The statement marks a significant shift from her earlier remarks and comes in the wake of public disagreements with US President Donald Trump.

Gabbard’s latest comments reflect a hardening of tone. In March, she told a Senate committee that Iran was not actively pursuing nuclear arms. After being publicly rebuked by President Trump, she later claimed the media had misrepresented her remarks. Now, she appears to have aligned with the president’s long-standing warning over Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

President Trump, speaking separately, maintained that Tehran had accumulated a considerable stockpile of nuclear material. He warned that Iran could be on the brink of building a weapon “within weeks or months at most,” stressing that Washington could not allow such a development to take place.

The shifting intelligence narrative has raised international concerns and may place further strain on already tense relations between Washington and Tehran. Observers fear that a nuclear-armed Iran could heighten instability in the Middle East and trigger wider geopolitical consequences.

--ChannelAfrica--