Adm. Brad Cooper and US president Trump
WSJ separately reported that the meeting covered military options for Iran and came as Washington weighs resuming major combat operations. Qatari mediators recently delivered a letter from vice-president JD Vance to Iran’s Supreme National Security Council secretary, Mohsen Rezaei, proposing a restart of negotiations while stressing that any talks would have to address Iran’s nuclear programme, Axios reported. The Journal has also reported that Vance engaged the Iranian hard-liner in an effort to revive peace negotiations.
Cooper briefed Trump on whether the naval blockade was achieving its objectives, the operation to guide oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz towards global energy markets, and the economic pressure campaign being conducted by the military in coordination with the Treasury Department, according to Axios. “We may do another little Epic Fury,” he said at a rally, referring to the US-Israeli bombing campaign in the spring. US Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack said Thursday that Washington and Tehran were “very close” to an agreement to de-escalate tensions. “I think we’re very close to finally getting to a place where we can say, ‘Let’s just have a timeout,’” Barrack told CNN, while cautioning that a comprehensive solution would not come immediately. Senator Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat who said he had been briefed on aspects of the classified military planning, called the plans “insane”.
Trump hinted at the possibility of renewed military action last week. “Or they’ll agree. The prospect of renewed hostilities has alarmed some US lawmakers.
The top US military commander in the Middle East held a rare in-person briefing with US president Donald Trump on Thursday to discuss the state of the Iran war, including the effectiveness of Washington’s naval blockade and military options for a possible resumption of major combat operations, according to reports by The Wall Street Journal and Axios.