Pentagon concedes no intelligence supported claims of imminent Iranian attack

Pentagon officials acknowledged during closed-door briefings with Congressional staff on Sunday that there was no intelligence indicating Iran was planning an imminent attack on US forces.

According to a Reuters report, officials stated that the US and Israel launched the offensive on Saturday, resulting in the death of Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the sinking of Iranian warships, and strikes on more than 1,000 targets to date.

However, the statements made to Congress on Sunday appear to undermine a central argument high-ranking administration officials have used to justify the conflict.

Officials had told reporters a day earlier that President Donald Trump’s decision to launch the strikes was based, in part, on indications that Iranians might launch an attack—potentially preemptively—against US forces in the Middle East.

According to one official, Trump had stated that he would not “sit back and allow American forces in the region to be subjected to attacks.”

White House spokesperson Dylan Johnson said Pentagon officials briefed Democratic and Republican members of various national security committees in the Senate and House of Representatives for more than 90 minutes regarding the ongoing US offensive in Iran.

During the briefings, White House officials emphasized that Iran’s ballistic missiles and proxy forces in the region posed an urgent threat to US interests, yet they conceded that there was no intelligence indicating that Tehran was poised to initiate an attack on US forces.

Trump stated that the objective of the offensive, which is expected to last for weeks, is to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, halt its missile program, and eliminate threats to the US and its allies.

Trump called on the Iranian people to rise up and overthrow the government.

Nevertheless, Democrats accused Trump of launching a war of his own choosing and targeted his justifications for abandoning peace talks, which mediator Oman had suggested still held promise.

Trump, without presenting evidence, claimed that Iran would soon attain the capability to strike the US with ballistic missiles.

According to sources who spoke to Reuters, the missile claim is not supported by US intelligence reports and appears to be exaggerated.

Questions regarding the rationale for the war emerged as the US military announced its first American casualties in the conflict on Sunday.

US Central Command (CENTCOM) stated on Sunday that three US soldiers were killed, five were seriously wounded, and several others suffered minor shrapnel wounds and concussions.

Military officials said that since Trump ordered the commencement of major combat operations, US aircraft and warships have struck more than 1,000 Iranian targets.

The strikes included B-2 stealth bombers dropping 2,000-pound (900 kg) bombs on Iran’s fortified underground missile facilities.