One of Donald Trump’s key allies predicts there will not be a peaceful end to the Iran war and has warned that Americans could soon see images of U.S. ships being decimated if the administration puts boots on the ground.
Erik Prince, a Republican mega donor, former U.S. Navy SEAL officer, and founder of the private security firm Blackwater, said he counseled the administration “as loud as possible” not to get involved in the first place, knowing it would be deadly for troops, financially costly for the military, and politically challenging ahead of the midterms.
But now that the conflict appears set to escalate, Prince—who is described in MAGA circles as the “pre-eminent thinker on the military”—says he is “extremely concerned” about what might happen next. Speaking on a panel at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Texas on Friday, Prince gave a grim forecast.
“I don’t share the optimism of the administration that there’s going to be a peaceful stop to this,” said Prince, who often acts as an unofficial adviser to Trump officials, with ties to the White House, the Pentagon, and the State Department.
“They will burn it down. And my real concern is that if they try to put boots on the ground and force the Strait of Hormuz, you will see imagery of burning American warships in the next couple of weeks. And I don’t think people are really prepared for that.
“The U.S. military, for two years, tried to bomb the hell out of the Houthis and to open the Red Sea and the Bab-el-Mandeb, and it didn’t work,” he continued. Bab-el-Mandeb is another key shipping channel.
“And to think we’re going to force that on the IRGC that’s prepared for this moment for 46 years?” Prince said, in reference to Iran’s armed forces. “I am extremely concerned.”
Prince’s comments come as the Pentagon prepares for weeks of ground operations in Iran, with thousands of American soldiers and marines now arriving in the Middle East for what could become a dangerous new phase of the war.
Despite Trump insisting that the U.S. has all but obliterated Iran’s military capabilities, Iran has continued to strike Israel and America’s Gulf allies in recent days, proving they are still in the fight with enough missiles and drones to continue to stabilize the region.
Prince made the point that Iran had 31 military districts, all led by commanders with orders to continue waging war against America.
The only person that could countermand that order, he said, is the nation’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who “understands blood oath” and has vowed revenge after “we killed his father, his wife, his sister, and other family members.”
As concerns over the war intensify, Prince’s comments carry weight in the MAGA world given his years-long background in Trump circles.
The military contractor first gained notoriety during the Iraq War when his private contracting firm, Blackwater, provoked international outrage after a deadly 2007 shooting that killed Iraqi civilians.
His sister, Betsty Devos, was the Secretary of Education in Trump’s first administration, and their family has donated to the GOP for years.
Former Fox & Friends co-host Pete Hegseth also often gave the US businessman a platform on his show before Hegseth was appointed Defense Secretary, and Prince reportedly served as a behind-the-scenes character reference for Tulsi Gabbard, a fellow military veteran, during her confirmation hearing to be Trump’s Director of National Intelligence.
More recently, Prince was part of a group of prominent military contractors who pitched the Trump White House a proposal to privatize mass deportations.
Asked at CPAC if he had a message for Americans, Prince replied: “Beware the dangers of foreign entangling alliances and beware the leverage of foreign governments and foreign influence on decision making.”
Trump’s decision to join Israel in its longstanding conflict with Iran cast an ever-present shadow at this year’s CPAC.
Amid MAGA divisions over the conflict, the president skipped the event for the first time in almost a decade, with the White House citing his busy schedule and the Middle East conflict as reasons.
However, Trump—who usually gives the keynote speech on the Saturday of the conference—spent most of the weekend playing golf in Palm Beach and attending fundraisers at Mar-a-Lago.
Iran, meanwhile, has mocked the president for his handling of the conflict.
“At one moment, he speaks of negotiations, and shortly afterward, he decides to manage the war,” said an IRGC spokesman in a video message posted to social media.
“This unbalanced and deceitful individual has inflicted extensive damage on the people of the United States, Europe, and countries around the world, especially the countries in West Asia.”
