Vance chairs secret Camp David war council on Iran as Pentagon moves a third carrier group toward the Gulf
An unannounced gathering of the entire national security cabinet at Camp David, confirmed by Axios and CBS News, comes as the USS Theodore Roosevelt sails from San Diego and Trump tells aides he expects to resume bombing Iran after the midterms.
In brief
On Friday, October 3, the most senior members of President Trump's national security team slipped into Camp David for hours of closed-door deliberations that the administration never announced. The session covered two overlapping crises: whether to resume major military strikes against Iran and whether to join Saudi Arabia's planned offensive against the Houthis in Yemen. By the time the meetings ended, the Wall Street Journal was reporting that the Pentagon had already dispatched a third aircraft carrier strike group toward the Persian Gulf.
The convergence of the secret war council and the carrier deployment is the most concrete signal yet that Washington is actively preparing for a return to large-scale combat in the Middle East, with the November midterm elections as the clearest timeline marker in public view.
Who was in the room
Axios, citing three U.S. officials, first reported the gathering. President Trump's top cabinet members huddled for hours at Camp David on Friday to discuss next steps in the Iran war and the Saudi-Houthi conflict in Yemen. Vice President JD Vance chaired the session. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, White House envoy Steve Witkoff, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Dan Caine, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent all attended.
The meeting was not announced by the Trump administration. The last time a similar gathering took place was June 2025, days before Israel went to war against Iran. CBS News separately confirmed the meeting, according to reporting that cited both outlets.
One official told Axios that "things were decided or at least deeply discussed," without specifying what those decisions were.
What drove the meeting
The talks came as diplomacy between Washington and Tehran has effectively frozen. Trump's pending decision arrives with diplomacy still technically alive but no clear sign of a breakthrough after the latest contacts between the two countries. Iran's Sobh-e No newspaper, close to Tehran's chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, reported that Iran was reviewing a U.S. proposal conveyed through Qatar setting out a roadmap and timetable for further negotiations.
Tehran continued to demand that Washington first meet its commitments, including sanctions relief and the release of frozen Iranian funds. Those conditions follow New York talks that failed to produce an agreement, with the two sides remaining divided over the terms for ending the war and reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump rejected Iran's most recent offer outright. Iran said Friday it had submitted a proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, but Trump rejected it, asserting that Iranian leaders wanted the deal because "they are losing so badly." "They overplayed their hand," Trump told Axios.
On Thursday, Trump had been blunt with reporters: "Iran 'won't exist any longer' unless it signs 'a very fair deal,'" he said at the White House. Asked Friday what his next move would be while his advisers were at Camp David, Trump was deliberately vague: "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."
On Sunday, Trump went further. Trump said he has not ruled out more military strikes on Iran before the midterm elections. Asked by Fox News' Aishah Hasnie if strikes in the coming weeks were still an option, Trump replied: "I don't want to say that. I mean, it's possible, but I just don't want to say that." He separately told CBS News that resuming strikes is something he is "always thinking about."
The carrier buildup
The diplomatic standoff has a military backdrop that grew considerably more serious last week. The Pentagon is sending a third aircraft carrier strike group and additional Marine Corps ships to the Middle East, adding 9,000 to 10,000 more troops to the region as Trump considers renewing strikes on Iran after the midterm elections. The ships, jet fighters, Marines and sailors will arrive in the region by the end of November. Trump recently told aides that he expects to resume bombing Iran that same month, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt left its home port of San Diego on a scheduled deployment, while the USS Makin Island Amphibious Ready Group, comprising three amphibious ships carrying Marines from the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit, departed on Monday.
Two carriers, the USS George H.W. Bush and USS George Washington, are already in the Middle East. If the Washington stays after the Roosevelt arrives, it will bring the region to three carrier strike groups for the first time since April, before Iran and the U.S. clinched a fragile ceasefire that temporarily ended fighting that began on Feb. 28. That ceasefire collapsed, and the two sides have fought sporadically since.
The Camp David session also addressed a parallel pressure campaign from Riyadh. Saudi Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman called Hegseth Thursday to brief him and again request U.S. strikes, but an official said Washington "is not going to take kinetic action for now." Trump came close to authorizing a strike last week at Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's request before deciding to hold off.
The president remains torn between backing his Saudi ally and avoiding a new Middle East front, a concern shared by U.S. Central Command, which views Yemen strikes as a distraction from Iran. As the Camp David session wrapped up, reports from the region indicated that the Saudis had bombed Sanaa while the Houthi-aligned Ansar Allah group claimed a strike on Riyadh, compressing the White House's decision space further.
Iran's posture
Tehran is not sitting still. Iran's Army spokesperson Mohammad Akraminia told Fars news that "during this war, we concluded that we absolutely must increase the range of our missiles, and we have now moved in that direction," noting U.S. forces are now positioned as much as 1,000 kilometers from Iran's coast.
Iranian officials have pushed back sharply on the diplomatic timeline. In response to Trump's threat to annihilate Iran, President Masoud Pezeshkian delivered a defiant response, stating that Iran will never bow its head. But he also said Iran remains open to negotiations, and within hours of the speech, Iran proposed a ceasefire to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and renew negotiations. Trump rejected that proposal, too.
Iran's Supreme National Security Council head, Maj. Gen. Mohsen Rezaei, offered a different read of the stalemate in a meeting with Azerbaijan's deputy prime minister, Shahin Mustafayev: "Trump is incapable of decision-making," Rezaei said. "Trump is trapped in a quagmire where he can neither negotiate nor fight."
The midterm dimension
Congress is on recess through Election Day and is not scheduled to weigh in on any authorization for renewed military action. The House and Senate are on recess until after Election Day as President Trump campaigns for Republican candidates in the final weeks before the midterm elections. That absence removes any near-term legislative check on whatever the White House decides at Camp David or afterward.
Trump reportedly told U.S. officials that he anticipates renewing bombing of Iran after the U.S. midterm elections on November 3. A Time magazine interview published Thursday reinforced that. Trump said it is "possible" that he will ramp up bombing against Iran after the midterm elections.
The Soufan Center, a nonpartisan security research group, published an analysis drawing a historical parallel to Nixon's December 1972 bombing of Hanoi and Haiphong Harbor as a possible model for a brief, intense resumption of strikes designed to accelerate stalled talks rather than end the war outright. That framing is circulating in Washington policy circles, though it remains analysis, not confirmed administration strategy.
What to Watch
USS George Washington orders. Whether the carrier stays in the region after the USS Theodore Roosevelt arrives will be one of the clearest early signals of whether the Pentagon is positioning for a three-carrier fight or conducting a routine rotation.
Iran's response to the Qatar channel. Tehran is reviewing a U.S. proposal conveyed through Doha. A formal rejection or counter-offer would narrow the diplomatic runway before the November 3 midterms.
Congressional war powers. No authorization vote is scheduled, but a resumed bombing campaign against Iran would almost certainly force leadership to take a public position once Congress returns from recess.
Saudi Houthi offensive timing. Riyadh has been pressing for a U.S. green light before launching its ground offensive. Whether Trump grants that request, and when, will determine whether the U.S. is managing one military front in the Middle East or two simultaneously.
Trump's post-midterm window. The president has told multiple outlets and aides that November is when he expects to make a final call on Iran. Watch for any shift in that framing, especially if polls tighten in Senate battleground races like Texas, where Republican nominee Ken Paxton faces Democrat James Talarico in what current reporting describes as a competitive race.
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CAN I KICK IT? screens New Jack City at the Sylvan Theater, Washington Monument, on Aug. 22. (Courtesy SHAOLIN JAZZ)
The live-cinema series CAN I KICK IT? returns to the National Mall this month with what its producers are calling the "Gangsters on the Mall" chapter of their free outdoor summer run. On Saturday, August 22, the SHAOLIN JAZZ production brings the 1991 crime classic New Jack City to the Sylvan Theater at the Washington Monument for a night of film, music, and community under the DC summer sky.
What sets the event apart is the sound. As the film plays, DJ 2-Tone Jones builds an original score in real time, reimagining one of the most iconic crime movies of the ’90s through hip-hop, soul, funk, and more. It is less a movie screening than a live performance built around the film.
The details:
Film: New Jack City (1991), with a live soundtrack by DJ 2-Tone Jones
When: Saturday, August 22 — seating opens at 7:30 p.m. (bring lawn chairs and blankets); film begins at 8:30 p.m.
Where: Sylvan Theater at the Washington Monument, Independence Ave SW & 15th St NW
A parking note from the organizers: expect road closures and restricted parking east of 14th Street NW due to a separate race event in the District. Roads west of 14th Street NW will be accessible and available for parking.
New Jack City is the second of three screenings in this year’s free CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series, which opened with Black Panther at Skyland Town Center and concludes with Scarface at the Lincoln Memorial on September 5. Produced by the Washington, DC-based multimedia arts company SHAOLIN JAZZ, the series has presented more than 150 live cinematic experiences at venues across the country, from Lincoln Center to SXSW.
"I wanted to be able to tell good stories with substance and remove the ‘ego’ out of the art," said Andrew Huang during a recent interview. Now, he’s building his career at the intersection of discipline, creativity and innovation.
Andrew Huang, founder of New Place Studios. (Courtesy photo)
As a Chinese American, Huang was reared with a deep respect for hard work, consistency and excellence. He describes his childhood as "not so affluent" and later attended college to hone his passion for videography. "In college I tried to do something I loved, which was video, but along the way I knew that I had to find a job. And so I thought, ‘what was the low hanging fruit to get to that stable 9 to 5 job?,’" he stated.
Later in life, Huang found himself working for corporations where his creativity was often limited, eventually leading to burnout. "I worked in a corporation for a long time and there were a lot of missing pieces. I wanted to fill in gaps missing in corporate video production," said Huang.
He later described how his upbringing and a mindset of "survival" led him toward a corporate career. However, his desire for balance and authentic storytelling ultimately pushed him to take the entrepreneurial leap.
"I founded a new place where you can create video and film with ‘substance and style,’" said Huang. His desire for work-life balance and passion for storytelling naturally evolved into a small business based in Virginia. With the launch of New Place Studios, the entrepreneur quickly found himself reconnecting with the values that would become the foundation of everything he creates behind the camera.
Huang said being a business owner has allowed him to first embrace himself. While others may see video as simply capturing moments, he sees it as a way to preserve stories that inspire, connect and leave a lasting imprint.
By combining cinematic visuals with cutting-edge production techniques and a keen understanding of branding, Huang helps organizations and individuals communicate their vision with purpose. He said understanding a client’s "why" serves as the compass for delivering the services they need.
One benefit of working with a small business, he said, is that clients get to see the production process unfold through a micro lens while working with the same faces throughout the entire project. "The work feels personal," said Huang.
Huang does not regret leaving behind the flash-over-substance mentality and corporate hustle culture. That does not mean the Asian American entrepreneur has been without challenges in the industry. "It’s relatively hard to find other Asian American creatives or people who would want to work with me in the DMV," said Huang.
He identifies the industry culture in which everyone is trying to blend in, creatives may fear displaying their Asian identity and some feel pressure to adopt an American corporate persona. He also points to what he describes as a level of gatekeeping within the industry. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration’s 2024 statistics, Asian American and Pacific Islander entrepreneurs own more than 3 million businesses and employ 5.2 million people in the United States.
After tapping into organizations such as SCORE, which offers free small business mentorship, New Place Studios has become a trusted creative partner throughout the DMV (Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia). The company produces a range of creative services, including commercials, corporate branding, documentaries, film, 2D animation, motion graphics and photography.
For Huang, entrepreneurship has become more than a departure from corporate life. It has given him the freedom to create with intention, build meaningful connections and tell stories that go beyond the surface.
The 2026 CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series. Poster courtesy of SHAOLIN JAZZ.
For three Saturdays this summer, some of Washington’s most familiar public spaces will do something they rarely do after dark: fill up with blankets, lawn chairs, and the sound of a movie being scored live, in real time. CAN I KICK IT?, the traveling “live cinema” series produced by the DC-based multimedia arts company SHAOLIN JAZZ, is bringing a free outdoor run to the city — pairing three era-defining films with an original soundtrack performed on the spot by DJ 2-Tone Jones.
The premise is what sets it apart from a normal screening in the park. Rather than simply pressing play, 2-Tone Jones builds a score as the film unfolds, pulling from hip-hop, soul, funk, jazz, rock, electronic music, and sounds from around the world. The result, the organizers say, is less a movie night than a one-time performance — the same film you know, wired to a soundtrack you have never heard and will not hear again. Guest DJs warm up the crowd starting at 7:30 PM before each 8:30 PM screening.
The 2026 outdoor schedule
All three events are free and open to the public.
Saturday, August 8 — Black Panther at Skyland Town Center. A pop-up marketplace and community activities kick off the evening; guest DJs at 7:30 PM, film at 8:30 PM. Marvel’s superhero epic gets a one-night-only live score in Southeast DC.
Saturday, August 22 — New Jack City at the Sylvan Theater, Washington Monument. Seating begins at 7:30 PM; the film starts at 8:30 PM. The 1991 crime drama plays out at the foot of one of the country’s most recognizable landmarks.
Saturday, September 5 — Scarface at the Lincoln Memorial. Seating at 7:30 PM; film at 8:30 PM. The series closes with Brian De Palma’s crime saga against the backdrop of the Memorial, scored live from start to finish.
First up: Black Panther at Skyland Town Center on August 8. Poster courtesy of SHAOLIN JAZZ.
A DC company with a national footprint
SHAOLIN JAZZ describes itself as a Washington-based arts company working at the intersection of music, film, art, and culture, and CAN I KICK IT? is its signature production. According to the organizers, the series has staged more than 150 live cinematic experiences around the country — at performing arts centers, museums, festivals, and cultural institutions including Lincoln Center in New York, SXSW, the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Republic Square in Austin, the Tacoma Armory, and The Cary Theater.
“CAN I KICK IT? has always been about creating a shared experience,” said Gerald Watson, co-founder of SHAOLIN JAZZ. “When you combine iconic films with live music in public spaces, something special happens. People aren’t just watching a movie — they’re experiencing it together. That’s what makes these nights so memorable.”
Cinema as a community event
The DC run lands as cities across the country look for new ways to activate public space through arts and culture — and this series is a straightforward pitch for how to do it: take a landmark everyone already knows, add a film everyone has an opinion about, and let a live soundtrack turn the evening into something neighbors experience shoulder to shoulder. Families, film buffs, and music fans are all invited, and admission won’t cost a thing.
The CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series runs August 8, August 22, and September 5. All events are free; check SHAOLIN JAZZ (shaolinjazz.com) for the latest details and any weather updates before heading out.
