Ex-counterterror chief Joe Kent says Trump was ‘poised’ to make better Iran deal than Obama-era JCPOA

Before the Iran war, President Donald Trump was “poised” to strike a “better deal” with the regime than the President Barack Obama-era Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, former National Counterterrorism Center Director Joe Kent asserted in a Thursday post on X.

“Prior to letting the Israelis lead us into this war, President Trump was actually poised to cut a better deal than the JCPOA (aka the Obama Iran deal),” Kent wrote.

“The Iranians feared and respected Trump in a way they never respected Obama—he took out the terror mastermind Qasem Soleimani, yet was prudent enough not to get sucked into the quicksand of another Middle Eastern quagmire that would only favor Iran and strengthen its hardliners,” he continued.

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“That’s why, as soon as he returned to office in January 2025, the Iranians stopped their proxies from attacking us and were immediately open to negotiations,” Kent added.

Kent, who quit the counterterrorism post in March due to his opposition to the Iran war, asserted in the Thursday post that Trump could “still correct course” on the issue.

“President Trump can still correct course, but he has to break the current stalemate cycle we are in: Get us out of the military standoff. Restrain the Israelis. Leverage the potential of sanctions relief to open the Strait of Hormuz and secure a new deal on the nuclear issue,” he advised.

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In response to Fox News Digital’s request for a comment from the White House on Thursday, spokesman Davis Ingle provided a statement slamming Kent. 

“Joe Kent’s self-aggrandizing resignation letter and recent comments are riddled with lies. Most egregious are Kent’s false claims that the largest state sponsor of terrorism somehow did not pose a threat to the United States and that Israel forced the President into launching Operation Epic Fury. As Commander-in-Chief, President Trump took decisive action based on strong evidence which showed that the terrorist Iranian regime posed an imminent threat and was preparing to strike Americans first. President Trump’s number one priority has always been ensuring the safety and security of the American people,” Ingle said in the statement.

While testifying at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Thursday, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) Commander Adm. Brad Cooper said that during the 30 months prior to when Operation Epic Fury began, “Iran and its proxies had been attacking U.S. service members and diplomats about 350 times … about every third day.”

But Kent asserted in a post on X, “Iran’s proxies attacked our troops & diplomats under Biden, NOT under this Trump admin prior to Epic Fury, hence the 30 months time frame. When Trump returned to office in January of 2025 those attacks stopped.”

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“Iran stoped [sic] its proxies from attacking us b/c they knew Trump would hit back & they wanted to reach a deal w/Trump. A deal was in the works, that deal would have thwarted Israel’s goal of getting us committed to a war against Iran, so Israel did everything they could to get us into a war with Iran,” he added.

“Iran holding back its proxies & the protests against the regime in January show that Trump’s max pressure & strategic targeted strike campaign was working, tragically this success was squandered by letting the Israelis drive our decision making,” Kent claimed.