US President Donald Trump has rejected the assessment of his intelligence community that Iran is not developing a nuclear weapon, directly dismissing sworn testimony by his director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard.
"Then my intelligence community is wrong. Why would the intelligence community say that?" Trump told reporters on Friday when asked about the official US position that Iran is not currently building a nuclear weapon.
When the reporter responded that it was Gabbard, who explained that position, Trump shot back: "She's wrong."
Gabbard had testified before Congress in March that the US intelligence community continued to assess that Tehran was not pursuing a nuclear warhead.
Her office had previously cited statements suggesting she and Trump were "on the same page" about Iran’s nuclear programme.
Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons and insists its uranium enrichment efforts are intended for peaceful purposes.
Reuters news agency quoted a source familiar with US intelligence reports as saying that the assessment Gabbard presented has not changed.
The source said Iran would likely need up to three years to develop a deliverable nuclear warhead.
Some experts believe Iran could produce a crude, untested device in less time, though its effectiveness would remain uncertain.
Trump's two-week delay
Trump’s latest remarks follow earlier comments in which he said he would make a decision in the coming weeks on possible US military involvement in the Iran-Israel conflict.
Trump has frequently questioned the conclusions of US intelligence agencies and has accused them — without evidence — of being part of a so-called "deep state" aiming to undermine his presidency.
Gabbard, a staunch Trump ally, has echoed similar accusations against the intelligence community.
Israel escalated regional tensions since June 13, when it launched air strikes on multiple sites across Iran, including civilian, military and nuclear facilities, prompting Tehran to launch retaliatory strikes.
Iran said at least 224 people have been killed and more than 1,000 wounded in the Israeli aggression.
Israel said at least 24 people have been killed and hundreds injured since then in Iranian missile attacks.
US intelligence believes that Israel's attacks may have only set Iran's nuclear programme back by a matter of months, one of the officials said.
CNN said that while there has been significant damage to the enrichment site at the Natanz site, the heavily fortified facility at Fordo remains essentially untouched by Israel's strikes.
