Top US general Dan Caine reportedly urges Trump to consider ‘off-ramp’ in Iran war

U.S. Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine, the highest-ranking general in the U.S. military, has reportedly privately advised the Trump administration to pursue an “off-ramp” in the Iran war amid concerns about Washington’s limited military options.

“Caine is looking for an off ramp,” an unnamed informed source said.

Caine reportedly warned CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance that airpower alone would not achieve the war goals set by U.S. President Donald Trump.

Trump has said the main objectives are to prevent Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons and reopen the strategically significant Strait of Hormuz, which is currently controlled by Iran.

The warning comes amid reports of dwindling U.S. munitions and concerns that further military escalation could trigger retaliation from the Iranian regime and further constrain the Trump administration’s military options in the Middle East.

“I think it is just his way of protecting the military,” one source assessed. The Trump administration has also signaled that it does not intend to deploy U.S. ground forces against Iran.

However, Caine’s secretary, Joseph Holstead, denied the report that the general is seeking an “off-ramp.”

“We do not discuss the Chairman’s confidential conversations with the President, the Secretary, or other senior leaders, nor do we comment on anonymous, agenda-driven characterizations of those conversations by sources who were not privy to them,” Holstead said.

The White House also defended Caine’s role on Trump’s national security team.

“General Caine is an incredible asset to President Trump’s national security team, and the overwhelming success of Operations Epic Fury, Midnight Hammer, and Absolute Resolve speaks for itself,” a White House official stated. “The General always provides accurate, unbiased information and a host of options to the Commander-in-Chief, who ultimately makes decisions based on what he feels is best for US national security,” the official added.

Last month, Caine reportedly told U.S. lawmakers that “airpower has its limits,” as Trump warned that he could order “massive” strikes unless Tehran accepted Washington’s demands for ending the war.

One source, speaking anonymously, said that Israel and some U.S. Central Command officials continue to support further military escalation against Tehran.

“The only ones in favor of the operation were elements of CENTCOM,” the source said.

“We could absolutely wreck them,” one source said Caine told Trump.

The president is reportedly increasingly frustrated with the stalemate in the Iran war.

“It is rough when you are looking at those options in the middle of the war instead of before it starts,” one source argued.

Some sources reportedly believe that reopening the Strait of Hormuz could provide a tangible U.S. military achievement that could help justify ending the operation.

Former Israeli Air Force chief Maj.-Gen. (res.) Eitan Ben Eliyahu warned on Thursday that Trump’s shifting policy is eroding Washington’s military leverage against Tehran.

“The Iranians are reaching a point where they are prepared to sacrifice themselves, to hold out to the death and to the last soldier. When you reach that point, the use of force loses its leverage,” Eliyahu said in an interview with Israel's Radio 103FM.

“Then you ask the most important question: When is the right moment? The other side has an almost unlimited capacity for attrition. So where is the point at which you stop? Where do you begin to make concessions?” he added.