US CENTCOM chief says Trump was presented with plans to strike Iran if nuclear talks fail
The head of U.S. Central Command (US CENTCOM), Gen. Michael Kurilla, said on Wednesday that he presented President Donald Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth with several potential plans to strike Iran should the ongoing nuclear talks fail to result in a deal.
“I have provided the secretary of defense and the president with a wide range of options,” Kurilla said during a hearing in U.S. Congress, after being asked by a congressman if the U.S. is “prepared to respond with overwhelming force to prevent a nuclear-armed Iran” in the event the president chooses to act.
He also said, however, that he is “all in favor of having a negotiated settlement that prevents Iran from getting a nuclear weapon because of the consequences of conflict.”
Kurilla’s comments came amid ongoing negotiations between the United States and Iran to reach a nuclear deal that will allow Iran to continue its civilian nuclear program, but prevent it from developing nuclear weapons.
On Monday, Trump said that negotiations with Iran did not seem to be progressing.
“I’m less confident now than I would have been a couple of months ago. Something happened to them, but I am much less confident of a deal being made,” he said.
The next day, Trump told Fox News that Iran “is acting much differently in negotiations than it did just days ago. Much more aggressive.”
