OAN Staff Blake Wolf
12:43 PM – Tuesday, June 17, 2025
U.S. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard stated that she and President Donald Trump remain in agreement on the issue of Iran’s nuclear weapons development, despite speculation about a potential rift after Trump dismissed her March assessment on the matter.
During Gabbard’s Congressional testimony, which transpired on March 26, 2025, she maintained that U.S. intelligence did not believe that Iran was actively building a nuclear weapon.
She also stated that Supreme Leader Khamenei had not reauthorized a weapons program and that although Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile was at record levels for a non-nuclear state, “Iran is not building a nuclear weapon,” according to AP News.
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“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 that he suspended in 2003,” Gabbard testified in March.
Gabbard also cautioned the growing calls for nuclear weapons in Iran, while noting the extremely high levels of enriched uranium.
“In the past year, we’ve seen an erosion of a decades-long taboo in Iran on discussing nuclear weapons in public, likely emboldening nuclear weapons advocates within Iran’s decision making apparatus,” she continued. “Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile is at its highest levels and is unprecedented for a state without nuclear weapons.”
“Iran continues to seek expansion of its influence in the Middle East, despite the degradation to its proxies and defenses during the Gaza conflict. Iran has developed and maintains ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and UAVs, including systems capable of striking U.S. targets and allies in the region. Tehran has shown a willingness to use these weapons, including during a 2020 attack on U.S. forces in Iraq and in attacks against Israel in April and October 2024. Iran’s cyber operations and capabilities also present a serious threat to U.S. networks and data,” Gabbard added.
Due to the conflicting assertions between the GOP president and his director of national intelligence, President Trump was hounded with questions about Gabbard’s March assessment while on Air Force One. Nonetheless, he told reporters: “I don’t care what she said [back in March]. I think they were very close to having a [nuclear weapon].”
Despite the “perceived rift” between the two assessments, Gabbard responded to Trump’s recent comment, stating: “Pres Trump was saying the same thing that I said in my annual threat assessment back in March. Unfortunately too many people in the media don’t care to actually read what I said,” according to CNN.
Trump’s comments come as he is currently considering whether or not the United States should become more involved in the conflict by joining in the offensive attacks against Iran, following Israel’s “preemptive” strikes last Thursday.
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