Trump splits with Gabbard’s assessment that Iran isn’t pursuing a nuke: ‘Don’t care what she said’

President Trump broke with Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard’s prior assessment that Iran is not pursuing a nuclear weapon and warned that the theocratic regime is “close” to having one.

Back in March, Gabbard had testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei hadn’t “authorized the nuclear weapons program that he suspended in 2003.”

“I don’t care what she said. I think they were very close to having one,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One early Tuesday morning during his return flight from the Group of Seven summit in Canada.

Last week, Israel fired off preemptive strikes on Iran, targeting the regime’s top military brass, scientists, missile capabilities and nuclear facilities

Those attacks came under the pretense that the threat from Iran was imminent. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defended the unprecedented assault on Tehran by warning that “if not stopped, Iran could produce a nuclear weapon in a very short time.”

However, on Sunday, Netanyahu clarified on “Special Report with Bret Baier” that the Israelis believe Iran “would achieve a test device and possibly an initial device within months and certainly less than a year.”

“The intel we got and we shared with the United States was absolutely clear, was absolutely clear that they were working in a secret plan to weaponize the uranium,” Netanyahu claimed when pressed about Gabbard’s assessment.

“We saw enough uranium, enriched uranium for nine bombs.”

A senior Trump admin official told The Post Tuesday: “At the highest levels of the US government, we believe that Iran is as close to having a nuclear weapon as one can get. They have all the components necessary to put one together.”

Trump’s support of Israel’s attack on Iran has splintered much of the MAGA base, with traditional allies such as right-wing pundit Tucker Carlson and Steve Bannon decrying the move and warning against joining the war effort.

Vice President JD Vance in a Tuesday post on X sought to allay concerns from Trump supporters who are “worried about foreign entanglement after the last 25 years of idiotic foreign policy.”

“He may decide he needs to take further action to end Iranian enrichment,” Vance said. “But I believe the president has earned some trust on this issue. And having seen this up close and personal, I can assure you that he is only interested in using the American military to accomplish the American people’s goals.”

Gabbard has been strikingly quiet in the public eye — and was apparently left out of a Camp David strategy session on Tehran’s nuclear ambitions — amid Israel’s large-scale offensive. This year’s unclassified Intelligence Community’s “Annual Threat Assessment” report noted that “pressure has probably built” on Khamenei to pursue a nuke.

As the DNI, Gabbard is tasked with overseeing and coordinating the work done by the country’s 18 intelligence agencies. Prior to assuming that role, Gabbard had been a staunch skeptic of “forever wars” and war hawks.

Just prior to Israel’s attack, Gabbard ominously warned that the world was on the brink of “nuclear annihilation,” though her bone-chilling remarks did not seem related to the Israel-Iran conflict.

Last week, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) released a 22-page unclassified report about Iran’s nuclear program that did not provide evidence that the regime was after a nuke, but raised concerns about its enrichment levels.

“The Agency has no credible indications of an ongoing, undeclared structured nuclear programme
of the type described above in Iran and notes the statements of the highest officials in Iran that the use
of nuclear weapons is incompatible with Islamic Law,” the report said.

“While safeguarded enrichment activities are not forbidden in and of themselves, the fact that Iran
is the only non-nuclear-weapon State in the world that is producing and accumulating uranium enriched
to 60% remains a matter of serious concern.”

Typically, 90% enrichment is seen as the weapons-level threshold, but scientists at the IAEA have noted that it’s easier to get from 60% to 90% enrichment than it is to get to 60%.

Since the inception of his 2016 presidential campaign, Trump has been emphatic that Iran can not be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon, which experts fear could trigger a nuclear arms race in the Middle East.

In 2018, Trump withdrew from the Obama-era Iran nuclear agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which featured sanctions relief in exchange for Tehran to make concessions on its nuclear programs and submit to more oversight.

Israel’s preemptive strikes on Iran and subsequent domination of the regime’s airspace came ahead of another planned round of negotiations over Tehran’s nuclear program. Those talks were later cancelled.

“Iran should have signed the ‘deal’ I told them to sign. What a shame, and waste of human life. Simply stated, IRAN CAN NOT HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON. I said it over and over again! Everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran!” Trump posted on Truth Social Monday evening.

A mass evacuation of Tehran subsequently ensued.

There are lingering questions about Israel’s ability to fully obliterate Iran’s nuclear program, particularly the Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant, which is buried about half a mile under a mountain. Many analysts believe the Israelis would need US bombers and heavy-duty bunker buster bombs to take out the facility.

The president rushed back to the White House early Tuesday morning from the G7 summit in Canada, though he has denied that it was related to a ceasefire proposal from Iran.

“I have not reached out to Iran for ‘Peace Talks’ in any way, shape, or form. This is just more HIGHLY FABRICATED, FAKE NEWS! If they want to talk, they know how to reach me. They should have taken the deal that was on the table – Would have saved a lot of lives!!!” Trump said on Truth Social.