The meeting included Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, envoy Steve Witkoff, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Rubio confirmed the gathering Monday, telling reporters, “We constantly are meeting on long-term strategic planning.”
The talks came as roughly 9,000 sailors and Marines head to the Middle East aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt carrier strike group and USS Makin Island amphibious group. The deployments could temporarily put three carriers and two amphibious groups in the region as President Donald Trump considers renewed strikes after the November 3 midterm elections. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards warned that a US ground invasion would trigger attacks on all American military bases and vessels in the region.