US president doubles down on assertion Iran is constructing a nuclear weapon, once again contradicting US intelligence community. United States President Donald Trump has asserted that his director of national intelligence was “wrong” when she testified that Iran was not developing a nuclear weapon and that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had not re-authorised the nation’s suspended atomic weapons programme.
The remarks follow Trump earlier this week questioned Tulsi Gabbard’s March 25 report to Congress, in which she reiterated the US intelligence community’s finding. On Tuesday, Trump said to reporters, “I don’t care” that the intelligence community’s finding conflicted with his assertion, that Iran was in the later stages of building a nuclear weapon.
A reporter asked, “What evidence do you have that Iran is constructing a nuclear weapon? Your intelligence community stated they don’t have any evidence. The president replied, “Then my intelligence community is incorrect. Who in the intelligence community told you that?”
“Your DNI [director of national intelligence], Tulsi Gabbard,” the reporter answered. America has knowledge that Iran is at the stage where it can make a nuclear weapon in weeks to months, should they opt to complete the assembly,” she stated in a social media update. “President Trump has been adamant that can’t happen, and I concur.”
But that is not contradictory to her previous judgment that Iran is not developing a weapon. No US intelligence estimate is known to have concluded Iran is weaponising its nuclear program.
