‘Iran Nowhere Close to Nukes’: Ex-US Counterterror Chief Joe Kent Says in First Interview After Exit
Former US counterterrorism chief Joe Kent has said Iran was “nowhere close” to building a nuclear weapon, making the claim in his first public interview after resigning over the Trump administration’s Iran war. Multiple reports say Kent argued there was no intelligence showing an imminent Iranian nuclear threat, directly challenging the main justification used for the military campaign.
In the interview, Kent said Iran was not on the verge of obtaining a bomb either “three weeks ago” or during the earlier 2025 strikes, according to NDTV’s report on the exchange. He also said Iran had maintained a long-standing religious edict against developing nuclear weapons and that US intelligence had not indicated that order was being violated.
Kent’s remarks came just after his resignation as director of the US National Counterterrorism Center. Reporting from AP, the Financial Times and others says he stepped down in protest, arguing that Tehran posed “no imminent threat” to the United States and that the war had been pushed forward without sufficient internal debate.
According to the Wall Street Journal and AP, Kent made the comments in an interview with Tucker Carlson on March 18, 2026, where he described the war with Iran as a “foregone conclusion” inside parts of the government and claimed dissenting voices were not meaningfully heard. He said he and others were not allowed to fully share their concerns with President Donald Trump before the strikes.
The White House has pushed back strongly. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Kent was not involved in the Iran operation talks and defended Trump’s judgment, while Trump himself called Kent “weak on security.”
The controversy has widened because Kent’s resignation has become a symbol of a broader split inside Trump-aligned foreign policy circles. Financial Times and other outlets describe his departure as one of the highest-profile internal breaks over the Iran war, especially among figures who previously backed a more restrained “America First” line on military intervention abroad.
Separately, AP reported that the FBI is investigating Kent over allegations that he may have leaked classified information, though that investigation reportedly began before his resignation. That has added another layer of political tension to an already explosive debate over whether the Iran war was based on solid intelligence.
The key takeaway from Kent’s first interview is that a former senior US counterterrorism official is publicly disputing the claim that Iran was close to nuclear breakout. His comments do not settle the issue on their own, but they have intensified scrutiny of the Trump administration’s case for war at a time when the Middle East conflict is already widening and global markets are reacting sharply.
This article may be prepared with the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) and is reviewed before publication. While we aim for accuracy and timeliness, readers should verify important facts from official or primary sources. If you believe any information is inaccurate or that any content infringes your rights, please contact ainewsbreaking.com for review and appropriate action.
