Gabbard told Senate that Iran had not resumed enrichment activities
One of the more notable moments from Wednesday’s Senate hearing stemmed from an omission during Gabbard’s opening remarks.
According to her written testimony, Gabbard was supposed to say that Iran’s nuclear enrichment program was “obliterated” during last year’s strikes on three of Iran’s nuclear facilities.
“There has been no efforts since then to try to rebuild their enrichment capability,” the prepared statement said. “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 skipped the passage as she read the remarks at the top of the hearing.
The omission was quickly noted by Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, the top Democrat on the committee, who asked if she excluded it because President Trump has said the threat posed by Iran was “imminent.” Gabbard said she was trying to save time.
“I recognized that time was running long, and I skipped through some of the portion you chose,” Gabbard said.
Later in the hearing, Gabbard confirmed to Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff of Georgia that the passage she omitted was still the assessment of the intelligence community.
Gabbard also told senators the Iranian regime “appears to be intact but largely degraded.”
Trump hasn’t made up his mind on sending Americans into Iran
President Trump hasn’t made up his mind yet on whether he wants to send American forces into Iran and seize the country’s nuclear material, which would be a very dangerous operation, sources familiar with the matter told CBS News.
The Pentagon has prepared multiple options for the president as potential next steps in the Iran war.
After the U.S. military strikes on three nuclear sites last summer, the International Atomic Energy Agency, a nuclear watchdog, said it could not account for an estimated 400 kilograms of highly enriched uranium Iran had before the strikes.