Spy chief flip-flop? After Trump's 2nd rebuke over Iran intel, Tulsi Gabbard shifts tone
File photo of Tulsi Gabbard and US President Donald Trump
A rare and public fracture has emerged within the highest levels of the US national security establishment, as director of national intelligence Tulsi Gabbard on Saturday revised her stance on Iran's nuclear ambitions, hours after being directly contradicted by President Donald Trump.
In a striking turn, Gabbard posted on X that her earlier testimony to Congress, where she said that Iran was not building a nuclear weapon, had been taken "out of context." She acknowledged that US intelligence now believes Iran could have a nuclear weapon "within weeks to months" if it decides to finalise assembly.
"The dishonest media is intentionally taking my testimony out of context and spreading fake news as a way to manufacture division," Gabbard wrote.
"America has intelligence that Iran is at the point that it can produce a nuclear weapon within weeks to months, if they decide to finalise the assembly. President Trump has been clear that can't happen, and I agree."
Her statement came after a sharp rebuke from President Trump, who told reporters Friday, "She is wrong," in response to her previous assertion that Iran is not actively building a nuclear weapon. The president had earlier dismissed her analysis outright, saying, "I don't care what she says," during a press interaction earlier in the week.
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The disagreement comes at a particularly sensitive moment, as the White House weighs its strategic posture in the ongoing Iran-Israel conflict. Trump's public alignment with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has long warned of Iran's nuclear capabilities, further highlights the rift within the administration.
Despite the public back-and-forth, officials within the administration have attempted to downplay the tension.
They emphasised that uranium enrichment by Iran does bring it closer to a weapons threshold, even if the final steps toward weaponisation have not been confirmed.
A source with access to US intelligence reports told Reuters that the intelligence community's assessment has not undergone a fundamental change. According to the source, spy agencies still believe that Iran would need up to three years to develop a deliverable nuclear warhead capable of striking a target.
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