The House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence has approved legislation authorizing U.S. intelligence activities for fiscal year 2027, including an amendment requiring a new assessment of the threat posed by Iran to the United States and its allies.
The annual Intelligence Authorization Act funds intelligence operations beginning Oct. 1 and establishes congressional oversight of the U.S. intelligence community. The bill now heads to the House floor.
The amendment by Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) instructs the director of national intelligence to prepare a National Intelligence Estimate evaluating the threat posed by the Islamic Republic of Iran over the next five years. The estimate would be due within 180 days of enactment and must include an unclassified summary.
The assessment would examine the threat Iran poses to the United States, its interests, partners and allies; the stability of the Iranian regime; the status of Iran’s nuclear and advanced conventional weapons programs, including its ballistic missiles and drones; the activities of Iranian-backed terrorist groups, including Hamas, Hezbollah and Palestinian Islamic Jihad; and the security of the Strait of Hormuz.
The committee approved the measure as the United States continued military operations against Iran amid ongoing debate in Congress over U.S. President Donald Trump’s war powers and whether lawmakers should authorize the campaign.
“After almost five months since this conflict began, the tireless efforts of our troops and American lives lost, it is critical that we understand where things stand today and what the intelligence community thinks will happen next,” Gottheimer stated. “It’s vitally important for us to get the intelligence community’s objective assessment of where things stand.”
