Gabbard Says Iran’s Regime Has Been ‘Degraded,’ He Won’t Say It’s a Threat – National
Iran’s government has been discredited since the war began on February 28, but it appears to be strong and Tehran and its proxies are still capable of attacking US interests and allies in the Middle East, US National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard said on Wednesday.
“The regime in Iran appears to be strong but it has been greatly weakened by Operation Epic Fury,” said Gabbard, referring to the US-Israeli military campaign against Iran, in his opening statement at the Senate Intelligence Committee’s annual hearing on global threats against the United States.
“Nonetheless, Iran and its proxies remain capable and continue to attack US and allied interests in the Middle East. If a hostile regime survives, it will want to begin a multi-year effort to rebuild its missile and UAV (drone) forces,” Gabbard said.
Later, Gabbard deflected questions about whether Iran posed a threat to the United States, after saying in her opening statement that there was no evidence the regime wanted to rebuild its “destroyed” nuclear enrichment program.
The 2-1/2 hour hearing was the first significant public appearance since the war by Gabbard, who has kept a low profile for months.
The hearings identified China, Russia, North Korea and Iran as top enemies, but focused mainly on the Iran war, now in its third week. Lawmakers – including some of President Donald Trump’s Republicans as well as Democrats – say they want more information about the campaign that has killed thousands of people, disrupted the lives of millions and shaken the energy and stock markets.
Democrats in particular have complained that Congress has not been informed enough about the conflict that is costing American taxpayers billions, and they want public testimony rather than the secret briefings held over the past two weeks.
“The complete lack of clarity should matter to everyone,” said Democratic Senator Michael Bennet of Colorado after consulting with CIA director John Ratcliffe about America’s plan to end the Iranian threat.
THE FIRST GREAT CLEARANCE OF THE WAR
The hearings with Gabbard, Ratcliffe, FBI Director Kash Patel and other intelligence officials also touched on Tuesday’s shock announcement that Gabbard’s top aide had resigned, citing war.
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Joe Kent, who headed the National Counterterrorism Center, is the first Trump administration official to resign over the conflict. The DNI office is responsible for the counter-terrorism center.
“I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war on Iran. Iran has never been a threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war because of pressure from Israel and its powerful faction,” Kent wrote to Trump.
Ratcliffe said during the trial that he disagreed with Kent. “I think Iran has been a threat to the United States for a long time and poses an immediate threat at this time,” he said.
The threat assessment Gabbard presented to the committee added to the confusion over Iran’s nuclear program. Some administration officials said before the war that Iran was weeks away from developing a nuclear weapon, one of the reasons given for launching the airstrikes.
In written remarks sent to the committee before the hearing, Gabbard said Iran’s nuclear enrichment program was ended in US and Israeli strikes in June, and Washington has not seen an effort since rebuilding its enrichment capabilities.
However, when speaking to senators, Gabbard said the intelligence community had assessed Iran trying to recover from the destruction of its infrastructure in July.
He also asserted that it is not the responsibility of US intelligence agencies to determine “what is and is not an imminent threat” to the United States, and that only the president can make that decision.
Republican Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas, who chairs the committee, praised Trump in his opening statement, saying his actions in Iran and elsewhere have made the world safer.
Democratic Senator Mark Warner of Virginia, the committee’s vice chairman, criticized the administration for failing to explain its motivation for what he called a “war of choice.” He also criticized Gabbard for investigating the election in the United States, and the agency has cut staff involved in activities such as monitoring Iran.
Gabbard said there is no foreign threat to the US intelligence community in the November congressional elections.
Questions have been swirling around what Trump said before he decided to join Israel in striking Iran. Ratcliffe told the lawsuit that there were “countless” meetings with Trump before the first strike and that he tells the president “10 to 15 times a week.”
Sources familiar with US intelligence reports said Trump had been warned, for example, that attacking Iran could trigger retaliation from US Gulf allies despite his claims that Tehran’s reaction surprised him.
Trump’s assertion followed other administration claims that were not supported by US intelligence reports, such as that Iran would soon have a missile capable of hitting the US mainland and that it would take two to four weeks to develop a nuclear bomb.
Trump was also told ahead of the mission that Tehran may want to close the Strait of Hormuz, the world’s largest oil and gas shipping route, according to two other sources familiar with the matter.
Gabbard declined to comment on whether he had informed Trump or been asked to tell him of the possibility that Iran would attack nearby Gulf states and shut off the flow if attacked, saying only that the intelligence community was providing Trump with “all the best available intelligence to inform his decisions.”
The House of Representatives’ intelligence committee is expected to hold its hearing on global threats on Thursday.
(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle, Doina Chiacu and Jonathan Landay; additional reporting by Michael Martina; Editing by Don Durfee, Cynthia Osterman and Nia Williams)
