Trump claimed Iran is building missiles that could soon hit the US. Sources say that’s not backed up by US intelligence.
By Jennifer Hansler, Natasha Bertrand, Kylie Atwood, Zachary Cohen, CNN
(CNN) — When US President Donald Trump addressed the American people on Tuesday night, he claimed that Iran is “working to build missiles that will soon reach the United States of America.”
That assertion is not backed up by US intelligence, sources told CNN.
It was one of several claims about threats from Iran made publicly by the Trump administration as it lays the groundwork for possible military action, even as they continue to say the US president wants to reach a diplomatic solution.
An unclassified assessment from the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) from 2025 said that Iran could develop a “militarily-viable” intercontinental ballistic missile by 2035 “should Tehran decide to pursue the capability.”
According to two sources, the claim that Iran will soon have a missile capable of hitting the US is not backed up by intelligence — there is no intelligence to suggest that Iran is pursuing an ICBM program to hit the US at this time, the sources said.
Iran does, however, possess short range ballistic missiles that could threaten US bases and personnel in the region, as the administration has warned.
Three sources told CNN there has been no change in recent assessments about Iran’s intercontinental ballistic missile aspirations.
White House spokesperson Anna Kelly responded to CNN’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.”
Speaking to reporters Friday, Trump said that he is “not happy” with ongoing negotiations between the US and Iran over that country’s nuclear program, saying that Iran was “not willing to give us what we have to have.”
He said he had not “made a final decision” on whether he would proceed with military strikes, saying that there would be additional discussions.
The US has amassed its largest collection of military hardware in the Middle East since the invasion of Iraq in 2003 as Trump has repeatedly suggested he might take military action against Iran.
The matter of Iranian missile technology 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 familiar with the briefing said.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in an interview released this week that his country was not developing long-range missiles.
“We have deliberately limited the range of our missiles to 2,000 kilometers,” he told India Today TV, saying the missiles were for defense.
The State Department referred CNN to remarks Rubio made Wednesday.
Pressed on Trump’s claim that Iran could “soon” have missiles that could reach the US, Rubio said he would not speculate “as to how far away they are,” but said Iran is “certainly” trying to achieve 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 told reporters at a press conference in St. Kitts Wednesday.
He argued that Iran’s refusal to discuss its ballistic missile program in negotiations is “a big problem.” The rounds of discussions between Washington and Tehran have, so far, only focused on nuclear issues.
Asked about the DIA report on Iranian intercontinental ballistic missile development, Rubio said, “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 top US diplomat said.
On the nuclear program, Rubio acknowledged that Iran is “not enriching right now,” but said “they’re trying to get to the point where they ultimately can.”
However, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff – one of two main US negotiators – claimed in an interview released last Saturday that Iran was “probably a week away from having industrial-grade bombmaking material.” That claim came despite the Trump administration’s repeated assertions that the US had “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear program in military strikes last year.
According to a source, intelligence shows that Iran is actively trying to build back its enrichment capability, including installing additional centrifuges, getting back online centrifuges that survived military strikes last year, and rebuilding facilities – many of which were damaged or destroyed – needed to weaponize the enriched uranium.
However, sources and experts say that work would take far longer than a week. And, according to a source, the work to build back the nuclear program is happening in places that are not likely to be impacted by military strikes.
CNN’s Alejandra Jaramillo contributed to this report
The-CNN-Wire
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