Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Dan Caine is reportedly looking for an “off-ramp” to the Iran War and discussing his concerns about the options available for escalating the conflict in private conversations.
The details come from a CNN report, which also says Caine is not the only Trump administration official to privately be eyeing a way to exit the conflict. The report comes as the U.S. wades into its sixth month at war with Iran, as U.S. and Iranian officials have cycled through on-and-off negotiations for peace after the ceasefire, inked in April, crumbled in early July.
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The outlet reported that Caine is concerned about the methods available for the U.S. to continue in the conflict, reportedly believing that airstrikes alone cannot bring the Iranians to the table for a deal on Trump’s terms. The report also detailed that Caine has voiced his thoughts to several administration officials, including CIA director John Ratcliffe, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Vice President JD Vance.
The report comes as President Donald Trump has said this week that a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a flashpoint of the conflict and a major aim for the U.S., could be coming soon.
Trump has repeatedly seemed against the idea of putting boots on the ground in Iran, as he continues an air bombing campaign which had flared up in July, but has recently died down as officials from both sides negotiate for a deal. Trump has made it clear that his sticking points in negotiations are for the strait to reopen and for the complete denuclearization of Iran.
According to CNN’s report, Caine and multiple administration officials also fall in line with the president’s apparent aims of keeping ground troops out of Iran. The outlet reported that Caine is concerned about the limits of the available military options if the war does escalate, with one anonymous source telling the outlet, “I think it is just his way of protecting the military.”
The Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff declined to comment. The Washington Examiner also reached out to the White House for comment on the report.
In a statement to CNN, Joseph Holstead, a spokesman for Caine, said: “We do not discuss the Chairman’s confidential conversations with the President, the Secretary, or other senior leaders, nor do we comment on anonymous, agenda-driven characterizations of those conversations by sources who were not privy to them.”
The administration has not entirely ruled out the prospect of boots on the ground, with White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt saying back in March that although ground troops were “not part of the plan for this operation at this time,” Trump “wisely” does not entirely remove options from the table.
TRUMP HITS PAUSE ON IRAN WAR, AMID REPORTS OF DEPLETED US MUNITIONS
Vice President JD Vance spoke to the state of negotiations over the Iran war in a Fox News Interview on Saturday, saying Iran is “hurting in a big way.”
“They want this thing to be over,” Vance said. “The question is whether they’re able, and their system is able, to give the things that are necessary for us to be happy, for us to feel like we’ve gotten what we need out of this particular engagement. That is still to be determined. But I do think we made some progress over the last few days.”
