He made the same argument during his State of the Union address on Tuesday.
Missiles that can reach the USIn his video message, President Trump claimed that Iran is working to develop long-range missiles that “can now threaten our very good friends and allies in Europe, our troops stationed overseas and could soon reach the American homeland.”
He justified a ‘massive and ongoing operation’ against Iran, asserting that the regime ignored previous warnings to halt its nuclear and missile programmes. Citing the ‘Operation Midnight Hammer’, Trump claimed Tehran opted to ‘practice evil’ by attempting to rebuild its nuclear infrastructure and develop long-range missiles.
“After that attack, we warned them never to resume their malicious pursuit of nuclear weapons, and we sought repeatedly to make a deal. We tried. They wanted to do it, they didn’t want to do it, again they wanted to do it. They didn’t want to do it. They didn’t know what was happening. They just wanted to practice evil,” he added.
“They rejected every opportunity to renounce their nuclear ambitions, and we can’t take it anymore. Instead, they attempted to rebuild their nuclear programme and to continue developing long-range missiles that can now threaten our very good friends and allies in Europe, our troops stationed overseas and could soon reach the American homeland,” Trump continued.
Vowing a total military response, he pledged to ‘annihilate’ Iran’s navy and ‘obliterate’ its missile industry to ensure the regime never obtains a nuclear weapon.
“We are going to destroy their missiles and raise their missile industry to the ground. It will be totally again, obliterated. We are going to annihilate their navy. We are going to ensure that the region’s terrorist proxies can no longer destabilise the region or the world and attack our forces,” he added.
“And we will ensure that Iran does not obtained a nuclear weapon. It’s a very simple message. They will never have a nuclear weapon. This regime will soon learn that no one should challenge the strength and might of the United States Armed Forces,” he concluded.
What US intelligence is saying
According to US intelligence, however, there is no evidence that Iran is developing ‘militarily-viable’ intercontinental ballistic missile, contradicting claims made by President Trump. According to a 2025 unclassified assessment from the Defence Intelligence Agency, such capability is at least a decade away and by 2035 ‘should Tehran decide to pursue the capability.’
As per the two sources to CNN, the assertion that Iran will soon have a missile capable of hitting the US is not supported by intelligence; there is no evidence that Iran is pursuing an ICBM program to hit the US at this time. However, the country has short-range ballistic missiles that may strike US sites and personnel in the region.
Three sources reported that there has been no change in recent evaluations of Iran’s intercontinental ballistic missile programme.
Earlier this week, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi maintained that they have restricted missile ranges to 2,000 kilometres, and his country was not developing long-range missiles.
What US officials have said
Meanwhile, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended the administration’s focus on the ‘possible’ threat, saying, “President Trump is absolutely right to highlight the grave concern posed by Iran, a country that chants ‘death to America,’ possessing intercontinental ballistic missiles.”
When questioned about the President’s timeline for an Iranian missile threat, Secretary of State Marco Rubio declined to provide a specific window but insisted that Tehran is ‘certainly’ trying to achieve intercontinental ballistic missiles. Speaking in St. Kitts on Wednesday, Rubio pointed to Iran’s expanding missile ranges as evidence of a clear trajectory toward eventually striking the continental US.
“Beyond just the nuclear programme they possess these conventional weapons that are solely designed to attack America and attack Americans, if they so choose to do so. These things have to be addressed,” he added.
Regarding the nuclear programme, he admitted that Iran is “not enriching right now,” but added that “they’re trying to get to the point where they ultimately can.”
However, Special Envoy Steve Witkoff – one of two main US negotiators –stated in an interview published last Saturday that Iran was “probably a week away from having industrial-grade bombmaking material.”
But, as per sources and experts, the process will take far longer than a week, CNN reported. According to a source, the work to rebuild the nuclear programme is taking place in areas that are unlikely to be affected by military strikes.
