‘No intel on Iran sneak attack, Khamenei was moderating nuclear programme’: Trump ex-aide Joe Kent’s big claims after exit

Former Donald Trump aide Joe Kent, who recently resigned as director of the US national counterterrorism center, made strong claims about Iran’s nuclear programme, saying Tehran was not close to becoming a nuclear power.Kent also said that former supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in US-Israeli strikes, had been “moderating their nuclear program,” and suggested there was little justification for the war that, according to him, Israel drew the United States into.His resignation came amid the ongoing Iran conflict, a key part of Trump’s aggressive strategy toward Tehran. Meanwhile, the Federal Bureau of Investigation has opened an investigation into Kent over alleged unauthorised disclosures of classified information.

In his first interview after stepping down, Kent dismissed reports suggesting Iran was planning a large-scale attack on the United States similar to 9/11 attacks or Attack on Pearl Harbor.“There was no intelligence that said, hey, on whatever day it was, March 1st, the Iranians are going to launch this big sneak attack, they’re going to do some kind of a 9/11, Pearl Harbor, etc. They’re going to attack one of our bases. There was none of that intelligence,” Kent told in Tucker Carlson podcast.His remarks stand in contrast to repeated statements by Trump and the White House, which cited an “imminent threat” from Iran as justification for launching strikes.

Joe Kent further argued that Iran’s late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed last month in joint US-Israeli strikes, had been moderating the country’s nuclear programme.“I’m no fan of the former supreme leader, you know, Ali Khamenei, however, he was moderating their nuclear program. He was preventing them from getting a nuclear weapon,” he said, warning, “If you take him out, if you kill him aggressively, people are going to rally around that regime.”Asked by Tucker Carlson whether Iran was on the verge of acquiring a nuclear weapon, Kent replied, “No, they weren’t,” adding that Iran’s strategy was “to not completely abandon the nuclear program.”

Kent also claimed that Israel had effectively drawn the United States into the conflict and was exerting broad influence over American policy in the Middle East.He referred to remarks by Marco Rubio, who earlier argued that Iran posed an imminent threat because the US believed Israel was preparing to strike and Iran would retaliate. Kent described this reasoning as flawed, saying there was no indication Iran would attack without provocation.“So, the imminent threat that the secretary of state is describing is not from Iran. It’s from Israel,” Carlson asked.“Exactly,” Kent responded. “And I think this speaks to the broader issue: who is in charge of our policy in the Middle East.”Resignation and FBI probeKent, who has previously faced criticism for alleged associations with far-right figures, including white nationalists and a Nazi sympathiser, focused heavily on Israel in his resignation letter. Some Republicans have accused him of promoting antisemitic conspiracy theories.Meanwhile, the FBI has opened an investigation into Kent over alleged unauthorised disclosures of classified information, according to a person familiar with the matter. The inquiry has been under way for months and continued after Kent announced his resignation on Tuesday in protest against the US war with Iran.In his resignation letter posted on X, Kent said he could not support “sending the next generation off to fight and die in a war that serves no benefit to the American people.” He argued that Iran did not pose an imminent threat and accused Israel of misleading the administration into the conflict that began on February 28 with US and Israeli strikes.

US President Donald Trump, speaking in the Oval Office, rejected Kent’s assessment, saying he had long disagreed with his views. Trump reiterated that Iran “was a threat” and added that it was “a good thing” Kent had stepped down.