Ahead of another Iran strike? Report: CENTCOM chief briefs Trump at the White House

US Central Command (CENTCOM) chief Admiral Brad Cooper met with President Donald Trump at the White House on Thursday to discuss military options involving Iran, as Washington considers resuming major combat operations against the Islamic Republic, The Wall Street Journal reported. The meeting, described as an unusual in-person briefing by the top American commander in the Middle East, was attended by Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine, according to US officials and other individuals familiar with the discussions.

Additional Cabinet members participated in the meeting, which also addressed other matters, including the continuing American blockade of Iran. The high-level discussions followed a separate meeting Wednesday at the White House involving Cooper, other senior military officials, and Vice President JD Vance. Cooper rarely briefs Trump in person, raising the possibility that the administration is moving closer to authorizing significant military action.

The admiral previously met with Trump in July, when he joined Hegseth and Caine for discussions aboard Air Force One in Delaware. Neither the Pentagon nor CENTCOM responded substantively to the report, with spokespersons for both declining to comment. Thursday's meeting comes amid growing indications that the United States is preparing for another potential confrontation with Iran following the November 3 midterm elections. The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday that Washington had warned several Gulf Arab countries to prepare for a possible short but intensive American military campaign against Iran after the elections.

The report also indicated that the US military was strengthening regional air defenses and relocating personnel from bases considered vulnerable to Iranian retaliation. Trump, who has been campaigning for Republican candidates ahead of the midterms, has repeatedly declined to confirm whether he intends to order additional strikes. However, during a rally in Texas on Tuesday, the President defended his earlier military campaign against Iran and said he would make the same decision again.

“Somebody asked me yesterday, it’s very interesting, ‘If you had to do it again, would you have attacked Iran?’ I said absolutely," Trump told supporters. “It’s one of the greatest things I ever did," he added. Trump also maintained that he would decide when the conflict ends, insisting that any settlement must prevent Tehran from obtaining nuclear weapons. "Somebody asked me before, when will the war in Iran end? I said, whenever I want it to end.

It'll be very quick, but we have to have it end properly, with total and complete - a total statement, they will never have a nuclear weapon. Number one state sponsor [of terrorism]. They will never have a nuclear weapon." Despite the military preparations, the administration has continued exploring diplomatic possibilities. The Wall Street Journal previously reported Wednesday that Vance had established contact with Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council and a former longtime commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

According to the report, Vance sent Rezaei a letter intended to explore the possibility of restarting negotiations between Washington and Tehran. One person familiar with the outreach said the communication had been initiated at Trump's direction and that the President was aware of the effort. Trump, however, denied Wednesday that he had instructed Vance to begin peace negotiations, describing the contact instead as an effort to facilitate humanitarian assistance.

"No. They need help with medical supplies and various things. He asked me what I thought. I said, 'If you want to do that, that's okay'. Basically, it's getting supplies in to help people that are not well."