Ahead of Israel’s attacks on Iran, US intelligence assessed that Iran was not pursuing nuclear weapons and that even if it chose to do so, it would take up to three years away for Tehran to be able to produce and deliver a nuclear bomb against a target of its choosing, CNN reported on Tuesday, citing people familiar with the intelligence.
The US assessment goes against the claims from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who launched the war under the pretext of preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. But President Trump appears to be taking Israel’s word over his own intelligence agencies, as he told reporters that he didn’t care about his director of national intelligence’s assessment on the issue.
In March, DNI Tulsi Gabbard said that “Iran is not building a nuclear weapon and Supreme Leader Khamenei has not authorized the nuclear weapons program he suspended in 2003.” Her assessment was reflected in the Intelligence Community’s annual threat assessment.
When asked about this assessment, President Trump said, “I don’t care what she said. I think they’re very close to having [a nuclear weapon].”
Netanyahu claimed in an interview on Sunday that he shared intelligence with the US that Iran could have developed a nuclear weapon within months or a year, although that was not the conclusion of US intelligence agencies, based on the CNN report. But even based on Netanyahu’s own timeline, the US would have had time to continue negotiations with Iran.
Israel attacked Iran two days before another round of negotiations between the US and Iran was set to be held. Trump had been demanding that Iran eliminate its nuclear weapons program, which was a non-starter for Tehran. Despite the apparent impasse, Iran was set to present a counter-proposal to the US, but the talks were canceled after Israel launched its war.
