As President Donald Trump considers joining Israel’s military strikes against Iran, prominent members of his national security team reportedly have been excluded from the decision-making process. Trump is apparently relying on more seasoned advisers rather than officials like Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Tulsi Gabbard, the director of national intelligence.
Israel wants the United States to drop so-called bunker-buster bombs on sites where it believes Iran is developing nuclear weapons. No other country has the 30,000-pound bombs or aircraft capable of deploying them.
Iran warned that it would retaliate against U.S. involvement. But Trump continues to weigh his options.
He said Thursday, June 19, that he would decide whether to attack Iran “within the next two weeks.” A statement from the White House added that “there’s a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran in the near future.”
“I have ideas as to what to do,” he told reporters at the White House on Wednesday, June 18. “I like to make the final decision one second before it’s due because things change, especially with war.”
Four officials in inner circle
Trump’s latest comments came after he met with advisers in the White House Situation Room, CNN reported. But neither Gabbard nor Hegseth has played a key role in discussions surrounding potential strikes on Iran, The Washington Post reported. The Post cited anonymous “current and former officials and people close to the White House.”
“Nobody is talking to Hegseth,” the Post quoted one official as saying. “There is no interface operationally between Hegseth and the White House at all.”
Spokespersons for both Gabbard and Hegseth disputed the report.
When Trump nominated both officials, Democratic lawmakers, as well as some Republicans, complained they were inexperienced and unqualified for the jobs. Both won Senate confirmation by narrow margins.
The Post said Trump is relying on advice from four officials: Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Other military leaders have also weighed in, the Post reported.
Expertise may be in short supply, the Post suggested. Trump dismissed numerous staff members of the National Security Council earlier this year, and Rubio is doing double duty as secretary of state and national security adviser.
Disillusionment
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The U.S. military has possession of the world’s only “bunker-buster” bombs, capable of destroying underground weapons facilities. The B-2 Stealth Bomber is the only aircraft capable of deploying the 30,000-pound bomb.
Trump has reportedly grown disillusioned with Gabbard, a former Democratic congresswoman who he chose to oversee the nation’s intelligence agencies.
He has disputed her report to Congress that Iran does not appear to be building a nuclear weapon. He reportedly became displeased when she recently posted a video warning about the danger of nuclear war.
She described a world that is “closer to the brink of nuclear annihilation than ever before,” while “political elite and warmongers are carelessly fomenting fear and tensions between nuclear powers.”
Vance defended Gabbard in a statement.
“She’s an essential member of our national security team,” he said, “and we’re grateful for her tireless work to keep Americans safe from foreign threats.”
Hegseth’s standing in the administration reportedly suffered after he shared information about U.S. strikes against Houthi rebels in Yemen on the commercial messaging app Signal, which inadvertently included a journalist from The Atlantic. Trump ignored calls to fire Hegseth over the security breach.
‘Ultimate ultimatum’
While Trump decides whether to involve the United States in the Israeli-Iranian conflict, air strikes are intensifying along with rhetoric from both sides.
Israel says Iran has launched more than 400 ballistic missiles and 1,000 drones into its territory, including one that struck a hospital. That attack drew condemnation from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“This morning, Iran’s terrorist tyrants launched missiles at Soroka Hospital in Beersheba and at a civilian population in the center of the country,” Netanyahu wrote on X. “We will exact the full price from the tyrants in Tehran.”
Meanwhile, Iran is warning the United States and other Israeli allies to stay out of the conflict.
“In the event of a third party’s intervention in this aggression, they will be confronted immediately according to a specific plan,” Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said in a statement reported by CNN.
Foreign ministers from Britain, France and Germany are scheduled to meet with Iranian representatives Friday, June 20, in Geneva. Iran ended negotiations with the United States over dismantling its nuclear program after Israel launched its first air strikes on June 13.
Trump suggested at the White House that he has communicated his intentions to the Iranians.
“They know what’s happened,” he said. “Maybe you could call it the ultimate — the ultimate ultimatum.”
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Author: Alan Judd
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