Us Acknowledges Gaps With Israel On Iran War Objectives

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard told lawmakers plainly Thursday that the United States and Israel have different goals in the war in Iran — one of the clearest indications yet from a top U.S. official that the two allies may be diverging on their approach to the weekslong war.

“The objectives that have been laid out by the president are different from the objectives that have been laid out by the Israelis,” Gabbard testified at a House Intelligence Committee hearing on top security threats facing the country.

Gabbard’s statements follow the departure of her top counterterrorism aide, Joe Kent, who publicly expressed opposition to the war in Iran and claimed that Israel pressured the U.S. into taking decisive action. He also claimed that Iran “posed no imminent threat” to the U.S. — a question that hung over Gabbard and CIA Director John Ratcliffe during back-to-back hearings featuring the nation’s top spy chiefs.

Ratcliffe on Thursday testified that Israel went into the war with Iran with more sweeping goals than the U.S.

“The president's objectives with respect to Operation Epic Fury did not include regime change. That may be different from what Israel's objectives were,” Ratcliffe said.

Even Trump has more publicly tried to distance U.S. efforts in Iran from Israel. Speaking to reporters on Air Force One on Sunday, the president admitted Israel's aims might be "a little bit different" than his. "You know, they're there, and we're very far away," he said.

An Israeli attack on a major Iranian gas facility Wednesday night sent energy prices soaring briefly Thursday and appeared to open a fresh fissure in the coordination between the two allies.

The White House in recent days has struggled to tamp down rising global gas prices — an issue that some polls say has sunk public support for the war and spooked Republicans ahead of the midterms.

In a Truth Social post late Wednesday evening, Trump said the U.S. “knew nothing about this particular attack” and suggested that the U.S. was reining Israel in.

“NO MORE ATTACKS WILL BE MADE BY ISRAEL pertaining to this extremely important and valuable South Pars Field,” he wrote.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth also waded into the discussion about whether Israel and the U.S. are working in lockstep.

“We hold the cards. We have objectives. Those objectives are clear. We have allies pursuing objectives as well, and the truth speaks for itself,” Hegseth told reporters Thursday morning.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told reporters Thursday afternoon that Israel “acted alone” in the strikes on the Iranian gas facility.

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Frustration with the war, now in its third week, has also mounted in Congress amid uncertainty about the Trump administration’s aims, how long the war could last and rising gas prices.

Addressing Gabbard on Thursday, Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas). pointed out that Israel had killed top Iranian leaders who he said were best positioned to negotiate a settlement with the United States.

“The Congress and the American people still don't know what the president's actual goals are, and yet we have lost 13 U.S. service members,” Castro said.