Trump administration rejects claims of sidelining Gabbard and Hegseth in discussions about Iran.

() The Trump administration is denying reports that Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth are not playing central roles as President Trump deliberates whether the U.S. should attack Iran’s nuclear facilities.

Regarding Gabbard’s role, a senior administration official and an official in Gabbard’s office strongly denied that she was not a key person in the policy deliberations.

She has been at the White House every day meeting with Trump, a senior administration official told .

“This is just a lazy regurgitation of a fake news story that BOTH the White House and Vice President have already debunked. While the Director is busy briefing the President, Vice President, and national security cabinet every day on the ongoing conflict, CNN continues to spin lies made up by bored, irrelevant anonymous sources with nothing better to do than sow fake division. The Director remains focused on her mission: providing accurate and actionable intelligence to the President, cleaning up the Deep State, and keeping the American people safe, secure, and free,” The DNI deputy chief of staff told . 

The comments come after reports of a rift between Gabbard and Trump, following Gabbard’s June 10 post on X in which she warned of the dangers of nuclear annihilation.

Instead, the president is reportedly relying on Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, CIA Director John Ratcliffe, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine as he weighs the possibility of striking Iran.

The president himself has made conflicting statements about his possible actions, telling reporters “nobody knows” what he will do.

At times, Trump has expressed that there is still a chance for a deal with Iran, while also demanding the country’s “unconditional surrender” and noting that a deal would be more difficult after Iran has traded strikes with Israel.

The U.S. has been shifting military assets to the region, as well as pulling non-essential personnel out of the area, and is said to be arranging for evacuations for Americans in Israel, all signs that a military strike could be in the works.

Of particular significance is the possibility of the U.S. using bunker-busting bombs, which Israel does not have in its arsenal. The bombs could be used against Iran’s nuclear facility at Fordow, which is constructed inside a mountain to protect it from aerial assaults.

While Israeli strikes have caused damage to other nuclear facilities, the country is not equipped to cause significant damage to Fordow without U.S. assistance.