TEHRAN- US President Donald Trump, who launched an unprovoked war against Iran on February 28, 2026, alongside Israel, has faced mounting criticism at home and abroad. The decision to attack Iran was based on the pretext that Tehran was developing nuclear weapons — a claim now publicly contradicted by senior former intelligence officials.

Since the onset of hostilities, Trump's approval ratings have seen a sharp decline. Political analysts note that the prolonged conflict, rising US casualties, and economic fallout from disrupted global oil supplies have eroded public trust in his leadership. Many experts argue that Trump was misled by Israeli lobbying efforts and failed to consider the intelligence community's accurate assessments. His approval numbers, which hovered around 48% before the war, dropped to 38% by mid-March 2026 — the steepest decline of his political career. Furthermore, bipartisan criticism has intensified, with lawmakers questioning the justification for the war and accusing the Trump administration of bypassing congressional authorization.

The United States intelligence community confirmed that Tehran was not developing a nuclear weapon before the 40-day war on Iran, according to a former US "counterterrorism" chief.

Joe Kent, who served as Director of the National Counterterrorism Center (NCC) under the Trump administration before resigning in protest, asserted in a post on X on Thursday that the US intelligence community was in agreement before the war that "Iran wasn't developing a nuclear weapon."

The US and Israel launched an unprovoked war on Iran on February 28, 2026, under the false pretext that Tehran was pursuing nuclear weapons.
"One of the many tragedies of this war is that before the war began the US Intel Community, including CIA, was in agreement that Iran wasn't developing a nuclear weapon & that Iran would target US bases in the region & shut down the Strait of Hormuz if they were attacked by Israel & the US," Kent wrote.

"The IC also properly assessed that targeting the Iranian leadership would strengthen the system," he continued. "Despite the professionalism & accuracy of the IC, the narrative & agenda spun by a foreign government — Israel — won the argument & forced us into this war. We need to understand exactly how this happened to ensure we are never put in this position again."

Kent resigned from his post in March in protest against 'an unwarranted US-Israeli aggression against Iran.' In his resignation letter, he openly criticized President Donald Trump's decision to launch the war.

Iran did not pose an immediate threat to the United States, Kent asserted.

"I cannot in good conscience support the war against Iran," Kent wrote on March 17, 2025, in a post on X. He pointed out that the Israelis forced Trump into the war. "It is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby," he added.

Political experts have widely condemned Trump's handling of the Iran crisis. Dr. Sarah Collins, a foreign policy analyst at the Council on Foreign Relations, told media outlets: "This war was entirely avoidable. The intelligence community was clear, but the administration chose political lobbying over national security." Meanwhile, conservative commentator David Brooks wrote in The New York Times that "Trump has fallen into a trap of his own making, sacrificing American lives for the benefit of a foreign agenda."

These days, there is no doubt that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pushed Trump into war with Iran.

Kent said conservative activist Charlie Kirk last summer implored him to do what he could to make sure the Trump administration resisted getting involved in a war in the Middle East.

“I wasn’t particularly close with Charlie, he was very gracious to me when I was running for Congress, very supportive. So, we knew each other,” Kent said during an interview with Tucker Carlson published on Wednesday evening.

He added, “The last time I saw him on this earth was in June in the West Wing in the stairway.”

Kent noted that when he said hi to Kirk, the Turning Point USA co-founder “looked me in the eye, and he said very loudly … Joe, stop us from getting into a war with Iran.”

The war with Iran and Trump's support for this was so important to Netanyahu that Kent says that the assassination of Charlie Kirk could have been carried out by Israel because Kirk was against the war with Iran.

“So when one of President Trump’s closest advisers who is vocally advocating for us to not go to war with Iran and at least rethink our relationship with Israel, and he’s suddenly publicly assassinated and we’re not allowed to ask questions, it’s a data point,” he continued. “A data point we need to look into.”

Polls conducted by Reuters/Ipsos in early April 2026 showed that 55% of Americans now oppose the war, up from 40% in late February. Trump's disapproval rating has surged to 60%, with key battleground states showing significant erosion of support among independent and suburban voters. Analysts warn that unless the administration changes course, Trump's political future remains in serious jeopardy.