US Central Command will brief President Donald Trump on Thursday on new military options against Iran, Axios reported, as ceasefire negotiations remain deadlocked and the dual blockade of the Strait of Hormuz shows no sign of resolution.
CENTCOM Commander Admiral Brad Cooper will lead the briefing, with Joint Chiefs Chairman General Dan Caine also expected to attend. Three options are on the table: a “short and powerful” wave of strikes targeting major infrastructure, intended to pressure Tehran back to the negotiating table; a plan to seize part of the Strait of Hormuz to reopen it to commercial shipping, potentially involving ground forces; and a special forces operation to secure Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium. The White House and CENTCOM did not respond to requests for comment.
Cooper gave Trump a similar set of options on February 26. Two days later, Operation Epic Fury began.
Trump formally notified Congress of the strikes on March 2, triggering the 60-day clock under the 1973 War Powers Resolution. That deadline expires May 1 — the day after Thursday’s briefing. Under the law, Trump must either obtain congressional authorization or terminate military operations. Congress has passed no authorization. Republicans have blocked four bipartisan Senate attempts to invoke the resolution. Still, several GOP senators, including Susan Collins and Thom Tillis, have signaled they will not support the war beyond May 1 without a vote. Democrats are exploring a lawsuit, with Rep. Ted Lieu arguing Congress would have standing once the deadline passes.
Trump and Vance have both called the War Powers Resolution unconstitutional — though no court has ever enforced it and no president has complied with its 60-day termination requirement in a conflict of this scale.
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A ceasefire brokered by Pakistan took effect on April 8 but has held only nominally. Trump extended it on April 21 while keeping the US naval blockade of Iranian ports in place. Iran has since attacked at least three commercial ships and continued to restrict Strait traffic, maintaining a dual blockade alongside the US Navy’s cordon of Iranian ports.
Iran’s latest proposal — conveyed through Pakistan — offers to reopen the Strait in exchange for the US lifting its blockade, while deferring nuclear negotiations until after the war formally ends. Trump has signaled he is unlikely to accept the offer. Denuclearization is his stated reason for launching the campaign, and lifting the blockade before resolving the nuclear question would, as one US official put it, “remove a key piece of American leverage.”
Trump’s stated preference remains the blockade. “The blockade is somewhat more effective than the bombing,” he told Axios on Wednesday. “They are choking like a stuffed pig.”
The Institute for the Study of War assessed this week that Tehran is unlikely to bend further, with IRGC commander Major General Ahmad Vahidi’s hardline position now dominant inside the regime, and mainstream Iranian politicians consolidating around the demand that the blockade be lifted before nuclear talks begin.
Iran is also attempting to involve Oman in a toll-collection scheme on Strait traffic — a move analysts say would allow Tehran to present a modified proposal without conceding on its core red lines. The Strait, through which roughly 25% of the world’s seaborne oil trade and 20% of its liquefied natural gas passes, has been largely closed to commercial shipping since February 28.
Iran has transferred at least 15 unexploded US weapons to technical research units for reverse engineering, including an intact GBU-57 bunker-busting bomb.
Brent crude surged to $126.10 a barrel on Thursday morning — its highest level since June 2022, with WTI up more than 3% to $110.24. Gas prices nationally now average $4.17 per gallon, a roughly 40% increase since the war began.
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