Vance Sought Direct Intel From Generals as Iran War Divide Emerges Within Trump’s Team
Vice President JD Vance has reportedly sought direct briefings from U.S. military generals amid skepticism within Trump’s own administration about how the Iran war is actually going — a divide that surfaced publicly this week after officials contradicted President Trump’s claim that recent Iranian strikes caused no damage to American aircraft in Jordan.
The Dispute Over Aircraft Damage
Iranian strikes damaged multiple American military aircraft this week at Muwaffaq Salti Air Base in Jordan, a U.S. official told Reuters, directly contradicting Trump’s public insistence on Thursday, September 10, that no such damage had occurred, according to The Times of Israel. The same official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Iran’s attack hit one A-10 Thunderbolt aircraft specifically.
The disputed strikes add to a broader pattern of material losses the U.S. military has absorbed over the course of the six-month conflict. According to a May report from the Congressional Research Service cited by The Times of Israel, 42 U.S. military aircraft had already been lost or damaged before this week’s incident, a toll that includes the destruction of more than two dozen drones, fighter jets struck by Iranian forces, and aircraft lost in accidents. Since the war began in February, 18 U.S. service members have been killed and more than 800 injured, according to the same reporting.
Trump’s Optimistic Timeline — and Internal Pushback
Trump told reporters Wednesday, September 9, that he expects the Iran war to end after the November U.S. midterm elections, saying Iran “can’t hold out any longer,” according to Just Security’s Early Edition briefing, citing Reuters reporting. But that public optimism reportedly contradicts warnings Trump received in a closed-door discussion with his own advisers: Vice President Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and others warned Trump that Iran could continue resisting U.S. pressure under the ongoing blockade potentially past Inauguration Day in January 2029, according to officials who spoke to The Wall Street Journal.
That internal skepticism appears to have prompted Vance to seek information beyond what he was receiving through normal channels. According to The Times of Israel, Vance has reportedly sought direct intelligence briefings from U.S. generals to get his own read on the war’s actual trajectory, rather than relying solely on the more optimistic assessments circulating within the administration.
Trump’s Threat Against Pickaxe Mountain
Separately, Trump said this week that the U.S. may strike Iran’s “Pickaxe Mountain” facility after “a little activity” was detected at the fortified site, according to ABC News. The site, located near Iran’s heavily damaged Natanz uranium enrichment facility, has been a recurring target of Trump’s public threats since at least mid-July, according to Just Security.
New Sanctions Targeting a Major Bank
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced this week that the administration will sanction a large, unnamed bank next Monday as part of its continued economic pressure campaign against Iran, according to The Times of Israel. Bessent did not name the institution or its country during an appearance on “Real America’s Voice,” saying the move had originally been scheduled for Friday but was postponed specifically because of the ceremonies marking the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks.
Bessent framed the sanctions as part of what the Treasury Department has branded “Operation Economic Outcast,” first announced August 24, aimed at cutting off revenue Tehran uses to fund the war, build missiles, conduct cyberattacks, and support the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and its regional proxies, according to The Times of Israel. “We are just going to continue with this process until everyone stops dealing with this regime,” Bessent said, adding a more pointed warning aimed at financial institutions considering continued dealings with Iran: “We will make it so unprofitable that if you want to risk an extinction-level event for your company… ” according to the partial quote captured in reporting.
The Broader Shipping and Economic Picture
The Strait of Hormuz remains severely constricted. According to GlobalSecurity.org’s ongoing daily tracking of the conflict, shipping corridor throughput fell to just seven transits on September 9, against a 10-day moving average of 10 to 13 commodity vessels per day — a fraction of the pre-war baseline of more than 130 vessels and roughly 20 million barrels of oil per day passing through the strait.
Trump’s own predictions about the economic relief from ending the war have shifted noticeably. GlobalSecurity.org’s tracking noted that Trump stated on September 9 that oil prices would come down “right after” the November 3 election — a walk-back from his September 7 claim that gasoline would fall to $3, and eventually below $2, “when we WIN the war with Iran,” a statement issued when Brent crude was trading near $97. Since that forecast, the benchmark has actually risen roughly $3, and diesel prices have set a new national record.
Escalation on Other Fronts
The conflict has continued widening beyond the direct U.S.-Iran confrontation. Iran declared it attacked 10 vessels near the Strait of Hormuz on September 10, according to GlobalSecurity.org’s tracking, in what Reuters described as the largest declared wave of shipping attacks by either side since the war began. The Lebanese front has also intensified: Israeli forces conducted pre-dawn strikes across southern Lebanon, including the demolition of a school in Mansouri and an airstrike that killed a motorcycle rider in Zebdine, according to Lebanon’s National News Agency, cited by GlobalSecurity.org’s daily update — with the Israeli military issuing no statement on that specific strike.
Separately, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said this week, in comments filmed at Jerusalem’s Western Wall, that Iran is “trying again” to rearm even as Israel continues “striking Iranian axis” targets, according to The Times of Israel, which also reported that Iran has reportedly resumed underground production of ballistic missiles.
In Yemen, the U.N. Security Council met this week after Houthi forces seized the city of Mocha, according to Al Jazeera’s live coverage of the conflict — another sign of the war’s expanding regional footprint well beyond its original Strait of Hormuz flashpoint.
FAQ
Did Iranian strikes damage U.S. aircraft in Jordan this week? Yes, according to a U.S. official who spoke to Reuters, contradicting Trump’s public claim that no damage occurred. The official said the strikes hit one A-10 Thunderbolt aircraft.
Why did Vance reportedly seek his own intelligence briefings? Amid reported skepticism within the administration — including from Vance himself, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and others — about whether Trump’s optimistic public timeline for ending the war matches what U.S. generals are actually assessing about Iran’s capacity to keep resisting pressure.
What is “Pickaxe Mountain”? A fortified Iranian facility near the damaged Natanz uranium enrichment site that Trump has repeatedly threatened to strike since at least mid-July, most recently citing detected activity at the location.
What new sanctions has the Treasury Department announced? Secretary Bessent said the administration will sanction an unnamed large bank on Monday as part of “Operation Economic Outcast,” the administration’s broader campaign to cut off financial support for Iran’s war effort.
How constrained is shipping through the Strait of Hormuz right now? Severely. Daily transits have fallen to roughly 7 to 13 vessels, compared to a pre-war baseline of more than 130 vessels and about 20 million barrels of oil per day.
Conclusion
This week’s developments reveal a widening gap between Trump’s confident public predictions about the Iran war’s approaching end and the more cautious, occasionally contradicted assessments coming from within his own administration — a gap significant enough to reportedly prompt Vance to seek his own direct read from military leadership. With aircraft damage disputes, a new bank sanction looming, oil prices rising rather than falling despite Trump’s earlier forecasts, and the conflict continuing to spread across Lebanon and Yemen, the war’s trajectory heading into the stated post-midterm timeline remains genuinely uncertain even among the officials responsible for prosecuting it.
Sources: The Times of Israel, ABC News, Al Jazeera, GlobalSecurity.org, Just Security (Early Edition), Reuters, The Wall Street Journal (reporting dated September 9-11, 2026).