Trump Officials to Brief Congress on Iran Strikes Amid Partisan Divide

"Secretary Rubio, Secretary Hegseth, Director Ratcliffe, and Chairman Caine will brief the full membership of both chambers of Congress on Tuesday, March 3," White House spokesman Dylan Johnson said.

Leading the House and Senate briefings will be Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, and Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Johnson said.

The administration has already engaged key committees.

"Today, the Department of War briefed the bipartisan staffs of several national security committees in both chambers for over 90 minutes on the military action in Iran," Johnson said.

On Sunday, the Pentagon briefed the bipartisan staffs of several national security committees in both chambers for more than 90 minutes, he added.

The outreach comes as Capitol Hill reacts along partisan lines.

Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune praised Trump's decision, calling Iran's nuclear ambitions and support for terror groups a "clear and unacceptable threat."

Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries criticised the move. He said Trump failed to seek authorisation before launching what he described as a massive military strike that has "left American troops vulnerable to Iran's retaliatory actions."

While the White House statement did not outline operational details, reporting by major US newspapers has painted a broader picture of the campaign.

According to The New York Times, Israeli and US intelligence officials exploited sensitive information to wage a "three-wave attack" that "decimated the Iranian high command and quickly battered Iran's air defenses." The report said Israeli officials described achieving air superiority over Iran, with jets flying freely over Tehran, and quoted former Israeli Air Force commander Amir Eshel as saying, "Iran right now is totally exposed to airstrikes," adding, "There's almost total freedom of maneuver."

The same report said US forces attacked the Iranian fleet, with President Trump writing on Sunday: "I have just been informed that we have destroyed and sunk 9 Iranian Naval Ships, some of them relatively large and important. We are going after the rest - They will soon be floating at the bottom of the sea, also!"

The Washington Post, citing US Central Command, reported that the United States was focused on military targets and that rockets and missiles were aimed at "dismantle the Iranian regime's security apparatus." A Western security official told the newspaper that strikes on the headquarters of Iran's intelligence service had killed at least four senior commanders.

Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal reported that Iran launched retaliatory strikes on Gulf states' airports and critical infrastructure. More than 3,400 flights were cancelled across seven airports in the Middle East, and Dubai International Airport suspended flights after a drone strike, the newspaper said.wsj planes

Under the US Constitution, Congress holds the power to declare war, while presidents have frequently relied on their authority as commander-in-chief to order limited military operations. Disputes over war powers have surfaced in previous conflicts, including Iraq, Libya and Syria.

- IANS