The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the United States can directly ask Trump to cancel the attack on Iran.
According to this report, the Goldwater-Nichols Act allows Dan Kain, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the U.S. Armed Forces, to discuss military decisions directly with Donald Trump without going through the Pentagon. Colin Powell had previously used this authority twice, but it is unlikely that Kain will take similar action.
Larry Wilkerson, Powell’s former Chief of Staff, believes that Kain should provide Trump with a solution to stop the conflict if he deems the continuation of the war to be disastrous, a solution that would allow the President to exit the crisis without causing serious damage to his political credibility.
In another part of the report, it is claimed that Iran, by handing over independent missiles to 31 regional commanders, has enabled the continuation of attacks without receiving direct orders from Tehran. Based on this claim, a potential conflict could lead to broader attacks against Israel and regional infrastructure.
Despite this, the report’s author believes that one of the possible paths to ending the crisis is direct action by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the United States, an action that has yet to show any signs of being taken.