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Donald Trump's former top counter-terrorism official has called on the US President to threaten to withdraw American support for Israel if it does not stop offensive action in the Iran war.
Joe Kent, who this week resigned as head of the US Counter-Terrorism Centre over the conflict, told right-wing media personality Tucker Carlson that the "main issue" Mr Trump had to address was "what the Israelis are doing". The comments are set to further fuel the rift in the President's Maga movement over the war and long-standing US support for Israel.
Mr Kent said: “He needs to very forcefully – probably with a new team of diplomats – go to the Israelis and say: ‘You’re done. We will defend you, we will make sure that ballistic missiles aren’t rained down on you, however, you’re done going on the offensive because this is our war, we’re paying for it, we’re bleeding for it, this is not your war. If you choose to continue this operation, we’re out’.”
He was appointed director of the counter-terrorism centre last year, serving under Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard. A vocal opponent of foreign military interventions, Mr Kent became the first high-profile US government official to quit over the conflict, announcing his decision on X on Tuesday. He criticised "pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby”.
There is growing international unease over the war, which has caused a sharp rise in energy prices. Many of Mr Trump’s supporters oppose US involvement in foreign wars and he pledged during the election campaign to refrain from entering such conflicts.
Mr Carlson, a former Fox News presenter, is a controversial figure in the US and has become increasingly critical of Israel. He has been accused by opponents of stoking anti-Semitism.
Mr Kent, meanwhile, has faced criticism over his reported ties to far-right figures including self-declared white nationalist Nick Fuentes. He has since denounced Mr Fuentes's views. US media outlets have reported that Mr Kent is under investigation by the FBI over allegations he leaked classified information.
During the interview, which was broadcast on Wednesday evening and quickly amassed more than 800,000 views on YouTube, Mr Kent claimed conservative political analyst Charlie Kirk urged him to stop Mr Trump “getting into a war with Iran” during their final conversation. Mr Kirk was shot and killed in September last year.
Mr Kent strongly denied in the interview that Iran posed an imminent threat to the US and that Tehran was close to developing a nuclear weapon.
He also said there was potential for the US to reach an agreement with Iran. The two countries held several rounds of nuclear negotiations, mediated by Oman, before the US joined Israel in launching strikes on February 28.
“There was a clear gap between the intelligence and then the information that the President was given,” Mr Kent said. “The Israelis are completely fine with Iran slipping into chaos. For us, global energy, the Strait of Hormuz, our partners in the GCC, mass migration problems in Europe, this is a major problem.”
Israel assassinated Iranian security chief Ali Larijani this week to stop the US from finding a way out of the war, with the official likely to have a role in ceasefire talks, Mr Kent added.
His resignation was dismissed by Mr Trump at the time. “I always thought [Mr Kent] was weak on security," he said. But Mr Kent said the President was "very respectful" of his decision and they "parted, personally, on good terms".
Mr Kent said that "at a core level this is not going well" and Mr Trump "needs to find a way for us to get out of this".
