Ex-Counterterrorism Director Says U.S. Intelligence Assessed Iran Was Not Developing Nuclear Weapon

Former National Counterterrorism Center Director Joe Kent asserted in a post on X that prior to the start of the Iran war the U.S. intelligence community agreed that Iran was not developing a nuclear weapon. "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 & that Iran would target U.S. ," Kent wrote in a post on Thursday. "The IC also properly assessed that targeting the Iranian leadership would strengthen the regime and embolden the hardliners.

Despite the professionalism & accuracy of the IC, the narrative & agenda spun by a foreign government- Israel, won the argument & forced us into this war," he continued. Kent resigned from the National Counterterrorism Center director role back in March. "I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran," he wrote in his resignation letter.

bases in the region and shut down the Strait of Hormuz if attacked by Israel and the United States. The community further assessed that targeting Iranian leadership would strengthen the regime and embolden hardliners.

"We need to understand exactly how this happened to ensure we are never put in this position again," Kent concluded in the post. Fox News Digital reached out to the White House on Friday for a response to the comments. In an April post, the president rejected the idea that Israel had convinced the administration to enter the war against Iran.

The president cited the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel and a long-held view that Iran must not acquire a nuclear weapon as factors in the decision.