Former Deputy National Security Adviser KT McFarland has declared that Iran made a “critical miscalculation” by attacking UAE pipelines—a move she says has driven a key Arab ally closer to Israel and the United States.
Speaking on the launch of “Project Freedom,” a new U.S.-led initiative to guide stranded ships out of the Strait of Hormuz, McFarland said Tehran’s decision to target the crucial oil hub of Fujirah will backfire dramatically.
“Iran made a very critical mistake today,” McFarland said. “Miscalculation, to go after the UAE pipelines because what does that do? It pushes the UAE firmly into the embracing arms of Israel and the United States against Iran.”
Her comments came after the UAE foreign ministry said it reserved the right to a “full and legitimate response” to drone attacks that sparked a fire at the Fujirah oil hub, a key pumping destination that bypasses the Strait of Hormuz.
McFarland emphasized that the U.S. already controls the strait, with American military vessels and two American-flagged ships transiting successfully. She described a multilayered defense capable of taking out missiles, drones, and fast boats, while maintaining a blockade solely against Iranian-bound vessels.
The former deputy national security adviser painted a dire picture of Iran’s internal situation, saying its economy is “collapsing,” with millions unemployed and the military going unpaid. “Time is not on their side,” she said.
While acknowledging that a diplomatic solution remains possible, McFarland suggested that Iran’s current leadership may not survive the crisis. “At some point, somebody in 93 million Iranians is going to say, ‘Enough.’ Maybe it’s not the current IRGC leadership, but are those guys still the IRGC leaders a couple days from now? I seriously doubt it.”
She predicted that once the roughly 300 vessels blockaded in the strait are cleared by summer, the price of oil and gasoline will drop rapidly—potentially turning President Trump into a “great savior of the American economy and the world economy” by the Fourth of July.
