US Intelligence Chief Tulsi Gabbard, presenting the intelligence community's 2026 Annual Threat Assessment, stated that Russia, China, North Korea, Iran, and Pakistan pose the most significant nuclear threats to the United States.
Gabbard testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Wednesday, saying, "The intelligence community assesses that Russia, China, North Korea, Iran, and Pakistan have been researching and developing an array of novel, advanced, or traditional missile delivery systems, with nuclear and conventional payloads, that put our homeland within range."
Gabbard claimed that China and Russia are developing new delivery systems capable of piercing or overcoming US missile defenses."North Korea's ICBMs can already reach US soil, and it is committed to expanding its nuclear arsenal," according to her.
The intelligence head emphasized that North Korea is strengthening ties with Russia and China, a change she believes has major ramifications for international security.
Speaking of Pakistan, she told legislators that the Islamic republic's long-range ballistic missile development might include ICBMs with the range to strike the United States.
Gabbard described Al-Qaeda and ISIS as substantial and long-term dangers to US interests abroad, with both groups retaining hazardous presences in Africa, the Middle East, and South Asia.

She asserted that the estimated number of missiles capable of striking the United States has risen dramatically, from 3,000 in 2025 to 16,000 in 2035.
Gabbard contradicts Trump.
Gabbard challenged US President Donald Trump, claiming that Iran did not recover its nuclear enrichment capabilities following a US-Israeli attack in June 2025.Operation Midnight Hammer destroyed Iran's nuclear enrichment programme. "There has been no attempt since then to rebuild their enrichment capability," Gabbard stated in prepared testimony to the Senate.
Prior to the hearing, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News that Trump has complete trust in Gabbard.