U.S. military seeks unconventional ideas to end Trump's Iran war

The U.S. military has asked combat experts to think outside the box in a desperate bid for new ideas to end President Donald Trump's war against Iran, according to a report Monday.

In an email last week, an officer in the intelligence branch of U.S. Central Command asked a broad group of military analysts for suggestions, CNN said, citing an unidentified source.

"We are looking for new creative and unconventional ways to pressure and punish Iran,” the email reportedly read.

Military officials said the effort to crowdsource a solution to the war by email was highly unusual, CNN reported.

The move came as Trump is considering dramatic, "fireworks"-style airstrikes against Iran that could hit the same or similar sites that the U.S. bombed last year when targeting the nation’s suspected nuclear weapons program, a source told CNN.

The goal would be a symbolic show that allows Trump to declare victory and end the war he launched February 28 without congressional authorization, CNN said.

CENTCOM has also developed a plan to eliminate Iran's missile capabilities through a one- to two-week campaign of heavy bombing, U.S. officials told CNN.

The White House referred an inquiry from The Independent to CENTCOM, which didn't deny the CNN report. "We have nothing additional to provide," CENTCOM stated.

A CENTCOM spokesperson also told CNN: "U.S. Central Command has a long history of thinking and working in innovative ways."

Captain Timothy Hawkins also said that CENTCOM's commander, Admiral Brad Cooper "in particular, reaches out to members of our great team, regardless of rank, to achieve the highest levels of operational performance possible."

Trump reportedly "erupted" and shouted profanities during a recent meeting with his national security team over progress of the Iran war, which he initially predicted would last four to five weeks.

On Friday, Trump made his latest threat against Iran, saying during a Cabinet meeting: "We'll be hitting them very hard and at some point, you know, they're going to say, 'We just can't take it anymore.'"

But Saturday, Trump announced on social media that he’d decided to “cancel the attack” after Iran and other Middle East countries asked him to “hold off,” pending an agreement by Tehran to open the Strait of Hormuz to shipping and to end its nuclear ambitions.

Trump said Monday that talks with Iran were set to resume, but the country quickly denied the president's assertion.

A source familiar with recent planning discussions told CNN: "At the end of the day, [Trump] will want a deal, so he’ll continually look for ways to get tough and get out of this."

"You need creative minds at times — especially if you’re running out of conventional options," the source added.

Both the CIA and the Defense Intelligence Agency recently assessed that the U.S. bombing strategy against Iran was unlikely to lead to a deal, according to CNN.

A new analysis by the Center for Strategic and International Studies estimates that the Iran war has consumed about two-thirds of America's Patriot interceptor missiles, the Military Times reported last week.

That would leave about 1,000 Patriots on hand and potentially put the U.S. in a bind if another major conflict erupts before new ones can be built, according to the report.