After Iran Leak, White House Tightens Intel Access, Drops Tulsi Gabbard

The White House will limit classified intelligence sharing with Congress after leaks contradicted President Donald Trump's claim that US airstrikes obliterated Iranian nuclear facilities, officials told Axios. This comes as Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, who earlier testified that Iran was not actively pursuing a nuclear weapon, is being left out of a key Senate briefing on the strikes.

The classified session, scheduled for Thursday, will feature Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, and Joint Chiefs Chairman General Dan Caine, The Washington Post reported.

"Ratcliffe will represent the intelligence community," the senior Trump official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. "The media is turning this into something it's not."

Trump has dismissed Gabbard's testimony as "wrong," and multiple current and former officials said she has been sidelined in White House deliberations over the Iran-Israel conflict.

Administration aides still maintain she continues to handle critical intelligence duties.

The controversy was triggered by a US intelligence assessment first reported by CNN, which found the strikes ordered by Trump had delayed but not destroyed Iran's nuclear programme. The White House has fiercely pushed back on that conclusion, with Trump insisting that US bombers and submarine-launched Tomahawk missiles "obliterated" the facilities.

Ratcliffe on Wednesday issued a statement saying the strikes had "severely damaged" the programme, a formulation the administration may present to senators in Thursday's closed-door briefing.

Military leaders have so far been more cautious in their assessments. General Caine said Sunday that while full damage evaluations were ongoing, early indications pointed to "extremely severe damage and destruction."

But the White House's attempt to restrict intelligence access has sparked backlash on Capitol Hill.

Minority Leader Charles E Schumer on Wednesday demanded a reversal. "The administration has no right to stonewall Congress on matters of national security," Schumer said, as per The Washington Post. "Senators deserve information, and the administration has a legal obligation to inform Congress precisely about what is happening right now abroad."

Democratic lawmakers have also criticised the White House for delaying formal notification to Congress about the strikes on Iran, pointing to requirements under the 1973 War Powers Resolution. In a memo sent Monday, Trump claimed the strikes were conducted under his constitutional authority to protect US citizens and advance national security interests.