A senior US military officer has asked analysts to come up with “new” ways to “punish” Iran, CNN has reported, as President Trump’s war and recent airstrikes have failed to force the country into capitulation.
“We are looking for new creative and unconventional ways to pressure and punish Iran,” an officer in US Central Command’s intelligence branch said in an email to a group of military analysts, according to CNN’s sources.
When asked for a comment about the email, CENTCOM spokesman Capt. Timothy Hawkins told the outlet, “US Central Command has a long history of thinking and working in innovative ways.”
“Adm. Cooper, in particular, reaches out to members of our great team, regardless of rank, to achieve the highest levels of operational performance possible,” Hawkins added, referring to CENTCOM’s commander, US Navy Adm. Brad Cooper.
The Wall Street Journal recently reported that Cooper had proposed to Trump a two-week heavy bombing campaign to cripple Iran’s drone and missile capabilities. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine, the highest-ranking US military officer, was said to have warned of the risks due to the significant depletion of US air defenses in the war, and Iran would be expected to inflict more US casualties.
Trump has also been threatening to launch major strikes across Iran to destroy civilian infrastructure, including bridges, power plants, and desalination plants. Over the weekend, the president said that he decided to hold off on an attack that would have inflicted “military terror” on the country at levels not seen since World War II.
