even Trump ain't with the shyt...both sides de-escalating like a bih right now
wsj.com
Intelligence Suggests U.S., Iran Misread Each Other, Stoking Tensions
Warren P. Strobel, Nancy A. Youssef and Vivian Salama
7-8 minutes
Intelligence collected by the U.S. government shows Iran’s leaders believe the U.S. planned to attack them, prompting preparation by Tehran for possible counterstrikes, according to one interpretation of the information, people familiar with the matter said.
That view of the intelligence could help explain why Iranian forces and their allies took action that was seen as threatening to U.S. forces in Iraq and elsewhere, prompting a U.S. military buildup in the Persian Gulf region and a drawdown of U.S. diplomats in Iraq.
Meanwhile, administration officials said President Trump told aides including his acting defense chief that he didn’t want a military conflict with Iran, a development indicating tensions in the U.S.-Iran standoff may be easing.
However, there are sharply differing views within the Trump administration over the meaning of intelligence showing Iran and its proxies making military preparations, people familiar with the matter said.
Intelligence officials on Thursday briefed House and Senate leaders, along with the top Democrats and Republicans on the House and Senate intelligence committees, on the Iran situation.
Some within the Trump administration argue that the intelligence indicates Iran is, or was, planning to strike first. On a trip to Baghdad last week, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, an Iran hawk, said there were indications Iran was planning imminent attacks.
“I am convinced that the information and warnings that we have collected are of greater concern than the normal Iranian harassment activity that we’ve seen in the Persian Gulf and surrounding area,” Rep. Mac Thornberry (R., Texas) said on Thursday. “So I don’t think it’s business as usual. It’s cause for greater concern.”
Iran repeatedly has denied it has plans to attack U.S. forces, calling the information cited by Mr. Pompeo and others “fake intelligence.”
One U.S. official said the view of Iran’s movements and actions as defensive in nature came from new intelligence in recent days. This unspecified intelligence has affected how American officials see Iran’s actions, the official said.
“I don’t think there’s faulty intel here necessarily. I think the intel may be accurate,” Sen. Angus King (I., Maine), a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, told CNN on Thursday after he was briefed on some of the intelligence. “But the unanswered question, again, is: Are they reacting to our assertions of action in the Middle East or are we reacting to them? That’s an unanswered question for me.”
These assessments of the intelligence information were separate from Mr. Trump’s comments to top aides including acting Defense Secretary Pat Shanahan that he doesn’t want tensions between the U.S. and Iran to lead to war.
During a meeting on Wednesday at the White House, Mr. Trump made the comments to Mr. Shanahan as part of a conversation, the officials said, adding that Mr. Trump didn’t issue a specific order.
The New York Times had earlier reported on those comments.
Mr. Trump in recent days has also told advisers that he is reluctant to start any kind of unilateral conflict with Iran, one administration official said.
Instead, he has expressed his interest in a negotiated solution, even if that means speaking to the Iranians directly, this person said, a move that would be counter to the recommendation of some top advisers.
Last week, Mr. Trump suggested Iran’s leaders also consider talks.
“What I’d like to see with Iran, I’d like to see them call me,” he said in remarks at the White House then. Iranian officials have said they don’t see a reason to hold talks with Mr. Trump, who has pulled out of an international nuclear agreement with Iran and reimposed punitive economic sanctions.
On Thursday, Mr. Trump again steered around talk of a confrontation. Asked at the White House if the U.S. would have a war with Iran, he replied: “I hope not.”
The comments came amid other signs that tensions between the U.S. and Iran may be easing after the U.S. over the preceding days undertook
a series of military deploymentsin response to what officials described as intelligence showing increased Iranian threats.
On Thursday, two U.S. military destroyers, the USS McFaul and the USS Gonzalez, transited without incident through the Strait of Hormuz near Iran, officials said.
“It was the quietest transit we have seen in a long time,” a defense official said. U.S. military vessels traveling through the area often encounter challenges from aggressive Iranian fast boats and other vessels, even though there rarely have been armed confrontations.
The Pentagon said the recent U.S. military deployments, consisting of an aircraft carrier, U.S. bombers and other ships and personnel, may have helped quell hostilities.
“The deterrence part of this is going pretty well from our perspective,” the defense official said, citing the “effects we have seen.”
The deployments, sought by military officials, were intended to deter any prospect of Iranian hostility, not as an offensive threat, military officials stressed.
“This is a case where credible intelligence drove measured, appropriate operations,” a senior defense official said.
Mr. Trump on Thursday also met with President Ueli Maurer of Switzerland, holding talks that included a discussion of the crisis in the Middle East, the White House said. In Iran, Switzerland serves as a protecting power on behalf of the U.S. It also serves as a channel for diplomatic communication between the U.S. and Iran, since official diplomatic relations ceased between Washington and Tehran in 1979.
“President Trump expressed his gratitude for Switzerland’s role in facilitating international mediation and diplomatic relations on behalf of the U.S.,” the White House said.
Share Your Thoughts
What do you think this experience with Iran says about the relationship between intelligence and foreign policy? Join the conversation below.
—Siobhan Hughes and Gordon Lubold contributed to this article.
Write to Warren P. Strobel at
Warren.Strobel@wsj.com, Nancy A. Youssef at
nancy.youssef@wsj.comand Vivian Salama at
vivian.salama@wsj.com
, Iran isn't a threat, they don't have nukes. Remember how like three ex-IDF heads were running against Netanyahu in the election? Saw how CENTCOM just contradicted Bolton on Iran in public?
