Trump hits out at reports that top US general warned against attacking Iran

President Donald Trump has lashed out at reports that his top military adviser had urged caution on air strikes against Iran, saying the general believes it would be "easily won".

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Air Force General Dan Caine, has warned that strikes against Iran could be risky, potentially drawing the US into a prolonged conflict, US media report.

General Caine has reportedly cautioned that a military action could have repercussions across the region, potentially including retaliatory strikes by Iranian proxies or a larger conflict that would require more US forces.

In a lengthy post on Truth Social, Trump described the reports as "fake news".

"General Caine, like all of us, would like not to see war, but, if a decision is made on going against Iran at a military level, it is his opinion that it will be something easily won," the president wrote.

"He has not spoken of not doing Iran, or even the fake limited strikes that I have been reading about," Trump added. "He knows only one thing, how to win, and, if he is told to do so, will be leading the pack."

The US has been reinforcing its forces in the region in recent weeks, one of the largest build-ups in decades, to pressure Iran to curb its nuclear programme.

Multiple outlets, including Axios and The Washington Post, had reported that General Caine and other Pentagon officials raised serious concerns in internal meetings about the risks of a US military operation against Iran.

Citing several sources familiar with the discussions, Axios - which first reported the news - said that Caine was one of several people within Trump's inner circle who were urging the president to proceed cautiously.

Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, who is also Trump's son-in-law, are scheduled to meet Iranian negotiators in Geneva, the latest in a series of talks between the two sides.

Trump has warned that he is considering a limited military strike on Iran.

On 19 February, Trump said that the world would find out "over the next, probably, 10 days" whether the US will reach a deal with Iran or take military action.

"We have to make a meaningful deal otherwise bad things happen," he added.

Even as negotiations continue to take place, US forces have been conducting a massive military build-up in the region, including large numbers of refuelling and heavy lift aircraft and considerable naval firepower.

Earlier this week, Witkoff told Fox News that Trump was questioning why Iran had not yet "capitulated" in the face of Washington's military build-up.

BBC Verify has confirmed that the USS Gerald R Ford - the world's largest warship - passed through the Strait of Gibraltar towards the Mediterranean on Friday.

Ship-tracking data also confirmed the USS Mahan, one of the destroyers in the warship's strike group, passed through the Strait.

The Gerald R Ford had briefly broadcast its location off Morocco's Atlantic coast on Wednesday and is believed to be travelling to the Middle East where another US aircraft carrier, the USS Abraham Lincoln, was tracked earlier this week.

Military experts have said that the build-up gives the US considerably more depth and sustainability than was the case before the military operation to capture Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro in January or the previous airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities last June.