HAMILTON, Canada
The US director of national intelligence warned on Wednesday that Iran could develop missiles capable of striking the US “before 2035 should Tehran attempt to pursue” intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) capabilities.
“The intelligence community (IC) assesses that Russia, China, North Korea, Iran and Pakistan have been researching and developing an array of novel, advanced or traditional missile delivery systems with nuclear and conventional payloads that put our homeland within range,” Tulsi Gabbard said during testimony to the US Senate Intelligence Committee.
Gabbard said “the IC assesses that threats to the homeland will expand collectively to more than 16,000 missiles by 2035, from the current assessed figure of more than 3,000 missiles,” adding that those assessments “will clearly be updated as the full impact of Operation Epic Fury’s devastating strikes on Iran’s missile production facilities, stockpiles and launch capabilities as determined.”
Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff pressed Gabbard on a portion of her written testimony she omitted from her opening statement that Iran’s nuclear enrichment program was “obliterated” in Operation Midnight Hammer 2025.
“So, the assessment of the intelligence community is that Iran’s nuclear enrichment program was obliterated by last summer’s air strikes,” Ossoff asked. “Yes,” said Gabbard.
Asked whether Iran had made “no effort since then to try to rebuild their enrichment capability,” Gabbard confirmed: “That’s right.”
Gabbard cautioned, however, that Iran “maintained the intention to rebuild and to continue to grow their nuclear enrichment,” while stressing that only the US president “can determine what is and is not an imminent threat.”
“It is not the intelligence community’s responsibility to determine what is and is not an imminent threat,” she said. “That is up to the president, based on a volume of information that he receives.”
According to a report by CBS News in early March, Trump envoy Steve Witkoff said Iran claimed it had enough enriched uranium to make 11 nuclear bombs.
