White House Pushes Back On NYT Report Of Pause In Military Escalation, Says US 'All Options' Against Iran

White House Pushes Back On NYT Report Of Pause In Military Escalation, Says US ‘All Options’ Against Iran

The White House pushed back Saturday after a New York Times report said President Donald Trump had shelved plans to significantly escalate military operations against Iran, emphasizing that the president continues to keep all options on the table.

“President Trump has always been consistent in saying he prefers a diplomatic solution, but he continues to retain all options if Iran continues terrorist activities in the Strait of Hormuz or against allies,” White House Communications Director Steven Cheung told Fox News Digital.

Cheung added that, after “successful sanctions that have crippled Iran’s economy and 13 straight days of strikes against military targets in response to their repeated aggression, it would be wise for Iran to work towards a negotiated deal. Otherwise, they know what will happen.”

The statement comes in response to a New York Times report that Trump has, for now, held off on a broader military campaign against Iran after advisors raised concerns about expanding the conflict.

'Disgraceful': ICC Prosecutor Behind Netanyahu Warrant That Fueled Mamdani Arrest Calls Fired

The International Criminal Court prosecutor whose arrest warrant against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu became central to New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s threat to arrest the Israeli leader was dismissed Friday after member states voted to remove him over sexual misconduct allegations.

Karim Khan, the ICC’s chief prosecutor, was removed after a vote by the Assembly of States Parties, the court’s 125-member governing body, following disciplinary proceedings tied to allegations involving a junior female staffer in his office. Khan has denied wrongdoing.

The decision marked the first time in the ICC’s history that a sitting chief prosecutor has been removed from office. Khan’s removal comes days after Secretary of State Marco Rubio launched a U.S. campaign to “dismantle” the ICC, accusing the court of threatening American sovereignty.

Khan became one of the world’s most controversial prosecutors after pursuing ICC arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant over Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza. The ICC issued the warrants in November 2024, prompting fierce condemnation from Israel and the United States, neither of which is a member of the court.

The warrants also became a flashpoint in New York politics after Mamdani repeatedly invoked the ICC case against Netanyahu. Mamdani said during his campaign that he would seek to arrest Netanyahu if the Israeli prime minister came to New York, and later acknowledged as mayor that the city lacks authority to enforce the warrant while calling on the federal government to do so.

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CENTCOM chief urged halt to Hormuz strikes as targets ran out

CENTCOM chief urged halt to Hormuz strikes as targets ran out

ynet

The top U.S. military commander in the Middle East recommended halting the bombing campaign around the Strait of Hormuz because it had reached the limit of its effectiveness and most designated targets had already been exhausted, Axios reported Sunday.

According to two sources familiar with his position, U.S. Central Command chief Adm. Brad Cooper delivered the recommendation to the Pentagon, the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the White House earlier in the week.

His assessment, together with advice from other military and civilian officials, influenced President Donald Trump’s decision Friday to pause U.S. strikes against Iran, the sources said.

The recommendation reflected an acknowledgment inside the administration that military action — particularly a sustained air campaign — could accomplish only so much without a broader decision to resume major combat operations.

For the first time in two weeks, Trump ordered the military to hold fire and refrain from striking Iranian targets along the country’s southern coast and around the Strait of Hormuz.

The decision followed a meeting with senior advisers and military officials, who presented the president with a new strike plan for that day.

Cooper reportedly told officials that two weeks of strikes around the Strait of Hormuz had significantly reduced Iran’s ability to attack commercial and military vessels.

He also said most of the targets designated for the campaign had already been struck.

According to the report, Cooper assessed that one possible next step would be to resume major combat operations and attack the remaining 20% of targets identified by the U.S. military during Operation Epic Fury.

But without a decision to return to that level of warfare, he argued that there was no purpose in continuing the more limited bombing campaign conducted during the previous two weeks.

CENTCOM spokesman Capt. Tim Hawkins declined to comment on the report.

The assessment came alongside growing concern over U.S. stocks of air-defense interceptors.

The sources said Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Dan Caine privately warned Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Trump that shortages of interceptors could hinder U.S. efforts to protect American forces and regional allies.

The New York Times first reported Caine’s warning.

A spokesman for the Joint Chiefs chairman declined to comment “on confidential military advice the Chairman provides the President.”

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LAVROV DROPS THE MASK: AMERICA IS NOT HELPING — IT IS FIGHTING RUSSIA

LAVROV DROPS THE MASK: AMERICA IS NOT HELPING — IT IS FIGHTING RUSSIA

BP   Via Mark

Sergey Lavrov just stated what Western media refuses to admit. The United States is not a distant supporter of Ukraine. According to Russia’s Foreign Minister, America is an active participant in the war against Russia itself.

THE DIRECT PARTICIPATION

 Lavrov said American officials supply weapons, intelligence data, and the Starlink system.

 He stressed these are not passive forms of assistance.

     The United States, he declared, “not only helps, but directly participates in targeting Ukrainian weapons at targets, including civilian targets on Russian territory.”

THE REAL ROLE

 Arms shipments funded through European channels still carry American direction.

 Real-time intelligence and Starlink connectivity allow Ukrainian forces to strike with precision they would not otherwise possess.

    Lavrov framed this as active combat involvement, not remote sponsorship.

THE DOUBLE STANDARD

 Western capitals accuse Russia and China of arming Iran.

 At the same time, Lavrov pointed out, America openly enables strikes deep inside Russia while denying it is a party to the conflict.

     He left the contradiction hanging in plain sight.

THE BOTTOM LINE

When a major power provides the weapons, the targeting data, and the communication network that guide missiles onto another country’s soil, it is no longer a helper. It is a combatant.

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Report: CENTCOM chief urged halt to Hormuz campaign unless US prepared to escalate

Report: CENTCOM chief urged halt to Hormuz campaign unless US prepared to escalate

Nava Freiberg

CENTCOM commander Brad Cooper recommended halting the US bombing campaign against Iran around the Strait of Hormuz unless Washington was prepared to escalate into a broader military campaign, arguing that the operation had largely reached the limits of its effectiveness, Axios reports, citing two sources familiar with his assessment.

The report comes after the second night in a row without US strikes on Iran, after nearly two weeks of nightly attacks and retaliations by Tehran targeting US allies across the region.

According to Axios, Cooper gave his recommendation to the Pentagon, the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the White House, ahead of a Friday meeting between Trump and senior advisers, during which the president decided to pause the attacks. Cooper said the campaign had significantly degraded Iran’s ability to attack ships in the Strait, noting that designated bombing targets had been mostly exhausted, the sources tell Axios.

The sources add that Cooper raised the possibility of resuming major combat operations against a remaining 20 percent of targets that the US military had designated, but did not strike during the US-Israeli campaign against Iran, and that, absent that move, there was no point in continuing the campaign in Hormuz.

According to reports from The New York Times and CNN, Vice President JD Vance and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine both raised concerns about escalating the war in Iran as Trump weighed the possibility on Friday, amid concerns in the administration about expanding the conflict as defense stockpiles are being depleted and while there is a risk of alienating Middle East Gulf allies, affecting energy supplies and the global economy.

In the meantime, Trump’s top envoys, Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, are holding talks with the Iranians, both directly and through mediators, according to Axios and Channel 12 reporter Barak Ravid.

For now, the sides have reached an informal understanding of “quiet for quiet,” meaning neither side will fire as long as the current calm holds, Channel 12 reports, noting that Oman and Iran continue efforts to reach an agreement regarding the Strait of Hormuz, though there is no guarantee that Trump will accept any such agreement.

Report: US special forces preparing potential raid to seize Iran’s enriched uranium

Report: US special forces preparing potential raid to seize Iran’s enriched uranium

i24NEWS

US special operations forces were preparing for a possible mission to seize enriched uranium from Iran’s fortified nuclear facilities, the New York Postreported, citing a source familiar with military planning and US security experts.

The operation could involve thousands of troops securing nuclear sites, clearing damaged or booby-trapped entrances and establishing protected routes to an airfield. A smaller team of special operators would then enter the facilities and remove the nuclear material, according to the report.

Joseph Rodgers, deputy director of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told the Post that a military operation could become the most likely option if negotiations failed to produce an agreement on Iran’s uranium stockpile. He described any such mission as exceptionally complex and dangerous.Potential targets included the damaged Fordo and Isfahan facilities, as well as the underground Pickaxe Mountain complex near Natanz, where Iran was reported to have transferred hundreds of centrifuges.

Iran had reinforced the Isfahan site and placed mines and explosives in its tunnels in anticipation of a possible raid, it is understood. US forces would need to maintain control of the surrounding area and airspace while construction crews reopened access points and transported the uranium.

Richard Goldberg, a former US National Security Council official, said a raid on Pickaxe Mountain could instead focus on infiltrating the site, placing explosives and withdrawing, if airstrikes alone were considered insufficient to destroy the facility.