Pentagon's Hegseth texted start time of planned killing of Yemeni militant

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth texted the start time for the planned killing of a Houthi militant in Yemen on March 15 along with details of further U.S. airstrikes that would normally be closely guarded secrets, according to screenshots of a chat released by The Atlantic on Wednesday.

Hegseth has repeatedly denied texting war plans as President Donald Trump's administration tries to contain the fallout from the revelation that it included The Atlantic's editor-in-chief Jeffrey Goldberg that day in a group chat on the encrypted messaging app Signal with Trump's most senior national security advisers to coordinate on the start of an offensive in Yemen.

Trump's administration said on Tuesday that no classified information was shared in the chat, bewildering Democrats and former U.S. officials, who regard targeting information as some of the most closely held material ahead of a U.S. military campaign.

The chat did not appear to include any names or precise locations of Houthi militants being targeted or to disclose information that could have been used to target U.S. troops carrying out the operation.

Goldberg, who had initially declined to publish the chat details, did so on Wednesday.

Hegseth's text started with the title "TEAM UPDATE" and included these details, according to The Atlantic:

"TIME NOW (1144et): Weather is FAVORABLE. Just CONFIRMED w/CENTCOM we are a GO for mission launch"

"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)"

"1410: More F-18s LAUNCH (2nd strike package)"

"1415: Strike Drones on Target (THIS IS WHEN THE FIRST BOMBS WILL DEFINITELY DROP, pending earlier 'Trigger Based' targets)"

"1536 F-18 2nd Strike Starts - also, first sea-based Tomahawks launched."

"MORE TO FOLLOW (per timeline)"

"We are currently clean on OPSEC"

"Godspeed to our Warriors."

Hours later, national security adviser Mike Waltz confirmed to the group the killing of the Houthis' top missile expert.

"We had positive ID of him walking into his girlfriend's building and it's now collapsed," Waltz wrote.

Reuters could not immediately establish what kind of building was brought down in the U.S. military strike, how many occupants were inside, and how the detail squares with Pentagon statements there were no known civilian casualties.

Asked about The Atlantic report, the Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Senior U.S. national security officials have classified systems that are meant to be used to communicate secret materials.

But CIA Director John Ratcliffe testified on Tuesday at a Senate hearing that Waltz set up the Signal chat for unclassified coordination and that teams would be "provided with information further on the high side for high-side communication."

Waltz, in an interview with "The Ingraham Angle" on Fox News on Tuesday, said: "I take full responsibility" for the breach as he had created the Signal group.

Waltz also played down the disclosure, saying on X: "No locations. No sources & methods. NO WAR PLANS. Foreign partners had already been notified that strikes were imminent."

At the Senate hearing on Tuesday, Ratcliffe and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said Hegseth would be the one to determine what defense information was classified.

"The secretary of defense is the original classification authority for DOD in deciding what would be classified information," Ratcliffe said.

Asked if details about the strikes on the Houthis, like attack sequencing and timing, would not have been considered classified, Gabbard testified: "I defer to the secretary of defense and the National Security Council on that question."

Hegseth did not answer a question on Tuesday evening about whether he declassified the information discussed in the Signal chat, telling reporters: "Nobody's texting war plans and that is all I have to say about that." He expressed pride in the strikes.

"The strikes against the Houthis that night were devastatingly effective. And I'm incredibly proud of the courage and skill of the troops. And they are ongoing and continue to be devastatingly affected," Hegseth said.

The U.S. military has declined to offer basic details about the offensive in Yemen, including how many strikes have been carried out, what senior leaders have been targeted or killed and even whether the operation has a name.

(Reporting by Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali; Additional reporting by Doina Chiacu and Susan Heavey; Editing by Franklin Paul and Howard Goller)