Military Chiefs Mark Iran Extension 'Do Not Recommend,' Continue Extending It

WASHINGTON—Senior military leaders have warned Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth that extending large-scale Iran operations is unsustainable and could weaken the United States’ ability to handle threats in Europe, Asia, Latin America and at home, according to a Pentagon assessment reported by The Washington Post.

The heads of the Army, Navy and Air Force, along with commanders responsible for Europe, the Pacific and Southern Command, advised Hegseth as more than 50,000 troops remained on alert in the region. Some deployments are expected to run through September and others into 2027. The 82nd Airborne Division alone is keeping roughly 2,000 soldiers in the Middle East at least through September.

Several commanders and the Navy’s top admiral recorded a “non-concur” in the secretary’s orders book. In Pentagon language, that means they disagree with extending their forces but will execute the order anyway. The system has therefore achieved bipartisan harmony between warning that a plan degrades readiness and proceeding with the plan on schedule.

The strain is not theoretical. The Navy’s top officer has called the extensions very challenging for sailors. Hours after the warning was reported, U.S. forces struck Iranian rocket launchers near the Strait of Hormuz, the first acknowledged American strike inside Iran in weeks and another reminder that a paused campaign still requires an active campaign’s people and equipment.

The Pentagon said it does not discuss internal force-allocation deliberations or commanders’ concurrences. The orders book already contains the institutional answer: expert advice has been preserved in writing, which leaves leadership free to ignore it with excellent records.