New Delhi, June 17 -- US President Donald Trump dismissed the assessment of National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard regarding Iran's nuclear ambitions, suggesting instead that the country is "very close" to developing a nuclear bomb.

"I don't care what she said," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One. "I think they were very close to having it."

Gabbard had testified before Congress earlier this year that US intelligence agencies did not believe Iran was actively building a nuclear weapon. In her March testimony, she said, "The intelligence community continues to assess that Iran is not building a nuclear weapon and Supreme Leader Khamenei has not authorized the nuclear weapons program he suspended in 2003."

Despite the appare...