CENTCOM Chief Cooper Briefs Trump on Iran Strike Options

President Donald Trump received a personal briefing at the White House on Thursday from Adm. Brad Cooper, commander of US Central Command (CENTCOM), on options for renewed strikes against Iran, The Wall Street Journal reported. At the same time, Washington is dispatching an additional Patriot air defense battery to Israel over concerns about interceptor stockpiles, Yeshiva World News reported.

Cooper seldom presents to the president in person. The Journal reported that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Gen. Dan Caine, who chairs the Joint Chiefs of Staff, sat in on the session, as did other Cabinet members. Iran was one of several topics on the table.

For Israel, the planning reaches past American targets. US commanders are getting ready for the possibility that any new round of strikes could set off Iranian missile and drone attacks on American installations, on Israel and on neighboring Gulf states.

Not everyone in Washington backs another campaign. Sen. Chris Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut who said he had previously been given classified briefings on parts of the planning, branded the plans "insane" during an appearance Wednesday at the Middle East Institute. "It will lead to devastating escalation and the likely destruction of our commitment to the rule of law," Murphy said.

On Sunday, American officials told The Jerusalem Post that a joint US-Israeli strike on Iran had become a question of "when," not "if". Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wrote on X that same day that Israel faces a "real and tangible existential danger" from Iran.