Pentagon is emailing military experts and asking best way to 'punish' Iran: Report

The Trump administration seems to be struggling to figure out how to get out of its self-made Iran quagmire.

According to a CNN report on Monday, the US military is now crowdsourcing ideas among military experts for what to do next in order to push Iran into a deal that is to President Donald Trump's liking. 

"We are looking for new creative and unconventional ways to pressure and punish Iran," an email from an officer in US Central Command's (Centcom) intelligence branch read last week, according to the CNN report.

A Centcom spokesperson said the move is not unusual, and that it "has a long history of thinking and working in innovative ways".

But the email suggests the Pentagon did not plan for the conflict to drag out this long.

The on-again, off-again US-Israeli war on Iran, which began on 28 February, led to Iran's closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which has sent energy prices skyrocketing and directly impacted Trump voters. 

On Sunday, Saudi Arabia's state media said Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman had spoken to Trump over the phone, and reportedly stressed "the necessity of prioritising dialogue to de-escalate tensions and the importance of exerting all possible efforts to achieve a truce, which paves the way for diplomatic solutions".

Read more: Pentagon is emailing military experts and asking best way to 'punish' Iran: Report