The United States’ highest‑ranking military officer made a secret, rushed visit to US Central Command headquarters in Florida late last month to receive an in‑person briefing on plans for a potential ground operation inside Iran, according to sources familiar with the matter.
Gen. Dan Caine, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, abruptly left a NATO meeting in Brussels and flew to Tampa on 19 May for the urgent session. The briefings centred on a high‑risk proposal for US forces to enter Iran and seize its stockpile of highly enriched uranium material that could be used to produce a nuclear weapon.
The urgency of the meeting, sources said, underscored how close the administration came to approving the operation.
A Joint Staff spokesperson declined to comment on the preparations. One source said Caine later briefed President Donald Trump on the military options.
According to officials familiar with the discussions, Trump ultimately paused the plan, warning it would almost certainly trigger severe Iranian retaliation, prolong the conflict and further destabilise the global economy. He also expressed concern about the potential for significant US casualties.
The advanced planning took place even as Trump repeatedly insisted that the US and Iran were nearing a diplomatic breakthrough. The president said on Thursday that negotiators were close to finalising a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and conclude nuclear‑related talks possibly within days.
But the revelation that Washington was weighing a ground incursion into Iran just weeks ago highlights how narrowly the US avoided a dramatic escalation of the war, which began on 28 February with US and Israeli strikes across Iran. Tehran responded with attacks on Israel and US‑aligned Gulf states, effectively closing the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global shipping route.
Despite an April ceasefire, both sides have continued to exchange intermittent fire, including two rounds of tit‑for‑tat strikes this week.
The contrast between ongoing diplomatic messaging and the near‑execution of a major military operation underscores the volatility of the current moment and how quickly the conflict could have expanded.
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