Amid saber rattling between President Donald Trump and Iran, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard told a Congressional panel recently Iran doesn’t have a nuclear weapon.
Gabbard’s remarks came while testifying at a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing March 25.
Gabbard said the U.S. Intelligence Community assesses that “Iran is not building a nuclear weapon, and Supreme Leader [Ayatollah Ali] Khamenei has not authorized the nuclear weapons program that he suspended in 2003.” She added that the Community “continues to monitor closely if Tehran decides to reauthorize its nuclear weapons program.”
But Gabbard acknowledged that Iran’s enrichment levels are “unprecedented for a state without nuclear weapons.” Her comments also came less than a week before Khamenei threatened to retaliate against the U.S. if Trump intervenes militarily into Iran.
The International Atomic Energy Agency has also estimated in a report that as of Feb. 8 that Tehran amassed 606 pounds of uranium enriched up to 60%, or enough for six nuclear weapons.