WASHINGTON, April 30 (Reuters) – Top U.S. military leaders including Admiral Brad Cooper, the head of Central Command, will brief President Donald Trump later on Thursday on potential military action against Iran, a U.S. official told Reuters.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and General Dan Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will also participate in the briefing, the official said.
The official did not disclose the range of options that will be discussed but said the briefing was expected to be focused on actions needed to compel Iran to negotiate an end to the conflict.
U.S. Central Command and the White House did not respond to a request for comment.
Hegseth and Caine will be testifying before the Senate at 11 a.m. (1500 GMT), with questions expected to focus on the conflict launched by the U.S. and Israel on Feb. 28. The White House briefing was expected to take place following that hearing.
Axios reported on Thursday that Central Command had prepared a plan for a “short and powerful” wave of strikes on Iran, likely including infrastructure targets as well as another one for taking over part of the Strait of Hormuz to reopen it to commercial shipping.
Such options, however, have long been part of the U.S. planning and it did not appear that Axios was suggesting any departure from such planning.
The Iran war, which remains unpopular in the U.S., has shaken markets and raised oil prices. The war has brought traffic close to a standstill through the strait, a chokepoint for about 20% of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments.
(Reporting by Phil Stewart and Kanishka Singh in Washington; additional reporting by Chandni Shah in Bengaluru; Editing by Himani Sarkar, Lincoln Feast and Chizu Nomiiyama )
Comments