target is not Tehran but a Washington he describes as focused on declaring victory and bringing down gasoline prices — a domestic political incentive he treats as the main threat to the campaign’s objectives. His explicit rejection of occupation and regime change reads as an attempt to separate sustained pressure from the Iraq precedent.

What’s next

Watch whether the administration defines end-state objectives for the Iran campaign beyond Trump’s Veterans Day framing, and whether new sanctions designations or further strikes follow the opinion piece’s call for sustained leverage.