Washington DC [US], March 19 — Joe Kent, former director of the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center, told Tucker Carlson on the Tucker Carlson Show that Israel was the primary driver behind the decision that sparked the U.S.-Israel-Iran confrontation. “The Israelis drove the decision to take this action, which we knew would set off a series of events because the Iranians would retaliate,” Kent said, emphasizing Israel’s central role in the escalation.
On Iran’s nuclear program, Kent rejected claims that Tehran was days or weeks from a bomb. He pointed to a 2004 religious edict (fatwa) banning nuclear weapons and said there was no intelligence indicating that the fatwa was being ignored or about to be revoked. “We had no intelligence to indicate that that fatwa was being disobeyed or was on the cusp of being lifted,” he said, and added there was no evidence of an imminent Iranian attack.
Asked about the potential consequences if Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei were to die, Kent said he did not believe the ayatollah feared death because the regime would continue even if Khamenei were killed.
Earlier, former President Donald Trump responded to Kent’s resignation and his public objections to the handling of the Iran situation, calling Kent’s departure “a good thing” and criticizing him as “weak on security.”
(This report is from a syndicated feed and is published as received; the Tribune assumes no responsibility for its accuracy or completeness.)
