Washington DC [US], March 2 : Both chambers of the United States Congress will be briefed on the ongoing conflict involving Iran on March 3, the US Department of State has said.
According to the Assistant Secretary of State for Global Public Affairs Dylan Johnson, the Secretary of State Marco Rubio, the Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, Director of the Central Intelligence Agency John Ratcliffe, and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine will address lawmakers on Tuesday.
"Secretary Rubio, Secretary Hegseth, Director Ratcliffe, and Chairman Caine will brief the full membership of both chambers of Congress on Tuesday, March 3," Johnson said.
He added that on Sunday (local time), the Department of War had briefed bipartisan staff members of several national security committees in both chambers for over 90 minutes regarding the recent military action in Iran.
Earlier on Saturday, the US and Israel launched joint military strikes on Iran that led to the death of the country's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and his family.
Following the strikes, Iran launched a wave of strikes, using drones and missiles targeting multiple arab countries in the region, as a retaliatory action by the Islamic Republic.
According to The Hill, citing a source familiar with the matter, Rubio and Ratcliffe are also set to brief the so-called 'Gang of Eight' on Monday.
The Speaker of the US House of Representatives Mike Johnson said in a post on X on Saturday that the group had been "briefed in detail earlier this week" about the possibility that military action could become necessary to safeguard American troops and citizens in Iran.
"The Gang of 8 was briefed in detail earlier this week that military action may become necessary to protect American troops and American citizens in Iran. I received updates from Secretary Rubio thereafter, and I will remain in close contact with the President and the Department of War as this operation proceeds," Johnson said.
The 'Gang of Eight' comprises US House of Representative Speaker Mike Johnson, the Senate Majority Leader John Thune, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Tom Cotton, who chairs the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, and its ranking member Mark Warner. The group also includes House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries as well as Rick Crawford, Chair of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, and the panel's ranking member Jim Himes.