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

By Fox News · Fox News

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. US INTEL COMMUNITY AGREED BEFORE WAR 'IRAN WASN'T DEVELOPING A NUCLEAR WEAPON': EX-COUNTERTERRORISM CHIEF "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. EX-COUNTERTERRORISM CHIEF SAYS TRUMP MUST RESTRAIN ISRAEL BEFORE HE CAN DECLARE VICTORY IN IRAN 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…