JULIE BANDERAS (GUEST CO-ANCHOR): History will tell you Iran only responds to strength. And -- strength in numbers, strength in military action, is needed, according to Mike Pompeo, who says that the president would back that. Do you believe that military action is needed?

​DANIEL HOFFMAN (FORMER CIA OFFICER): ​Well, I agree with the secretary. ​I ​think that Iran want​s​ to ​induce Europe and the United States to return to the deal to ​negotiate on Iran's terms. ​And we​'re of course​ not interested in doing that​, it was a flawed deal and​ ​t​he administration withdrew from it. I think​ that​ the administration​, as Secretary Pompeo hinted at​,​ i​s​ dealing with a flexible response based on the nature of ​Iran's attacks. ​If there were a direct and ​s​​erious attack on the United States, ​Iran know​s​ that that might mean ​regime suicide for them. ​We've got ​​the USS Abraham Lincoln and B-52 bombers​ in the region.​ ​I​f there​'​s something smaller, then we might respond with something less serious than that.

​BANDERAS​: General ​J​ack Keane​, he​ joined us earlier​ in the show​. He said​ that basically,​ military action would not lead to ​war. So, a lot of people when they hear ​military action, they think ​wow, are we going to be striking Iran? ​And if we did, that would indeed ​turn into a war. But listen to what he said earlier ​in the show ​to contradict that​.​

​[BEGIN VIDEO]​

​JACK KEANE (FOX NEWS SENIOR STRATEGIC ANALYST): ​People will be -- critics of any military action ​saying​,​ that​'​s leading to war. ​That is not leading to war​​, the Iranians do not want war with the United States​, Bill,​ because that will end their regime. They are willing, however, to escalate militarily, to get us to shut down, to get us to back ​off. And ​we​'​ve got to have enough resolve to stand up to that, much as Ronald Reagan did in the late 1980s.

​[END VIDEO]​

​BANDERAS: ​He says that Iran doesn't want war with the United States. ​The United States does not want ​war, as well​, with Iran​. But they are going to step up the game​, because these war games​ that are being played​ by Iran? ​The United States isn't going to go for that.

​HOFFMAN: ​Yeah, we -- neither country wants a full-scale war, but what the United States wants is to deter Iran​ from a miscalculation that might lead to that​. ​And so ​we​'​re being very clear that if Iran does attack us in the region or beyond​,​ that we will ​respond. And​ ultimately, that is how we ensure that ​Iran doesn't make the sort of move that would lead to an all-out war. ​That's what deterrence is all about, ​it​'​s a credible threat from the United States. ​And I think, as General David Petraeus has noted multiple times, that ​this Iranian regime ​should not take this​ administration​ li​ght​ly. They mean what they say.

Previously:

Fox Business host asks whether attacks on oil tankers in the Persian Gulf could be “a false flag”

Secretary Pompeo joins Fox & Friends to hype Iran as a threat to America and blame it on Obama

Tomi Lahren: “If the plan were to send a huge surge of land and war power to wipe out Iran and turn it into glass... that might actually solve the problem.”