Trump administration holds top-secret meeting on Middle East response at Camp David

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Lee Ji-heon = U.S. media outlet Axios reported on this day, citing three anonymous U.S. officials, that the Donald Trump administration's top foreign affairs and security officials held a top-secret meeting at Camp David, the presidential resort, on the 2nd (local time) and discussed ways to respond to the situation in the Middle East.

According to reports, the meeting chaired by Vice President JD Vance was attended by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Presidential Special Envoy Steve Wittkoff, Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director John Ratcliffe, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Cain.

One of the officials explained that at the meeting convened to respond to the Middle East issue, "some decision was made, or at least an in-depth discussion took place."

Axios assessed that it was highly unusual for the Trump administration to hold a top-secret leadership meeting at Camp David without disclosing the schedule in advance.

The media explained that the previous similar meeting was held in June 2025, just a few days before Israel entered this war against Iran.

At that time, the United States joined hands with Israel to wage the so-called '12-day war' by targeting Iran's nuclear program and attacking nuclear bases throughout the mainland.

This Camp David meeting came at a time when the United States has entered a long-term war phase for more than six months since it launched a war against Iran in February.

In particular, President Trump has been threatening the possibility of striking Iran after the election, facing a surge in fuel prices and worsening public opinion due to the war in the Middle East ahead of next month's midterm elections.

Last month, Iran proposed a '7-day plan' that included reopening the Strait of Hormuz to restore the previous negotiations, but President Trump rejected it. Afterwards, an amendment was exchanged again through Qatar's mediation, but in the end, the negotiations reached a deadlock again.

Meanwhile, President Trump is considering resuming combat operations against Iran and is putting strong pressure on Iran to accept the U.S. demands.

“Now we have to make a decision,” President Trump said in a meeting with reporters on the 1st. “Either Iran will sign the agreement or it will no longer exist.”

President Trump recently raised the threat level in his keynote speech at the United Nations General Assembly, saying that Iran could be annihilated.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia, which is engaged in an armed conflict with Yemeni rebels Houthis, is requesting the United States to join in airstrikes against Houthis, Axios reported.

The Houthis, who have resumed their civil war with the Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces, have recently taken control of the area near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a passage through the Red Sea.

Officials said that although President Trump has shown a negative stance on participating in Houthi attacks, he may change his mind and accept Saudi Arabia's request, Axios reported.