Vice President JD Vance and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Dan Caine both raised concerns about the US munitions stockpile to President Donald Trump as he weighed potentially escalating the war with Iran during a White House meeting on Friday, a US official told CNN.
On Friday night, the US appeared to pause its bombing campaign on Iran after nearly two weeks of consecutive nights of strikes. Operations are “on a hold,” a Department of Defense source told CNN on Saturday.
It’s currently unclear if the stockpile concern was the primary reason why the US paused consecutive nights of strikes or whether it will continue to do so.
“President Trump has always been consistent in saying he prefers a diplomatic solution, but he continues to retain all options if Iran continues terrorist activities in the (Strait) of Hormuz or against allies,” White House Communications Director Steven Cheung said in a statement.
“Combined with successful sanctions that have crippled Iran’s economy and 13 straight days of strikes against military targets in response to their repeated aggression, it would be wise for Iran to work towards a negotiated deal. Otherwise, they know what will happen.”
