Washington ignored intel warnings on Iran – Trump’s ex-counterterror chief

Joe Kent resigned as head of the US National Counterterrorism Center in March after watching Washington get pulled into Israel’s war against Iran. The former CIA officer says American intelligence, including the CIA, had reached consensus before the escalation: Iran was not developing a nuclear weapon.

Despite those assessments, Kent wrote on X, “the narrative and agenda spun by a foreign government – Israel, won the argument and forced us into this war.” He compared the episode to the 2003 push into Iraq, arguing that Israeli messaging portrayed Tehran as an imminent threat and drowned out US warnings that an attack would prompt Iran to target American bases across the Middle East and attempt to shut down the Strait of Hormuz.

Kent’s account lands at a moment when the conflict refuses to end. The US and Israel began strikes in late February. Trump announced a ceasefire last month, yet on Thursday night American forces hit Iranian targets near the strait while Tehran accused Washington of breaking the truce and responded by striking US warships.

The former counterterrorism chief, who left his post in protest, insists Trump fell victim to an Israeli misinformation campaign. Trump has rejected that claim outright, stating last month that “Israel never talked me into the war with Iran” and repeating that “Iran can never have a nuclear weapon.” Tehran continues to maintain its nuclear program is peaceful.

Current US-Iran talks, according to Axios, center on a proposed 14-point memorandum that would impose a moratorium on Iranian uranium enrichment, offer phased sanctions relief, release frozen funds, and guarantee free transit through the Strait of Hormuz. Whether those negotiations survive fresh strikes is unclear.

The deeper contradiction remains: American intelligence agencies assessed no active Iranian bomb program and forecast exactly the regional retaliation now unfolding, yet policy followed the foreign narrative instead. Kent calls it another “never-ending” conflict that does not serve US interests.

Original reporting: RT.