Woodstock, Maine - Former US National Counterterrorism Center Director Joe Kent said during an interview with Tucker Carlson that there was no evidence that Iran was planning a major attack on the US or its allies.

Kent's appearance on the former Fox News host's podcast comes only days after he resigned from his position, citing opposition to President Donald Trump's war on Iran.

It also came amid revelations that Kent was being investigated over allegations of leaking classified information months before he made the decision to quit.

During his conversation with Carlson, Kent said that many of the most important decision makers within the administration were not allowed to speak with Trump and express their views in the lead-up to the war in Iran.

This came in contrast to discussions before the US' strikes on Iran last year, which Kent described as "robust debate."

Perhaps most shockingly, Kent claimed that there was "no intelligence" that Iran was about to launch a "sneak attack" on the US.

"There was no intelligence that said, hey, on whatever day it was, March 1, the Iranians are going to launch this big sneak attack, they're going to do some kind of a 9/11, Pearl Harbor," Kent told Carlson.

He also warned that the elimination of then-Ayatollah Ali Khamenei would actually strengthen the regime due to a rally-around-the-flag effect, along with the new supreme leader's even more extremist views.

"He was moderating their nuclear program. He was preventing them from getting a nuclear weapon," he said of Khamenei. "If you take him out, if you kill him aggressively, people are going to rally around that regime."

Kent said that he made the decision to step down after realizing that his comments and concerns were being "squashed" even before they reached Trump himself.

"It became really clear to me, you know, over the weekend, this past weekend, that our message just wasn’t getting through," he said.

He fretted that if he stayed, he would end up "knee-deep" in a war that he disagreed with, so he resigned when he realized that he could make a bigger impact by speaking out against the administration rather than "trying to just chip away and make a difference."

Trump and Kent spoke briefly before the director announced his resignation and, according to the latter, held a "very respectful" and "kind" conversation that saw them depart "on good terms."

"I spoke with him before I departed the administration," Kent revealed. "It went great. I mean, not the best conversation ever. You know, I told him why I was leaving. He heard me out."

Trump attacked Kent during a press conference on Tuesday, clearly angered by his resignation, stating that "I always thought he was a nice guy, but I always thought he was weak on security, very weak on security."

"But when I read his statement, I realized that it's a good thing that he's out, because he said that 'Iran was not a threat,'" Trump said.