The Atlantic magazine has published what it said was a timeline of war plans shared by the US defence secretary in a group chat that mistakenly included a journalist.
The latest revelation comes after the White House had sought to downplay the leak of information about plans to strike Houthi rebels in Yemen – saying no classified information had been disclosed.
The plan was shared in a group chat on Signal that included senior government officials, including Vice President JD Vance and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, as well as a journalist, The Atlantic editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg.
The strikes eventually took place on 15 March.
In its latest article, The Atlantic said that on the day of the attack “the discussion veered toward the operational”.
It quoted Mr Hegseth as posting operational details of the plan, including weapon packages, targets and timing.
He texted: “1215et: F-18s LAUNCH (1st strike package)”.
“1345: ‘Trigger Based’ F-18 1st Strike Window Starts (Target Terrorist is @ his Known Location so SHOULD BE ON TIME – also, Strike Drones Launch (MQ-9s)”.
Further texts by the Pentagon chief followed, the magazine reported: “More F-18s LAUNCH (2nd strike package).”
“Strike Drones on Target (THIS IS WHEN THE FIRST BOMBS WILL DEFINITELY DROP, pending earlier ‘Trigger Based’ targets).”
He also posted: “F-18 2nd Strike Starts – also, first sea-based Tomahawks launched, and then, “MORE TO FOLLOW (per timeline)”.
“We are currently clean on OPSEC”-that is, operational security,” he added.
“Godspeed to our Warriors.”
Pic: The Atlantic
Pic: The Atlantic
The magazine had previously published other texts from the chat – but decided to withhold this information, citing national security concerns.
But said in its latest article that it had decided to publish the operational details after the Trump administration’s statements over the leak.
These statements, the magazine wrote, “have led us to believe that people should see the texts in order to reach their own conclusions.”
Mr Hegseth told reporters that no one had texted war plans.
Donald Trump said the texting of sensitive plans was “the only glitch in two months” and a non-issue. He said he believed the chat contained “no classified information”.
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and CIA director John Ratcliffe – who were both also in the chat – testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Tuesday that no classified material was shared.
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