Out of options? US military emails troops asking for 'creative' ideas on Iran

As US President Donald Trump declared that negotiations with Iran would begin on Monday and claimed an agreement had been reached over the Strait of Hormuz, senior US military officials were quietly asking intelligence officers to think beyond conventional warfare.

A senior officer at US Central Command (CENTCOM) last week circulated an email to military analysts seeking "new creative and unconventional ways to pressure and punish Iran", an unusual request that highlighted the Pentagon's search for options after months of military operations failed to force Tehran to Washington's terms.

The email, first reported by CNN, reflected growing frustration within the US military as planners grapple with a conflict that has yielded no decisive breakthrough despite weeks of air strikes.

Two sources familiar with the message told the broadcaster the appeal amounted to a broad brainstorming exercise, with officials reassessing whether current strategies could achieve the administration's objectives.

CENTCOM defended the initiative, with spokesman Capt. Timothy Hawkins saying that the command had "a long history of thinking and working in innovative ways" and that its leadership regularly solicits ideas from personnel regardless of rank to improve operational performance.

The report emerged as Trump abruptly shifted from threatening a major military assault on Iran to signalling a renewed diplomatic push.

Speaking aboard Air Force One, the president said indirect negotiations with Tehran would begin later on Monday after he halted an alleged "massive attack" at the request of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Iran.

He also claimed an agreement over the Strait of Hormuz was "imminent" and said the talks would ultimately focus on the "denuclearisation of Iran".

Iran, however, has stopped well short of confirming Trump's account. While Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said talks with Oman over the management of the Strait of Hormuz were in their "final stages", Tehran has described those discussions as bilateral and separate from any negotiations with Washington.

Iranian officials have also stressed that any future maritime arrangement must preserve Iran's sovereign rights and warned that conditions in the strategic waterway would not simply return to the pre-war status quo.

Pakistan and Qatar are expected to send emissaries to facilitate indirect US-Iran talks, following a series of diplomatic contacts involving Araghchi, Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan, and Pakistan's army chief Asim Munir.

Behind the scenes, however, the Pentagon has continued weighing military options.

According to CNN, planners have examined proposals ranging from renewed strikes on Iran's remaining nuclear facilities to a broader bombing campaign targeting its missile infrastructure. Officials familiar with the planning told the network that air strikes alone are unlikely to destroy Iran's deeply buried nuclear sites, while any deployment of US ground forces would carry significant military and political risks.

The reassessment follows increasingly sceptical intelligence assessments about the effectiveness of the current campaign. Both the CIA and the Defense Intelligence Agency believe the ongoing bombing campaign is unlikely to shift Tehran's negotiating position significantly. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine has likewise acknowledged publicly that "air power has its limits".

Meanwhile, markets reacted positively to the prospect of renewed diplomacy, with oil prices falling more than $4 a barrel after Trump suspended the planned strikes.