‘1415: When 1st bombs will definitely drop’: The Atlantic publishes leaked Yemen plan
After strenuous denials by White House and top Trump officials that strike plans had been discussed in group including journalist, magazine publishes screenshots showing otherwise
The Atlantic published on Wednesday the US airstrike plans for Yemen that editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg revealed were shared with him when he was accidentally added to a Signal group chat with top Washington security officials.
The stunning details, including the times of strikes and types of planes being used, were all laid out in screenshots of the conversations held ahead of and during the March 15 operation.
The magazine said it was publishing the messages after the Trump administration repeatedly denied that any classified information had been included in the unsecure chat.
The discussion about attacks on Iran-backed Houthi rebels involved some of the administration’s most senior officials, including US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Vice President JD Vance, and national security advisor Mike Waltz, who created the chat thread.
The Atlantic initially did not publish the precise details of the chat, saying it wanted to avoid revealing classified material and information that could endanger American troops. The periodical said its publication Wednesday included everything in the Signal chain other than that one CIA name.
It included Hegseth laying out the weather conditions, times of attacks and types of aircraft being used in the strikes.
The report said that on the day of the strikes, March 15, talk in the chat turned operational and that had it been leaked in advance, it could have put the lives of American troops in danger.
Much of the key information was relayed barely half an hour before the first US warplanes took off and two hours before the first target, described as “Target Terrorist,” was expected to be bombed.
Hegseth texted the start time for a planned killing of a Houthi target in Yemen as well as other details of the imminent waves of US strikes, according to screenshots.
The US defense secretary’s texts included these details, according to The Atlantic:
“1215et: F-18s LAUNCH (1st strike package)”
“1345: ‘Trigger Based’ F-18 1st Strike Window Starts (Target Terrorist is @ his Known Location so SHOULD BE ON TIME – also, Strike Drones Launch (MQ-9s)”
“1410: More F-18s LAUNCH (2nd strike package)”
“1415: Strike Drones on Target (THIS IS WHEN THE FIRST BOMBS WILL DEFINITELY DROP, pending earlier ‘Trigger Based’ targets)”
“1536: F-18 2nd Strike Starts – also, first sea-based Tomahawks launched.”
“MORE TO FOLLOW (per timeline)”
On Radio Atlantic, @JeffreyGoldberg spoke with @HannaRosin about being added to a group text with top Trump administration officials that discussed plans for a military strike in Yemen.
Listen to the full conversation: https://t.co/BAVKWZLwHK
— The Atlantic (@TheAtlantic) March 26, 2025
“We are currently clean on OPSEC” [operational security]
“Godspeed to our Warriors.”
At 13:48, Waltz sent a message that appeared to contain real-time intelligence about the site of one of the strikes.
“VP. Building collapsed. Had multiple positive ID. Pete, Kurilla, the IC, amazing job,” he wrote, referring to Hegseth and CENTCOM commander General Michael E. Kurilla.
The Atlantic noted that “IC” referred to the intelligence community and that “multiple positive ID” suggested that the identity of the target or targets had been confirmed “using either human or technical assets.”
Goldberg said he asked the White House if it opposed publication. The US administration said it would prefer he did not publish.
US Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and other Senate Democrats wrote to Trump and his top officials on Wednesday urging a Justice Department probe into how Goldberg was inadvertently included in the group discussion of sensitive war plans.
The publication of the attack plans came after two days of strenuous denials and accusations from the White House and top Trump administration officials.
Earlier this week the White House said that “no ‘war plans’ were discussed” and in the group “no classified material was sent to the thread,” and Hegseth, a former Fox News host with no experience running a massive organization like the Pentagon, said that “nobody was texting war plans.”
US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard told members of the Senate Intelligence Committee that “no classified material that was shared in that Signal group.” US President Donald Trump also defended his top officials amid growing condemnation, labelling Goldberg a “total sleazebag.”
Goldberg said he was added to the Signal group chat two days before the Yemen strikes and received messages from other top government officials designating representatives who would work on the issue. Senior US national security officials have classified systems that are meant to be used to communicate secret materials.
The initial report, which did not lay out the details of the attack plans, did reveal details of what top White House officials think about key allies.
A person identified as Vance expressed doubts about carrying out the strikes, saying he hated “bailing Europe out again,” as countries there were more affected by Houthi attacks on shipping than the United States.
Contributors identified as Hegseth and Waltz both sent messages arguing only Washington had the capability to carry out the strikes, with the Pentagon chief saying he shared Vance’s “loathing of European free-loading” and calling them “pathetic.”
The Houthi rebels, who have controlled much of Yemen for more than a decade, are part of the “axis of resistance” of pro-Iran groups staunchly opposed to Israel and the United States.
They have launched scores of drone and missile attacks at ships passing Yemen in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden during the Israel-Hamas war, vessels with no known Israeli connections, saying they are acting out of solidarity with the Palestinians.
The Houthis began attacking the vital Red Sea maritime route in November 2023, a month after fellow Iran-backed terror group Hamas stormed southern Israel on October 7, 2023, to kill some 1,200 people and take 251 hostages, sparking the war in Gaza.
The group has targeted over 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones, sinking two vessels and killing four sailors during their campaign targeting ships from November 2023 until January of this year. They also launched attacks targeting American warships, though none have been hit so far.
The attacks greatly raised the Houthis’ profile as they faced economic problems and launched a crackdown targeting any dissent and aid workers at home during Yemen’s decade-long stalemated war that has torn apart the Arab world’s poorest nation.
The Houthis — whose slogan is “Death to America, death to Israel, a curse upon the Jews” — paused their attacks after Israel and Hamas reached a ceasefire and hostage deal in January. Since the fighting in Gaza resumed last week, the Houthis have resumed missile fire on Israel and attacks on Red Sea shipping.
The Times of Israel Community.