Adm. Brad Cooper presented President Trump with a menu of new military options Thursday — from a compressed strike package to a ground operation to reopen the Strait of Hormuz — as a War Powers Resolution deadline closes in and Brent crude pulls back from a four-year high.
U.S. Central Command Adm. Brad Cooper briefed President Donald Trump at the White House on Thursday on a fresh menu of military options against Iran, according to reporting by Axios, CNBC and the Military Times. The centerpiece, officials told Axios, is a ‘short and powerful’ wave of strikes designed to break a negotiating logjam and force Tehran to soften its terms. Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine and senior Pentagon leaders joined the session.
The briefing comes as the U.S.-Iran confrontation enters Day 60 — a date with statutory weight. Under the 1973 War Powers Resolution, the president must obtain Congressional authorization to keep U.S. forces in ‘hostilities’ beyond 60 days. CNBC reports the administration is exploring a ceasefire ‘loophole’ to argue the clock has paused, even as carrier strike groups remain forward-deployed and the Strait of Hormuz remains effectively closed to non-coalition shipping.
Beyond the strike option, two other plans are on the table, according to Axios. The first is a special-forces operation aimed at securing Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium before it can be moved to deeper, harder sites. The second is a more ambitious operation to seize and reopen part of the Strait of Hormuz to commercial shipping — a mission officials concede would likely require American boots on the ground and trigger a sharp escalation.
Markets reacted instantly. Brent crude touched $126 per barrel earlier in the session, a four-year high, before pulling back as Trump downplayed the imminence of strikes during a midday gaggle, CNBC reported. The price swing underscores how tightly global energy markets are now tracking every White House utterance: with roughly 20 percent of seaborne oil traditionally moving through Hormuz, even rumors of escalation move the tape by dollars per barrel.
Tehran’s response was defiant. Time magazine reported that Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei issued a written statement claiming the United States ‘has been defeated’ and declaring that ‘a new chapter is unfolding for the Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz.’ Iranian officials separately vowed to protect the country’s nuclear and missile capabilities ‘by any means necessary.’ Trump, for his part, told Axios he had rejected Iran’s latest proposal to reopen Hormuz in exchange for lifting the U.S. naval blockade, calling the offer insufficient and postponing nuclear talks ‘to a later stage.’
The political dimension is unmistakable. The Pentagon presentation lands as Trump faces simultaneous pressure from hawks on Capitol Hill, who want a decisive blow against Iran’s nuclear program, and from a vocal MAGA flank that warned during the 2024 campaign against another forever war in the Middle East. Whether the President green-lights the ‘short and powerful’ option, opts for the special-forces gambit, or buys more time at the negotiating table will define the next phase of a crisis that has already reordered global oil markets, hardened the U.S.-Iran rupture, and strained Washington’s relationships with allies in Europe and the Gulf.
