Former counterterrorism official says he wasn’t allowed to share Iran war concerns with Trump

Joe Kent, the former counterterrorism director who resigned this week over concerns about the Iran war, said Wednesday that he and other senior officials with doubts about airstrikes “were not allowed” to share them with President Donald Trump.

Speaking on the Tucker Carlson show, Kent said the president relied on a small circle of advisers to make his decision to strike Iran. Kent claimed that Israel forced Trump’s hand when there was no evidence that Iran posed an imminent threat to the United States.

“A lot of key decision-makers were not allowed to come and express their opinions to the president,” Kent told the prominent conservative commentator. “There was no robust debate.”

Kent’s comments offer insight into Trump’s decision to strike Iran on Feb. 28 and highlight the risk that the war will divide his political base. They also suggest that there were concerns about strikes within the administration.

As head of the National Counterterrorism Center, Kent was in charge of an agency responsible for analyzing and detecting terrorist threats. His work was overseen by Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, who said Wednesday that it was up to Trump — and Trump alone — to decide whether Iran posed a threat.

Gabbard, a veteran and former congressman from Hawaii, has previously criticized talk of military strikes in Iran. She did not say what she thought about the ongoing strikes and a spokesperson declined to answer questions.

Kent declined to say who blocked his access to Trump when asked by Carlson.

Kent said there was no intelligence to suggest Iran was working to develop nuclear weapons and that he believed Israel was capable of forcing the United States into action by promising to act first, potentially endangering U.S. interests in the region. He said Israeli officials and U.S. media pundits helped make the argument that Iran posed a threat.

“It was the Israelis who made the decision to take this action,” Kent told Carlson. He cited comments from Secretary of State Marco Rubio and House Speaker Mike Johnson suggesting that Israel’s plans prompted the United States to act.

Kent, who has previously had ties to right-wing extremists, said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli officials personally pressured Trump, often with information that U.S. officials could not confirm. “When we heard what they were saying, it didn’t reflect the intelligence channels,” Kent said. His assertion that an “Israel lobby” was behind Trump’s decision to start the war drew criticism from Jewish groups and others who said it amounted to anti-Semitism.

Kent chose to make his first public remarks since his resignation during an appearance with Carlson, who was also criticized for rhetoric considered anti-Semitic.

Trump offered varying reasons for the strikes and pushed back against claims that Israel forced the United States to act. On Tuesday, he dismissed Kent’s criticism of the war and said he always thought Kent was “weak on security” and that if anyone in his administration didn’t believe Iran was a threat, “we don’t want those people.”

“They’re not smart people, or they’re not savvy people,” Trump said. “Iran posed a huge threat.”

The White House did not immediately respond to questions about Kent’s comments on Carlson’s show.

As a Green Beret, Kent fought in 11 deployments before retiring to join the CIA. He also endured tragedy: His wife, a Navy cryptologist, was killed by a suicide bomber in 2019 in Syria, leaving him with two young sons. Kent, 45, has since remarried.

Kent told Carlson he decided to resign after it became clear his concerns would be ignored.

“I know the path we’re on isn’t working,” Kent said, saying he was determined: “I can’t participate in this in good conscience.”