Letter to the editor: Trump admits Iran's nuclear program was inactive

First published in the Brunswick Beacon, 05.07.26

Two months into Trump and Netanyahu’s war finds Americans worse off. 13 Americans are dead, 381 wounded. The Pentagon is spending $2 billion a day and wants another $200 billion. Iran blocked Hormuz Strait and 20% of the world’s oil. Gasoline soared from under $3 to over $4 per gallon.

Trump tried to justify their war of choice by claiming that Iran posed an imminent nuclear threat. American Intelligence disagreed. On March 17, Trump’s National Counterterrorism Center Director Joe Kent resigned, saying, “I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war. Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby. I cannot support sending the next generation off to fight and die in a war that serves no benefit to the American people nor justifies the cost of American lives.”

In June 2025, the U.S. and Israel bombed Iran’s nuclear facilities, which Trump said were “completely and totally obliterated.”

In a March 18, 2026, Senate Intelligence Committee hearing, Trump’s Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard confirmed Trump’s assessment, adding, “There have been no efforts since then to rebuild their enrichment capability.”

In an April 8 post, Trump admitted that Iran’s nuclear program was dormant when he and Netanyahu launched their surprise attack: “The United States will, working with Iran, dig up and remove all of the deeply buried (B-2 Bombers) Nuclear ‘Dust.’ It is now, and has been, under very exacting Satellite Surveillance (Space Force!). Nothing has been touched from the date of attack.” (emphasis added).

Gabbard’s assessment and Trump’s admission that Iran had not tried to rebuild its nuclear program demolished his justification for war. Kent was right: Iran posed no imminent nuclear threat. Trump let Israel’s Prime Minister drag America into a needless war that Netanyahu says he has “yearned” to fight for “40 years.”

Bob Bannerman

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