U.S. President Donald Trump has cast doubt on the latest assessments from the American intelligence community regarding Iran’s nuclear program, stating there is evidence suggesting Tehran is very close to producing a nuclear weapon.
During a press briefing, Trump was asked by reporters about alleged evidence indicating that Iran has resumed developing nuclear weapons, despite earlier claims from U.S. intelligence agencies suggesting otherwise.
“Well, then my intelligence community is wrong. Who in the intelligence community said that?” he responded, demanding the name of the source. When a journalist mentioned Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, Trump said bluntly: “She’s wrong.”
Back in a congressional hearing in March, Gabbard had testified that U.S. intelligence agencies had found no evidence that Iran had restarted its nuclear weapons program since halting it in 2003, although Iran had significantly increased its enriched uranium stockpile.
Following Trump’s latest comments, Gabbard accused the media of misrepresenting her statements. She clarified that, in her view, Iran is technically capable of building a nuclear weapon “within a few weeks.”
Meanwhile, President Trump insisted that the threat posed by Iran is imminent and serious. “Iran has amassed an extraordinary amount of material and could build a nuclear weapon in a very short period — weeks, if not months,” he said, adding that the U.S. will not allow that to happen.
When asked about the next steps, Trump said he would decide within two weeks whether the U.S. will join Israel in military strikes against Iran. “This two-week window represents the maximum time Iran has to reach a deal with Washington,” he stated.
