CIA Director Ratcliffe Briefs Congress on Operation Epic Fury Against Iran

CIA Director John Ratcliffe is briefing Congress today on United States military operations against Iran as part of Operation Epic Fury. According to DWS News, Ratcliffe joins Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, and Joint Chiefs Chairman General Dan Caine for classified sessions on Capitol Hill, with the Senate at eight thirty Greenwich Mean Time and the House at ten Greenwich Mean Time. Lawmakers debate war powers resolutions amid Republican defense of the strikes and Democratic calls for oversight. House Speaker Mike Johnson expressed satisfaction with an earlier closed door briefing from Ratcliffe, as reported by ABC News. Politico notes Senate Armed Services Chair Roger Wicker signaled possible supplemental funding for munitions, with questions on stockpiles of Patriot and Terminal High Altitude Area Defense systems. Democrats like Senator Richard Blumenthal warn of potential shortages. Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee, including Representative Jim Himes, sent a letter to Ratcliffe and others demanding answers on why the conflict started, objectives, and guardrails against escalation, per the House Democrats Intelligence Committee press release. The operation follows a United States Israeli joint strike that killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and senior military leaders, with United States Central Command reporting over twelve hundred fifty targets hit, including missile sites and air defenses, according to KATV news. Iranian responses include drone strikes on the United States embassy in Saudi Arabia and barrages on allies, causing six United States service member deaths and at least seven hundred eighty seven Iranian casualties, per ABC seven news and the Iranian Red Crescent. The State Department urges Americans to leave fourteen Middle East countries. In other news, AOL reports Ratcliffe ordered the retraction or revision of nineteen past intelligence assessments from the last decade to correct prior errors. Listeners, thank you for tuning in and please subscribe for more updates. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai. For more http://www.quietplease.ai Get the best deals https://amzn.to/3ODvOta This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.