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U.S. President Donald Trump's top national security officials met for hours at Camp David on Friday in an unannounced session on the Iran war and the Saudi-Houthi conflict in Yemen, three U.S. officials told Axios.
Vice President JD Vance chaired the meeting, which included Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, special envoy Steve Witkoff, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Dan Caine.
"Things were decided or at least deeply discussed," one official said.
The last similar Camp David meeting took place in June 2025, days before Israel went to war against Iran.
Trump is now weighing a return to major combat operations as talks with Tehran stall.
"Now I have to make a decision: either Iran signs the deal, or it won't exist any longer," Trump said Thursday.
Asked Friday afternoon about his next move on Iran, while his advisers were at Camp David, Trump told reporters: "If I told you, you would have a major story. But you will see. It is working out very well. Iran is not doing well."
The Pentagon is sending a third aircraft carrier strike group and additional Marine ships to the Middle East, adding up to 10,000 troops expected by the end of November, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported.
Saudi Arabia is urging Washington to carry out airstrikes on the Houthis ahead of a planned Saudi offensive in Yemen, according to Axios.
Trump has been leaning against it, but U.S. officials said he could change his mind.
Speaking at a campaign rally in Mobile, Alabama, on Friday night, Trump said the war would end soon.
"That war is going to be over soon. One way or the other, one way or the other. It's going to end very soon and probably right after the midterms," he said, adding that "oil prices will come tumbling down" once it ends.
"We could leave tomorrow, and it would take them years to rebuild from what we did to them because they just wouldn't negotiate," Trump said.
"They played their cards. They played their cards too tough," he noted.
Trump said 18 U.S. service members have been killed in the war.
"Iran, we've lost 18 incredible people, 18 and we've been there for a little more than six months," he said.
Meanwhile, the Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen accused Trump of hiding casualties and urged lawmakers to halt funding for the war.
"The President, who continues to hide service member casualties, is now sending up to another 10,000 troops to his illegal war of choice in Iran," Van Hollen wrote on X.
"When Trump says he's planning on renewing his war next month, believe him. Congress must cut off funding," he added.
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The U.S. and Israel launched a war against Iran on Feb. 28.
Tehran responded with missile and drone attacks across the region and effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic route for energy supplies.
The Pentagon imposed its own military blockade of Iranian ports.
Efforts to end the war have continued since the June 18 Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding (MoU), which seeks to pave the way for a final peace deal covering navigation in the strategic waterway and Iran's nuclear program.
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