Top-secret toilet paper: The now-infamous Defense Intelligence Agency assessment that cast doubt on the success of Donald Trump's strikes on Iran relied on intercepted communications to do so, CNN reported on Tuesday. One day later, an Axios report cited an Israeli official who revealed "that intercepted communications suggest Iranian military officials have been giving false situation reports to the country's political leadership—downplaying the extent of the damage." Could those communications have made their way into the DIA assessment? It's likely, according to former intelligence officials.
Three such operatives, as well as a current U.S. official and other veteran national security insiders, gave our Adam Kredo their takes on the classified DIA report that leaked to CNN. They largely dismissed it, noting that the DIA—known to some as the "discount intelligence agency"—deemed the assessment "low-confidence," a qualification that was not included in CNN's original piece. They also explained how dubious Iranian communications could have informed the DIA's report.
"It's basically messaging by the [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps], messaging by Tehran," said Michael Pregent, a former intelligence officer with U.S. Central Command who operated in the Middle East for nearly 30 years. "DIA is taking a SIGINT report from the National Security Agency … and putting together an assessment to leak. I know it's messaging, the Iranians know it's messaging, and for some reason, NSA believes it's actual f—ing intelligence."
Money talks: Georgetown University enjoys a tight relationship with Qatar, maintaining a campus in Doha and raking in hundreds of millions of dollars from the Hamas-tied Gulf state. A new report from the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy shows how that money is influencing the school—as well as the future diplomats who attend its School of Foreign Service.
"Georgetown’s Doha campus, founded in 2005 when the school entered into a 10-year, multimillion-dollar arrangement with the Qatar Foundation (QF)—a state-run nonprofit that Doha has used to peddle its influence in American higher education—gives the Qataris wide latitude in the management of the institution," writes the Free Beacon's Adam Kredo. "Under the school’s initial agreement, QF assumed 'responsibility for the construction, ownership, and running of the School of Foreign Service campus infrastructure.' Georgetown renewed this lucrative partnership in 2015 and then again in 2025, with the current contract slated to extend into 2035."
"Qatari cash has also supported the elite school’s Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal Center for Muslim-Christian Understanding (ACMCU), established in 1993 within Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service. The ACMCU has longstanding ties to 'pro-Islamist and anti-Zionist entities,' including U.S.-based groups founded by the Muslim Brotherhood, an international extremist organization that promotes terrorism."
READ MORE: How Qatari Cash Influences Georgetown—and America's Future Diplomats
Break glass in case of enrichment: Earlier this week, we reported on a confidential briefing in which Israeli defense minister Israel Katz told his country's lawmakers that the United States and Israel are jointly monitoring the Iranian nuclear program and are ready to strike again if it restarts. Our Collin Anderson asked White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt how Katz's assessment tracks with Donald Trump's thinking. Here's what she had to say:
"The president … views the Middle East on its way to peace and prosperity, and the president used strength on Saturday night," Leavitt said, referencing Trump's attack on Iran's nuclear sites. "But the president wants peace. He always has."
"We look forward to sustaining a long and durable peace in the region and the president wants to do that through a diplomatic solution," she continued. "But as he proved on Saturday night, he is not afraid to use strength if we need to do it."
In other news: