Former director of the United States (US) National Counterterrorism Center Joe Kent has said that it was Israel that drove the US into the ongoing Iran conflict.

 

In his maiden public interview since resigning from the position, Kent, who stepped down citing concerns about the US approach toward Iran, told Tucker Carlson that access to President Donald Trump was restricted in the lead-up to the conflict

 

A “good deal of key decision makers were not allowed to come and express their opinion” to the president, he revealed.

 

Kent also addressed intelligence assessments regarding Iran, stating that there was “no intelligence” indicating the country was planning a “big sneak attack” similar to the September 11, 2001, attacks or Pearl Harbor.

 

He further discussed the influence of Israel on American policy in the Middle East and said he believed Israel had drawn the US into the conflict and was broadly shaping policy decisions. 

 

Kent referenced recent remarks from Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who described Iran as an imminent threat, arguing this was based on expectations that Israel would strike and Iran would retaliate.

 

He criticized this view, saying there was no reason to believe Iran would act without provocation.

 

When asked if the imminent threat that the state secretary described was not from Iran, he confirmed it was from Israel and said it spoke to the broader issue of who was in charge of the US policy in the Middle East.

 

Earlier, Kent’s resignation letter focused heavily on Israel, prompting criticism from some Republicans who said he promoted antisemitic conspiracy theories.

 

He has also faced scrutiny in the past for associations with far-right figures, including White nationalists and a Nazi sympathiser.

 

Kent said that he spoke out in the interview because he felt his voice and comments were being “squashed” before reaching the White House.