Mike Pompeo said airstrikes will only succeed if 'they deter further Iranian aggression'

Mike Pompeo, the secretary of state during the Trump administration, said that the U.S. retaliatory strikes against Iranian targets in Syria and Iraq will only succeed if they convince Iran to stop pushing its proxies to attack American personnel "anywhere in the world."

"The single measure of their effectiveness will be whether they deter further Iranian aggression," Pompeo told Fox News Digital.

"Not just aggression in Jordan or Iraq, but Iranian attacks on U.S. interests anywhere in the world, support for Hamas and Hezbollah against our ally Israel and Iranian attacks on military and commercial vessels in the Red Sea included," he explained. 

Pompeo said that to succeed, due to the Biden administration's delayed response, the White House will need to display a willingness to "impose real costs" on Iran.

"To achieve this, after such a delayed response following the killing of three Americans, will take a level of seriousness and willingness to impose real costs on Iran we have not seen to date," he added. "This failure has caused escalation that will not stop until the Biden administration — along with our allies — restores deterrence."

Read more on Mike Pompeo's assessment here.