US administration not on same page over Iran's nuke capabilities? Trump says he 'doesn't care' what his spy agency says

Israel-Iran War: Earlier this year, Donald Trump's national intelligence director, Tulsi Gabbard has denied the speculation that Iran was building a nuclear weapon. While testifying to Congress about Iran's nuclear program, Gabbard said the Islamic nation was not building any nuke weapons. She also clarified that the Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, had not authorised the dormant program even though it had enriched uranium to higher levels.

But the American president, amid the ongoing Israel-Iran war, has said that he does not care what his intelligence agency said and claimed that Iran was "very close" to having a nuclear bomb.

While on his flight to Washington after abruptly leaving the G7 Summit in France, the US president said, "I don't care what she [Gabbard] said." Contrary to his spy agency's clarification, Trump said Khamenei is near to having a nuke weapon soon.

Trump's statement was closer to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu than his own intelligence adviser.

Moreover, after Trump's statement, the US administration downplayed the inconsistency between the statements of its two officials, saying that enriching uranium can put Iran on track to having a nuclear weapon.

Gabbard blamed the media for misconstruing her earlier testimony, asserting that "President Trump was saying the same thing that I said."

"We are on the same page," she told CNN.

What did Gabbard say?

In her March testimony to lawmakers, Gabbard said the intelligence community "continues to assess that Iran is not building a nuclear weapon and Supreme Leader Khamenei has not authorised the nuclear weapons program he suspended in 2003."

She had also said that Iran's "enriched uranium stockpile is at its highest levels and is unprecedented for a state without nuclear weapons."

Meanwhile, Senator Mark Warner of Virginia, who is the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said he had no idea of any latest information that would change the assessment of Iran's nuclear capabilities.

"Director Gabbard stated publicly in March that the Iranians were not actively pursuing a bomb," Warner said.

"I've seen nothing in recent intelligence that contradicts what Director Gabbard said," he added.