U.S. Media: U.S. Military Commander in the Middle East Believes Airstrikes on Iran Will Be Ineffective Again

On July 26, Xinhua News Agency reported from Washington that the U.S. Axios news website cited two informed sources stating that U.S. Central Command Commander Brad Cooper suggested pausing bombing operations against Iran around the Strait of Hormuz, believing that continuing such airstrikes would have limited effectiveness.

Cooper is the highest military commander for U.S. forces in the Middle East. The report stated that Cooper's suggestion, along with the opinions of other advisors, led President Trump to decide on July 24 to suspend strikes against Iran. "This indicates that both Trump's military and civilian advisors acknowledge that military actions, especially airstrikes, have limited effectiveness."

The report mentioned that Cooper had made suggestions to the U.S. Department of Defense, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the White House earlier last week. He believed that the two-week strikes against Iran around the Strait of Hormuz had "significantly weakened Iran's ability to attack vessels," and the designated bombing targets had mostly been completed. Cooper stated that the possible next step would be to resume large-scale combat operations to complete the remaining 20% of targets designated but not struck in the "Epic Fury" operation. However, if large-scale combat operations are not resumed, continuing bombing operations against Iran would be meaningless.

The report cited sources saying that Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley had also privately warned Trump and Defense Secretary Mark Esper that a shortage of air defense interceptors could weaken the protection of U.S. forces and allies in the Middle East.

The report stated that Trump had leaned towards resuming large-scale combat operations earlier last week, but his thinking began to shift starting the evening of the 23rd. After a meeting with senior advisors and high-ranking government officials on the 24th, Trump decided to suspend strikes against Iran.

According to a report by The New York Times on the 25th, the reason for Trump's decision was concerns about the escalation of war or provoking a more severe retaliation from Iran, further depleting U.S. air defense interceptor reserves in the Middle East.