Tulsi Gabbard says Iran hasn’t rebuilt nuclear program, challenging Trump’s ‘imminent threat’ claims

US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, testifying before the Senate on March 18, omitted a crucial point from her oral remarks: Iran has not restarted uranium enrichment since US strikes destroyed its facilities in June 2025.

In her prepared testimony, she wrote: "As a result of Operation Midnight Hammer, Iran's nuclear enrichment program was obliterated. There has been no efforts since then to try to rebuild their enrichment capability."

Gabbard did not repeat this conclusion on camera, raising questions about the urgency of the threat posed by Tehran compared with President Donald Trump’s statements.

Gabbard replied: "I recognized that the time was running long, and I skipped through some of the portions of my oral delivered remarks."

Despite skipping it, Gabbard praised the ongoing US military operation, Operation Epic Fury, without refuting the assessment that Iran’s nuclear facilities remain inactive.

She added: "Prior to Operation Epic Fury, the IC assesses Iran was trying to recover from the severe damage to its nuclear infrastructure sustained during the 12-day war, and continued to refuse to comply with its nuclear obligations, with the IAEA refusing them access to key facilities."

Her assessment contrasts with Trump’s repeated claims that Iran posed an imminent nuclear threat, justifying the February 28 US-Israel strike.

Democrats also criticized Gabbard, arguing she had not proven that Iran posed any new threat beyond what has existed since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

She warned that if Tehran survives, it may attempt a long-term rebuild of its military, missile, and UAV forces:

“If a hostile regime survives, it will likely seek to begin a years-long effort to rebuild its military, missiles and UAV forces.”