President Donald Trump dismissed an assessment on Iran's nuclear capabilities made by his own director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, when asked about the situation on his way back to Washington from the G7 summit in Alberta, Canada.
Trump left the summit early on Monday, citing the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran that's raged for five days over Iran's development of nuclear weapons.
Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that he was seeking "a real end" to the conflict, "not a ceasefire."
"So, something that will be permanent?" a reporter asked Trump.
"Yeah, or giving up entirely, that's okay, too," Trump answered. "A complete 'give up.' That's possible, yeah."
CNN's Kaitlan Collins asked Trump about DNI Gabbard's testimony in March about the imminence of an Iranian nuclear threat.
"You've always said that you don't believe Iran should be able to have a nuclear weapon, but how close do you personally think that they were to getting one?" Collins asked.
Trump answered, "Very close."
"Because Tulsi Gabbard testified in March that the intelligence community said Iran wasn't building a nuclear weapon," Collins continued.
"I don't care what she said," Trump snapped. "I think they were very close to having one."
CNN's Zachary Cohen noted Trump '"appearing to dismiss the testimony from his own top intelligence chief."
Cohen continued, "A senior U.S. official, also telling me that Iran is, quote, 'As close as you can get before building a nuclear weapon.' Saying further, 'They have all the things you need in order to do so.'"
Cohen said the timeline was important in determining the potential for U.S. involvement in the conflict, saying, "It seems Donald Trump has made up his mind, though."
Cohen said it remains to be seen what steps Trump would take to prevent Iran from fully developing nuclear capabilities.
"Yeah, ultimately, that's what's important here, probably in terms of U.S. action," said anchor John Berman. "What Donald Trump thinks the truth is."