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Witness: U.S. operation targeted Iranian weapons that could reach U.S. forces; Congress was briefed
Summary
A witness told the House Committee on Foreign Affairs that U.S. forces carried out a targeted combat operation to destroy Iranian military hardware able to strike U.S. forces and said members of Congress were notified through the 'gang of eight' roughly a week earlier; the transcript does not specify the hearing date or a formal committee action.
A witness told the House Committee on Foreign Affairs that the United States conducted a targeted combat operation aimed at destroying Iranian military hardware capable of reaching U.S. forces and said members of Congress were notified prior to the operation.
"The United States of America is conducting a very specific operation. It is absolutely combat operations," the witness said, adding the aim was to "destroy every single piece of Iranian military hardware that can reach out and touch United States forces." The witness said the mission would be complete when those systems had been neutralized.
Asked whether Congress should have been consulted before the action, the witness said there had been notification "through the gang of eight roughly a week before this operation took place." The witness added that they and others received the same initial briefing and that a classified briefing had concluded "maybe 30 minutes ago." "So there was notification," the witness said.
The witness argued the president acted within constitutional authority, saying the notification materials "outline that the president was well within his article 2 authority to go out there and defend the United States of America against an imminent threat." The witness cited concerns that U.S. forces faced the prospect of being struck first and referenced a clip of "Secretary Rubio" indicating that threat assessment.
On broader context, the witness said talks with Iran "were not going well" and asserted that Iran had not been willing to discuss nuclear or missile issues or control of proxies. The witness also said "almost every single member of Congress" has voted to describe Iran as "the largest state sponsor of terror," framing Iran's support for proxies as a basis for the claimed imminency. The transcript does not specify which votes or dates support that characterization; the number of members is "not specified" in the record.
The transcript records the exchange of questions and answers but does not record a committee vote or formal decision arising from this hearing. The hearing date and other procedural details are not specified in the transcript.
