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Tuesday, August 25, 2026
Report: Gabbard warned Trump war with Iran would bring in more hardline regime
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Tulsi Gabbard, the former US director of national intelligence, warned US President Donald Trump days before the start of the war with Iran on February 28 that killing its supreme leader Ali Khamenei would likely bring in a more hardline regime that would be more inclined to pursue nuclear weapons, The Wall Street Journal reports.
The report says Gabbard also predicted that Tehran would close the Strait of Hormuz and attack US forces and allies in the region.
The newspaper says various top officials, including the vice president, warned Trump of the risks of war, but that the president was eventually convinced by top Pentagon officials that US military might would prevail.
At one point, in April, the paper says Trump asked a friend whether he should escalate the fighting and “bomb the shit” out of Iran, but the friend advised against it and urged him to end the conflict.
The Journal notes Trump’s repeated frustration throughout the war with the regime’s resilience, and his efforts to find an off-ramp through diplomacy, which have so far produced little result.
Gabbard resigned her position in May, some three months after the start of the war, citing her husband’s ill health. A source familiar with the matter alleged to Reuters that Gabbard had been forced out by the White House amid her ongoing opposition to the war.
The Times of Israel Community.