US Democratic Rep. Ruben Gallego said the intelligence information bent to justify war in the Middle East against Iran “does not show threats to US interests”.

Gallego, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, called for restraint among lawmakers and the White House in dealing with intelligence manipulated into exaggerating the threat that Iran poses to the United States and its allies.

Gallego said he received a classified briefing Friday, Tasnim news agency reported citing an interview with the Washington post on Saturday.

“What I saw was a lot of misinterpretation and wanting conflict coming from the administration and intelligence community,” Gallego said.

“Intel doesn’t show existential threats. Even what it shows, it doesn’t show threats to US interests.”

Gallego said the two main drivers of what he described as a false narrative are national security adviser John Bolton and Sen. Tom Cotton. Both men have been lobbying for a military escalation against Iran, in media appearances and behind closed doors. Cotton, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, appeared on cable news discussing “multiple and credible sources of increased threats” from Iran.

“I get the same intel as Cotton,” Gallego wrote Saturday on Twitter. “He is greatly exaggerating the situation to spur us to war. Don’t fall for it.”

Source: Iranian media