Command decisions: CENTCOM chief Brad Cooper's ups and downs in shaping Trump's war on Iran

MILITARY AFFAIRS: New revelations on Iran's Hormuz blockade, Cooper's secret call to Zamir, US base vulnerabilities, missile threats, and CENTCOM's influence on the war's strategic goals.

Yonah Jeremy Bob / THE JERUSALEM POST 

While US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu make their next decisions on Iran and the Middle East conflict strategy, The Jerusalem Post now reveals the major impact that US Central Command (CENTCOM) chief Adm. Brad Cooper has had in this regard.

In April, the Post reported that Cooper has, in some ways, taken a more passive role than his predecessor, Gen. Michael “Erik” Kurilla, in communicating his broad strategy views to Trump, preferring instead to convey them to US Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman Gen. Dan Caine.

The Post can now add that, at times, some say that Cooper conveys views directly to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio or to US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, along with Caine, depending on the issue. 

Cooper, the Post understands, views this as his proper role as a theater combat commander and says communicating with these top officials, rather than Trump, lets him get his concerns heard at the highest decision-making levels. Read more, and see photos here. 

4 astronauts return to Earth after 8 months in space to replace ailing colleague, his crew

Associated Press / NEW YORK POST

Four astronauts returned to Earth from the International Space Station on Thursday after hurrying there eight months ago to replace an ailing colleague and his crew.

SpaceX brought the U.S., French and Russian flyers back with a splashdown in the Pacific off the coast of Los Angeles.

NASA’s Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, France’s Sophie Adenot and Russia’s Andrey Fedyaev departed the orbiting lab on Wednesday, eager to reunite with their families after a lengthy separation. Their replacements arrived three weeks late because of capsule repairs, stalling this crew’s homecoming.

 They couldn’t wait to feel the breeze on their faces, hit the shower and, for Adenot at least, plunge back into water sports.

 “We are so excited to be back on Planet Earth after an incredible mission on the International Space Station,” Meir radioed moments after splashing down. While still in orbit, she said the crew had “a lot of mixed, swirling emotions” and would miss the “extraordinary views of our home planet.” Read more, and see photos here.