Senators left a classified briefing Wednesday seeking more information about the Iran war and the rationale behind the Trump administration’s deployment of soldiers from the Army’s 82nd Airborne Immediate Response Force to the Middle East.
After briefings by military intelligence and CIA officials, key Republican senators expressed confidence in the U.S. military’s strength and the campaign’s progress. Still, there was clear concern on Capitol Hill about the Pentagon’s $200 billion funding request to pay for the Iran conflict, and its exact intention for that money.
The lack of information and uncertainty highlighted a growing demand in Congress for more detailed answers as the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran nears the 30-day mark.
Sen. Roger F. Wicker, Mississippi Republican and chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, described the session as productive but signaled more scrutiny ahead on costs, as well as questions about troop safety measures for personnel already stationed in a dangerous Middle East war zone.
Mr. Wicker said he “could see why” his counterpart in the House, Rep. Mike Rogers, Alabama Republican and chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, told reporters that he “wasn’t getting enough answers.”
“We’re asking questions about it,” Mr. Wicker said of the 82nd Airborne’s deployment to the region.
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Sources told The Washington Times that the deployment will send the Immediate Response Force to bases in nearby Persian Gulf partner states, including Kuwait and Jordan.
The Pentagon is also deploying two Marine units to the region, bolstering the already sizable U.S. military presence there.
Some Republicans left Capitol Hill briefings and expressed clear opposition to any American ground troops in Iran.
“Just walked out of a House Armed Services briefing on Iran. Let me repeat: I will not support troops on the ground in Iran, even more so after this briefing,” Rep. Nancy Mace, South Carolina Republican, wrote on social media after a House briefing by intelligence officials.
The diplomatic track
Amid the buildup of U.S. forces, the Trump administration says it was in talks with key Iranian officials about a path to end the war. President Trump said earlier this week that Iran was starting to “talk sense” and moving away from its quest to obtain a nuclear weapon.
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“We’re in negotiations right now,” Mr. Trump said. “They’d like to make a deal. And who wouldn’t, if you were them?”
The U.S. submitted a 15-point peace plan to Iran through a Pakistani intermediary. The proposal reportedly focuses on potential sanctions relief for Iran, a rollback of the country’s nuclear program, limits on missiles, and the reopening the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for shippers that Iran has effectively blockaded since the early days of the war.
Iranian officials rejected that plan and offered their own, which centered on an end to hostilities, reparations for war-related damage and Iran’s “exercise of sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz.”
It’s not clear how those significant gaps can be bridged.
Mr. Trump said Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President J.D. Vance are involved in talks with the Iranian side, though the exact nature of those discussions remains a mystery. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Wednesday that “we do not plan on any negotiations” with the U.S., casting doubt on the viability of a diplomatic track.
Meanwhile, the White House argues that it doesn’t need formal congressional approval to continue the war. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said that “formal authorization from Congress is not necessary because we are currently in major combat operations in Iran.”
The conflict is quickly approaching a 60-day threshold that could trigger a debate in Congress over war powers.
Congress could seek to play a greater role in decision-making if lawmakers believe they aren’t getting answers from the administration about the war.
Lawmakers of both parties said the Pentagon’s request for more money remains relatively undefined.
Sens. Mike Rounds, South Dakota Republican, and Thom Tillis, North Carolina Republican, said they had not received a breakdown of the military’s needs.
“We’re expecting to get some additional information,” Mr. Rounds said of the current military operations and the funding request. “Naturally, we always want more. We’re trying to do our due diligence.”
Mr. Tillis stressed that he still needed to know “how much of it is refilling supplies versus suggesting what more is needed before we begin to ramp down in Iran.”
Troops on the move
Other key senators said the deployment of fresh troops signals that a slowdown of the conflict isn’t imminent.
“There are questions today that didn’t get answered,” Sen. Tim Kaine, Virginia Democrat, said of the U.S. posture and funding of the war. “My bigger worry is that they’re only ever going to talk about this in a classified environment.”
The exact purpose of more U.S. troops in the region is unclear. Speculation in national security circles indicates that American ground forces could seize key Iranian energy infrastructure sites or perhaps even Iran’s stockpiles of highly enriched uranium, but it’s not clear whether such missions are under serious consideration.
“It’s obvious they’ve added more forces on the ground [in the region], but I don’t think strategically that they’ve had an effect yet,” Sen. Jack Reed of Rhode Island, the senior Democrat on the Armed Services Committee, told The Washington Times.
Mr. Rounds said the Army’s troops in the region are “simply pre-planning and doing what they’re supposed to be doing, which is keeping our options open.”
Sen. Joni Ernst, Iowa Republican, said, “All they’re doing is moving right now.”
Democrats were pointed in their criticism.
“It remains unclear what the goal is, what the plan is, any kind of timeline or exit strategy,” Sen. Mark Kelly, Arizona Democrat, told The Times.
Republicans disagreed but deferred to the White House on the goals of the war.
“They’ve been very clear that it’s about the various ranges of ballistic missiles and their nuclear capability,” Sen. Ted Budd, North Carolina Republican, told The Times.
Mr. Trump said Tuesday that Iran has “agreed they will never have a nuclear weapon,” signaling that the administration believes Tehran is capitulating on a key U.S. demand. Iran has not confirmed that.
• Jeff Mordock and Tom Howell Jr. contributed to this article, which is based in part on wire service reports.
