US Vice-President JD Vance and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Caine, have expressed concern about continuing the war with Iran. They put their misgivings to US President Donald Trump. They issued the warning at a high-level meeting at the White House on Friday, just as Trump was weighing various aspects of intensifying the strikes.
At the meeting General Caine drew Trump’s attention in particular to shortages of, or the running down of, the munitions and missiles the US military needs. Immediately after the meeting the United States suspended for the time being the strikes it had been conducting for nearly two weeks. CNN online reported the news.
Caine said the US military is capable of carrying out successfully any step the president directs. But if the conflict is prolonged and the strikes increased, there will be a negative effect on overall military capability. It was after these concerns over falling stocks and the war moving beyond control that no fresh strikes were carried out on Iran on Friday night.
On this, the White House communications director, Steven Cheung, said in a statement that President Trump always gives priority to a diplomatic solution. But if Iran continues terrorist activity against the Strait of Hormuz or US allies, all military options remain open to him.
He added that after 13 straight days of devastating attacks and severe economic sanctions, Iran should come to the negotiating table and reach an understanding. Facing journalists on Friday, Trump said US officials were actively continuing talks with Iran.
He said Iran is gradually becoming more sincere about negotiations. But if the talks fail, he said, they also have the capacity to intensify the strikes or to continue them as before. According to sources, various reviews are still under way within the US administration over widening the scope of military strikes.
Gulf countries, for their part, have called on the United States to refrain from extreme steps and to show restraint. There are also various questions and hesitations within Trump’s inner circle over whether the desired result can be achieved by air strikes alone without sending ground troops. Conducting a ground operation could also invite greater disaster.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report