Meet the muscular military man influencing Trumps Iran strategy as president weighs crucial decision

WASHINGTON — President Trump’s Iran strategy is being influenced by a muscular military leader who has been given authority to draw up possible plans for a US strike on Tehran’s nuclear sites, potentially with bunker-busting bombs that could eliminate underground facilities.US Central Command chief Gen.Michael Erik Kurilla, known as “The Gorilla,” has been leading strategy over Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, with a lot of his proposals for more military assets being approved, despite other administration officials being wary of more involvement in the Middle East, Politico reported.The commander, described by at least one former official as a “jacked” general with the “lethality look” that Trump’s Pentagon has been keen to promote, has also been getting more face time with Trump, according to the outlet.“Secretary Hegseth empowers all of his combatant commanders the same way—by decentralizing command and harnessing their real-world expertise regarding the defense of their respective AORs,” Chief Pentagon Spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement to The Post.“The entire DOD leadership team—from the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs to the Undersecretary of Defense for Policy—similarly provide courses of action and counsel to the Secretary based on their expertise,” Parnell added.“The Secretary then makes a decision and final recommendation to the President.

This is how the Pentagon does, and should, function.Our senior leaders are in lockstep and will continue to work in unison to deliver on President Trump‘s national security agenda.”Before Israel carried out its first strikes against Iran, Kurilla indicated that he gave the president the option to use the US military to strike Iran to destroy its nuclear weapons capability.“President Trump has made it clear that if Iran doesn’t permanently give up its nuclear enrichment, military force by the US may be necessary,” said House Armed Services Chair Mike Rogers at a June ...