(Rod Lamkey, Jr./AP photo)
U.S. Central Command has appealed to troops to submit their own ideas on “creative and unconventional ways to pressure and punish Iran,” according to a report.
An email making the bizarre request was sent last week to military analysts, CNN reported exclusively on Monday.
“We are looking for new creative and unconventional ways to pressure and punish Iran,” read the message from a CENTCOM intelligence branch officer, the network reported, citing a source familiar with the message.
The report drops a day after President Donald Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday that negotiations with Iran would begin “tomorrow afternoon,” with a focus on reopening the Strait of Hormuz and ensuring Iran never acquires a nuclear weapon.
The president also claimed he had abandoned plans for what he described as “the biggest attack since World War II” after appeals from Iran and regional allies including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar.
“I’m not looking to kill people, ’cause people die,” Trump said. “A lot of people die. And we don’t want that.”
He added: “Now what we’re doing is we’re talking to them in the form of a negotiation. It begins tomorrow afternoon.”
Iran, however, has denied that any such talks are taking place.
CENTCOM did not deny the report in a statement to CNN, instead saying that Admiral Brad Cooper often reaches out for new ideas.
“U.S. Central Command has a long history of thinking and working in innovative ways,” CENTCOM spokesman Capt. Timothy Hawkins said in the statement. “Admiral Cooper, in particular, reaches out to members of our great team, regardless of rank, to achieve the highest levels of operational performance possible.”
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