U.S. Joint Chiefs chair accused of opposing strike on Iran over ammo shortage, risk of prolonged war

According to The Financial News, as U.S. President Donald Trump was weighing a military strike on Iran, the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff reportedly stepped in to argue against it. Trump immediately denied the claim.
Axios and The Washington Post reported on the 23rd, citing officials, that Gen. Dan Caine took a negative stance on striking Iran during a meeting at the White House last week. The meeting was attended by Trump, Vice President J. D. Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director John Ratcliffe, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, among others.
According to one official, Caine warned at the meeting that if the United States launched a full-scale military operation against Iran, it could run into difficulties because of ammunition shortages and limited support from allies, which in turn could lead to U.S. casualties. He argued that U.S. stockpiles of ammunition had been depleted by support for Israel and the war in Ukraine over the past year. Caine also stated at a separate Pentagon meeting that operations in Iran could result in American troop casualties.
Caine had supported last month’s operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and is known to be someone Trump trusts. However, officials said that on Iran he had long expressed reservations, warning that a conflict there could drag on. One of the officials described Caine on the Iran issue as a "reluctant warrior."
The Office of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff responded to the reports by saying that the chairman "provides civilian leaders who make U.S. national security decisions with a range of military options, associated considerations, and the related impacts and risks." Another official stressed that Caine would faithfully carry out any operation once Trump made a decision.
On the day the stories were published, Trump wrote on the social media platform Truth Social that the claim Caine opposed war with Iran was "100% inaccurate." He emphasized, "Caine, like all of us, does not want war, but from a military standpoint he believes that if a decision is made to strike Iran, we could win easily." Trump also insisted, "He has never said we should not attack Iran, nor has he even mentioned the kind of limited strike described in the reports."
Trump added, "I will be the one to make the decision, and I hope we reach an agreement, but if we do not, it will be a very bad day for that country."


pjw@fnnews.com Park Jong-won Reporter