Meet The Hawkish General Reportedly Leaving Fingerprints All Over DOD’s Iran Strategy

A hawkish general nicknamed “the Gorilla” is reportedly wielding outsized influence over America’s Iran strategy with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s blessing, multiple anonymous officials told Politico.

Hegseth’s deference lets U.S. Central Command chief Gen. Erik Kurilla fast-track aircraft carriers, fighter squadrons and air defenses into the Middle East, sources granted anonymity to discuss internal dynamics told the outlet— sidelining skeptical senior civilians and even the Joint Chiefs, while securing unusually frequent face time with President Donald Trump as the administration weighs how hard to squeeze Tehran.

“If the senior military guys come across as tough and warfighters, Hegseth is easily persuaded to their point of view,” an unnamed former defense official told Politico, adding that Kurilla “has been very good at getting what he wants.”

Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell told the Daily Caller News Foundation that Hegseth “empowers” his commanders “by decentralizing commanding and harnessing their real-world expertise regarding the defense of their respective [areas of responsibility].”

“The Secretary then makes a decision and final recommendation to the President,” Parnell said. “This is how the Pentagon does, and should, function. Our senior leaders are in lockstep and will continue to work in unison to deliver on President Trump’s national security agenda.”

Neither the White House nor CENTCOM responded to requests for comment.

Kurilla’s fingerprints are reportedly all over recent deployments: a second carrier strike group steamed back through the Suez on Monday and squadrons of F-22s, F-35s and F-16s peeled off Pacific duty to reinforce Gulf bases, a rare double-carrier stance that signals the region’s renewed primacy after years of China-first rhetoric, the outlet reported.

The purported arrangement reveals an unusual dynamic at the Pentagon’s highest levels. While Hegseth crusaded for reining in generals and restoring civilian authority in Senate hearings, he has reportedly ceded Iran policy to Kurilla, who is pushing for aggressive military buildups that other officials oppose.

“The Gorilla” reportedly overrode Joint Chiefs Chair Dan Caine and Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Elbridge Colby, who argued that tying down high-end assets in the Gulf could undercut deterrence in other theaters. The push-pull has played out in Oval Office briefings, where officials say Kurilla routinely wins Hegseth’s backing before options even reach Trump’s desk, multiple unnamed sources told Politico.

A separate defense official, also unnamed, pushed back on claims of a rift between Kurilla and Caine, calling their dynamic a “hand in glove relationship.”

The CENTCOM commander has made significant use of his personal connections, sources noted — he is reportedly close to Trump’s incoming United Nations ambassador Mike Waltz — and his looming rotation date, factors that make him less risk-averse than peers still vying for promotions. The general is “not worried about taking [his case for a military buildup] directly to civilian superiors,” an unnamed diplomat who watched the briefings told the outlet, adding that Hegseth “has sided with him time and again.”

Kurilla’s appeal owes much to his battlefield pedigree, the outlet reported — three bullets taken in Iraq, a Bronze Star and a general warrior aesthetic that wins him favor with Hegseth and Trump.

“He’s got the look of the general that both Hegseth and Trump are looking for,” one former official told Politico. “He’s a big dude, he’s jacked, he’s exactly this ‘lethality’ look they’re going for.”

“This has little to do with Kurilla himself,” Bilal Saab, a defense official during Trump’s first term, told the outlet. “There’s no resistance in the Pentagon or the [National Security Council] to moving assets to protect troops and personnel in the region.”