CIA Director John Ratcliffe told lawmakers at a Senate hearing Wednesday that an unencumbered Iran could have developed missiles with a range of 3,000 kilometers (1,864 miles) that could strike Europe. Ratcliffe also said Iran would have developed the ability to threaten the U.S. if it had continued to work on its booster technologies. But the CIA director did not directly answer a question from Republican Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas regarding whether Iran could have had a missile to threaten the U.S. “in as few as six months.” Ratcliffe told Cotton he was “right to be concerned.” But the CIA director did not provide a time frame for when Iran could have threatened Europe or the U.S. with a missile. Ratcliffe and National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard were pressed to say what they had told the White House about threats to Iran’s neighbors and the Strait of Hormuz by Senator Angus King.
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