The latest:
Vice President JD Vance chaired an unannounced, hours-long meeting of Trump’s top national security team at Camp David on Friday to weigh next steps on the Iran war and the Saudi-Houthi conflict in Yemen, three US officials told Axios. The White House declined to comment. The last gathering of this kind came in June 2025, days before Israel launched its war on Iran.
Details:
- Who was in the room: Officials told Axios the participants included Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, White House envoy Steve Witkoff, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Joint Chiefs Chairman General Dan Caine. The administration did not announce the meeting and issued no readout.
- What was decided: One official, referring to the Middle East crisis, said: “Decisions were made, or at the very least discussed in depth.” Officials did not specify which options were adopted, and the administration has released no account of the session’s conclusions.
- Trump absent: The president was the most notable absentee. By one reading of his approach, he no longer has patience for extended deliberations over war versus settlement and wants his team to bring him a finished, detailed plan rather than open-ended options.
- The Iran decision: With negotiations stalled, Trump is weighing a resumption of major combat operations against Iran. He said Thursday he now has to make a decision: either Iran signs the agreement, or it will not stand. Asked Friday about his next move while his advisers met, he said reporters would see for themselves, adding that things were going well and Iran was not doing well.
- The Yemen file: Riyadh is pressing Washington to join planned airstrikes against the Houthis, the group fighting Yemen’s government forces since 2014, ahead of a planned offensive. Trump has leaned against it, but US officials say he could change his mind.
- The strike threat: The meeting followed Trump’s threat of a very strong blow against Iran if it is shown to be involved in the emergency landing of a FlyDubai aircraft flying from Dubai to Tel Aviv on Wednesday. He said his answer was yes based on what he was hearing, while stressing the matter was still being worked on.
- Military buildup: The Wall Street Journal reported, citing US officials, that the Pentagon plans to send an aircraft carrier and additional ships to the region as part of a reinforcement of between 9,000 and 10,000 personnel, expected to arrive by the end of November.
- The timeline: In an interview with Time published Thursday, Trump raised the possibility of intensifying attacks on Iran after the midterm elections scheduled for early November, saying he could resume strikes if no deal is reached.
- Sanctions off the table: Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent did not attend, despite having acted as a war secretary in pressuring Iran in recent weeks, an absence that suggests economic sanctions were not on the agenda and are treated as a temporary option rather than a standing plan.
Background:
Vance initially opposed the war option. It is not known whether he has since shifted toward escalation over diplomacy, but his reputation for mastering detail may give Trump firmer ground for a defensible decision.
Between the lines:
The Camp David session convened against escalating conflict and hardening positions on all sides, which makes a recommendation for a settlement unlikely. Trump’s own framing — sign or the deal collapses — and his talk of intensifying strikes after November point away from compromise. The leak itself can be read as part of the pressure campaign against Tehran; the meeting is something else, a step in the decision machinery on war.
What’s next
Watch the early-November midterms, Trump’s stated threshold for resuming strikes; the carrier and 9,000-10,000 reinforcements due by end-November; the findings on the FlyDubai incident; and whether Trump joins the Saudi offensive.
