Iran weakened but still dangerous

Iran's power has been weakened since the war began on February 28, but it appears to be largely intact, and Tehran and its allies remain capable of attacking US interests and those of its partners in the Middle East, US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard said today.

"The regime in Iran appears intact, but it has been greatly weakened by Operation Epic Fury," Gabbard said, referring to the US-Israeli military campaign against Iran, in opening remarks at an annual hearing before the Senate Intelligence Committee on global threats to the United States.

"Nevertheless, Iran and its allies remain capable and continue to attack the interests of the United States and its partners in the Middle East. If such a hostile regime persists, it will seek to initiate a multi-year process of rebuilding its missile and unmanned aerial (drone) capabilities," Gabbard said.

The hearing was Gabbard's first significant public appearance in months, according to Reuters.

The hearing focused largely on the Iran war, now in its third week, as lawmakers, including some Republicans close to President Donald Trump, as well as Democrats, said they wanted more information about the air campaign that has killed thousands, disrupted the daily lives of millions and rocked energy and stock markets.

Democrats have particularly criticized the administration's failure to adequately inform Congress about the conflict, which has cost American taxpayers billions of dollars, and have demanded public testimony instead of the confidential briefings held over the past two weeks.

“The complete lack of clarity should be of concern to everyone,” said Colorado Democratic Senator Michael Bennett, after a tense exchange with CIA Director John Ratcliffe about the US plan to eliminate the threat from Iran.

Gabbard argued that it is not the responsibility of US intelligence agencies to determine "what is and what is not an imminent threat" to the United States.

She said this after being asked whether the US intelligence community, before the US-Israeli attacks on Iran, assessed that Tehran posed an imminent nuclear threat, as claimed in a White House statement.

The hearing, which included Gabbard and Ratcliffe, along with FBI Director Kash Patel and other intelligence officials, also touched on Tuesday's surprise announcement that one of Gabbard's closest aides had resigned, citing the war as the reason.

Joe Kent, who led the National Counterterrorism Center, is the first senior official in the Trump administration to resign over the conflict.

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence oversees the counterterrorism center, and Kent is a close aide to Gabbard.

"I cannot, in good conscience, support the ongoing war against Iran. Iran posed no immediate threat to our country and it is clear that we started this war under pressure from Israel and its powerful lobby," Kent wrote in a letter posted on social media.

Ratcliffe said during the hearing that he disagreed with Kent. "I believe that Iran has posed a continuing threat to the United States for a long time and that it posed an imminent threat at this time," he said.

Gabbard's threat assessment to the committee further compounded confusion about the state of Iran's nuclear program. Some administration officials had argued before the war that Iran was just a few steps away from developing nuclear weapons, which was one of the reasons cited for launching the airstrikes.

In prepared remarks released by the committee just before the hearing, Gabbard said Iran's uranium enrichment program was destroyed in US and Israeli strikes in June and that Washington has not seen any attempts to rebuild that capacity since then. However, addressing senators, Gabbard said the intelligence community assessed that Iran was trying to recover from the damage done to its infrastructure in July.

Arkansas Republican Senator Tom Cotton, who chairs the committee, praised Trump in his opening remarks, saying his moves in Iran and elsewhere have made the world safer.

Democratic Senator Mark Warner of Virginia, the committee's vice chairman, criticized the administration for failing to hold briefings to Congress on the war and other issues. He also criticized Gabbard for investigating U.S. elections while the agency was cutting staff on activities such as monitoring Iran.

Numerous questions have been raised about what Trump was presented with before he decided to join Israel in attacking Iran.

Sources familiar with US intelligence reports said Trump was warned, among other things, that an attack on Iran could trigger retaliation against US allies in the Gulf, despite his claims on Monday that Tehran's reaction was a surprise.

Trump's claim followed other administration claims that were not supported by US intelligence reports, such as those that Iran would soon have a missile capable of hitting US territory and that it would take two to four weeks to build a nuclear bomb.

According to two other sources familiar with the matter, Trump was also informed ahead of the operation that Tehran would likely try to close the Strait of Hormuz, a key global route for transporting oil and gas.

Gabbard declined to comment on whether she briefed Trump, or whether she was asked to brief him, on the possibility that Iran could attack neighboring Gulf states and close the strait in the event of an attack, stating only that the intelligence community provides Trump with "the best available objective intelligence for decision-making."

The House Intelligence Committee is scheduled to hold a hearing on global threats today.