During a public hearing before Congress on Wednesday, the top US intelligence official claimed that Iran was working to restart its nuclear program before the US and Israel launched a war against it – contrary to his written testimony presented at the same hearing.
In her written testimony to the Senate Intelligence Committee, Tulsi Gabbard, director of national intelligence, wrote that because of last summer’s 12 days of US-Israeli. air strikes on Iran’s missile and nuclear sites“Iran’s nuclear enrichment program was scrapped. There have been no attempts to rebuild their nuclear enrichment capacity since then. The doors to the underground facilities that were bombed have been buried and sealed with concrete.”
During a public hearing before Congress on Wednesday, the top US intelligence official claimed that Iran was working to restart its nuclear program before the US and Israel launched a war against it – contrary to his written testimony presented at the same hearing.
In her written testimony to the Senate Intelligence Committee, Tulsi Gabbard, director of national intelligence, wrote that because of last summer’s 12 days of US-Israeli. air strikes on Iran’s missile and nuclear sites“Iran’s nuclear enrichment program was scrapped. There have been no attempts to rebuild their nuclear enrichment capacity since then. The doors to the underground facilities that were bombed have been buried and sealed with concrete.”
However, in her oral testimony, Gabbard gave up her eight pages of prepared speeches—which otherwise closely matched his verbal presentation—in describing the state of Iran’s nuclear program before the February 28 start of the latest US-Israel war on Iran.
“Prior to Operation Epic Fury, the IC (US intelligence community) is checking that Iran was trying to save from the massive destruction of its nuclear infrastructure sustained during the 12-day war and continued to refuse to comply with its nuclear obligations with the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency), denying them access to important facilities,” he said.
Democratic Senator Mark Warner, the committee’s vice chairman, asked Gabbard why she skipped parts of her testimony on Iran, accusing her of trying to avoid publicly contradicting US President Donald Trump. Gabbard replied that he left them to save time.
After further questioning by Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff, Gabbard reaffirmed that it was the intelligence community’s assessment that last summer’s strikes had “eradicated” Iran’s nuclear program.
Ossoff then asked why a Statement of March 1 from the White House justifying its attacks on Iran cited “the imminent nuclear threat to the Iranian government.”
“Was it the intelligence community’s assessment that there was a nuclear threat posed by the Iranian government?” Ossoff asked Gabbard.
Gabbard responded: “The intelligence community assessed that Iran maintained a desire to rebuild and continue to develop their nuclear enrichment capability … the only person who can decide what is and isn’t a threat is the president.”
He added, “It is not the role of the intelligence community to determine what is and is not a threat.”
Ossoff vehemently denied the remarks: “It is precisely your responsibility to determine what the threat is to the United States. This is a global threat hearing where … you represent the IC’s assessment of threats.”
He accused him of “dodging the question, because giving a clear answer to the committee would contradict the statement from the White House.”
Gabbard testified a day after her aide, Joe Kent, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, resigned over Trump’s decision to join forces with Israel to attack Iran. In his letter of resignation, which he published onlineKent said that he could not “in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran,” which he said was “not a threat to our nation.”
“I disagreed with your friend Mr. Kent, but I did agree with him yesterday that there was no threat,” Warner said, in a possible memo. Help of Kent election- and January 6-related conspiracy theories and application of antisemitic tropes.
Democrats have been the harshest in their criticism of Gabbard — as well as FBI Director Kash Patel, who testified alongside Gabbard — on several issues.
But Republicans also raised criticism (albeit milder) of administration officials’ implementation of spending cuts to offices aimed at countering espionage, terrorism and cyber issues, even as US President Donald Trump’s decision to launch a war against Iran has raised concerns about the possibility of retaliatory attacks harming Americans. at home and abroad.
“You have committed to shrinking budgets, manpower, and an emphasis on counterterrorism, but the reality is that ISIS is growing and operating in Somalia, Afghanistan, Syria, Pakistan and Iraq,” said Republican Senator Susan Collins. “Al Qaeda is on the rise in Afghanistan, the Arabian Peninsula, and across Central Africa. The Houthis in Yemen and other Iranian allies remain a serious threat. Focusing as you have on powerful competitors seems to divert resources from the war on terror, a fight that is still ongoing.”
Republican Senator Jerry Moran said he is concerned that the war against Iran is harming “Ukraine’s ability to successfully protect its borders” by further limiting the ability of the US defense industry to produce enough weapons for Ukraine and its NATO allies to provide Kyiv in its resistance against Russian aggression. He has also expressed his concern that the administration’s removal of some sanctions against Russian oil to help reduce the energy crisis caused by the Iran conflict is financially beneficial to Moscow.
CIA Director John Ratcliffe, who was also testifying, responded that while some recent U.S. actions “may benefit adversaries like Russia,” they were taken because policymakers believe they “benefit American citizens, in this case in terms of keeping the economy on track and keeping oil prices down.”
Ratcliffe urged Moran to have faith in US intelligence agencies, noting how they aided in the military success of last summer’s attacks on Iran’s nuclear and missile sites.
“I am confident that we can walk and chew gum at the same time: pursuing targets in the Middle East and providing support in connection with … Russia’s invasion of Ukraine,” the CIA chief said.
