Trump's National Security Team Held Unannounced Camp David Meeting as Iran War Drags Into Eighth Month

President Trump's top national security officials gathered for hours at Camp David on Friday, October 2, to map out next steps on the Iran war and the escalating Saudi-Houthi conflict in Yemen, according to Axios, which cited three U.S. officials. The White House did not announce the meeting.

The secrecy was unusual. The last similar closed-door session happened in June 2025, days before Israel launched its war against Iran.

Vice President JD Vance chaired Friday's meeting, according to Axios. Annahar, citing the same Axios reporting, named the other attendees: Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. Dan Caine. One official told Axios "things were decided or discussed in depth."

The meeting happened as negotiations with Tehran have stalled. Trump is weighing whether to resume major combat operations in Iran, according to Axios. On Thursday, Trump said: "Now I have to make a decision: either Iran signs the agreement, or it will no longer exist," according to Annahar's translation of his remarks. He also said he would impose a "steel wall" on Iran and predicted the war would end soon.

Asked Friday afternoon, while his advisers were meeting without him, what his next move would be, Trump told reporters: "If I told you, it would be big news. But you'll see. Things are going well," according to Annahar.

The war Jerusalem Post says is now eight months old

The Jerusalem Post's live blog describes the conflict as now in its eighth month, tracing back to Operations Roaring Lion and Epic Fury, which Israel and the U.S. launched on February 28 with the stated goal of creating conditions for regime change in Iran. Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in an Israeli strike on a bunker in Tehran, according to the outlet.

The Jerusalem Post reported the Pentagon is planning to add naval forces to the region as Trump weighs renewed strikes, noting the decision is coming with U.S. midterm elections set for November. The U.S. has deployed a third aircraft carrier to the Middle East, according to the outlet's live updates.

Yemen escalation runs parallel to Iran decision

Saudi Arabia launched more than 90 attacks on Houthi targets in a 24-hour span, the Houthis claimed, according to the Jerusalem Post. Reuters separately reported Friday that Saudi Arabia is preparing a broader offensive against the Houthis to break their grip on Red Sea shipping lanes.

Saudi civil defense said one person was injured by shrapnel from an intercepted ballistic missile over the Asir region, the Jerusalem Post reported. A crude oil tanker was struck by an unknown projectile off Oman, according to the UK Maritime Trade Operations agency, cited by both the Jerusalem Post and LiveMint.

LiveMint reported UKMTO also confirmed two separate tanker strikes in the Strait of Hormuz on Friday from unidentified projectiles, one causing a small fire and blackout that was later extinguished. No casualties or environmental damage were reported in either case, and both vessels were able to continue their voyages.

Houthi political bureau member Mohamed al-Bukhaiti told the Associated Press, as relayed by Fox News, that U.S. ships transiting the Red Sea will not be targeted. "We confirmed that we are not targeting the United States, or any other nation, in the strait, with the sole exception of the Saudi enemy," al-Bukhaiti said. Trump told reporters last weekend that "the Houthis called us, and they don't want to fight with us."

Qatar's Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Majed Al-Ansari, told Bloomberg's "This Weekend" that Qatari mediators have spent weeks shuttling proposals between Tehran and Washington to try to restart formal talks. "A lot of ideas have been thrown back and forth," Al-Ansari said, adding mediators are "trying to bridge the gap and find the right moment to move forward."

Oil markets and a wild card: the FlyDubai incident

Brent crude rose 0.8% to $104.68 a barrel after Houthi strikes on Riyadh, according to Fox News. G7 countries agreed Friday to release 100 million barrels of diesel and crude from strategic reserves to calm energy markets, following a video conference chaired by French President Emmanuel Macron, LiveMint reported. Trump praised the move and said the U.S. would not follow through on a threatened diesel export ban.

LiveMint also reported that a flyDubai co-pilot nearly crashed a Tel Aviv-bound flight carrying at least 182 people on Wednesday. The co-pilot had reportedly been barred from flying in his native Oman over concerns he held extremist views before being hired by the UAE-based carrier. Trump said early information suggests a link to Tehran and warned that if Iranian agents are found responsible, the U.S. will "hit them very hard." No formal findings have been announced confirming Iranian involvement.

Separately, the Jerusalem Post reported U.S. senators expect a vote before December 13 on Trump's nuclear power pact with Saudi Arabia. Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley said the vote gives the Senate a chance to weigh in on the agreement's implications for a regional nuclear arms race, a concern Merkley has raised publicly but that has not been independently adjudicated by any oversight body yet.

None of the sources reviewed confirm what decision, if any, came out of Friday's Camp David meeting. Whether Trump moves toward renewed strikes on Iran or restarts negotiations through Qatari channels remains an open question heading into the weekend.