Tulsi Gabbard “suddenly” pulls a “Colin Powell” by backpedaling on her statement that “Iran is not building a nuclear weapon” – Blames media for taking everything “out of context”

Published June 21, 2025 | By NewsJive.com

Tulsi Gabbard, currently serving as Director of National Intelligence under President Trump, has walked back her earlier claims that Iran is not developing nuclear weapons.

In a post on X, Gabbard blamed the media for misrepresenting her statements and accused them of spreading misinformation to create division.

She wrote: “The dishonest media is intentionally taking my testimony out of context and spreading fake news as a way to manufacture division. America has intelligence that Iran is at the point that it can produce a nuclear weapon within weeks to months, if they decide to finalize the assembly. President Trump has been clear that can’t happen, and I agree.“

Gabbard’s statement marks a significant shift from her previous position in March 2025, where she insisted Iran was not actively working to develop nuclear weapons, by saying, “Iran is not building a nuclear weapon and Supreme Leader Khamenei has not authorized the nuclear weapons program he suspended in 2003.”

The dishonest media is intentionally taking my testimony out of context and spreading fake news as a way to manufacture division. America has intelligence that Iran is at the point that it can produce a nuclear weapon within weeks to months, if they decide to finalize the… pic.twitter.com/mYxjpJY2ud

— DNI Tulsi Gabbard (@DNIGabbard) June 20, 2025

When Gabbard’s boss Trump was recently asked about her statements, he said that “she is wrong.” Trump also said, “I don’t care what she said.” According to Trump, Iran is “very close” to having a nuclear weapon.

Gabbard’s reversal, now from the high-ranking position of Director of National Intelligence, has drawn attention across the political spectrum — with some critics comparing her about-face to that of Colin Powell ahead of the Iraq War, who claimed in 2003, during George W. Bush’s administration, that Iraq was well on its way to developing weapons of mass destruction — a justification used to launch a military invasion of the country. It later turned out that this was false, as Iraq in fact had no nuclear weapons.

Why Tulsi Gabbard is now suddenly making a complete shift in her narrative, and blaming the media’s interpretation of her statements, is something one can only speculate about.

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