US calls on soldiers to create a plan to ‘punish Iran’

CNN Today, it was reported that a senior officer from Central Command (CENTCOM), the agency in charge of the US military’s operations in the Middle East, sent an email with the subject line “We need ideas” to the soldiers under his command. “We are looking for new, creative and different ways to pressure and punish Iran,” the email dated July 29 said.

A source told CNN that CENTCOM also forwarded emails to multiple military experts.

US defense officials and military commanders rarely use email to call on soldiers to donate. According to CNN, the move to call for widespread input of ideas is a sign that President Donald Trump does not have many options left to force Iran to accept the agreement on his terms, and may even have to resort to unpleasant options.

This prompted CENTCOM to initiate an email discussion to see if anyone came up with a viable idea. Another source said CENTCOM is considering all options and admitted that it must reevaluate its current strategy.

The above email was sent before President Trump threatened to launch “the largest attack since World War II”. However, the US leader later announced that US allies including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar, as well as Iran, had asked him to cancel the attack plan.

The US military continued to airstrike Iran last week, claiming to continue weakening its ability to attack shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz and forcing Tehran to return to the negotiating table. However, there are no signs that the US and Iran are close to reaching an agreement.

President Trump is considering stepping up his attack on Iran, possibly by launching fierce attacks on nuclear facilities that he claimed to have “eradicated” during the June 2025 campaign.

Two sources said the US military is preparing to attack Mount Pickaxe, described as an “impenetrable nuclear fortress”, and locations suspected of being where Iran stores radioactive materials and equipment. However, these people admit that the US military is unlikely to cause damage to Iran’s deep underground facilities, even when using the most powerful conventional weapons.

According to another source, Mr. Trump is considering “demonstration attacks” against locations targeted last year, hoping to achieve a symbolic victory.

This allows the United States to withdraw from the conflict without completing one of the key goals of completely eliminating Iran’s nuclear program. However, this option is unlikely to solve the core issue in the current conflict, which is Iran’s claim to sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz.

“President Trump wants to reach an agreement and will continuously find ways to show toughness to get out of this situation. People need to think creatively, especially when conventional options have been exhausted,” said a person familiar with the matter.

The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the Military Intelligence Agency (DIA) both assessed that the air strikes were “unlikely to shake Iran’s negotiating position”. General Dan Caine, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, also admitted that the campaign to attack Iran could not help achieve the goals set by Mr. Trump.

Mr. Trump has received plans to increase the intensity of the campaign against Iran in recent months, and the US military has also sent more assets to the Middle East to wait for orders. According to US officials, CENTCOM has planned intense bombardment for 1-2 weeks to neutralize Iran’s missile capabilities.

President Trump has not yet made a final decision, partly due to General Caine’s concern that the US air defense missile inventory is gradually running out. Some US officials also expressed concern about the risk of causing large casualties to civilians if the US military targets infrastructure such as bridges and desalination plants in Iran.