Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard accused the media of misrepresenting her statement in March that Iran was not building a nuclear weapon. The shift followed attacks on America’s top intelligence official by President Donald Trump.
On Friday, Gabbard posted a clip of her March Senate testimony to X, claiming, “The dishonest media is intentionally taking my testimony out of context and spreading fake news as a way to manufacture division.”
The dishonest media is intentionally taking my testimony out of context and spreading fake news as a way to manufacture division. America has intelligence that Iran is at the point that it can produce a nuclear weapon within weeks to months, if they decide to finalize the… pic.twitter.com/mYxjpJY2ud
— DNI Tulsi Gabbard (@DNIGabbard) June 20, 2025
In the clip, Gabbard says that “the Intelligence Community continues to assess Iran is not building a nuclear weapon and the Iranian Supreme Leader Khamenei has not authorized a nuclear weapons program.”
Gabbard’s remarks to the Senate have been presented by opponents of US military intervention in Iran to argue that the country’s nuclear program does not present a threat, as Tehran is not seeking nuclear weapons.
In recent days, it has become clear that President Trump and other top US officials do not agree with that assessment and believe Iran could develop a bomb within a few weeks. The assessment that Iran could have nuclear weapons in as little as 15 days appears to have originated with Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency.
Officials speaking with the New York Times said the Mossad findings may be a political effort to lure President Trump into supporting the offensive war Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu launched against Iran earlier this month.
Twice in the past week, Trump publicly criticized his top intelligence official over her March statement. When asked about the intelligence community assessment and Gabbard’s remarks on Friday, Trump said, “She’s wrong.”
NBC News reports that Gabbard has been sidelined in the White House debate on Iran. In her X post, the intelligence chief appeared to attempt to align her view with the president’s. “Iran is at the point that it can produce a nuclear weapon within weeks to months, if they decide to finalize the assembly,” she wrote. “President Trump has been clear that can’t happen, and I agree.”
Many users on X are comparing Gabbard’s post to former Secretary of State Colin Powell’s 2003 address to the UN Security Council. During the speech, Powell infamously presented false information that hardened beliefs among Americans that Iraq was seeking weapons of mass destruction, and that dictator Saddam Hussein had ties to al-Qaeda.
Wow, Tulsi is now the Colin Powell of this administration. She knows better but has chosen to lie through her teeth to sell a war. She’s worse than the others because she spent her career pretending to be against regime change war in Iran. What an utter disgrace!
Weeks?!… https://t.co/h5lSQdB52f
— Dave Smith (@ComicDaveSmith) June 20, 2025
Kyle Anzalone is the opinion editor of Antiwar.com and news editor of the Libertarian Institute. He hosts The Kyle Anzalone Show and is co-host of Conflicts of Interest with Connor Freeman.
