Gabbard, Ratcliffe Struggle with Iran War Questions in Hill Appearance
CIA boss, DNI, pummeled on Trump's shifting explanations for Iran war in Senate Intelligence Committee hearing
Donald Trump’s ever-shifting explanations for the Iran war took another beating Wednesday when the directors of the CIA and National Intelligence conceded under sharp questioning from Democrats that the president’s key rationale for attacking the Islamic Republic had no basis in fact. Nor did his claim that “nobody knew” that Iran would block the Strait of Hormuz survive closer examination.
The intense hearing of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence followed a stunning development from the day before, when Joe Kent, the head of the administration’s National Counterterrorism Center, posted his letter of resignation to President Trump on X, saying, “I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran.’’ He added that, “Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.’’
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard inadvertently poured gas on the fire by abandoning a passage in her prepared statement, distributed in advance of her appearance before the committee, that said Iran’s nuclear program had been “obliterated” by U.S. airstrikes last June and that the regime had made “no efforts” since then “to try to rebuild their enrichment capability.”
