Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine has privately warned senior Trump administration officials that the United States needs a way to wind down its war with Iran, CNN reported Saturday, citing three sources familiar with the matter.
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U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine speaks in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., Monday. Credit: Evelyn Hockstein/REUTERS
U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine speaks in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., Monday. Credit: Evelyn Hockstein/REUTERS
Caine has discussed his concerns with CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance, two of the sources said. In recent weeks, he has also held separate discussions with some of the officials to coordinate their positions ahead of meetings with President Donald Trump and emphasize the limitations and potential pitfalls of the military options available to the administration, including those that would not require deploying U.S. ground troops.
Caine warned that further military escalation could backfire and that airpower alone is unlikely to achieve Trump’s objectives in the war, according to CNN.
One source told CNN that “Caine is looking for an off ramp,” adding that he believed the general was seeking to protect the U.S. military. The source said Caine and other administration officials had been concerned about a plan late last month for a major attack on Iran, despite Trump’s initial willingness to authorize what he described as a “massive” operation.
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Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, right, speaks as Jennifer Hegseth, from left, President Donald Trump, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and guests listen during a meeting about military families, in the Oval Office of the White House, Monday, Aug. 3, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) Credit: Alex Brandon,AP
Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, right, speaks as Jennifer Hegseth, from left, President Donald Trump, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and guests listen during a meeting about military families, in the Oval Office of the White House, Monday, Aug. 3, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) Credit: Alex Brandon,AP
The source said the only officials who supported the operation were elements of U.S. Central Command, while Israel also broadly supported an escalation.
Caine’s spokesman, Joseph Holstead, told CNN that the Pentagon does not discuss the chairman’s confidential conversations with Trump, the defense secretary or other senior officials, and does not comment on “anonymous, agenda-driven characterizations” of those conversations by people who were not privy to them.