'There Is No Intel': #Trump's Attacks on #Iran Were Based on Vibes, Sources Say
Following Trump's attacks on Iran, an admin official tells Rolling Stone, "The intelligence assessments have not really changed"
After Trump's decision to strike 3 Iranian #nuclear facilities on Sat, admin ofcls are barely bothering to pretend the unprecedented—& potentially calamitous—attacks were motivated by new #intelligence suggesting Iran was on the brink of having nuclear weapons.
Just months ago, Trump's Director of National Intelligence #TulsiGabbard testified to #Congress, in her opening statement, that the US intel community "continues to assess that #Iran is not building a #nuclear weapon" & had not reauthorized its nuclear weapons program.
While #Trump recently publicly disputed Gabbard's testimony, acc/to 2 admin ofcls with knowledge of internal deliberations in recent weeks, Trump's decision to strike was not driven by any new US #intelligence on Iran.
"There is no intel," said one of the ofcls…."The president is *protecting* the United States & our interests, [but] the intelligence assessments have not really changed from what they were before."
Sen #ChrisMurphy, who sits on the #ForeignRelations Cmte, confirmed…American #intelligence assessments on #Iran have not changed. "I was briefed on the intelligence last week. Iran posed no imminent threat of attack to the United States. Iran was not close to building a deliverable nuclear weapon."
The second #Trump admin skipped the pretense, opting to speed-run the #US into conflict, at a time when public polling shows that the idea of #war with #Iran is spectacularly unpopular with the American people.
In his address to the nation Saturday evening, Trump said, "Our objective was the destruction of Iran's nuclear enrichment capacity & a stop to the #nuclear threat posed by the world's number one state sponsor of terror."
…Across the federal government, senior officials & policymakers aren't pretending that #Trump's claims of an imminent #nuclear threat are built on anything but vibes, whether intentionally manufactured or not.
During a press conference Sunday morning, Defense Secy #PeteHegseth was asked whether the US had new #intelligence suggesting #Iran had been attempting to build nuclear weapons.
"I would just simply say that the president's made it very clear he's looked at all of this - all of the intelligence, all the information - & come to the conclusion that the Iranian #nuclear program is a threat," #Hegseth said.
Appearing on Meet the Press on Sunday, #JDVance was asked whether #Trump had moved to attack #Iran based on #US #intelligence or rather intel provided by #Israel, which has been attacking Iranian nuclear & military sites, officials, & scientists since June 13.
"Of course, we share intelligence with a lot of agencies, British, Israeli & so forth, but it was our intelligence that motivated us to act," #JDVance said, before quickly pivoting.
"The thing that I would really emphasize is the way in which the Iranians seem to be stonewalling us," he said. "That was not, by the way, our consensus back in March of this year, we saw the Iranians making some concessions. We thought the conversations were actually productive.“
#JDVance continued, “By mid-May, everybody in our intelligence community & the president's senior team looked at ourselves and said, the Iranians are not being serious. ... If you believe, as we did, that the Iranians are rushing towards a nuclear weapons program while simultaneously refusing to negotiate, how can we do anything but take serious action against this program?"
Secretary of #State #MarcoRubio was pressed on Face the Nation on Sunday to say whether the U.S. had seen intelligence showing that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had ordered the country to make #nuclear weapons.
"That's irrelevant," Rubio said, saying it didn't matter if such an order was given. "They have everything they need for a nuclear weapon," he added.
...and remember these people also destroyed our nuclear agreement.
So, before the swat team, this guy was successfully working at a good job, had the whole city encouraging him supporting his progress integrating into society, and a live-in probation officer ensuring he was following international laws at home.
"That's irrelevant...They have everything they need for a nuclear weapon."
LISTEN RUBIO--IF IRAN HAD WHAT THEY NEEDED FOR A NUCLEAR WEAPON, ITS ONLY BECAUSE YOU MAGA IDIOTS RIPPED UP THE FULLY FUNCTIONAL, WELL-ENFORCED NUCLEAR DEAL THAT OBAMA MADE.
🤬🤬🤬
Seems odd that we are backing Israel over fears that Iran will develop nuclear weapons, and yet we seem to be allowing North Korea to do the same.
North Korea is still trying to do this and it is taking a long time, despite being friends with Nuclear nations (China and Russia), both of those countries have I think, signed the Arms Non proliferation treaty.
So even if Iran were to develop a nuclear bomb it could take far longer to develop that alongside a delivery system that can be used against a target (e.g Israel)
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