US intelligence officials to testify about Iran war: What to know

Top national security officials in the Trump administration will testify before Congress in back-to-back hearings Wednesday and Thursday as lawmakers grill them on the war in Iran. 

You can watch the hearing live Wednesday on the video player above. Here’s the latest: 

When are the hearings? 

Timeline:

The hearings begin Wednesday in the Senate and will continue Thursday in the House. 

RELATED: Live updates: Iran confirms security chief killed amid launch of more strikes

Who’s testifying? 

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lt. Gen. James H. Adams, and FBI Director Kash Patel are among the officials expected to appear before the U.S. House and Senate intelligence committees. 

What are they testifying about? 

Dig deeper:

The hearings are likely to cover recent intelligence assessments about Iran, including one that showed U.S. strikes are unlikely to result in a regime change in Tehran, and another that cast doubt on claims Iran was preparing to strike first.

Central Intelligence Agency Director John Ratcliffe (R), accompanied by FBI Director Kash Patel (L), and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard (C), speaks during a Senate Committee on Intelligence Hearing on March 25, 2025 in Washington, DC

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The testimony will also focus on the outdated intelligence that likely led to a U.S. missile hitting an elementary school in Iran and killing over 165 people. The outdated targeting data was reported to have come from the Defense Intelligence Agency.

Committee members will also likely delve into internal administration debate over the war given the resignation this week of Joe Kent as director of the National Counterterrorism Center. Kent said Tuesday that he could not "in good conscience" back the Trump administration’s war and that he did not agree that Iran posed an imminent threat to the U.S.

Gabbard, whose office oversaw Kent’s work and who is expected at the hearings this week, wrote hours later in a carefully worded social media post that it was up to Trump to decide whether Iran posed a threat. She did not mention her own views of the strikes.

Terrorist threats growing in US

Iranian intelligence leader killed

Israel has killed Iranian Intelligence Minister Escmail Khatib, This comes after two other leaders were killed in operations less than 24 hours before Khatib's death was confirmed. 

The backstory:

In the U.S., the FBI has responded to several acts of terrorism since the war in Iran started. A gunman wearing clothes with an Iranian flag design and the words "Property of Allah" killed two people at a Texas bar; two men who authorities say were inspired by the Islamic State were arrested on charges of bringing homemade powerful explosives to a protest outside the New York City mayoral mansion; a man with a past terrorism conviction opened fire inside an Old Dominion University classroom in Virginia; and a Lebanese-born man in Michigan drove his car into a synagogue.