Trump Consults Military on Iran War; Caine Warns Hormuz
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- Trump convened his top military brass earlier this year to discuss the prospect of war with Iran, according to the article.
- Dan Caine warned that a ramped‑up U.S. campaign against Iran could lead Tehran to close the Strait of Hormuz, urging caution.
- Pete Hegseth praised himself as the “Secretary of War” and urged Trump to act, saying “Let’s do it, because you can’t let them have a nuclear weapon.”
- Trump later recalled Hegseth’s comment at a press event, noting that Hegseth was the first to speak up about confronting Iran.
- Hegseth served in Afghanistan and Iraq, earned a Bronze Star without valor, and built a post‑military career defending the Pentagon’s wars while promoting Islamophobic and misogynistic rhetoric.
- Hegseth helped lobby for the reversal of SEAL Eddie Gallagher’s demotion and for pardons of other troops convicted of war crimes, influencing Trump’s decisions.
Why it matters: Trump’s openness to a war, bolstered by Hegseth’s hard‑line push, raises the risk of a Hormuz closure—a move Dan Caine warned could choke global oil shipments and destabilize the world economy, while also normalizing extremist rhetoric in U.S. foreign‑policy circles.
