Illustrative image. (U.S. Central Command)
United States Central Command (CENTCOM) last week asked its intelligence personnel to propose “creative and unconventional” ideas for increasing pressure on Iran, CNN reported on August 3.
According to the report, an email sent on July 29 by a senior officer in Central Command’s intelligence branch was distributed to a broad group of military analysts.
“We are looking for new, creative and unconventional ways to pressure and punish Iran,” the message said.
A second source confirmed to the American news network that another senior officer had also requested new ideas for confronting Iran.
Military officials described the unusual email request as a sign that the options available to U.S. President Donald Trump were limited and that CENTCOM was reassessing its strategy and seeking to consider every possible course of action, according to the report.
CENTCOM spokesman Capt. Tim Hawkins told CNN that the command “has a long history of thinking and operating in innovative ways.”
He said Central Command chief Adm. Brad Cooper routinely sought input from personnel “regardless of rank” to achieve the highest possible level of operational performance.
CNN also reported that the request was sent before Trump threatened to launch further strikes against Iran. The president ultimately backed away from that threat over the weekend after regional officials, led by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, urged him to de-escalate.
The U.S. has carried out airstrikes against Iran in recent weeks in an effort to impair Tehran’s ability to threaten shipping through the Strait of Hormuz and force Tehran back to the negotiating table, the report said. There were no indications, however, that an agreement was imminent.
Two sources familiar with the matter told the news network that the U.S. military was also preparing for the possibility of renewed strikes against Pickaxe Mountain and other sites in Iran believed to contain nuclear material or equipment.
The sources assessed, however, that even the most powerful conventional weapons in the U.S. arsenal were unlikely to produce significant results because the facilities were buried deep underground.
Destroying them could require the deployment of ground forces, they said, a step Trump did not want to take because of the risks involved.
CNN’s report shows that the U.S. is not sure how to proceed with the war on Iran. An agreement with the Islamic Republic seems highly unlikely, mainly due to the maximalist demands set by the Trump administration from the start. At the same time, it looks like CENTCOM has depleted nearly all of its military operations. The last remaining one is an attack on the Islamic Republic’s energy infrastructure, a high-risk move that Trump is clearly not willing to make.
Regardless, CENTCOM’s latest request is evidence that the U.S. is preparing for another round of fighting with the Islamic Republic.
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