US President Donald Trump on Tuesday openly refuted Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard’s assessment of Iran’s nuclear activities for the first time during his second term.

Trump rejected Gabbard’s statement that Iran is not currently working on a nuclear weapon. Meanwhile, he embraced Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s claim that Israel’s airstrikes on Iranian targets were justified because Iran was close to having a nuclear warhead.

While travelling back to Washington from the G7 summit in Canada, Trump was asked how close Iran was to building a nuclear bomb, to which he answered, “Very close.”

When told that Gabbard had told Congress in March that the US intelligence community believed Iran was not working on a nuclear warhead, Trump replied, “I don’t care what she said. I think they were very close to having one.”

This is not the first instance Trump clashed with US intelligence agencies. During his first term, he often questioned their findings, including reports that Russia tried to influence the 2016 election in his favour. Trump also accepted Russian President Vladimir Putin’s denials of the claims.

The office of the Director of National Intelligence did not provide any clarification.

INTELLIGENCE VIEWS DIFFER ON IRAN’S NUCLEAR PLANS

Tulsi Gabbard told Congress that US spy agencies believe Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has not ordered the restart the nuclear weapons program. According to US and international experts, Iran’s nuclear weapons program was put to an end in 2003.

However, Iran denied claims to build nuclear weapons. The country says its uranium enrichment is only for peaceful use.

According to Reuters, Gabbard’s assessment has not changed. US intelligence still believes Iran would need up to three years to build a nuclear warhead that could hit any target it chooses.

With inputs from Reuters

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