Donald Trump’s top intelligence official has thrown doubt on his claim that Iran’s retaliation over the war came as a surprise to the administration.
Days after the president said he was “shocked” by Tehran’s reaction, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard faced a grilling on Capitol Hill over the briefings the president received before he joined Israel in the deadly conflict.
Asked whether Trump was advised that Iran would inevitably strike back against neighboring Gulf states—where many U.S. expats and army bases are located—Gabbard replied: “Those of us in the intelligence community continue to provide the president with all of the objective intelligence available.”
Pressed further on whether Trump was briefed that Iran would seek to block the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s most important oil choke point, she told the committee: “This has long been an assessment of the IC (Intelligence Community) that Iran would likely hold the Strait of Hormuz hostage.”
Wednesday’s Capitol Hill hearing on “worldwide threats” was sensitive for Gabbard, a longtime anti-interventionist who once ran as a Democrat and was staunchly opposed to Trump going to war with Iran before she joined his administration.
But her evidence is consistent with what administration insiders have also told the Daily Beast, as they expressed dismay over what they described as a lack of planning, inconsistent messaging, and disregard for allies.
It also came after Joe Kent, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, became the first senior official to openly break with Trump by announcing his resignation on Tuesday.
“I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran,” he wrote, insisting the country “posed no imminent threat to our nation.”
Gabbard accompanied Kent to see Vice President JD Vance the day before his bombshell resignation. But on Wednesday, she told the committee it was up to the president, not her, to determine whether there was an imminent nuclear threat posed by the regime.
“It is precisely your responsibility,” Democrat Jon Ossoff hit back.
Gabbard’s own intelligence agencies also gave evidence to the committee last year that “Iran’s large conventional forces are capable of inflicting substantial damage to an attacker, executing regional strikes and disrupting shipping, particularly energy supplies through the Strait of Hormuz.”
“In other words, we’re seeing now was not only foreseeable, but was actually predicted by the intelligence agencies,” said Democratic Senator Ron Wyden.
He asked Gabbard: “In the lead up to the start of this war three weeks ago, did the intelligence agencies stick to their assessment: that in response to the attack, the Iranians had the capabilities to shut down the Strait of Hormuz?”
She replied: “The intelligence community has continued to provide the intelligence and his team with the intelligence relating to this operation in Iran, before and on an ongoing basis.”
Trump’s war began on Feb. 28 when the U.S. and Israel launched surprise strikes on Iran, in a mission that has since killed at least 13 US servicemen.
The attack also killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, whose son Mojtaba Khamenei has since replaced him and vowed to seek revenge by using the Strait of Hormuz as “leverage.”
Iran has also attacked other energy infrastructure, targeted airports, and residential centers across the region, something Trump claimed surprised him.
“They weren’t supposed to go after all these other countries in the Middle East,” he told reporters at the White House on Monday.
“Those missiles were set to go after them. So they hit Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait. Nobody expected that. We were shocked!”
With gas prices now soaring due to the standoff in the Strait of Hormuz, Trump begged America’s allies to join the conflict, only to be humiliated when they rejected his pleas.
After spending the weekend rallying for support, he declared on Tuesday that “we don’t need their help,” only to write on Truth Social on Wednesday that they ought to “step up” in the Strait.
“Remember, for all of those absolute ‘fools’ out there, Iran is considered, by everyone, to be the NUMBER ONE STATE SPONSOR OF TERROR,” he added. “We are rapidly putting them out of business!”
