Tulsi Gabbard, the US director of national intelligence, reportedly has barred America’s closest intelligence allies from accessing information about ongoing Russia-Ukraine peace negotiations.
According to CBS News, a classified memo signed by Gabbard on July 20 directed US intelligence agencies to designate all analysis and reporting on the volatile talks as “NOFORN” – meaning no foreign dissemination.
That order effectively cut off the so-called Five Eyes alliance – the UK, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand – from intelligence they have long relied on to coordinate with Washington.
The memo, multiple US intelligence officials told CBS News, restricted distribution even within the US intelligence community, limiting access only to the agencies that produced the material. The only exceptions were reports already made public.
While the directive did not cover diplomatic reporting or military intelligence unrelated to negotiations, experts told CBS News the order risks undermining decades of trust among allies.
Steven Cash, a former CIA and DHS intelligence officer, warned that the value of the Five Eyes partnership lies in creating a “common intelligence picture” that allows allies to coordinate policy, negotiations, or military planning.
Cutting off partners in the midst of high-stakes peace talks, he suggested, could weaken their ability to “get the best deal we can, or fight the best war we can.”
CBS News national security contributor Sam Vinograd echoed those concerns, adding that Five Eyes partners often provide unique insights into Russia. Shutting them out, she said, could have a “chilling effect on critical intelligence sharing” and prompt them to develop their own separate channels without US involvement.
However, not all former officials saw the move as extraordinary. Ezra Cohen, a former Pentagon intelligence chief, told CBS News that NOFORN restrictions are routine across the alliance:
“There is a lot of information we do not share even with our Five Eyes partners, and it works in the reverse… Our interests are not always aligned.”
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence declined to comment and referred questions to the White House, which has not yet responded, according to CBS.
US President Donald Trump said Thursday he would know within two weeks whether peace talks between Russia and Ukraine can succeed, signaling he may change course if no progress is made.
Speaking to Newsmax, Trump said: “Within two weeks we’re going to know one way or the other. After that, we’ll have to maybe take a different tack.”
The comments follow his summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska, which ended without an accord, and White House talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and European allies.
Hopes for a direct Putin-Zelensky meeting have since dimmed, with Zelensky accusing Moscow of avoiding negotiations and Russia claiming Kyiv’s demands are incompatible with its own.
Trump has previously set similar two-week deadlines, including in May when he pledged to reassess Putin’s commitment to peace.