Speculation swirls as Marco Rubio’s ‘rare briefing’ sees surprise guest

Secretary of State Marco Rubio was revealed to be delivering a “rare briefing” on Tuesday to top Trump officials, and one guest reportedly in attendance has sparked a flurry of speculation as to whether President Donald Trump may authorize an attack on Iran.

That briefing, reportedly about Iran, is being delivered to the so-called “Gang of Eight,” a coalition of congressional leaders who are typically informed of sensitive intelligence matters and covert operations. However, according to Axios reporter Barak Ravid, a ninth Trump administration official will be joining the briefing, an individual whose attendance raised eyebrows among critics.

“CIA Director [John] Ratcliffe is going to join Secretary of State Rubio at the 3pm Iran briefing for the ‘gang of 8,’ per source familiar,” Ravid wrote in a social media post on X Tuesday.

Ratcliffe’s attendance at the briefing startled onlookers, including journalist Adam Cochran, who took his attendance as a possible sign that a U.S. attack was either imminent or had already happened.

“If [Trump announces an attack on Iran during his State of the Union address], it will be that they already happened,” Cochran wrote in a social media post on X Tuesday.

“Wouldn’t surprise me to see something like 3pm briefing -> 5pm initial strikes after market closure -> announce strikes + larger campaign tonight to MAGA cheers. Might not happen, but would not surprise me at all.”

The briefing was scheduled to kick off at 3 p.m. Eastern Time. A media stakeout outside the briefing appeared to suggest that as of 4 p.m., the briefing was ongoing.

The briefing comes amid a colossal buildup of U.S. military forces near Iran, the largest mobilization since the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003. According to Axios, Trump appears ready to “pull the trigger” on launching an attack on Iran at any moment, with the Trump administration’s efforts to negotiate for Iran to reduce its weapon capabilities having reached an impasse.