Trump official who quit over Iran war: U.S. could have threatened Israel aid to prevent unilateral attack

Joe Kent, who stepped down as director of the National Counterterrorism Center, told Tucker Carlson the U.S. should have used military aid as leverage to block Israel's offensive and questioned the influence of pro-Israel lobbyists on America First policy

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Trump official who quit over Iran war: U.S. could have threatened Israel aid to prevent unilateral attack

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Joe Kent, who stepped down as director of the National Counterterrorism Center, told Tucker Carlson the U.S. should have used military aid as leverage to block Israel's offensive and questioned the influence of pro-Israel lobbyists on America First policy

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Ben Samuels

Washington

March 19, 2026Updated:March 18, 2026

WASHINGTON - Joe Kent, the senior Trump administration official who resigned over the Iran war while citing "Israel and its American lobby," told Tucker Carlson — the most influential figure on the right opposing U.S.-Israel policy — that the U.S. could have threatened to halt military assistance to prevent Israel from unilaterally launching the war against.

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