Not for spy agencies to determine what is, and is not, imminent threat: Tulsi Gabbard

Washington: US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard on Wednesday asserted that it is not the responsibility of US spy agencies to determine "what is and is not an imminent threat" to the US.

The top US spy made the comment when asked if the US intelligence community had assessed before the US-Israeli attacks on Iran that Tehran posed an imminent nuclear threat as a White House statement had asserted.

During the Congressional testimony, Gabbard did not mention that Iran hasn't re-started uranium enrichment since US strikes destroyed its facilities last year.


In prepared remarks to a Senate hearing on worldwide threats, Gabbard - a long-time and vocal critic of foreign interventions-was set to say Iran has made no effort to try to rebuild its enrichment capability in the year since Operation Midnight Hammer in June 2025.

According to her prepared remarks, Gabbard was going to claim "Iran's nuclear enrichment program was obliterated" in bombing during the 12-day war and that there "has been no efforts since then to try to rebuild their enrichment capability." Instead , Gabbard effectively said the opposite-that Iran was trying to recover from the attacks on its nuclear facilities. She also praised the ongoing US military operation against Iran.

Also Read | Pakistan, Russia, China & North Korea 'biggest nuclear threats' to US, Tulsi Gabbard warns

"Prior to Operation Epic Fury, the IC assesses Iran was trying to recover from the severe damage to its nuclear infrastructure sustained during the 12 day war, and continued to refuse to comply with its nuclear obligations with the IAEA, refusing them access to key facilities," Gabbard said during the hearing, referring to the intelligence community and IAEA inspectors that had previously inspected Iran's uranium stockpile.