U. S. officials who briefed Congress about Iran on Tuesday sought to convince lawmakers that President Donald Trump
U. S. officials who briefed Congress about Iran on Tuesday sought to convince lawmakers that President Donald Trump’s administration wants to deter Tehran’s aggression, not attack the Islamic republic, members of Congress said.
“I hope they’re tamping down (the rhetoric). They tried to give that impression,” Representative Eliot Engel, chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, told reporters after the classified briefing for the full House of Representatives.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Joseph Dunford and Acting Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan held the briefing after lawmakers, including Trump’s fellow Republicans as well as Democrats, clamored for weeks for more information about escalating tensions with Iran.
The administration officials held a similar briefing, also behind closed doors, for the full Senate later on Tuesday.
At the closed-door sessions, they spelled out to lawmakers what they described as the imminent threat from Iran, or its proxies, to U. S. personnel in the Middle East. Several Democrats said they were skeptical about the extent of the threat, but Trump’s fellow Republicans generally agreed there was a heightened risk to Americans.
“There is no intention to go to war in the region.
