Former Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta issued a blunt warning about the United States’ renewed hostilities with Iran, cautioning that President Donald Trump is on his way to a drawn-out conflict in the Middle East.

During a Thursday appearance on “CNN News Central,” Panetta said the recent tit-for-tat strikes between Iran and the U.S. represented the “worst elements” of a “forever war” with Iran.

“The options don’t look very good. It’s either continuing this kind of forever war ... it’s trying to arrive at some kind of ceasefire, but ceasefires have been very weak in terms of maintaining them,” Panetta said.

He added that the inability for both sides to agree on terms for control of the Strait of Hormuz remains the central catalyst for continued hostilities.

While the critical waterway, through which 20% of the global oil supply passes, remains the primary point of contention, other issues persist between the two countries, Panetta said.

“We haven’t even begun to get to the 60-day negotiations that are supposed to deal with nuclear, deal with missiles, deal with proxies, deal with other areas that need to be covered,” Panetta said.

He added that as long as Iran maintains control of the strait, there will never be any ceasefire.

Watch Panetta’s full interview from Thursday’s show here: