When Tulsi Gabbard testified before Congress earlier this year about Iran’s nuclear program, she was clear: Iran was not actively building a nuclear weapon. The director of national intelligence told lawmakers that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had not restarted the country’s suspended weapons program, even though Iran had significantly increased its uranium enrichment levels.
But President Donald Trump dismissed the intelligence community’s assessment while returning to Washington from an early departure from the Group of Seven summit, where escalating tensions between Israel and Iran dominated his attention.
“I don’t care what she said,” Trump told reporters, insisting that Iran was “very close” to developing a nuclear bomb.
Trump’s remarks aligned him more closely with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who views a nuclear-armed Iran as an immediate threat, than with his own top intelligence official. On Tuesday, Trump met with national security advisers, including Gabbard, in the Situation Room to consider his next moves.
Administration officials sought to downplay the discrepancy, suggesting that Iran’s uranium enrichment still poses a risk even if a weapon isn’t actively being built. Gabbard, meanwhile, blamed the media for misrepresenting her earlier testimony, telling CNN that “President Trump was saying the same thing that I said” and insisting they are “on the same page.”
In her March testimony, Gabbard had stated: “The intelligence community continues to assess that Iran is not building a nuclear weapon and Supreme Leader Khamenei has not authorized the nuclear weapons program he suspended in 2003.” She added that while Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile was at unprecedented levels for a non-nuclear state, its nuclear program remained under close U.S. monitoring.
Gen. Erik Kurilla, who commands U.S. forces in the Middle East, recently testified that Iran could produce enough nuclear material for 10 bombs within three weeks. However, he did not estimate how long it would take to actually assemble a weapon.
A senior intelligence official, speaking anonymously, said Trump’s concerns were valid because Iran’s uranium enrichment far exceeds civilian energy needs. Another administration official said Iran was as close as possible to obtaining a nuclear weapon without actually crossing the threshold.
Trump’s public contradiction of Gabbard reflects a pattern from his first term, when he often clashed with intelligence agencies, accusing them of being part of a “deep state” conspiracy against his administration. The most notable example came in 2018 when he sided with Russian President Vladimir Putin’s denial of election interference over U.S. intelligence conclusions.
This latest break is especially notable because Trump has filled his second administration with loyalists rather than career officials. Gabbard, a military veteran and former Democratic congresswoman from Hawaii, was narrowly confirmed by the Republican Senate despite her limited intelligence background.
Gabbard, who left the Democratic Party in 2022 and endorsed Trump’s re-election, testified Tuesday in a closed Senate Appropriations defense subcommittee session. Senator Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said he was not aware of any new intelligence that contradicts Gabbard’s March assessment.
“Director Gabbard publicly stated in March that Iran was not actively pursuing a bomb,” Warner said. “I’ve seen nothing in recent intelligence that changes that conclusion.”
The International Atomic Energy Agency has repeatedly warned that Iran possesses enough enriched uranium to produce several nuclear weapons if it chooses, though Tehran maintains its nuclear program is peaceful.
An earlier intelligence report from November, during President Biden’s term, reached a similar conclusion, stating Iran was not building a weapon but had taken steps—such as stockpiling enriched uranium and using advanced centrifuges—that could enable it to produce one if it decided to.
Trump has also clashed with intelligence assessments on immigration. He used the Alien Enemies Act, a wartime law from 1798, to deport Venezuelan migrants, claiming that the Tren de Aragua gang was cooperating with Venezuela’s government. However, an April intelligence assessment found no evidence of such coordination.
Gabbard later fired two veteran intelligence officers who contributed to that assessment, alleging they were opposed to Trump’s agenda.
Following these developments, the White House released a statement from Gabbard defending Trump: “President Trump took necessary and historic action to safeguard our nation when he deported these violent Tren de Aragua terrorists. Now that America is safer without these terrorists in our cities, deep state actors have resorted to using their propaganda arm to attack the President’s successful policies.”
