Overview
- Multiple outlets report that Gen. Dan Caine has privately urged senior Trump advisers to find an “off‑ramp” from the U.S. air campaign against Iran rather than pursue further large escalations.
- Caine has argued that airpower alone is unlikely to force Iran to accept Washington’s demands and has cautioned that more strikes could backfire regionally.
- He has raised the issue of dwindling U.S. stockpiles of precision long‑range missiles and air‑defence interceptors as a material constraint on sustaining or expanding operations.
- Caine has coordinated with like‑minded officials including CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President J.D. Vance to present interagency options to the president, and his office declined to comment on private conversations.
- The administration has paused planned escalatory strikes and is exploring politically presentable outcomes such as an agreement on reopening the Strait of Hormuz while keeping military options on the table, a shift that could ease pressure on regional allies and U.S. munitions stocks.