US President Donald Trump has just attracted attention when he admitted that the US intelligence community was wrong in assessing Iran's nuclear program. Speaking on June 20 (US time), Mr. Trump said that the assessment of National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard that Iran is not getting any closer to owning nuclear weapons was incorrect.
Our intelligence community was wrong, Trump said, asserting Gabbard, who is now the head of the US intelligence agency, was wrong in assessing Iran as not yet seeking to make nuclear weapons. The comments came after Gabbard, in a parliamentary hearing in March, said Iran was not pursuing the development of nuclear bombs.
Gabbard's statement controversy Israel's view that Iran could produce several nuclear bombs within a few months, and President Trump himself has recently made statements. The US media once quoted Gabbard but did not include context, causing her to criticize it as causing division and misunderstanding.
The US has intelligence data showing that Iran is capable of manufacturing nuclear weapons for several weeks or months, if it decides to do so, Gabbard said later. She stressed that she agreed with President Trump not to let this happen.
However, an access source reported by the intelligence agency revealed that Gabbard maintained her initial assessment that Iran had no intention of making nuclear weapons. According to US intelligence agencies, Iran will need a maximum of 3 years to develop nuclear warheads capable of hitting targets.
Some experts say that the process could be shortened, but there is no guarantee that un test-based weapons will work effectively.
Tensions surrounding Iran's nuclear program continued to increase after the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) launched the "Leon Rising" operation on June 13, airstrikes many Iranian nuclear and military facilities. Israel said it was forced to act because Iran had enough raw materials to make nuclear bombs.
Iran has denied all allegations, saying the nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only.
Eric Brewer, an expert from the nuclear Threat Prevention Initiative, said Israel's military actions could be counterproductive, pushing Iran closer to owning a nuclear bomb rather than withdrawing from that ambition.
