US President Donald Trump has said he believes that Iran was “very close” to obtaining a nuclear weapon, contrary to the assessment of his director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard.
In late March, Gabbard said that the US intelligence community “continues to assess that Iran is not building a nuclear weapon and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has not authorized the nuclear weapons program he suspended in 2003.”
When asked about the stance of his spy chief by journalists on Tuesday, Trump replied: “I do not care what she said.”
“I think they [Iran] were very close to having them,” the president stressed, referring to nuclear weapons.
Gabbard, a former Democratic congresswoman who joined the Republican Party during last year’s presidential campaign, was confirmed by the US Senate as the director of national intelligence in February, following heavy scrutiny and a heated debate.
During her political career, the former presidential candidate and Iraq War veteran has been a fierce critic of the US intelligence community that she currently leads, and was known for her support for NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden.
Trump, who was speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One on his return from the G7 summit in Canada, stressed that his goals went beyond achieving a truce between Israel and Iran.
“I did not say I was looking for a ceasefire. I want a real end, with Iran giving up entirely on nuclear weapons,” he noted.
The president again warned Tehran against targeting US military facilities and personnel in the Middle East. “Iran knows not to touch our troops. We would come down so hard if they do anything to our people,” he said.
When asked about the possibility of the US military getting involved and assisting Israel with destroying Iran’s nuclear program, Trump expressed hope that it would be “wiped out long before that.”
CNN reported earlier on Tuesday, citing four informed sources, that US intelligence assessments had concluded that not only was Iran not actively pursuing a nuclear bomb, but was also up to three years away from being able to produce one.
Israel explained its attack on Iran on Friday by claiming that Tehran was on the brink of obtaining a nuclear weapon. The Iranian authorities have repeatedly insisted that their nuclear program is peaceful in nature and that they are not pursuing atomic weapons development.
