CENTCOM Briefs Trump on Iran Strike Options, Including Hormuz Seizure

CENTCOM Commander Gen. Brad Cooper and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs briefed President Trump for approximately 45 minutes on Thursday on a menu of new Iran strike packages that includes a ground-force seizure of part of the Strait of Hormuz and a special operations mission to secure Iran’s highly enriched uranium stockpile, according to reporting from Axios and the Jerusalem Post.

The briefing, conducted May 1, presented three distinct options. The first is a “short and powerful” infrastructure strike intended to break the current negotiating deadlock by inflicting acute economic damage without triggering a broader war. The second would deploy ground forces to seize a portion of the Strait of Hormuz, physically controlling the chokepoint through which roughly 20 percent of global oil supply flows. The third envisions a special forces operation to locate and secure Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium before it can be weaponized or dispersed.

Trump is said to view the naval blockade currently in place as his primary source of leverage, and has not yet acted on any of the strike packages. But he signaled openness to escalation, telling reporters that the United States could be “better off” without a deal and warning that without a durable resolution, conflict could return “in three more years.”

Markets Jolted, Then Moderated

News of the briefing hit oil markets before the session close. Brent crude briefly spiked to $126.41 per barrel intraday — a level not seen since the early weeks of the conflict — before retreating to $108.17 as a separate headline about an Iranian peace proposal offered partial relief. The whipsaw move underscored how sensitive energy markets remain to any signal that the military standoff could intensify. For more on the oil picture, see our full markets brief.

OFAC Issues Sanctions Warning

Hours before the strike-briefing report broke, the Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control published a formal alert warning that payments made to Iran for Strait of Hormuz transit rights constitute potential sanctions violations. The notice targets shipping companies, insurers, and commodity traders who have been paying Iranian-designated entities to clear vessels through the strait since Tehran began asserting toll authority in March.

The OFAC alert effectively gives commercial operators a legal deadline: pay Iran and risk losing access to the U.S. financial system, or reroute and absorb the added cost. Several major tanker operators confirmed they are reviewing their legal exposure. The warning may also be read as preparation for the Hormuz seizure option — establishing a legal framework that characterizes Iranian toll collection as unlawful before any military action to end it.

Tehran Holds Firm

Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who assumed the position after his father was killed in U.S. strikes in February, left little room for compromise in remarks published Wednesday. Khamenei declared the country’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs non-negotiable national assets and said the only role belonging to the United States in the Persian Gulf is “at the bottom of its waters.”

The statement came the same day Trump publicly rejected Iran’s latest peace proposal, which Iranian diplomats described as a significant concession on enrichment levels. Both moves suggest the negotiating channel that appeared briefly viable earlier this week has narrowed considerably.

Meanwhile, Iranian air defenses fired on unidentified drones over Tehran on Thursday in an incident that the government attributed to unspecified hostile actors. The episode added to the sense of operational volatility inside Iran as the leadership weighs its posture.

Regional Alarm

The UAE, which hosts U.S. military installations and has significant exposure to any conflict spillover, banned its citizens from traveling to Iran, Lebanon, and Iraq effective April 30. The order is among the more concrete indicators that Gulf states with close U.S. ties are preparing for the possibility of a significant escalation in the near term.

Congressional Backdrop

Trump has proceeded without formal congressional authorization for the ongoing military posture. The War Powers Act deadline passed this week with the Senate voting 50–47 to block a resolution that would have required him to seek explicit approval. The failure to pass the measure leaves the administration with broad operational latitude, though legal challenges remain possible if ground forces are committed.

The existence of a Hormuz seizure plan in the formal briefing package marks a qualitative shift in the options being prepared for presidential decision. Previous reporting on U.S. military planning had focused on air strikes against missile and nuclear sites; a ground-force operation to physically hold part of the strait would be a significantly more complex undertaking with longer-term basing and sustainment implications. Whether Trump moves from leverage to action remains the central variable the region — and global energy markets — are watching.