CENTCOM seeks unconventional ideas to intensify pressure on Iran as Trump reviews options

The Trump administration is running out of ways to pressure Iran, with its airstrikes failing to end Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz or force the country back to the negotiating table. So now the military is asking for “unconventional” new ideas.CNN reports that an officer in the U.S. Central Command’s intelligence branch sent a message Wednesday to military analysts “looking for new creative and unconventional ways to pressure and punish Iran.” It’s an unusual thing to ask over email, according to CNN, and shows that President Trump knows his options are limited as the war with Iran enters its sixth month.The email was sent before Trump threatened new airstrikes against Iran and then relented, over the weekend, after Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and other Gulf leaders talked him out of it. Among the plans were attacking Pickaxe Mountain and other Iranian sites reportedly housing nuclear equipment or material.Those sites are deep underground, however, and would have likely required deploying American ground troops, which Trump is trying to avoid. Eighteen American service members have been killed in the war, according to official counts, and the administration has been criticized for its lack of transparency on military casualties.“At the end of the day, POTUS will want a deal, so he’ll continually look for ways to get tough and get out of this,” an unnamed source told CNN. “You need creative minds at times—especially if you’re running out of conventional options.”But more bombing probably won’t change Iran’s negotiating position, according to the CIA and Defense Intelligence Agency. Trump has effectively backed himself into a corner with his ill-advised war, and is having trouble with being able to walk away with anything he can call a victory. American missile stockpiles have dwindled, scores of civilians have been killed, and the global economy, including gas prices, has taken a massive hit. Trump needs a way out.

The US military command overseeing President Donald Trump’s war with Iran has asked personnel to suggest “creative and unconventional” ways to increase pressure on Tehran as Washington reassesses its strategy amid limited options for ending the conflict.“We are looking for new creative and unconventional ways to pressure and punish Iran,” an officer in US Central Command’s (CENTCOM) intelligence branch wrote in an email sent on Wednesday to a broad group of military analysts, according to a source familiar with the message.A second source said a senior US military officer had sent the message last week seeking fresh ideas on dealing with Iran, CNN reports.Military officials described the crowdsourcing-style request over email as unusual. The move reflects the difficult choices facing Trump as he tries to force Iran to accept a deal on his terms. The second source said CENTCOM was examining all possibilities and recognised the need to reassess its strategy.“U.S. Central Command has a long history of thinking and working in innovative ways,” Capt. Timothy Hawkins, a spokesperson for CENTCOM, said in a statement. “Admiral Cooper, in particular, reaches out to members of our great team, regardless of rank, to achieve the highest levels of operational performance possible.”Trump Weighs Fresh Strikes On IranThe email was sent before Trump threatened further strikes against Iran, only to call them off over the weekend after regional officials intervened. Saudi Arabia’s crown prince was among those who called Trump and urged him to de-escalate.For weeks, the US has carried out air strikes against Iran aimed at weakening Tehran’s ability to threaten shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and pushing it back to negotiations. However, there has been no indication of an agreement.Trump has considered intensifying the campaign, including renewed heavy strikes on Iran’s remaining nuclear facilities, which he claimed had been “obliterated” in attacks last summer.Two sources familiar with the planning said the US military has been actively preparing possible strikes on Pickaxe Mountain and other Iranian sites believed to hold nuclear material or equipment.However, the facilities are buried so deeply underground that even powerful conventional US missiles and bombs are unlikely to destroy them, according to the sources. Doing so would probably require ground forces, an option carrying substantial risks that Trump has so far been unwilling to accept.Questions have also been raised about the administration’s transparency over military casualties. Eighteen US service members have been killed in the fighting so far.‘Air Power Has Its Limits’Another source said Trump has considered strikes resembling a “fireworks” display, potentially targeting the same or similar locations hit a year earlier. Such an operation could offer a symbolic victory and provide Trump with a path out of the war without achieving one of his original objectives: eliminating Iran’s nuclear programme.Such strikes would also be unlikely to resolve what has emerged as the central issue in the conflict: Iranian claims over the Strait of Hormuz.“At the end of the day, POTUS will want a deal, so he’ll continually look for ways to get tough and get out of this,” said one of the sources familiar with recent planning discussions.“You need creative minds at times — especially if you’re running out of conventional options.”Both the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) have recently assessed that the US bombing campaign is unlikely to alter Iran’s negotiating position, CNN has reported.Trump’s most senior military adviser, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen Dan Caine, has also publicly acknowledged the limitations of bombing in achieving all of the President’s previously stated objectives.“Air power has its limits,” Caine told lawmakers last month.Also Watch:Heavy Bombardment Among Options DiscussedOptions for escalating the war have been presented to Trump and debated for months, while additional US military assets have been sent to the region in preparation for a possible order to intensify operations.One CENTCOM plan would involve heavy bombardment lasting one or two weeks with the objective of destroying Iran’s missile capabilities, according to US officials.Trump has so far refrained from approving such an escalation, partly after Caine raised concerns over diminishing stocks of air defence interceptors.Other officials have warned of potentially high civilian casualties if Trump carries out threats to attack infrastructure, including bridges and water desalination plants.Another option would involve deploying US ground troops. Trump has repeatedly raised that possibility while discussing the potential occupation of the strategically important Kharg Island or efforts to remove Iran’s highly enriched uranium.Such a deployment, however, would further conflict with a key pledge Trump made to his Make America Great Again (MAGA) supporters during his 2024 presidential campaign.“I will not send you to fight and die in stupid foreign wars that never ends,” he said during a 2024 campaign rally in Pennsylvania.Bankipur Bypoll: Prashant Kishor Says Victory Sends Message To BJP For 'Better Leadership' In BiharTrump Faces Choice Between Escalation And Prolonged ConflictThe alternative to escalation could be maintaining the current situation, with repeated US and Iranian strikes and counterstrikes. Such a scenario could result in further American casualties and leave shipping through the Strait of Hormuz under persistent threat, potentially resembling the prolonged “forever wars” Trump has criticised.Trump nevertheless indicated on Friday that he expected continued military pressure eventually to force Tehran to relent.“I think we just want to win,” Trump said during a Cabinet meeting Friday when asked about concluding the war. “We’ll be hitting them very hard, and you know, at some point, they’re going to say, ‘We just can’t take it anymore.’”