Trump distances himself from Gabbard on Iran's nuclear program
The president dismissed the Director of National Intelligence's statements and claimed that Tehran came close to obtaining a nuclear weapon.
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard.
President Donald Trump on Tuesday morning appeared to break from his intelligence director on earlier claims that Iran wasn’t producing military weapons.
U.S. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said in March, while speaking before a Senate intelligence briefing, that Iran wasn’t building a nuclear weapon.
However, as Trump was briefing reporters on Air Force One, returning home from the G7 summit in Canada, he said Iran was close to getting a nuclear weapon, contradicting Gabbard’s earlier claims.
"I don’t care what she said. They were very close to getting a nuke," Trump told reporters.
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In March, Gabbard said the intelligence community was assessing the nuclear situation in Iran.
"Iran is not building a nuclear weapon and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has not authorized the nuclear weapons program he suspended in 2003," Gabbard said.
Trump told reporters he was headed directly back to the White House and into its Situation Room to deal with the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran, after the two countries entered a fifth day of fighting.
The White House has denied reports of trying to negotiate a ceasefire between Israel and Iran, while also quashing reports that the U.S. was entering the fight.
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