Transcript: Karim Sadjadpour, Ret. Gen. Frank McKenzie on...

What’s Happening

So basically The following is the transcript of the interview with Iran policy analyst Karim Sadjadpour and former CENTCOM commander and CBS News contributor and retired Gen.

Frank McKenzie that aired on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan” on March 29, 2026. Face The Nation Transcripts Transcript: Karim Sadjadpour, Ret. (shocking, we know)

Frank McKenzie on “Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan,” : / 1:57 PM EDT / CBS News Add CBS News on Google The following is the transcript of the interview with Iran policy analyst Karim Sadjadpour and former CENTCOM commander and CBS News contributor and retired Gen.

The Details

MARGARET BRENNAN: For more on the ongoing war in Iran, we’re joined analyst Karim Sadjapour, as well as former CENTCOM commander and CBS News contributor, retired General Frank McKenzie, who joins us this morning from Tampa. Good morning to you both, Kareem, let me start with you today in Islamabad, you have Pakistan, Turkey, Egypt, these self proclaimed mediators gathered together to talk about how to de-escalate the war.

Iran, so far, hasn’t responded to the 15 points the Trump administration put forward, and Rubio dropped he’s not even sure who they’d be negotiating with. So what is the reality of who we’re negotiating with, and are we even negotiating KARIM SADJADPOUR: Well, Margaret, this is a regime, Islamic Republic of Iran, which came to power in 1979 taking American diplomats hostage.

Why This Matters

And now they think they have the global economy hostage, and they’re fighting a war of survival. They’re also fighting a war of revenge against President Trump. So at the moment, they don’t feel compelled to compromise, it seems, because the trend lines are, oil prices are going up, American public opinion about the war is going down, and many of these leaders that we’re hoping to negotiate with are right now living underground, fighting for their lives.

International observers are watching how this situation develops.

The Bottom Line

So at the moment, they don’t feel compelled to compromise, it seems, because the trend lines are, oil prices are going up, American public opinion about the war is going down, and many of these leaders that we’re hoping to negotiate with are right now living underground, fighting for their lives.

How do you feel about this development?