VP Vance says US will avoid prolonged Mideast war, keeps Iran options open

Navy Admiral Brad Cooper, head of United States Central Command (CENTCOM), on Thursday briefed President Trump on potential military options against Iran, with Joint Chiefs Chairman General Dan Caine present, ABC News reported.

The options reportedly range from limited strikes on ballistic missile launchers and nuclear facilities aimed at pressuring Tehran, to broader sustained operations that could involve Israel and carry risks of escalation or regime change.

“It was not clear as of Thursday that such a plan has been embraced by Trump, who is said to be growing increasingly frustrated with Iran's refusal to agree to his demands to halt uranium enrichment and cap its ballistic missile program,” the report said.

White House Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly dismissed speculation about the president’s intentions.

“The media may continue to speculate on the President's thinking all they want, but only President Trump knows what he may or may not do,” she said.

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A new report by advocacy group United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) says Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s shrinking public profile has not weakened his grip on power, but instead marks a shift to ruling Iran from secure underground locations through his powerful but opaque Bayt-e Rahbari (Office of the Supreme Leader).

The study says that this little-understood institution functions as the Islamic Republic’s true command center, tightly managing the country’s military, political, economic and cultural levers while the 86-year-old leader largely disappears from public view.

The recent elite reshuffles and rhetoric, including talk of shifts on the nuclear file, have fueled misleading perceptions of declining supreme leader authority, while in reality the Bayt has been “tightening its iron grip” on decision-making following the recent 12‑day conflict, the report said.

Former US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley on Thursday urged against any sanctions relief for Iran, saying funds provided to Tehran would fuel its proxy groups and ballistic missile program rather than benefit its people.

“We can’t allow any sanctions relief for Iran. Any money the regime receives won’t relieve their people. It will go directly to their terror proxies and ballistic missile program,” Haley posted on X.

Representative Carlos Gimenez (R-FL) said on Thursday he does not trust Iran and believes a nuclear deal is unlikely, warning that extraordinary measures may be needed to prevent Tehran from acquiring nuclear weapons.

“I don't trust that regime, because every time that we make a deal with them, they're always somehow breaking it,” Gimenez told Fox News. “They get some kind of monetary reward. It breathes new life into the regime, and they just keep doing exactly what they've been doing all along. They want to attain a nuclear weapon.”

Asked what action the United States should take in the meantime, Gimenez outlined a series of military steps.

“I would replicate that same thing that the Israelis did when they took out a bunch of their nuclear scientists in their own home, and decapitate the head of the snake — and that is the regime itself,” he said. “But I'm not the president of the United States.”

Mazaheri on Wednesday posted an image on Instagram of Khamenei labeled “Satan,” with the caption: “Your command over this sacred land has ended.”

The post was later deleted, and her wife Maryam Abdollahi said the goalkeeper’s current whereabouts are unknown.

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The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)-affiliated Fars News said on Wednesday that a summons had been issued for Mazaheri over an alleged 4-billion-toman - $80,000 - fraud, and that the footballer was "exploiting the country's situation and fabricating lies to avoid paying his debts."

Mazaheri's wife rejected the Fars report, calling them a “carefully engineered lie meant to cover up the truth.”

“Any reports suggesting his arrest over financial matters are fabricated lies meant to hide the truth," she posted on Instagram.

“Rashid knew about these traps and has stood courageously, remaining in his homeland. His bravery cannot be hidden behind these dirty scenarios," she said.

Mazaheri was a goalkeeper for Tehran giants Esteghlal and was even named in Iran's preliminary squad for the 2018 World Cup in Russia.