Top national security officials will meet with Senators on Thursday in a classified briefing to discuss the U.S. strikes on three Iranian nuclear sites last week.
The Associated Press reported that the classified briefing comes as the Senate is expected to vote this week on a resolution that would require congressional approval if President Donald Trump decides to strike Iran again.
Who is participating in the classified briefing?
Dig deeper:
CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth are expected to brief the senators on Thursday. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard will not attend the briefing, a person familiar with the schedule told the Associated Press.
Questions have circulated around President Donald Trump’s decision to strike Iran and whether the attacks were successful. Citing a U.S. intelligence report, the AP noted that Iran’s nuclear program had been set back only a few months, opposing statements from Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the status of Iran’s nuclear facilities, two people familiar with the report, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told the AP.
Republicans split on Trump’s Iran strikes
The other side:
Most Republicans have defended President Donald Trump’s actions with the strikes and lauded the tentative ceasefire he negotiated in the Israel-Iran war. However, some in the GOP are uncomfortable with the Iran strikes and the possibiliy for U.S. involvement in an extended Middle East conflict.
The Associated Press reported that Trump sent congressional leaders a letter Monday serving as his official notice of the Iran strikes, two days after the bombs fell.
The letter noted that the strike was taken "to advance vital United States national interests, and in collective self-defense of our ally, Israel, by eliminating Iran’s nuclear program."
The Source: Information for this story was provided by the Associated Press, who spoke to two people on a condition of anonymity about the briefing. This story was reported from Washington, D.C.