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ISLAMABAD: US officials informed congressional staff that there was no intelligence indicating Iran intended to attack United States forces prior to the joint US-Israeli strikes, according to sources familiar with the sessions, CNN reported. The disclosure by CNN contradicts public statements from the Trump administration claiming a preemptive strike on Iran was needed to prevent an &ldquo;imminent threat.&rdquo; According to CNN, officials acknowledged in closed-door briefings that Iran&rsquo;s intent was defensive. Sources reportedly said the Pentagon cited Iran&rsquo;s ballistic missile program and proxy forces as persistent threats but noted these capabilities had existed for years and did not justify a pre-emptive strike. No intelligence on Iran&#39;s readiness to strike USIn an interview with the American news organization, the Vice Chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Senator Mark Warner, said he &ldquo;saw no intelligence that Iran was on the verge of launching any kind of pre-emptive strike against the United States of America.&rdquo; The Democrat lawmaker described the administration&rsquo;s decision as a &ldquo;war of choice&rdquo; and questioned the timing of the strike. &ldquo;The decision to put our service members in harm&rsquo;s way was entirely based upon the President&rsquo;s decision, not an imminent threat to America,&rdquo; he said to CNN. Administration claims Senior officials said Saturday that the US launched strikes on Iran because of indications the regime might pre-emptively attack US bases, according to CNN. The sources said there was no intelligence to support that rationale. Briefers said US forces focused the first two days on destroying Iranian air defenses and command-and-control nodes. Sources said future operations would target ballistic missile launch sites. Officials said the US has been &ldquo;burning through long-range precision guided munitions&rdquo; and would continue until US and Israeli forces were confident of air superiority over Iran. White House spokesperson Dylan Johnson said the Pentagon &ldquo;briefed the bipartisan staffs of several national security committees in both chambers for over 90 minutes on the military action in Iran.&rdquo; Warnings of potential retaliation Warner said the president missed an earlier opportunity in January, when millions of Iranians were protesting, to take strategic action. At that time, an aircraft carrier capable of supporting operations was off the coast of Venezuela, and European allies were distracted. He said eliminating Iran&rsquo;s supreme leader could benefit regional stability but warned of potential retaliation. &ldquo;We have had very little visibility into what happens next after the supreme leader is eliminated,&rdquo; Warner said. Warner described the Iranian regime as deeply entrenched and likely to resist. &ldquo;We are seeing just the opening salvos of what could be a sustained war in the region,&rdquo; he said. He stated that the US president must justify military actions to Congress and the American people. &ldquo;When the president commits American forces to a war of choice, he needs to come before Congress and the American people and ask for a declaration of war.&rdquo;

Residents stand on a street beside damaged residential buildings near Niloufar square in Tehran during the ongoing joint US-Israeli military campaign on Iran on March 2, 2026. (AFP)

Americas

The disclosure by CNN contradicts public statements from the Trump administration claiming a pre-emptive strike on Iran was needed to prevent an 'imminent threat.'

Congresssional staff told no evidence Iran had planned first strike on US

WASHINGTON:&nbsp;The Pentagon&#39;s independent watchdog said US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth&#39;s use of the commercial messaging app Signal to discuss strikes on Yemen could have put American troops at risk, US media reported Wednesday. The probe by the inspector general&rsquo;s office concluded that Hegseth did not violate rules on classification, however, because he has the authority to declassify information, the reports said, citing sources familiar with the results of the investigation. &lsquo;Extrajudicial killings&rsquo;The watchdog&rsquo;s conclusion -- which has been transmitted to Congress -- is nonetheless likely to reignite debate over conduct by Hegseth, who is already under fire over <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/white-house-confirms-admiral-ordered-2nd-strike-on-alleged-drug-boat" style="color:#0073e6;">US strikes on alleged drug-trafficking boats</a> that experts say amount to extrajudicial killings. The probe was sparked by The Atlantic magazine&#39;s revelation in late March that its editor-in-chief was inadvertently included in a Signal chat in which US officials, including Hegseth and then-national security advisor Mike Waltz, discussed strikes on Yemen&#39;s Iran-backed Houthi rebels. Editor labelled &lsquo;liar&rsquo;The magazine initially withheld the details the officials discussed, but later published them after the White House insisted that no classified information was shared and attacked the editor, Jeffrey Goldberg, as a liar. The chat included messages in which Hegseth revealed the timing of strikes hours before they happened and information on aircraft and missiles involved, while Waltz sent real-time intelligence on the aftermath of the military action. &lsquo;TOTAL exoneration&rsquo;In a post to X late on Wednesday, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell called the review &quot;a TOTAL exoneration of Secretary Hegseth.&quot;<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-0" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-0&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=1996367776089571829&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Fsections%2F&sessionId=92a695e3547cf2463211d3633b6c821060f9ae9c&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 320px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;">&nbsp;&nbsp;</iframe></div></div>The Atlantic said that Waltz had set some Signal messages to disappear after one week and others after four, raising questions about whether federal records law was violated. Waltz fired, Hegseth survivesTrump rejected calls to fire Hegseth and largely pinned the blame on Waltz, whom he ultimately replaced as national security advisor, appointing him as US ambassador to the United Nations instead. US media then reported in April that Hegseth had created a second Signal chat in which the March Yemen strikes were discussed with people, including his wife and brother, but the Pentagon chief likewise weathered that storm and remained in office. US forces launched a renewed air campaign against the Houthis on March 15. Trump&#39;s strikes against the Houthis lasted until early May, when a ceasefire agreement was reached with the help of Omani mediation.

The watchdog’s conclusion -- which has been transmitted to Congress -- is likely to reignite debate over conduct by Hegseth, who is already under fire over US strikes on alleged drug-trafficking boats.

Articles tagged with "Pentagon probe"

Congresssional staff told no evidence Iran had planned first strike on US

Probe found Hegseth’s Signal use could have put US troops at risk: reports