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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