Tulsi Gabbard, top intel officials testify in Senate hearing on threats against US

Gabbard had not spoken publicly about the war with Iran since it began until he sent his statement following Kent’s resignation.

In the past, Gabbard has expressed strong opposition to military intervention in Iran.

“President Trump promised us in his campaign to get the United States out of ‘stupid wars,'” Gabbard said in a 2019 campaign ad, which featured several statements from Mr. Trump about avoiding wars in the Middle East. “… But he is on the verge of starting a stupid and costly war with Iran. We have to stop President Trump from starting a war with Iran.”

He did not take down X’s post, which was one of several comments Gabbard has made expressing his opposition to conflict with the Islamic Republic. “No War With Iran,” Gabbard wrote on Jan. 7, 2020. He also advertised T-shirts that read, “No War with Iran.”

Gabbard’s well-written statement after Kent’s resignation Tuesday did not express personal support for the fight. He said it’s up to the president what constitutes an “imminent threat,” and the president makes that determination.

Joe Kent, who headed the National Counterterrorism Center, he resigned On Tuesday, he said he “cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war on Iran.”

“Iran has never been a threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war because of pressure from Israel and the powerful American delegation,” Kent wrote in his resignation letter to Mr.

Kent accused senior Israeli officials and others in the media of conducting a “disinformation campaign” that was “used to trick you into believing that Iran poses an imminent threat to the United States, and that if you struck now, there was a clear path to a quick victory.”

“This was a lie,” he said, urging Mr. Trump to “think about what we are doing in Iran, and who we are doing it for.”

In a text to X, Gabbard appeared to respond to Kent’s letter, saying that the president “is responsible for deciding what is dangerous and what is not dangerous.”

“After carefully reviewing all the information before him, President Trump concluded that the Islamic State of Iran posed a threat and acted based on that conclusion,” he said.

About a year before the U.S. launched the current war against Iran, the intelligence community said in its annual assessment that it was continuing to “verify Iran is not building a nuclear weapon” and that then-Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei had not approved the program, “although pressure was probably built on him to do so.”

“Khamenei continues to wish to avoid bringing Iran into an extended, direct conflict with the United States and its allies,” the March 2025 report said.

A few months later, the US became involved in the 12-day war between Iran and Israel, bombing three of Iran’s nuclear sites, Mr.

Since the latest bombing campaign against Iran began on February 28, which killed Khamenei, Mr.

The 2025 assessment also warned that Iran has installed a number of ballistic and cruise missiles, as well as unmanned drones, with the ability to strike across the region.

“The large forces of Iran are able to harm the aggressor, carry out strikes in the region, disrupt shipping, especially energy, through the Strait of Hormuz,” the report said.

The intelligence officers of Mr. Trump will testify before the Senate Intelligence Committee at its annual hearing on global security threats facing the US.

Their appearance comes as Democratic lawmakers are demanding Trump administration officials — particularly Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth — publicly answer questions about the rationale for the war with Iran and the administration’s fate.

Instead, it will be Gabbard, Ratcliffe, Patel, Hartman and Adams in the hot seat as the timeline for the end of the war remains unclear, the rationale for military action has changed and US allies are reluctant to get involved.

The annual hearings often focus on threats from China, Russia and Iran last year’s hearing was ruled by signal discussion where Trump officials discussed sensitive details about military strikes in Yemen.