Trump Dismisses National Intelligence Chief Tulsi Gabbard In Diatribe About Iran's Nuclear Capabilities

President Donald Trump is currently in conflict with the U.S. intelligence community and his Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, regarding her assessment of Iran's nuclear capabilities presented earlier this year before a Senate committee. Gabbard informed the committee that Iran possesses an “unprecedented” quantity of weapons-grade uranium but maintains it is “not building a nuclear weapon.” Despite this, Trump expressed skepticism, declaring, "I don’t care what she said,” and claimed that Iran was close to acquiring a nuclear weapon. Gabbard reiterated that U.S. intelligence suggests Iran is not pursuing nuclear arms and lacks authorization for a program suspended in 2003. She noted a perilous shift in discourse surrounding nuclear weapons in Iran, while acknowledging Tehran's heightened uranium stockpile. Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu has described Iran’s preparations as alarming and warned against its potential nuclear capabilities. This situation unfolds amidst heightened tensions following Trump's withdrawal from a prior nuclear deal. The conflict shows signs of escalating, with Israeli operations against Iran anticipated to persist.