Pentagon briefers have told congressional staff that Iran had no plans to preemptively strike U.S. forces or bases in the region.
The bombshell admission came at a private briefing on Sunday, CNN reports, citing multiple sources. Politico also cited two people who attended the briefing who said that no clear evidence of an imminent attack by Iran was presented, while the Associated Press cited three people familiar with the briefing.
The revelation undercuts President Donald Trump’s justification of the joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on the country.
White House officials had claimed on Saturday that the U.S. chose to attack Iran because it had received indications that the country was planning to launch missile attacks against U.S. bases, according to CNN.
In addition, in his announcement of the strikes, Trump claimed the Iranian regime was building missiles that “could soon reach the American homeland.” An assessment from the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency published last year found that Iran was years away from possessing the intercontinental ballistic missiles required to launch attacks on the U.S. At present, there is no intelligence to suggest that Iran was working on an ICBM program at the time of the strikes, according to the assessment.
Three sources also confirmed to CNN that the nation was not interested in establishing one, a claim echoed by Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi last week.
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House for comment. White House spokesperson Anna Kelly told CNN on Saturday, “President Trump is absolutely right to highlight the grave concern posed by Iran, a country that chants ‘death to America,’ possessing intercontinental ballistic missiles.”
The Pentagon briefers on Sunday cited Iran’s ballistic missile program and proxy forces as evidence the country posed a threat to the U.S., but sources who spoke to CNN noted that this has been true for years and does not explain the supposed urgency of Saturday’s strikes.
However, the briefers acknowledged that “there was no indication that Iran was preparing to preemptively strike U.S. bases in the region in anticipation of some sort of attacks from American-Israeli forces,” senior CNN reporter Zach Cohen said.
Sources who spoke to the Associated Press said that the briefers did not provide any clarity on what would happen in Iran following the strikes.
The news raises “more questions still, as the president has… we haven‘t heard from him about his reasoning, his justification and his plan going forward as this military operation continues,” Cohen told host Kaitlan Collins.
White House spokesperson Dylan Johnson told CNN in response that the Pentagon had “briefed the bipartisan staffs of several national security committees in both chambers for over 90 minutes on the military action in Iran.”
The Daily Beast has reached out to the Department of Defense and White House for comment. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is set to appear before the media on Monday morning to provide an update.
Despite dubbing himself the “Peace President” and promising “no new wars,” Trump launched a wave of missile attacks on Iran early Saturday morning before announcing that the U.S. had begun “major combat operations.”
The strikes, conducted in conjunction with Israel, ultimately resulted in the death of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, prompting Iran to launch a series of retaliatory strikes on U.S. bases and allies around the Middle East.
Responding to the news that three U.S. soldiers have already died since Saturday, Trump admitted that there would “likely be more.”
“As one nation, we grieve for the true American patriots who have made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation, even as we continue the righteous mission for which they gave their lives,” Trump said on Sunday afternoon.
“Sadly, there will likely be more before it ends. That’s the way it is. Likely be more, but we’ll do everything possible where that won’t be the case.” The president also told The New York Times on Sunday that projections from the Pentagon suggest U.S. casualties could be “quite a bit higher” than what has already been seen.
According to an X post from U.S. Central Command made late Sunday, U.S. strikes in the region conducted as part of “Operation Epic Fury” continue.
