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The 11th Hour with Stephanie Ruhle

'A bombshell': Top counterterrorism official contradicts Trump on Iran

The 11th Hour with Stephanie Ruhle

MS NOW, Stephanie Ruhle

Politics, Washington, Congress, News, Ms Now, President, Versant Media, Policy, Msnbc, Versant, Government, Senate

4.43.6K Ratings

🗓️ 18 March 2026

⏱️ 42 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Top counterterrorism official Joe Kent publicly resigns over Iran war and says Iran posed 'no imminent threat.' Then, diesel prices soar, fueling more fears about the state of the economy. Plus, Ali Velshi is at the big board to break down the latest primary election results in Illinois. Jeff Mason, Miles Taylor, Dave Weigel, Dan Nathan, Natasha Sarin, Ali Velshi, and Dr. Theodore Iwashyna join the 11th Hour this Tuesday night.

Transcript

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0:00.0

Tonight, a senior counterterrorism official in the Trump administration publicly resigns over the war in Iran, saying the country posed no imminent threat to our nation.

0:11.0

Then, diesel prices soar, fueling fears over the future of our economy.

0:15.0

But the administration says it is not a top concern.

0:18.0

Plus, Ali Valshvi brings us the latest on tonight's primaries in Illinois

0:22.4

as the 11th hour gets underway on this Tuesday night.

0:34.1

Good evening once again. I am Stephanie Ruhl and check your calendar because we are no

0:38.2

230 days away from the midterms and today we saw opposition to the war in Iran from inside

0:44.7

the Trump administration, the director of National Counterterrorism Center, Joe Kent.

0:49.2

You might not know his name but you will tonight.

0:51.8

He resigned writing the following, quote, I cannot in good conscience

0:55.7

support the ongoing war in Iran. Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, end quote. When Trump nominated

1:03.0

Kent for the job last year, he was a very controversial pick with ties to right-wing extremists

1:08.3

and many conspiracy theories. The president reacted to his resignation telling reporters, quote,

1:13.3

I always thought he was weak on security.

1:15.1

It's a good thing he's out because he said that Iran was not a threat and Iran was a threat.

1:20.4

Those are the words of the president.

1:21.9

Meanwhile, America's partner in the Iran War, Israel, has intensified their attacks this week.

1:26.8

The IDF said that it bombed

1:28.8

Tehran again today. Iranian state media confirmed that the security chief who had been serving

1:34.6

as the de facto leader of Iran and a powerful militia commander were both killed by Israeli airstrikes.

1:40.6

And Iran is still targeting the UAE's energy infrastructure. For the first time

1:45.6

in five days this afternoon, another tanker was hit near the Strait of Formuz. European leaders

...

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