Shafaqna Pakistan: Trump administration officials told congressional staff in closed-door briefings on Sunday that there was no intelligence indicating Iran had been planning to launch a first strike against US forces, according to two people familiar with the discussions.
The United States and Israel carried out sweeping attacks on Iran on Saturday, described by officials as the most extensive in decades. The strikes reportedly killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, destroyed Iranian warships, and targeted more than 1,000 sites.
However, the comments made to Congress appeared to contradict a central justification previously presented by senior administration figures. A day earlier, officials had told reporters that President Donald Trump authorized the strikes partly due to signs that Iran might carry out a “preemptive” attack on US forces in the Middle East.
Trump, one of the officials said, was not going to “sit back and allow American forces in the region to absorb attacks.”
PENTAGON BRIEFINGS LASTED MORE THAN 90 MINUTES
Pentagon officials briefed Democratic and Republican staff of several national security committees in both the Senate and the House of Representatives for more than 90 minutes on the unfolding US attack in Iran, White House spokesperson Dylan Johnson said earlier.
In the briefings, administration officials emphasized that Iran’s ballistic missiles and proxy forces in the region posed an imminent threat to US interests, but there was no intelligence about Tehran attacking US forces first, the two sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters.
Trump said the attack, which is expected to run for weeks, aimed to ensure Iran could not have a nuclear weapon, contain its missile program and eliminate threats to the United States and its allies.
He has urged Iranians to rise up and topple the government.
DEMOCRATS CRITICISE ‘WAR OF CHOICE’
Still, Democrats have accused Trump of waging a war of choice and have taken aim at his arguments for abandoning peace talks that mediator Oman said still held promise.
Trump has argued, without presenting evidence, that Iran was on track to soon secure the ability to strike the United States with a ballistic missile.
His missile claim was not backed by US intelligence reports, and appeared to be exaggerated, sources familiar with the reports have told Reuters.
Questions about the justification for the war come as the US military revealed on Sunday the first American casualties of the conflict.
THREE US TROOPS KILLED, FIVE WOUNDED
Three US troops were killed and five seriously wounded, US Central Command said on Sunday, adding that several other US troops suffered minor shrapnel injuries and concussions.
US aircraft and warships have struck more than 1,000 Iranian targets since Trump ordered the start of major combat operations, the military said.
The strikes include B-2 stealth bombers dropping 2,000-lb (900-kg) bombs on hardened, underground Iranian missile facilities.
A Reuters/Ipsos poll on Sunday showed 27% of Americans approved of the strikes, while 43% disapproved and 29% were not sure.
Source: Dunya News
