Trump Iranian missile claim unsupported by U.S. intelligence, say sources

U.S. President Donald Trump's claim that Iran will soon have missiles capable of hitting the United States is not backed by U.S. intelligence reports and appears exaggerated, according to three sources familiar with the reports, casting doubt on part of his case for a possible attack on the Islamic Republic, which he presented during his State of the Union address to Congress on Tuesday in Washington. During his address, Trump began making his case to the American public for potential strikes against Iran, stating that Tehran was 'working on missiles that will soon reach' the United States. However, according to two sources, there have been no changes to a 2025 U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency assessment that Iran could take until 2035 to develop a 'militarily viable intercontinental ballistic missile' from its existing satellite-launch vehicles. Even with technological assistance from China or North Korea, which closely cooperate with Iran, the sources indicated Iran would likely take up to eight years at minimum to produce something at an actual ICBM level and operational. White House spokesperson Anna Kelly defended Trump's stance, stating 'President Trump is absolutely right to highlight the grave concern posed by Iran, a country that chants 'death to America,' possessing intercontinental ballistic missiles.' Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio referred to Iran's ballistic missile program in less definitive terms, saying Tehran is 'on a pathway to one day being able to develop weapons that could reach the continental U.S.' In contrast, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi denied in an interview with India Today TV that Iran was expanding its missile capabilities, stating 'We are not developing long range missiles. We have limited range to below 2000 kilometers intentionally. We don't want it to be a global threat.' Trump's claim comes amid U.S.-Iran negotiations over Tehran's nuclear program, with no signs of a breakthrough that could avert potential U.S. strikes amid a military buildup in the region. Trump has threatened to attack Iran if it executes protesters arrested in January or fails to agree on a nuclear deal. While Iran has the largest ballistic missile force in the Middle East and has developed space-launch vehicles that could potentially be modified into ICBMs, experts like David Albright, a former U.N. nuclear inspector, note Iran is far from being able to mount nuclear warheads on missiles that could survive re-entry through Earth's atmosphere.