Unusual Email Shows US Military Searching for New Ways to Force Iran to Deal
A senior CENTCOM intelligence officer emailed military analysts requesting "new, creative and unconventional ways" to pressure Iran, signaling limited options as intelligence agencies assess current bombing campaign is unlikely to shift Tehran's position.
A senior officer in US Central Command's intelligence branch wrote in an email sent to a broad group of military analysts, "We are looking for new creative and unconventional ways to pressure and punish Iran," according to sources familiar with the message. According to CNN's reporting, the crowdsourcing-style query, which military officials said was unusual over email, is one sign of the limited and potentially unpalatable options available to Trump to force Iran into a deal on his terms.
The unusual brainstorming solicitation reflects deepening doubts about the effectiveness of the current military approach. Both the CIA and the Defense Intelligence Agency have recently assessed that the kind of bombing the US is carrying out is unlikely to shift the Iranian negotiating position. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine has acknowledged publicly that bombing alone is unlikely to accomplish all Trump's previously stated objectives for the war, telling lawmakers last month, "Air power has its limits."
Trump has held off on a CENTCOM plan for one to two weeks of heavy bombardment targeting Iran's missile capabilities, in part due to Caine's concerns about dwindling supplies of air defense interceptors, along with worries about civilian casualties from strikes on infrastructure like bridges and water desalination plants.
According to a source, CENTCOM is looking at everything, acknowledging it needs to reevaluate the strategy. The email message reflects an explicit recognition within the command that alternative approaches may be necessary if the Trump administration is to achieve its stated objectives in negotiations with Tehran.
The brainstorming effort comes amid ongoing tensions in the Persian Gulf region, where options for escalating the conflict have been presented to Trump for months and debated at length, with more military assets flowing to the region in anticipation of a go-ahead from the president. However, regional pressure, including strong calls from allied states, has contributed to Trump's decision to defer new major military operations for now.