In his first feedback about Saturday’s US navy strikes towards Iran, President Donald Trump claimed in a video posted to social media that Iran has been building missiles that “could soon reach the American homeland.”
It’s an argument he additionally made in his State of the Union address Tuesday night time.
However, that assertion is not backed up by US intelligence, sources informed NCS.
It was one in every of a number of claims about threats from Iran made publicly by the Trump administration in the lead up to Saturday’s strikes.
An unclassified assessment from the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) from 2025 mentioned that Iran could develop a “militarily-viable” intercontinental ballistic missile by 2035 “should Tehran decide to pursue the capability.”
According to 2 sources, the declare that Iran will soon have a missile able to hitting the US is not backed up by intelligence — there is no intelligence to recommend that Iran is pursuing an ICBM program to hit the US at the moment, the sources mentioned.
Iran does, nonetheless, possess quick vary ballistic missiles that could threaten US bases and personnel in the area, as the administration has warned.
Three sources informed NCS there has been no change in latest assessments about Iran’s intercontinental ballistic missile aspirations.
White House spokesperson Anna Kelly responded to NCS’s reporting, saying “President Trump is absolutely right to highlight the grave concern posed by Iran, a country that chants ‘death to America,’ possessing intercontinental ballistic missiles.”
The matter of Iranian missile expertise did not come up in a briefing with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and the “Gang of Eight” congressional leaders this week, sources acquainted with the briefing mentioned.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi mentioned in an interview launched this week that his nation was not creating long-range missiles.
“We have deliberately limited the range of our missiles to 2,000 kilometers,” he informed India Today TV, saying the missiles have been for protection.
The State Department referred NCS to remarks Rubio made Wednesday.
Pressed on Trump’s declare that Iran could “soon” have missiles that could attain the US, Rubio mentioned he would not speculate “as to how far away they are,” however mentioned Iran is “certainly” attempting to attain intercontinental ballistic missiles.
“You’ve seen them increasing the range of the missiles they have now, and clearly they are headed in the pathway to one day being able to develop weapons that could reach the continental US,” he informed reporters at a press convention in St. Kitts Wednesday.
He argued that Iran’s refusal to debate its ballistic missile program in negotiations that had been underway between the US and Iran in latest weeks is “a big problem.” The rounds of discussions between Washington and Tehran have, to this point, solely centered on nuclear points.
Asked about the DIA report on Iranian intercontinental ballistic missile improvement, Rubio mentioned, “I won’t comment on assessments or anything that the Intelligence Community says. Suffice it to say that it’s a threat. We can see that it’s possible.”
“Beyond just the nuclear program they possess these conventional weapons that are solely designed to attack America and attack Americans, if they so choose to do so. These things have to be addressed,” the high US diplomat mentioned.
On the nuclear program, Rubio acknowledged that Iran is “not enriching right now,” however mentioned “they’re trying to get to the point where they ultimately can.”
However, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff – one in every of two fundamental US negotiators – claimed in an interview launched final Saturday that Iran was “probably a week away from having industrial-grade bombmaking material.” That declare got here regardless of the Trump administration’s repeated assertions that the US had “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear program in navy strikes final 12 months.
According to a supply, intelligence reveals that Iran is actively attempting to construct again its enrichment functionality, together with putting in extra centrifuges, getting again on-line centrifuges that survived navy strikes final 12 months, and rebuilding services – lots of which have been broken or destroyed – wanted to weaponize the enriched uranium.
However, sources and specialists say that work would take far longer than per week. And, in line with a supply, the work to construct again the nuclear program is occurring in locations that are not prone to be impacted by navy strikes.
NCS’s Alejandra Jaramillo contributed to this report