Ex-counterterrorism official debunks one of Trump’s main talking points

U.S. President Donald Trump is arguing that higher gas prices are a small price to pay for the Iranian government not having a nuclear weapon. The Islamist regime in Tehran, Trump claims, would have developed a nuclear weapon had he not launched a series of airstrikes against that country in late February.

But MAGA Republican Joe Kent, former director of the National Counterterrorism Center, is pushing back against that claim.

In a Thursday, May 7 post on X, formerly Twitter, Kent posted, "One of the many tragedies of this war is that before the war began the U.S. Intel Community, including CIA, was in agreement that Iran wasn't developing a nuclear weapon [and] that Iran would target U.S. bases in the region [and] shut down the Strait of Hormuz if they were attacked by Israel [and] the U.S. The IC also properly assessed that targeting the Iranian leadership would strengthen the regime and embolden the hardliners."

Kent added, "Despite the professionalism [and] accuracy of the IC, the narrative [and] agenda spun by a foreign government- Israel, won the argument [and] forced us into this war. We need to understand exactly how this happened to ensure we are never put in this position again."

On March 17, Kent voiced his opposition to the Iran war by announcing his resignation as National Counterterrorism Center director. Some MAGA Republicans, including former Fox News host Tucker Carlson, applauded his stand — while others attacked him for not sticking by Trump during the Iran operation.

Kent, in his resignation letter, posted, "I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran. Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby."