US intelligence confirms Iran was not rebuilding nuclear enrichment

2026-03-18 - 16:00

US national intelligence director Tulsi Gabbard testifies at the Senate Committee on Intelligence hearings. (EPA Images pic) WASHINGTON: US intelligence concluded Wednesday that Iran was not rebuilding nuclear enrichment capacities that were destroyed in a June 2025 US-Israeli attack, contradicting President Donald Trump’s justifications for his ongoing war. Tulsi Gabbard, a Trump ally who is director of national intelligence, shared the conclusion in written testimony as part of an annual threat assessment but did not repeat the finding when speaking to senators. “As a result of Operation Midnight Hammer, Iran’s nuclear enrichment programme was obliterated. There have been no efforts since then to try to rebuild their enrichment capability,” Gabbard said in the testimony to the Senate intelligence committee. Pressed by a Democratic senator on why she did not repeat the conclusion on camera, Gabbard said that she did not have enough time to read the full testimony at the hearing but did not deny the assessment. Trump has repeatedly said that he ordered the attack on Iran alongside Israel on Feb 28 due to an “imminent threat”. Trump said after the June 2025 bombing that the US had completely destroyed Iran’s nuclear sites but since his latest war, he has said that Tehran was weeks away from a nuclear bomb, a finding not shared by most observers and despite ongoing talks on a nuclear deal. A senior aide to Gabbard – who herself as a congresswoman had led opposition to war with Iran – resigned on Tuesday, saying there was no “imminent threat” and that Trump was misled by Israel and the media. In her remarks to senators, Gabbard said Iran had been suffering heavy blows in the weeks of attacks – which included the killing of the long-time supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei – but that the Islamic republic was still functioning. The US intelligence community “assesses the regime in Iran to be intact but largely degraded due to attacks on its leadership and military capabilities”, Gabbard said. “If a hostile regime survives, it will likely seek to begin a years-long effort to rebuild its military, missiles, and UAV forces,” Gabbard said, referring to unmanned aerial vehicles, or drones.