WASHINGTON, United States, March 19, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - The head of US intelligence declined again Thursday to endorse President Donald Trump's claim that Iran posed an "imminent" threat before the United States and Israel launched military strikes. California Democrat Jimmy Gomez asked after Gabbard and CIA Director John Ratcliffe said Trump ultimately decides on the urgency of a threat. "Not one of your agencies has produced a single report saying that Iran posed an imminent threat to the United States," Jim Himes, the panel's top Democrat, told Gabbard. Trump has repeatedly said he ordered the attack on Iran alongside Israel on February 28 because of an "imminent threat." The UN nuclear watchdog and most observers have not supported the finding of an imminent nuclear bomb by Iran, which was negotiating with Trump's envoys on a deal in the days before the attack.
