Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard on Saturday said the US believes that Iran could have a nuclear weapon built "within weeks to months", hours after she was snubbed by President Donald Trump for providing "wrong" information, signalling a possible rift that has spilled out into the open, NDTV reported.
In a post on X, the spy chief said her earlier remarks that Iran was not building a nuclear weapon was taken "out of context", and agreed with the President that Tehran cannot attempt to build on its purported ambition.
"The dishonest media is intentionally taking my testimony out of context and spreading fake news as a way to manufacture division. America has intelligence that Iran is at the point that it can produce a nuclear weapon within weeks to months, if they decide to finalise the assembly. President Trump has been clear that can't happen, and I agree," she posted on the micro-blogging site.
Earlier in March, Gabbard testified to Congress that the US intelligence community believes that Tehran was not building a nuclear weapon.
"The (intelligence community) continues to assess that Iran is not building a nuclear weapon," she said.
On Friday, President Donald Trump said Ms Gabbard was wrong in suggesting there was no evidence to prove that Iran is building a nuclear weapon.
"She is wrong," he told reporters.
It was for the second time in a week that Trump has undermined Gabbard for her assessment on the matter.
"I don't care what she says," he said on Monday, when asked about the spy chief's remarks on the matter.
The developments come at a time when the White House is weighing its involvement in the current Iran-Israel conflict.
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