Steve Forbes says the United States must double down on efforts to topple the Tehran regime, arguing that free passage through the Strait of Hormuz should remain a non-negotiable American imperative.

As the U.S. struck targets in Iran for a ninth consecutive day on Sunday, pressure on the Tehran regime continued to build. Speaking at Freedom Fest in Las Vegas, the chairman and editor-in-chief of Forbes and former presidential candidate recently sat down with Fox News Digital to discuss Iran and the Trump administration’s foreign policy.

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“Going back to Thomas Jefferson, a core foreign policy plank of the United States is freedom of the seas. Freedom of navigation got us into another war with Great Britain, the War of 1812,” Forbes said.

“So we’ve been doing it for over two centuries. The Strait of Hormuz is an international waterway, just as the South China Sea is an international waterway. And so we must keep that open. 

“No tolls, no restrictions, all ships of commerce should have free passage through it unmolested.”

Forbes said that with proper application of air power, boots on the ground wouldn’t be needed, but he would not discard that as an option, bringing the example of the engagement with the Barbary pirates, which brought freedom of navigation to the Mediterranean following the completion of the First Barbary War of 1805.

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“If we do things right in the air, that won’t be necessary. But as we demonstrated with the Barbary pirates, sometimes you do need hand-to-hand combat. But again, with our great military and the great Israeli military, we should be able to bring this evil regime down and enable the elements in the Iranian army that want change to feel we’re not going to pull the rug out from under them with another fake ceasefire. That we keep hammering away at this evil regime.”

Ultimately, Forbes said freedom of navigation should be an international red line:

“So the key thing is if you don’t enforce these key principles of freedom of navigation, liberty, you’re going to lose them. Ronald Reagan was right. Others have made the same observation. You have to preserve liberty each and every generation.”

Forbes said that the time for diplomacy with Tehran has passed, and encouraged the Trump administration to ratchet up the pressure, while also praising a recent decision on Ukraine policy.

“Get Iran done with. No more fake ceasefires. Get rid of that evil regime. By the way, I’m delighted that he’s saying he’s going to give licensing for Patriot missiles to Ukraine. That’ll bring a good result there.”