Trump to get briefed on potential Iran strikes before war hits key 60-day deadline: Reports

President Donald Trump on Thursday is set to receive a briefing from U.S. Central Commander Adm. Brad Cooper and other military leaders on potential strikes in Iran, Axios and Reuters reported overnight.

The reported briefing comes on the eve of a key deadline in the war: a 60-day legal timer requiring Trump to withdraw U.S. armed forces unless Congress authorizes the military action, which it has not done.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said in Senate testimony Thursday that he believes the countdown clock, laid out in the 1973 War Powers Resolution, “pauses or stops in a ceasefire.”

The U.S. and Iran are currently in a ceasefire that was first announced on April 7.

Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., who had asked Hegseth about the Friday deadline, immediately responded, “I do not believe the statute would support that.”

The testy ceasefire has so far failed to lead to a peace deal between Washington and Tehran. They have instead each focused on inflicting economic pain via the Strait of Hormuz, a vital route for the global oil trade, trying to bring the other to heel.

But their efforts — Iran’s de facto stoppage of ship traffic through the strait, and the U.S.’ retaliatory naval blockade of Iranian ports — have resulted in a deadlock.

CENTCOM has prepared a plan for a “short and powerful” wave of strikes intended to break the logjam and force Iran to be more flexible with its demands, Axios reported Wednesday.

Other options being discussed include a special forces operation to secure Iran’s supply of highly enriched uranium or taking actions to gain more U.S. control over the strait, according to Axios.

The White House did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment on the reported briefing. CENTCOM declined to comment.

The blockage in the strait, which began when Iran started threatening ships after the U.S. and Israel launched the war on Feb. 28, has caused a global oil supply shock that has sent prices soaring.

Iran has rejected further negotiations unless the U.S. blockade is lifted, but Trump has said he will not do so until Tehran agrees to a deal on its nuclear ambitions.

Trump at the White House on Wednesday boasted that the blockade is “genius” and that Iran’s economy “is really in trouble.”

“Now they have to cry uncle, that’s all they have to do. Just say, ‘We give up,'” he said.

He earlier claimed that Iran’s oil infrastructure is set to “explode” in a matter of days due to the blockade preventing it from exporting crude. But experts told CNBC that Iran has weeks, and possibly months, of time before its oil backup becomes intolerable.

That may be longer than Trump — whose economic approval ratings have sunk to new lows amid the war — is willing to hold out.

This is developing news. Please check back for updates.