President Donald Trump received warnings from Vice President JD Vance and the nation’s top military general during a high-stakes meeting on Friday, urging him to avoid a major escalation in the ongoing conflict with Iran. General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, informed the President of a critical shortage in munitions stockpiles while joining Vance in cautioning against a return to full-scale combat operations.
Military leadership highlighted significant risks associated with continued aggression, warning that such actions would likely lead to massive civilian casualties and the potential for a broader regional conflict. Officials further cautioned that Trump's stated intentions to target civilian infrastructure—including power plants, roads, and bridges—could leave millions of Iranians without essential food and electricity. Additional concerns raised during the meeting included the threat of a massive refugee crisis and the possibility of Iranian retaliation targeting Gulf energy and desalination infrastructure.
CENTCOM Commander Brad Cooper reported that two weeks of intensive strikes in the Strait of Hormuz had successfully degraded Iran's ability to target commercial vessels. Cooper argued that the designated bombing targets were largely exhausted, suggesting that continuing the campaign would serve no strategic purpose without escalating into a full-scale war. This assessment was instrumental in Trump’s decision on Friday to suspend operations.
Furthermore, General Caine warned Trump and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth that dwindling supplies of air defence interceptors could leave American personnel and regional allies vulnerable to retaliatory strikes. Following these briefings, a second consecutive night passed without reported US or Iranian strikes, marking two weeks of sustained bombardment followed by a lull. According to US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz, Trump is now allowing space for diplomatic discussions. This shift follows a June memorandum of understanding between the US and Iran, which included a ceasefire mediated by Qatar and Pakistan to facilitate negotiations toward a final agreement.
