Adm. Brad Cooper, head of US Central Command, presented President Donald Trump with options for new strikes on Iran at the White House on Thursday, US officials and people with direct knowledge of the talks said.

Washington is weighing a new large-scale military campaign against Tehran, while the administration also tries to revive diplomatic channels with Iran.

Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Dan Caine and other cabinet members attended the meeting. The sources said the talks also covered topics other than Iran. Spokesmen for the Pentagon and Central Command declined to comment.

Cooper rarely briefs the president in person. The sources said his unusual visit may mean Washington is moving closer to major military operations. He last met Trump in July, along with Hegseth and Caine, aboard the presidential plane in Delaware.

On Wednesday, senior military officers met Vice President JD Vance at the White House. The sources said Vance has reached out to a senior hardline Iranian official to restart talks.

The Trump administration has told Gulf Arab states to prepare for a short but intense military campaign after the US midterm elections next week.

In recent weeks, the Pentagon has sent more air defence systems, munitions and supplies to the Middle East. It has also pulled some US forces out of bases seen as especially exposed to Iranian retaliation.

Iran has restarted production of ballistic missiles using parts stored in underground sites, and has stepped up efforts to hit US forces in the region, the sources said. Tehran has warned, publicly and through private diplomatic channels, that it will answer any new US attack with strikes on US military positions and targets in Gulf states.

Last week, Trump hinted at new military action at a rally. "We may do another little 'Epic Fury'. Or they'll agree," the president said. "Epic Fury" is the name of the US-Israeli bombing campaign against Iran earlier this year.

Some lawmakers in Washington have voiced concern about a possible new campaign. Sen. Chris Murphy, a Connecticut Democrat, strongly opposes resuming the fighting. He said he has received classified briefings on some of the plans and called them insane.

"This would lead to a devastating escalation and probably the destruction of our commitment to the rule of law," Murphy said on Wednesday at the Middle East Institute.