In a surprising turn of events at a Senate hearing on Wednesday, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard inadvertently disclosed a significant detail regarding Iran’s nuclear program. During her testimony, she conspicuously omitted a section from her prepared remarks, which claimed that the threat posed by Iran had been “obliterated.” This omission raised eyebrows and sparked further inquiry.
Senators were quick to question Gabbard about her decision to bypass this particular segment of her speech during the Senate Intelligence Committee session. The central concern was whether her omission was an intentional move to avoid contradicting President Donald Trump’s stance. Trump, along with top military and administration officials, has consistently cited the destruction of Iran’s nuclear capabilities as a key objective, framing it as essential to preventing the Islamic Republic from developing a nuclear weapon.
Gabbard’s written testimony included an assertive declaration: “As a result of Operation Midnight Hammer, Iran’s nuclear enrichment program was obliterated. There have been no efforts since then to try to rebuild their enrichment capability.” This statement pointed to decisive actions taken to dismantle Iran’s nuclear aspirations.
Further details in the document revealed that the entrances to the underground facilities, targeted during the operation, had been sealed with cement. Gabbard assured that continuous monitoring was in place to detect any early signs of Iran’s leadership, current or future, authorizing a resurgence of their nuclear weapons program. This ongoing vigilance underscores the importance of remaining alert to any potential threats to global security.
‘The entrances to the underground facilities that were bombed have been buried and shuttered with cement. We continue to monitor for any early indicators on what position the current or any new leadership in Iran will take with regard to authorizing a nuclear weapons program.’
But Gabbard chose not to read this out.
The glaring omission was pointed out by Democratic Senator Mark Warner of Virginia, who said: ‘In your printed testimony today, you said Iran’s nuclear missile program was obliterated. You omitted that paragraph from your opening statement.’
Gabbard replied: ‘I recognized that time was running long.’
DNI Tulsi Gabbard omitted a part of her prepared remarks during her Senate testimony mentioning how Trump’s summer 2025 strikes on Iran in Operation Midnight Hammer ‘obliterated’ Iran’s nuclear supply
Gabbard said she left out the portion because her remarks were running long and she was afraid of running out of time
Trump and top military officials claimed the US ‘obliterated’ Iran’s nuclear enrichment capabilities in June 2025. However, Trump has also said one reason the US is at war with Iran now is because of its nuclear capabilities
Warner hit back: ‘So you chose to omit the parts that contradict Trump?’
The brutal grilling comes as Gabbard faces intense scrutiny after the resignation of Joe Kent, the Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, on Tuesday.
Kent, an Iraq war veteran, forms part of the ‘America First’ non-interventionist faction of White House officials, which includes Gabbard and Vice President JD Vance.
Any sign during the committee hearing that Gabbard was breaking with the President would have risked further examination of her loyalty.
She and Vance held a private meeting with Kent about his resignation letter, the Washington Post reported today.
Kent explosively claimed that Trump had been duped by Israel into striking Iran and accused him of reneging on his ‘America First’ campaign promise.
Speculation that Gabbard could be next swiftly followed, with the odds of her exit rocketing on prediction markets.
The likelihood of the spy chief being the next high-level departure is at 14 percent, up from 6 percent yesterday, according to Kalshi.
In her first public comments since the February 28 strikes, Gabbard posted on X Tuesday: ‘Donald Trump was overwhelmingly elected by the American people to be our President and Commander in Chief.
‘As our Commander in Chief, he is responsible for determining what is and is not an imminent threat, and whether or not to take action he deems necessary to protect the safety and security of our troops, the American people and our country.’
Gabbard, along with CIA Director John Ratcliffe and FBI Director Kash Patel, testified together about worldwide threats facing the US.
The annual hearing is the only open venue where lawmakers can grill the Trump officials on their performance and threat assessments.
Trump said in the summer of 2025 that Iran’s nuclear capabilities had been ‘obliterated.’ However, he has said that a main reason the US is at war with Iran is over the country’s nuclear program
Former director of the National Counterterrorism Center Joe Kent resigned on Tuesday in opposition to the US war on Iran
The session became combative at times as Democrats pressed the officials on Trump’s war on Iran.
Operation Midnight Hammer completely ‘obliterated’ those capabilities, Gabbard’s prepared remarks stated. It also said the Iranians made ‘no efforts’ to rebuild their destroyed nuclear facilities.
‘I recognized that the time was running long, and I skipped through some of the portions,’ Gabbard said.
‘Iran was trying to recover from the severe damage to its nuclear infrastructure,’ Gabbard later testified, matching some of what the White House has said.
Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff of Georgia also grilled Gabbard on the assessment that there was an ‘imminent threat’ posed by Iran.
‘The intelligence community assessed that Iran maintained the intention to rebuild and to continue to grow their nuclear enrichment,’ the DNI shot back.
When asked by the Georgia lawmaker about whether she and the ODNI determined Iran posed an ‘imminent threat,’ the DNI deferred to the President.
‘Senator, the only person who can determine what is and is not an imminent threat is the President.’
The answer upset Ossoff, who pointed out that Gabbard was there to brief lawmakers on the worldwide threats facing the US and whether she had discussed those threats with Trump.
She also shared that other US rivals, in addition to Iran, are speeding ahead on nuclear research.
‘The intelligence community assesses that Russia, China, North Korea, Iran, and Pakistan have been researching and developing an array of novel, advanced, or traditional missile delivery systems, with nuclear and conventional payloads, that put our homeland within range,’ she said.
The spy chief also lauded the agency formerly held by her friend Joe Kent, who publicly resigned from the administration on Tuesday, citing his opposition to the US war in Iran, which he said was begun due to pressure on Trump from Israel.
‘Our ODNI National Counterterrorism Center has been at the forefront of ramping up, and I believe, is more active today than it has been, certainly in a long time,’ she said.
‘We are dedicating every resource that they ask for as well as the counterterrorism elements across the IC to make sure that we are never taking our eye off of this persistent threat to the American people.’
There has been no announcement as to who will replace Kent as director of the National Counterterrorism Center.
