WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� Trump administration officials told congressional staff in private briefings Sunday that U.S. intelligence did not suggest Iran was preparing to launch a preemptive strike against the U.S., three people familiar with the briefings said.
The administration officials instead acknowledged there was a more general threat in the region from , two of the people said. The third person, however, said the administration emphasized that Iran鈥檚 missiles and proxy forces posed an imminent threat to U.S. personnel and allies in the region.
The officials did not provide any clarity about what would happen next in Iran after , the two people said. All three people insisted on anonymity to discuss details that have not been made public.
The information conveyed to the congressional staff contrasts with the . 鈥淥ur objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime. A vicious group of very hard, terrible people,” he said in a video message after launching strikes on Iran.
Senior Trump administration officials, who like others were not authorized to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity, had told reporters Saturday that there were indicators that the Iranians could launch a preemptive attack.
The White House and Pentagon did not immediately reply to requests for comment on Sunday night. Details of the briefing were first reported by Politico.
On Tuesday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will brief the full membership of Congress on the U.S. military operation against Iran, the White House said Sunday. Rubio also was slated to brief Hill leadership Monday, the same day Hegseth and Caine are planning a press conference about the operation.
Three strikes, three locations, within a single minute
The military operation came after authorities from Israel and the U.S. spent weeks tracking the movements of senior Iranian leaders, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and shared information that allowed the strikes to be carried out in a surprise daylight attack, according to an Israeli military official and another person familiar with the operation.
The eventual barrage of came so quickly that they were nearly simultaneous 鈥� with three strikes in three locations hitting within a single minute 鈥� killing Khamenei and some 40 senior figures, including the head of the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard and the country鈥檚 defense minister, the Israeli military official said Sunday.
The official said a variety of factors created a golden opportunity to take out much of Iran鈥檚 leadership, like weeks of training and monitoring the movements of senior figures as well as intelligence in real-time before the attack began that key targets were gathered together.
Striking by day also gave an additional element of surprise, said the official, who said so many major, rapid-fire strikes were critical to keep key officials from fleeing after the first strike. The official said Israel closely cooperated with its U.S. counterparts and had used a similar tactic at the beginning of last June鈥檚 war 鈥� which resulted in the killing of several senior Iranian figures.
The official also noted Khamenei having posted defiant tweets taunting President Donald Trump in the days before the attack.
The details about the strikes came as the conflict entered its second day, with Trump saying in a video message Sunday that he expected it would continue until 鈥渁ll of our objectives are achieved.鈥� He did not spell out what those objectives were.
The Republican president also said the U.S. military and its partners hit hundreds of targets in Iran, including Revolutionary Guard facilities, Iranian air defense systems and nine warships, 鈥渁ll in a matter of literally minutes.鈥�
CIA had long tracked top Iranian leaders
Before the attacks, the CIA had for months tracked the movements of senior Iranian leaders, including Khamenei.
The intelligence was shared with Israeli officials, and the timing of the strikes was adjusted in part because of that information about the Iranian leaders鈥� location, according to the person familiar with the planning.
The intelligence-sharing between U.S. and Israel reflects the preparation that went into the strikes, which threw the future of into and raised the risk of escalating regional conflict.
The U.S. regularly shares intelligence with allies including Israel. Those partnerships, and the accuracy of the intelligence they yield, is often critical not only to the success of a military operation but also to the .
Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, the senior Democrat on the committee, told The Associated Press that, historically, 鈥渙ur working relationship with the Mossad and Israel is really strong.鈥� Mossad is the Israeli spy agency.
Warner said he has serious concerns about the justification for the strikes, Trump鈥檚 long-term plans for the conflict and the risks that U.S. service members will face. The military announced Sunday that in the Iran operation.
鈥淣o tears will be shed over their leadership being eliminated, but always the question is: OK, what next?鈥� Warner said.
Iran has signaled it鈥檚 open to talks with the US
A senior White House official said Iran鈥檚 鈥渘ew potential leadership鈥� has suggested it is open to talks with the United States. That official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal administration deliberations, said Trump has indicated he鈥檚 鈥渆ventually鈥� willing to talk but that for now
The official did not say who the potential new Iranian leaders are or how they made their alleged willingness to talk known. Separately, Trump told The Atlantic that he planned to speak with Iran鈥檚 new leadership.
鈥淭hey want to talk, and I have agreed to talk, so I will be talking to them,鈥� he said Sunday, declining comment on the timing.
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Federman reported from Jerusalem. Associated Press writers Matthew Lee and Will Weissert in Washington contributed to this report.
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