Democrats say they were left in dark about plans for US strikes on Iran

Senior Democrats have claimed they were left in the dark about operation Midnight Hammer, the US's highly coordinated strike on Saturday on Iran's nuclear enrichment program.
Neither the US senator Mark Warner of Virginia nor representative Jim Himes of Connecticut, both top Democrats on the Senate and House intelligence panels, were briefed before the attack, according to reports.
But that came amid claims that Republican counterparts were given advance notice of the operation, which involved 125 aircraft – including seven B-2 bombers carrying 14 bunker busters weighing three tons – and 75 Tomahawk missiles launched from US submarines. Axios reported that the Senate minority leader, Chuck Schumer, had been informed shortly before the attacks began at 6.40pm eastern time.
Himes's committee staff received notification about the strike from the Pentagon only after Donald Trump made the announcement on social media soon before 8pm, according to the outlet.
The president's defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, told a press conference early on Sunday that the strikes 'took months and weeks of positioning and preparation so that we could be ready when the president called'.
'It took misdirection and the highest of operational security,' Hegseth said, in part alluding to the US's deployment of B-2 bombers to the Pacific island of Guam earlier on Saturday.
The US attack of Iran came as most Democrats had left Washington for the Juneteenth holiday – but the apparent lack of forewarning to lawmakers on intelligence committees is striking. Top lawmakers are typically informed of military operations in advance.
'Cost, duration, risk to our troops, strategy – the basics before we make a decision of this consequence,' Chris Coons, a senior Democratic member of the Senate foreign relations committee, said last week.
Senators are expected to receive a briefing next week. But the signs that an attack was imminent were there to see: additional US military assets had been moved into the region, and the director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, had postponed a briefing with the Senate intelligence committee last week.
Moderate and progressive Democrats have been in conflict over the engagement of US forces in support of Israel. Trump's use of force could now deepen the ideological schism.
Senator Adam Schiff, a California Democrat, told CNN on Sunday that 'the destruction of these facilities is a positive in the sense that it will set back Iran's program'. But he warned that Iran could now 'sprint for a bomb'.
He added that the strikes were 'not constitutional' and Congress should be brought in 'on an action this substantial that could lead to a major outbreak of war'. But Schiff refused to be drawn in on whether the world was safer following the strike. 'We simply don't know,' he said.
Schiff maintained that in absence of a briefing 'this is an order that should not have been given'.
Prominent Democrats with 2028 presidential aspirations have been notably silent on the 10-day war between Israel and Iran. 'They are sort of hedging their bets,' said Joel Rubin, a former deputy assistant secretary of state during the Obama administration.
'The beasts of the Democratic party's constituencies right now are so hostile to Israel's war in Gaza that it's really difficult to come out looking like one would corroborate an unauthorized war that supports Israel without blowback.'
But some had spoken out. The California congressman Ro Khanna called the White House threats of an attack on Iran 'a defining moment for our party'. That came as progressive and isolationist lawmakers on the right found themselves uncomfortably aligned.
Khanna had introduced legislation with the Kentucky Republican US House member Thomas Massie that called on Trump to 'terminate' the use of US armed forces against Iran unless 'explicitly authorized' by a declaration of war from Congress.
Following the strike, Khanna posted on X: 'Trump struck Iran without any authorization of Congress. We need to immediately return to DC and vote on [Massie] and my War Powers Resolution to prevent America from being dragged into another endless Middle East war.'
Massie said in response to the strikes: 'This is not Constitutional.'
The independent US senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, who caucuses with the Democrats, said supporting the Israeli prime minister Benjamin 'Netanyahu's war against Iran would be a catastrophic mistake'. He introduced legislation prohibiting the use of federal money for force against Iran.
The New York congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said on X that the decision to attack Iran's nuclear sites was 'disastrous'.
'The President's disastrous decision to bomb Iran without authorization is a grave violation of the Constitution and Congressional War Powers. He has impulsively risked launching a war that may ensnare us for generations. It is absolutely and clearly grounds for impeachment,' Ocasio-Cortez wrote.
On NBC's Meet the Press, Vice-President JD Vance maintained that it was untrue to say that Saturday's strikes in Iran exceeded Trump's presidential authority.
Schiff, meanwhile, declined to support calls for impeachment proceedings against Trump, saying the failure to brief Democrats ahead of the strike was 'another partisan exercise'.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

The Independent

35 minutes ago

• The Independent

Israel strikes Iran's Fordow nuclear site as Trump hints at regime change

Israel struck Iran's Fodow nuclear site and key military and intelligence facilities on Monday as the conflict continued to escalate with attacks from both sides. The White House was also left scrambling Donald Trump also entertained the idea on Sunday of a regime change in Tehran following the strikes on Iran's nuclear sites, leaving the White House scrambling 24 hours later to say the president was 'simply raising a question' about the future of Iran's rulers. The US embassy in Qatar warned its citizens to take shelter as fears grow of an imminent Iranian response, after Iran's army chief warned that the US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites have given Tehran a 'free hand' to "act against US interests and its army'. Qatar - which houses the biggest US base in the Middle East - also closed its airspace on Monday evening amid fears of a retaliatory strike from Iran. Iran responded after the US struck Iran's three key nuclear facilities on the weekend, and the UN's nuclear watchdog said on Monday that 'very significant damage' was expected to have occurred at Fordow during the US attack. The head of the International Atomic Energy Agency Rafael Grossi said ahead of an emergency meeting that "given the explosive payload utilised and the extreme(ly) vibration-sensitive nature of centrifuges, very significant damage is expected to have occurred'. Fordow was also struck by Israel on Monday as it launched an offensive targeting Iranian military and regime centres, including the notorious Evin prison. Israel warned of other strikes in the coming days. Video of the attack on Evin shows a projectile smashing into the entrance of the facility which is used to hold political prisoners, including high-profile foreign detainees. Israeli defence minister Israel Katz said the defence force was using 'unprecedented force' against 'regime targets and governmental oppression entities in the heart of Tehran'. 'For every attack on the Israeli home front, the Iranian dictator will be punished, and the strikes will continue with full force,' he said. The Israeli Defence Force (IDF) said it had hit two military command centres as well as the general intelligence directorate for internal security forces. 'The IDF continues the ongoing effort to degrade the Iranian regime's military capabilities and will persist in its efforts to ensure the security of the State of Israel,' the IDF said in a statement. Iran launched a new missile barrage at Israel on Monday, described as a new wave of its operation "True Promise 3," targeting Haifa and Tel Aviv. The Tehran regime has also sought help from its ally, Russia, sending foreign minister Abbas Araghchi to meet with Vladimir Putin in Moscow and deliver a letter from Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei seeking support from the Kremlin. During their televised meeting, Putin said there was 'no justification' for the US bombing of Iran. "The absolutely unprovoked aggression against Iran has no basis and no justification," Putin told Araghchi. "For our part, we are making efforts to assist the Iranian people.' Exiled Iranian crown prince Reza Pahlavi says the Iranian regime will not back down, and urged Western leaders not to support Tehran. 'If the West throws the regime a lifeline, there will be more bloodshed and chaos, because this regime will not stop before surrender after it has been humiliated; it will lash out,' he said, using a press conference to call on Iranians to help him lead the country to become a 'secular, democratic' country. 'As long as [the regime] is in power, no country and no people are safe - whether in the streets of Washington, Paris, Jerusalem, Riyadh or Tehran,' he said. The head of Nato Mark Rutte said the biggest worry about the Iran conflict is 'Iran having a nuclear weapon'. Speaking ahead of a two-day Nato summit in The Hague, the secretary general was asked what his biggest fear was when it came to the escalating conflict around Iran. Mr Rutte responded: 'Let's focus on the essentials. My biggest fear would be for Iran to own and be able to use or build nuclear weapons. He continued: 'It would be a stranglehold on Israel, on the whole region and other parts of the world, and that's why Nato has said Iran should not - and this is a consistent position of Nato - Iran should not have its hands on a nuclear weapon.'

Telegraph

36 minutes ago

• Telegraph

Security ramped up at US synagogues after strikes on Iran

Security has been stepped at synagogues across the US in the aftermath of America's strikes on Iran. The US president authorised strikes on Iran's nuclear infrastructure using 14 GBU-57 Massive Ordnance Penetrators, the largest and most powerful conventional bombs in the US arsenal, over the weekend. Mr Trump warned in the aftermath of the strikes on Fordow, the country's primary nuclear site, Natanz and Isfahan, that retaliating would be a mistake. On Sunday it was revealed the president had been warned at the G7 summit that Iran would activate terror 'sleeper cells' across the US in the event of a strike. Security precautions in the US have been ratcheted up in the wake of the strikes, with Rodney Scott, the customs and border protection commissioner, saying the terror threat had 'never been higher'. Extra police officers have been stationed outside synagogues and the Israeli consulate in New York City, which is home to around 1.9 million Jewish residents. 'The NYPD is tracking the situation in the Middle East. Out of an abundance of caution, we're deploying additional resources to Jewish, Israeli and other sites throughout NYC. We're coordinating with our federal partners, and we'll continue to monitor for any potential impact to NYC,' the New York Police Department said. Extra police are also patrolling Jewish and Muslim places of worship outside the city in Suffolk County on Long Island. 'There are no credible threats to New York at this time,' Kathy Hochul, the governor of New York, said. 'As a precaution, we have increased security for sensitive locations and stepped up cybersecurity protections. My priority is keeping New Yorkers safe.' Karen Bass, the mayor of Los Angeles, which has a Jewish population of around 617,000, said she has increased the city's police patrols at 'places of worship, community gathering spaces and other sensitive sites.' Washington, DC, home to just under 60,000 Jews, has pledged to step up security around Jewish spaces, even though there are no known current threats. It comes following the murder of two Israeli Embassy staffers, Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim, in Washington, DC in May. In addition to the Israeli embassy in Washington, DC, the country has consulates in Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New York, Philadelphia and San Francisco. In Canada, police in Montreal advised a Jewish school and synagogue to suspend prayers and lessons following a telephone shooting threat, according to reports. Police rushed to the scene on Ekers Avenue on Sunday after an anonymous caller said he would arrive within minutes to 'shoot up' the premises, the Jewish Community Council said. Research by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has revealed a surge in anti-Semitic and violent threats on social media. In the 12 days preceding Israel's pre-emptive air strikes, there were an average of 28.5 threats on the dozen sites monitored by the ADL. The number of threats surged to a record 398 on June 13, the day after Israel attacked Iran's nuclear installations, and then dropped back to just under 200 a day until June 17. Researchers also found a change in tone with threats going beyond harassment to calls for mass violence and genocide against Israelis and Jews.

Daily Mail​

42 minutes ago

• Daily Mail​

Opinion: Iran's brutal regime has now run out of options

The clerical-military dictatorship which has ruled Iran for almost 50 years has run out of options. President Trump's daring raid on Iran's nuclear facilities further undermines a regime which is already reeling from multiple humiliations at home and abroad. For the medieval mullahs and their brutal generals, there is no good way forward, no credible response that doesn't involve more humiliation amounting to capitulation. The end of days beckons for them. The US raid is just one more nail in the coffin. A regime which only recently thought it was on track to dominate the Middle East with its toxic brew of Islamism and anti-Semitism is now reeling in retreat on every front. The terrorist proxies which it fostered and financed at huge expense and through which it spread fear and terror, are impotent. Hamas struggles to survive, in no state to threaten anyone bar defenceless Palestinians who dare to challenge its fading power. Hezbollah, a far more formidable operation dominating southern Lebanon and once seen as the tip of the spear should Israel ever attack Iran, has been decapitated. It speaks volumes that Hezbollah has not lifted a finger to help its paymasters even as Israel pummels Iran from the skies. Iran's great ally, Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad , has been deposed and languishes in exile in Moscow (where some of the Iranian regime may soon join him). Iran used Syria as a base from which its Quds Force, the foreign legion arm of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, could stir up all manner of mayhem across the region. Syria was also the conduit through which it channelled arms and money to its proxies, but it is now in the hands of forces hostile to the Iranian regime. As if all that was not bad enough, there came the greatest humiliation of all: Iran lost control of its skies to the Israeli air force. As a result, Israel is able to strike with impunity. The Iranian air force has been neutralised, many of the country's military commanders have been killed – as have key nuclear scientists – and its missile stocks and launchers are being ruthlessly degraded by Israeli air power. Israel's dominance of Iranian airspace paved the way for the US attack on the nuclear facilities. Its B-2 stealth bombers were able to drop their bunker-buster bombs on sites buried deep underground without being detected. They arrived, unleashed their ordnance and departed without Iran firing a single missile at them or scrambling even one fighter jet to confront them. Trump sees himself as a master of the art of the deal. But he's turned out to be more a master of deception. He lulled Iran into thinking he was still up for negotiating a deal while secretly green-lighting Israel's attacks on Iran, which started on Friday the 13th (unlucky for some). He said he'd take up to two weeks to decide if he'd deploy US bunker-busters against Iran – then did so after two days. Trump's administration let it be known that B-2 bombers were on their way across the Pacific – while the real strike force was heading for Iran over the Atlantic . US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth claimed Iran's nuclear bombmaking facilities had been 'obliterated'. Its top military man, General Dan 'Razin' Caine, was more cautious, saying initial estimates were that all three nuclear sites attacked – Natanz, Isfahan and Fordow – suffered 'sustained severe damage' but it would take time to establish a more complete picture. Trump wants Iran to restart talks to give up its nuclear capabilities . That's his preferred option. But he's equally clear that if Tehran refuses or, worse, retaliates for yesterday's strike, then he will authorise further assaults. He's certainly assembled the firepower in the region to deliver his threat – including two massive aircraft carrier groups. The real significance of what happened at the weekend is that, should the Iranian regime decide to escalate the conflict or continue to pursue its nuclear ambitions, it will face not just Israel, but the combined military might of Israel and the United States. That is a truly historic development – and should give Iran cause to pause. But nobody really knows who is running the show in Tehran now. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei is 86, in very poor health, bereft of several of his closest advisers ( killed by Israel ), holed up in a bunker for his own safety and without an agreed heir apparent. His lifelong strategy – to arm Iran with nuclear weapons and establish it as the dominant power in the Middle East – lies in tatters. Iran is on its knees. The idea he or those around him are still capable of a coherent or rational response may be fanciful. In the aftermath of yesterday's attack, Iran's parliament voted to authorise the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which most Gulf oil and gas passes in massive tankers . But that decision can only be taken by Khamenei in cahoots with his national security council. It would certainly cause the global economy some short-term pain as energy prices spiked. But it would also be a body blow to the regime, which needs fossil-fuel revenues to sustain the military and pay the Revolutionary Guards and assorted thugs that are so vital to it keeping its grip on power. The risk is that hotheads gain the upper hand – as they have in the past – and go for a scorched earth policy, realising the game is up but determined to take whoever they can down with them. So, close the Strait of Hormuz, fire missiles at the oil and gas fields of the Gulf states and wreak revenge on US bases in the region. But any of that would bring the full might of American and Israeli air power down on the regime's head, leaving it not just without a nuclear capability but without a functioning economy – a likely precursor to the overthrow of a dictatorship that has long passed its sell-by date for most Iranians. Israel and the US deny regime change is the goal. But Washington and Jerusalem both know that the best guarantee of a non-nuclear Iran is a more reasonable, post-Islamist government in Tehran. It is, of course, for Iranians to determine their government. Nobody is talking about boots on the ground. Aerial bombing is a somewhat blunt and inexact way of creating conditions for a better government. But America and Israel are agreed that now is the time to keep up the pressure on a regime responsible for so much misery – an alliance buoyed by the better prospects its demise would bring for Israel, America, the Sunni Arabs in the Gulf and, above all, the Iranian people. It's certainly a more worthy goal than the usual hand-wringing, vacuous calls for 'de-escalation' and 'stability' from European leaders, including our own Keir Starmer, who clearly disapproved of the US strike yet welcomed the setback to Iran's nuclear ambitions – a classic case, if ever there was one, of willing the ends but not the means. No matter. Britain and Europe don't even have walk-on parts in the events unfolding in the Middle East. They are mere spectators who think they still count – but thankfully don't. America and Israel, with the tacit support of the Sunni Arabs, are showing that strength, properly deployed in a good cause, can make a difference. Britain and Europe barely have any strength these days – which explains why they disparage its use. The world should be grateful that neither is in the driving seat.