'I don't care what she said': Trump on Tulsi Gabbard's Iran nukes claim

US President Donald Trump dismisses his spy chief Tulsi Gabbard's claim that Iran halted its nuclear weapons program, insisting Tehran is 'very close' to building a bomb

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday (local time) publicly rejected the assessment of Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard regarding Iran's nuclear program.

 

Speaking to reporters while returning from the G7 summit in Canada, Trump contradicted Gabbard’s testimony to Congress that Iran is not currently pursuing nuclear weapons. Instead, he sided with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has consistently claimed that Iran is inching closer to nuclear capability, justifying Israel’s airstrikes on Iranian positions.

 

When asked how close Iran was to developing a nuclear bomb, Trump responded, “Very close.”

 

Reporters also pointed out Gabbard's earlier statement to Congress in March this year, where she said US intelligence agencies believed Iran had not restarted its nuclear weapons program. To this, Trump replied, “I don't care what she said. I think they were very close to having one.”

 

 

This marks the first time in his second term that Trump has directly challenged Gabbard’s view on Iran’s nuclear intentions.

 

Ongoing tensions with US intelligence

 

Trump has a long history of clashing with intelligence officials. During his first term, he repeatedly cast doubt on agency findings — including the widely accepted conclusion that Russia interfered in the 2016 election to help his campaign.

 

At one point, he even sided with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s denials over US intelligence assessments during a summit in Helsinki.

 

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence has not issued any statement following Trump’s remarks.  ALSO READ | 'Never accepted, never will': PM Modi to Trump on mediation with Pakistan

Intelligence agencies differ on Iran threat

 

Meanwhile, Director Gabbard’s position remains unchanged, according to a Reuters report. Her office maintains that US intelligence believes Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has not given orders to restart a nuclear weapons program.

 

Iran, for its part, continues to deny any intent to develop nuclear arms. It insists that its uranium enrichment activities are for peaceful, civilian use.

 

According to Gabbard’s briefing to Congress, even if Iran decided to restart its weapons program today, it would still need up to three years to develop a nuclear warhead capable of targeting other nations.

 

On the other hand, Netanyahu, who has long warned about Iran’s nuclear ambitions, welcomed Trump’s stance. He has argued that pre-emptive Israeli action is necessary to prevent Iran from reaching weapons-grade nuclear capability.

 

(With Reuters inputs)