US intelligence chief says Iran not rebuilding nuclear programme, undercutting Donald Trump’s war rationale
US intelligence has concluded that Iran has not tried to rebuild the nuclear enrichment capacity destroyed in last year’s US and Israeli strikes, a finding that cuts against one of President Donald Trump’s central claims for the current war, according to testimony delivered to Congress on Wednesday.Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said in prepared testimony to the Senate Intelligence Committee that there had been “no efforts” by Tehran to restore its enrichment capability after the June 2025 US attack, known as Operation Midnight Hammer.
Gabbard’s written testimony contradicts Trump’s core claim
In her prepared remarks, Gabbard said, “As a result of Operation Midnight Hammer, Iran’s nuclear enrichment program was obliterated.”“There has been no efforts since then to try to rebuild their enrichment capability,” she added, according to news agency AFP.That assessment is significant because Trump has repeatedly argued that he ordered the latest joint US-Israeli military campaign against Iran on February 28 because Tehran posed an “imminent threat” and was only weeks away from obtaining a nuclear bomb.The UN nuclear watchdog and many independent observers have not backed the claim that Iran was on the verge of building a bomb. The report also said Iran had been in talks with Trump’s envoys on a possible deal in the days before the attack.
Gabbard avoids repeating the assessment in open hearing
Even though the finding was included in her written testimony, Gabbard did not repeat it in her public remarks before cameras.When a Democratic senator pressed her on the issue, Gabbard said she had not had enough time to read the full testimony during the hearing, but she did not dispute the written assessment.That only added to the tension surrounding her appearance, with Democrats trying to pin down whether the intelligence community actually supports the administration’s public case for war.Gabbard repeatedly deflected questions about what intelligence she had given Trump, frustrating Democratic senators who used the annual worldwide threats hearing to probe the basis for the widening Middle East conflict.When asked by Senator Mark Warner whether she had warned Trump that Iran might shut the Strait of Hormuz if attacked, Gabbard declined to discuss internal advice.“I have not and won’t divulge internal conversations. I will say that those of us within the intelligence community continue to provide the president with all of the best objective intelligence available to inform his decisions,” she said, as quoted by news agency AP.
Joe Kent resignation deepens scrutiny of White House’s Iran threat claims
Joe Kent’s resignation had already sharpened questions around the administration’s war rationale. Kent stepped down on Tuesday as director of the National Counterterrorism Center, saying he could not “in good conscience” support the ongoing war in Iran and arguing that Tehran posed “no imminent threat” to the United States. Trump responded angrily, saying Kent was “very weak on security” and that “it’s a good thing he’s out.” The president also doubled down on his position that Iran was a serious danger, saying, “Iran was a threat—every country realized that,” and adding that officials who did not believe Iran posed a threat were not people “we want” in the administration. The White House has since repeatedly rejected Kent’s claim, insisting Trump had “strong and compelling evidence” that Iran was preparing to strike first.
CIA chief says Tehran negotiated in bad faith
While Gabbard’s written testimony cast doubt on the argument that Iran was racing to rebuild its nuclear programme, CIA Director John Ratcliffe took a harder line on Tehran’s intentions.Ratcliffe told senators that Iran had not been serious in its diplomacy with Washington before the war.“It was very clear that Iran, while they were talking, they had no intentions of following through,” Ratcliffe said.Ratcliffe rejected the assessment of former National Counterterrorism Center chief Joe Kent, who resigned this week and said Iran did not pose an imminent threat.“The intelligence reflects the contrary,” Ratcliffe told lawmakers.
Democrats turn up pressure over war justification
The hearing quickly became a major test for the administration’s case for war.Democratic Senator Michael Bennet accused Trump of abandoning his own anti-interventionist message.“President Trump said, we are not the policemen of the world. He ran on that,” Bennet said.“Now he’s turned us into the world’s policeman, into its jury, into its judge, into its executioner,” he added.Democrats also tried to use the hearing to press officials on wider consequences of the war, including the risk that Iran could strike Gulf countries or disrupt the Strait of Hormuz, a vital route for oil and gas shipments.The hearing comes amid wider scrutiny of the administration’s conduct of the war, including reported concerns over an investigation into a US missile strike that allegedly hit an elementary school in Iran and killed more than 165 people, with the White House saying the incident is under review.
Gabbard says Iranian regime still intact, though weakened
Despite the damage caused by weeks of attacks, Gabbard said the Iranian state remains in place.She told senators that the US intelligence community believes the regime is “intact but largely degraded due to attacks on its leadership and military capabilities.”Her remarks came even as she described the cumulative effect of the campaign as severe. The war has included the killing of Iran’s longtime supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.Gabbard warned that if the current regime survives, it will probably try over time to restore its military strength.“If a hostile regime survives, it will likely seek to begin a years-long effort to rebuild its military, missiles and UAV forces,” she said.
Broader global threats: Russia, Ukraine and China
Beyond Iran, Gabbard used the hearing to lay out the intelligence community’s wider threat picture.She said Russia still holds the advantage in its four-year war in Ukraine.“US intelligence assesses that Russia has maintained the upper hand in the war against Ukraine,” Gabbard said.She added that while US-led peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv are continuing, Russia is likely to keep fighting a slow war until a deal is reached.Gabbard also warned of the danger of an “escalatory spiral” in Ukraine or elsewhere that could potentially lead to nuclear weapons use.On China, she said Beijing is rapidly modernising its military with the long-term goal of being able to seize Taiwan, but the intelligence community believes China would still prefer to create conditions for eventual “peaceful reunification” without a war.
