Blackwater founder Erik Prince joined Steve Bannon’s War Room podcast on Monday with a clear message for President Donald Trump: declare victory in Iran, deliver targeted blows against key Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps assets, and then disengage before the conflict spirals further.
Prince, a longtime Trump ally and the brother of former Trump cabinet member Betsy DeVos, remains active in the global private security arena. During the interview, Bannon pressed him for a strategic assessment, framing the current U.S. actions as akin to a “Roman punitive raid” and asking what steps should follow in the next 24 to 48 hours to send a decisive message.
Prince did not mince words.
“Every IRGC — not that they would be in the barracks anymore — but anything that was of value to the IRGC that enables the IRGC, Quds force, and MOIS to continue to suppress the people: bomb the hell out of those, and then be done. And then cut away,” he said.
Prince argued that after such strikes, the United States should issue a blunt warning to remaining Iranian leadership: any further escalation would result in the dismantling of Iran’s economic infrastructure. At the same time, he cautioned that Iran’s clerical leadership is deeply ideological and willing to absorb heavy losses.
“The problem with bombing, with picking a fight now with Iranian clerical religious extremists — is they are really willing to die for their cause,” Prince said. “And they will take everything else with them, and they will burn down the rest of the Middle East.”
He warned that Iran may continue launching drone attacks into Gulf Cooperation Council countries and pointed to a reported strike on the British base at Akrotiri in Cyprus, where U.S. aircraft have operated. Prince suggested Iran’s ability to strike back may be stronger than initially anticipated.
Referencing past U.S. operations against the Houthis, Prince noted that despite months of military pressure, the Houthis remain in control of their territory and previously managed to disrupt traffic at the southern end of the Suez Canal.
He also emphasized that Iran has been learning from ongoing global conflicts. With Russia’s war in Ukraine entering its fourth year, Prince noted that Russia purchased Iranian Shahed drones for between $20,000 and $30,000 each and has since produced improved variants. Iran, he argued, has likely continued refining its capabilities as well.
Prince underscored what he called the unfavorable economics of modern warfare, pointing out that shooting down a relatively inexpensive drone with a Raytheon PAC-3 missile costing one to three million dollars amounts to “really, really bad math.”
He also mentioned the reported loss of three F-15s, suggesting it was likely an accident or possibly a friendly fire incident, while noting that U.S. aircraft are not widely operating over Iranian territory.
Ultimately, Prince urged the president to frame the current operation as a success.
“The president should call this a win,” he said, echoing Trump’s own remarks: “I have paid my debt to the Iranian people. I removed this leadership, which killed them. Now I leave it to the Iranian people.”
Prince also floated a broader regional strategy, suggesting changes in Afghanistan and a potential return to Bagram Air Base as a staging ground to deter Iran if necessary. According to Prince, such moves could provide strategic leverage while allowing the U.S. to step back from deeper entanglement.
His central argument: strike decisively, send a clear message, and avoid being drawn into a prolonged and costly conflict.
[READ MORE: Trump To Attend White House Correspondence Dinner]
