The stunning details, including the times of strikes and types of planes being used, were all laid out in screenshots of the chat, which the officials had conducted on a commercial Signal messaging app, rather than a secure government platform.
The magazine, which initially only published the broad outlines of the chat, said it was now publishing the details after the Trump administration repeatedly denied that any classified information had been included.
The scandal has rocked President Donald Trump’s administration, which for now is reacting defiantly – attacking The Atlantic and denying any wrongdoing.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt quickly responded to say The Atlantic was conceding “these were NOT ‘war plans.’ The entire story was another hoax.”
National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes had said on Monday the chain cited by The Atlantic appeared to be “authentic.”
Atlantic journalist Jeffrey Goldberg said Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth sent information in the Signal chat – also including Vice President JD Vance and Central Intelligence Agency Director John Ratcliffe – right ahead of strikes against the Houthi rebels on March 15.
For reasons unknown, Goldberg’s phone number had been added to the group.
Goldberg also revealed disparaging comments by the top US officials about European allies during their chat.
The Atlantic initially did not publish the precise details of the chat, saying it wanted to avoid revealing classified material and information that could endanger American troops.
But on Tuesday, Ratcliff and other officials involved in the chat played down the scandal, testifying before Congress that nothing critical had been shared or laws broken – and that nothing discussed was classified.
The Atlantic said on Wednesday that it had asked the government whether in that case there would be any problem in publishing the rest of the material.
Leavitt responded, The Atlantic said, telling the magazine again that “there was no classified information transmitted in the group chat.”
And a CIA spokesperson asked only that one of the agency’s officials referenced in the chain not be identified by name.
The Atlantic said its publication on Wednesday included everything in the Signal chain other than that one CIA name.
It includes Hegseth laying out the weather conditions, times of attacks and types of aircraft being used.
The texting was done barely half an hour before the first US warplanes took off and two hours before the first target, described as “Target Terrorist,” was expected to be bombed.
The details are shockingly precise for the kind of operation that the public usually only learns about later – and in vaguer terms.
“1410: More F-18s LAUNCH (2nd strike package),” Hegseth writes at one stage.
“1415: Strike Drones on Target (THIS IS WHEN THE FIRST BOMBS WILL DEFINITELY DROP, pending earlier ‘Trigger Based’ targets).”
A short time later, Trump’s National Security Advisor Mike Waltz sent real-time intelligence on the aftermath of an attack, writing “Building collapsed. Had multiple positive ID” and “amazing job.”
The Houthi rebels, who have controlled much of Yemen for more than a decade, are part of the “axis of resistance” of pro-Iran groups staunchly opposed to Israel and the US.
The Trump administration has stepped up attacks on the group in response to constant Houthi attempts to sink and disrupt shipping through the strategic Red Sea. (AFP)
