Secretary of State Marco Rubio and CBS host Margaret Brennan clashed over whether U.S. intelligence has confirmed that Iran’s Supreme Leader ordered the development of a nuclear weapon, with Rubio dismissing Brennan’s question as “irrelevant.”
On Face the Nation Sunday, Brennan asked Rubio if the United States had “intelligence that the Supreme Leader had ordered weaponization” of the uranium. Rubio, who also serves as National Security Advisor, responded sharply, asserting that whether or not the Supreme Leader gave such an order was immaterial because the regime was already pursuing a nuclear weapon.
“That’s irrelevant. I see that question being asked in the media all the time. That’s an irrelevant question. They have everything they need to build a weapon,” Rubio said.
The CBS host argued that whether weaponization had been officially ordered was the “key point” in U.S. intelligence assessments. Rubio disagreed, asserting that this was not the case and claimed he understood the subject “better” than Brennan.
“Why would you bury things in a mountain, 300 feet under the ground? Why would they have 60% enriched uranium? You don’t need 60% enriched uranium. The only countries in the world that have uranium at 60% are countries that have nuclear weapons, because it can quickly make it 90. They have all the elements. Why do they have a space program? Is Iran going to go to the moon? No. They’re trying to build an ICBM so they can one day put a warhead on it,” Rubio responded.
Brennan referenced Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard’s March congressional testimony, which stated that Iran had not ordered the construction of a nuclear weapon. She asked Rubio whether the U.S. intelligence community had uncovered any new information since Gabbard’s testimony.
Rubio accused Brennan of misrepresenting the assessment.
“That’s an inaccurate representation of it. That’s not how intelligence is read. That’s now how intelligence is used,” Rubio argued.
Rubio further stated that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) recently reported that Iran was not complying with its nuclear nonproliferation obligations. The IAEA’s findings revealed that Iran was unable to explain the presence of uranium traces at undeclared nuclear sites.
“The Board of Governors… finds that Iran’s many failures to uphold its obligations since 2019 to provide the Agency with full and timely cooperation regarding undeclared nuclear material and activities at multiple undeclared locations in Iran … constitutes non-compliance with its obligations under its Safeguards Agreement with the Agency,” the report said.
In the interview, Rubio added: “They have the delivery mechanisms, they have the enrichment capability, they have the highly enriched uranium that is stored. That’s all we need to see. Especially in the hands of a regime that’s already involved in terrorism and proxies and all kinds of things around. They are the source of all instability in the Middle East.”
WATCH:
Following the U.S. attacks, Iran’s parliament voted to close the Strait of Hormuz, through which much of the world’s oil passes. In an appearance on Fox News’ “Sunday Morning Futures,” Rubio warned Iran not to take that path.
