President on Monday said Iran’s strikes against Qatar, Saudi, United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait a surprise
US President Trump. Photo: File
President Donald Trump was warned that attacking Iran could trigger retaliation against US Gulf allies despite his claims on Monday that Tehran’s reaction came as a surprise, said a US official and two sources familiar with US intelligence reports.
Pre-war intelligence assessments did not say that Iran’s response was “a guarantee, but it certainly was on the list of potential outcomes,” said one source, who, like the other two, requested anonymity to discuss the issue.
The president twice on Monday said that Iran’s retaliatory strikes against Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Kuwait were a surprise, the first time at a Kennedy Centre board meeting in the White House.
“They (Iran) weren’t supposed to go after all these other countries in the Middle East,” he said. “Nobody expected that. We were shocked.”
Trump’s assertion followed other administration claims that have not been backed by US intelligence reporting, such as that Iran would soon have a missile capable of hitting the US homeland and that it would need two to four weeks to make a nuclear bomb and would then use it.
Those allegations and an imminent threat posed by Iran to the US and its forces in the region have been among the varying reasons that Trump and some top aides have given to justify his decision to join Israel in launching their air war against Iran on February 28.
Trump was also briefed ahead of the operation that Tehran would likely seek to close the economically vital Strait of Hormuz, according to two other sources familiar with the matter.
Over the past two weeks, Iranian drones and missiles have struck targets in the Gulf states that have included US military bases and an Emirati base hosting French troops, civilian structures, including hotels, airports, and energy facilities.
Iran has also halted almost all shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of oil supplies move, causing global energy prices to spike.
Democratic lawmakers emerged from administration briefings on the war last week, saying they heard of no imminent threat that required the US and Israel to launch the war.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence declined to comment.
Warnings of regional war
The US official said that Trump was briefed before the war that striking Iran could trigger a broader regional conflict that would include Iranian retaliation against Gulf capitals, especially if Tehran saw those countries condoning or actively supporting the US attacks.
Trump repeated his claim later on Monday during a signing event in the Oval Office. He was asked if he was surprised that nobody had briefed him about the risk that Iran would strike back at the Gulf states.
“Nobody, nobody, no, no, no. The greatest experts, nobody thought they were going to hit,” replied Trump.
The second source familiar with the matter said that before the US-Israeli attacks, the US intelligence community assessed that Israel’s plan to launch strikes aimed at killing top Iranian leaders likely would result in retaliation against US military and diplomatic outposts.
The administration did not order departures of diplomatic staff from several regional embassies until after the air strikes began.
The community also warned that Iran “could” widen its retaliation to American allies in the region, the source said.
