According to the international group Tasnim News AgencyNBC News reported the intense tension in the briefing meeting of the US Congress, which was held with the presence of senior military officials and information about the Iran war.
According to NBC News, for the first time since the start of US and Israeli military operations against Iran about three weeks ago, senior US intelligence officials attended the public meetings of the intelligence committees of the Senate and the House of Representatives and answered questions from lawmakers. These meetings, held on Wednesday and Thursday, were attended by Tulsi Gabbard (Director of National Intelligence), John Ratcliffe (CIA Director), Cash Patel (FBI Director) and other military and intelligence officials.
According to this report, significant tensions were observed during these meetings. Intelligence officials emphasized that the White House had received warnings before the start of the operation about Iran’s possible retaliation against its neighbors, a sharp increase in oil prices, and a disruption in the global energy supply chain. They also claimed that “regime change” in Iran is not the official goal of the war and Israel’s goals in this war are different from Washington’s goals.
NBC News wrote that these statements directly contradicted the public statements of Trump and some White House officials.
According to the statement, one of the high points of the tension came when Gabbard refused to explicitly confirm that Iran’s nuclear program was an “imminent threat” to the United States. That position was inconsistent with the administration’s narrative that military action was urgently needed, and raised questions about how accurately Trump was briefed before the war began. Lawmakers from both parties, especially Democrats, insisted on the need for more transparency, and some Republicans also expressed concern about the inconsistency between intelligence reports and White House policy.
NBC News reported, citing sources familiar with the matter, that the differences have fueled domestic debates about the rationale, goals and long-term consequences of the war. Intelligence officials also pointed to the possibility of prolonging the operation and warned that Iran still has the capacity to disrupt the Strait of Hormuz and increase regional tensions.
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