As tensions escalate in the Middle East, President Donald Trump is reportedly turning to a small, tight-knit group of advisors to inform his decision on potential military intervention in the region. According to reports from NBC News and The Washington Post, citing senior administration officials, Trump has excluded Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard from high-level discussions on the ongoing Iran-Israel conflict.
Gabbard’s exclusion is said to stem from her public and internal pushback against the official US and Israeli narrative that Tehran is on the verge of acquiring a nuclear weapon. Meanwhile, Hegseth has also been edged out of operational discussions, with two four-star generals overseeing the deployment of additional US military assets in the Middle East taking the lead. Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell has denied these reports, stating that Hegseth is in regular communication with the President and has been present in the Situation Room this week. Gabbard has also downplayed any suggestion of a rift, telling reporters that she and the President are “on the same page.”
Despite these denials, Trump is now said to be relying on a smaller, more experienced ‘Tier One’ advisory group, comprising Vice President J.D. Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, and Joint Chiefs Vice Chair General Dan Caine. This group is reportedly shaping US policy on Iran, rather than the traditional civilian defense and intelligence leadership. The situation is particularly pressing, given Israel’s recent large-scale bombing campaign against Iran, which claims Tehran is close to producing a nuclear weapon. Trump will decide whether to join the Israeli campaign “within the next two weeks,” according to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.
However, US intelligence assessments suggest that Iran, while having stockpiled enriched uranium, has not taken concrete steps toward developing nuclear weapons. Senator Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, has confirmed that this view has remained unchanged since March, when Gabbard told Congress that the US intelligence community “does not believe Iran is building a nuclear weapon.” Trump, however, has contradicted this assessment, stating that Iran is “weeks away” from obtaining a bomb and dismissing Gabbard’s remarks by saying, “I don’t care what she said.”
Gabbard, a former Democratic congresswoman and Iraq War veteran, has long been critical of the US intelligence community she now oversees. Her release of a video warning about the horrors of nuclear war following a visit to Hiroshima reportedly annoyed Trump’s advisers, and her absence from a key meeting at Camp David on Iran policy has fueled speculation about her diminished influence. As the situation continues to unfold, it remains to be seen how Trump’s decision will impact the region and the world at large. With the US weighing its options, the international community is watching with bated breath, hoping for a resolution that avoids further escalation and promotes peace and stability in the Middle East.
