CENTCOM Commander gave Trump ‘wide range' of military options if Iran talks fail
Gen. Michael 'Erik' Kurilla, head of the U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), confirmed during a Tuesday House hearing that he gave President Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth a 'wide range' of military options to pursue if the United States' nuclear talks with Iran go sideways.
'President Trump has made it clear that if Iran doesn't permanently give up its nuclear enrichment, military force by the U.S. may be necessary. If the president directed, is CENTCOM prepared to respond with overwhelming force to prevent a nuclear-armed Iran?' House Armed Services Chair Mike Rogers (R-Ala.) asked Kurilla on Tuesday.
'I have provided the secretary of defense and the president a wide range of options,' Kurilla responded during the House Armed Services hearing.
'I take that as a yes,' Rogers said.
'Yes,' Kurilla stated.
Trump said on Tuesday that Iran is acting 'much more aggressive' in its talks around striking a new nuclear deal.
A day prior, the president said that the two countries are still far apart on reaching an agreement with the Islamic Republic around its rapidly expanding nuclear program, with the main sticking point being Iran's continued enrichment of uranium.
'They're just asking for things you can't do. They don't want to give up what they have to give up. They seek enrichment. We can't have enrichment. We want just the opposite, and so far they're not there,' Trump said to reporters on Monday at the White House.
'I hate to say that, because the alternative is a very, very dire one,' he added.
Trump has previously warned that if diplomatic talks with Iran are not fruitful and don't end up with a deal, military force could take place. So far, the U.S. and Iran have held five rounds of nuclear discussions, with the latest round taking place in Muscat, the capital of Oman.
Iran will in the coming days send a counter-proposal to the U.S., via the Omani mediators, according to Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei. The U.S. proposal was crafted by Trump's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, the lead U.S. negotiator. Tehran's team is being led by Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi.
Baghaei said on Monday that the U.S. proposal 'is not acceptable to us.'
'It was not the result of previous rounds of negotiations. We will present our own proposal to the other side via Oman after it is finalised. This proposal is reasonable, logical and balanced,' the foreign ministry spokesperson said.
The sixth round of talks could be held on Friday or Sunday, potentially either in Muscat or Oslo, Norway, a U.S. official told The Hill on Monday. Baghaei said on Tuesday that the next round is planned for Sunday.
Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who has final say on all state matters, slammed the U.S. proposal last week, but did not indicate that negotiations with the U.S. would end.
Khamenei said the U.S. proposal 'contradicts our nation's belief in self-reliance and the principle of 'We Can,''
'Uranium enrichment is the key to our nuclear program, and the enemies have focused on the enrichment,' he added.
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