WASHINGTON
\nUS President Donald Trump\u2019s claim that Iran will soon have a missile that can hit the United States is not backed by U.S. intelligence reports, and appears to be exaggerated, according to three sources familiar with the reports, casting doubt on part of his case for a possible attack on the Islamic Republic.
\nIn his State of the Union address to Congress on Tuesday, Trump began making his case to the American public for why the U.S. could launch strikes against Iran, saying Tehran was \u201cworking on missiles that will soon reach\u201d the United States.
\nBut there have been no changes, two sources said, to an unclassified 2025 U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency assessment that Iran could take until 2035 to develop a \u201cmilitarily viable intercontinental ballistic missile\u201d (ICBM) from its existing satellite-lofting space-launch vehicles (SLV).
\n\u201cPresident Trump is absolutely right to highlight the grave concern posed by Iran, a country that chants \u2018death to America,\u2019 possessing intercontinental ballistic missiles,\u201d said White House spokesperson Anna Kelly.
\nOne source said that even if China or North Korea – which closely cooperate with Iran – provided technological assistance, Iran would probably take up to eight years at the earliest to produce \u201csomething that is actually ICBM level and operational.\u201d
\nThe sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity in order to discuss sensitive intelligence, said they were unaware of any U.S. intelligence assessments that Iran was developing a missile that could soon range the U.S. homeland but did not rule out the possibility of a new intelligence report they were unaware of.
\nThe New York Times first reported that U.S. intelligence agencies believe Iran is probably years away from having missiles that can hit the United States.
\nRUBIO SAYS IRAN ON \u2018PATHWAY\u2019 TO WEAPONS THAT CAN REACH U.S.
\nTrump\u2019s claim about Iran\u2019s missile capability came as representatives from the U.S. and Iran negotiate over Tehran\u2019s nuclear program, with no signs of a breakthrough that could avert potential U.S. strikes amid a massive military buildup in the region.
\nThe U.S. president has done little to explain publicly why he might be leading the U.S. into its most aggressive action against the Islamic Republic since its 1979 revolution.
\nIn his address on Tuesday, Trump pointed to Tehran\u2019s support for militant groups, its killing of protesters and the country\u2019s missile and nuclear programs as threats to the region and the United States.
\nWithout providing evidence, Trump said that Tehran was beginning to rebuild the nuclear program that he claimed had been \u201cobliterated\u201d by U.S. airstrikes last June on three major sites involved with uranium enrichment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
WASHINGTON US President Donald Trump\u2019s claim that Iran will soon have a missile that can hit the United States is not backed by U.S. intelligence reports, and appears to be exaggerated, according to three sources familiar with the reports, casting doubt on part of his case for a possible attack on the Islamic Republic. In […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":531131,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-533950","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n