[By Guancha Observer Network, Lin Chenli] According to Reuters and Al Jazeera reports, on June 20th local time, US President Trump said that the previous statement by Director of National Intelligence Gaabed, "there is no evidence that Iran is making nuclear weapons," was wrong.

On that day, when Trump arrived at the Morristown Municipal Airport in New Jersey, he told the media that there were a large amount of intelligence showing that Iran had the ability to make nuclear weapons within weeks to months, "we will not let this happen."

In March this year, Gaabed testified before the US Congress that the US intelligence community still believed that Iran was not making nuclear weapons. When asked about this by reporters on the 20th, Trump said: "She is wrong."

After Trump made the above remarks, Gaabed posted on X platform that the media had "taken her testimony out of context" and tried to "stir up division."

"The intelligence held by the United States shows that if Iran decides to complete assembly, they have already reached the point where they can make nuclear weapons within weeks to months. President Trump has clearly stated that it is impossible for this to happen, and I agree with this point," Gaabed wrote.

US Director of National Intelligence Gaabed - New York Times

The Iranian authorities have consistently denied that they are developing nuclear weapons and claimed that their uranium enrichment program is only for peaceful purposes.

Regarding whether to decide to strike Iran, Trump said, "I give them some time, I think at most two weeks." He added that the purpose of this move was "to see if people would become rational."

When asked whether ground troops would be needed to strike Iran, Trump replied, "I don't plan to talk about ground troops because you definitely don't want to send ground troops."

In addition, Trump also said that Israel had performed well militarily, while Iran was in a difficult situation, and he believed there was currently no way to stop Israel's military actions.

"It is very hard to ask Israel to stop airstrikes. Currently, Iran is in a difficult situation, and I don't know how to stop the fighting," Trump said. But he also admitted that Israel "cannot destroy all of Iran's nuclear facilities."

Trump also said that he might support a ceasefire depending on the situation, but he could not make a final decision on the Iran issue at present.

He said that Europe could not provide help in this conflict, "Iran does not want to talk to Europe, but wants to talk to the United States, we will talk to Iran, then see what happens."

A source with access to US intelligence told Reuters that the intelligence community had not changed its assessment of Gaabed's evaluation in March. The source said that US intelligence agencies judged that Iran could take at most three years to produce a warhead capable of striking its designated targets.

David Albright, former UN arms inspector and president of the Institute for Science and International Security, also questioned Gaabed's modification of her previous statements. He estimated that Iran would need at least six months to produce a "crude nuclear device" that could not be delivered by missile, and at least one to two years to produce a nuclear weapon capable of precisely striking targets with missiles.

The report pointed out that Trump has often denied the conclusions of US intelligence agencies. During his first term, he frequently clashed with US intelligence agencies, and he and his supporters have repeatedly accused these agencies of being part of a "deep state" conspiracy without actual evidence. As a staunch supporter of Trump, Gaabed was also one of those who promoted such accusations.

This article is an exclusive contribution by the Guancha Observer Network and cannot be reprinted without permission.

Original text: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7518291075564536371/

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