The top intelligence official in the US said on Wednesday that the Iranian regime was intact but largely degraded. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and other top Trump administration officials testified at a congressional hearing for more than two hours about worldwide threats to the US.
It was the first public briefing on intelligence since the war began in late February and came one day after a top counterterrorism leader resigned saying Iran had not posed an imminent threat to the US. Gabbard, who coordinates the country's intelligence operations, also said that the US had anticipated trouble in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping channel.
The IC [intelligence community] assesses the regime in Iran appears to be intact, but largely degraded due to attacks on its leadership and military capabilities, she said.
Appearing alongside the heads of the CIA, FBI, National Security Agency and Defense Intelligence Agency, Gabbard declined to answer when asked repeatedly by Senator Jon Ossoff, a Democrat, about whether she had viewed Iran as an imminent threat.
The only person who can determine what is and is not an imminent threat is the president, she said.
Since the war began, lawmakers and commentators from both parties have questioned why the US struck the Islamic Republic and if the Trump administration was aware of potential problems in the Strait of Hormuz on the southern coast of Iran. President Donald Trump has said the US attacked largely because Iran was developing nuclear weapons, which threatened the US and Israel.
On Tuesday, Joe Kent resigned from his role as director of the national counterterrorism center, saying in a publicly posted resignation letter that Iran had posed no imminent threat to the US and criticising Trump for the war.
CIA Director John Ratcliffe testified on Wednesday that he did not agree with Kent. I think Iran has been a constant threat to the United States for an extended period of time, and posed an immediate threat at this time, he said.
Gabbard stated that US and Israeli strikes in the Middle East had largely destroyed Iran's military capabilities. She also noted that the intelligence community had assessed that 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.
The US and Israel attacked Iran over 12 days in June 2025 with the aim of destroying possible capabilities to produce a nuclear bomb. In written remarks prepared for the hearing, Gabbard had asserted those attacks obliterated Iran's nuclear enrichment programme and that Iran had made no efforts to rebuild it. However, she did not read that assertion aloud due to time constraints.
Lawmakers raised concerns regarding the role of intelligence officials in the decision to strike Iran and whether they had briefed Trump on potential threats from Iran in the Strait of Hormuz. Ratcliffe mentioned that the Pentagon prepared for Iran to hit US interests in energy sites across the region and that the intelligence community had a longstanding assessment that Iran would likely hold the Strait of Hormuz.
It was the first public briefing on intelligence since the war began in late February and came one day after a top counterterrorism leader resigned saying Iran had not posed an imminent threat to the US. Gabbard, who coordinates the country's intelligence operations, also said that the US had anticipated trouble in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital shipping channel.
The IC [intelligence community] assesses the regime in Iran appears to be intact, but largely degraded due to attacks on its leadership and military capabilities, she said.
Appearing alongside the heads of the CIA, FBI, National Security Agency and Defense Intelligence Agency, Gabbard declined to answer when asked repeatedly by Senator Jon Ossoff, a Democrat, about whether she had viewed Iran as an imminent threat.
The only person who can determine what is and is not an imminent threat is the president, she said.
Since the war began, lawmakers and commentators from both parties have questioned why the US struck the Islamic Republic and if the Trump administration was aware of potential problems in the Strait of Hormuz on the southern coast of Iran. President Donald Trump has said the US attacked largely because Iran was developing nuclear weapons, which threatened the US and Israel.
On Tuesday, Joe Kent resigned from his role as director of the national counterterrorism center, saying in a publicly posted resignation letter that Iran had posed no imminent threat to the US and criticising Trump for the war.
CIA Director John Ratcliffe testified on Wednesday that he did not agree with Kent. I think Iran has been a constant threat to the United States for an extended period of time, and posed an immediate threat at this time, he said.
Gabbard stated that US and Israeli strikes in the Middle East had largely destroyed Iran's military capabilities. She also noted that the intelligence community had assessed that 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.
The US and Israel attacked Iran over 12 days in June 2025 with the aim of destroying possible capabilities to produce a nuclear bomb. In written remarks prepared for the hearing, Gabbard had asserted those attacks obliterated Iran's nuclear enrichment programme and that Iran had made no efforts to rebuild it. However, she did not read that assertion aloud due to time constraints.
Lawmakers raised concerns regarding the role of intelligence officials in the decision to strike Iran and whether they had briefed Trump on potential threats from Iran in the Strait of Hormuz. Ratcliffe mentioned that the Pentagon prepared for Iran to hit US interests in energy sites across the region and that the intelligence community had a longstanding assessment that Iran would likely hold the Strait of Hormuz.
