The Trump administration justified strikes on Iran by saying Tehran posed an “imminent threat” to the United States. But officials briefed in a closed-door meeting told Reuters that there was no intelligence indicating Iran would attack the US first, two sources said.
After the initial US and Israeli strikes on Tehran, Trump said in an eight-minute video that Iran had continued developing long-range missiles that could threaten Europe and US troops. US intelligence, however, had assessed it would take years for Iran to develop such missiles if it pursued them.
Trump said the attacks were meant to “defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime.” The US government has not clarified to the public or to Congress what specific imminent threat Iran posed.
A senior official told reporters—12 hours after the Tehran strikes began—that waiting for an impending attack would have resulted in far more American casualties. In the briefing, two officials said the president ordered the strikes after deciding Iran would not agree to stop uranium enrichment.
Two days before the attack, Oman’s foreign minister, who had been mediating between the US and Iran, said Tehran had agreed not to stockpile enriched uranium and described the talks as a breakthrough. He also said outstanding issues could be resolved amicably within a few months.
Sen. Andy Kim told Politico the alleged imminent threat was likely a reaction to the US’s unprecedented military buildup in the region, adding that the president decided on a course of action and then sought arguments to justify it.
Officials who attended the administration briefing said no clear evidence of an imminent Iranian attack was presented. They told reporters the day before the strikes that Trump acted in part on indicators that Iranians might strike US forces in the Middle East “perhaps preemptively,” and that he was unwilling to “sit back and allow American forces in the region to absorb attacks.”
Senate Intelligence Vice Chair Mark Warner, who was briefed by senior officials, told CNN he saw no intelligence that Iran was on the verge of launching a preemptive strike against the United States, and said the president had “started a war of choice.”
The administration’s lack of clear authorization and public justification for the strikes has drawn criticism from US lawmakers, who are pressing for an explanation of the operation.
