Mike Johnson Slams Trump Official Who Quit Over Reservations About The War In Iran: 'Dont Know Where He Is Getting His Information'

House Speaker Mike Johnson slammed Joe Kent, the official who quit over reservations about the war in Iran, saying the intelligence he got supported the decision.

Kent, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, resigned to his post over the prosecution of the war, saying in a statement on social media "I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran. Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation."

"It is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby," he added. Kent worked under Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, who has kept a low profile since the war began.

Johnson reacted on Tuesday, saying during a press conference that he is part of the Gang of Eight and "got all the briefings."

"We all understood there was clearly an imminent threat that Iran was very close to the enrichment of nuclear capability," he said, noting that Tehran was "building missiles at a rate that no one in the region could keep up with. far outpacing our defense capabilities."

"I don't know where Joe Kent is getting his information but he wasn't in those briefings. because the secretary of state, the secretary of war and everyone in the joint chiefs of staff had exquisite intelligence," Johnson added.

"Had the president waited, I am personally convinced that we would have had mass casualties. The president felt he had to strike first to prevent those mass casualties."

The war continues in the meantime. The U.S. embassy in Iraq was attacked by drones and rockets. Of the seven projectiles launched, one made it through defenses and struck an empty slab of concrete. There were no injuries or serious damages reported.

Israel also said it killed Iran's top security official Ali Larijani, as well as the head of the Basij force, a local militia tasked with suppressing protests. Tehran did not immediately confirm the claims.

Elsewhere, Secretary of State Marco Rubio has urged U.S. diplomats around the world to urge foreign governments to take action against Iran as the war continues.

ABC News detailed that the goal is for diplomats to call on the countries' most elevated levels to "move expeditiously to diminish the capabilities of Iran and Iran-aligned terrorist groups from attacking our respective nations and citizens" amid an "elevated risk of attack."

The request takes place as the Trump administration considers there is an "elevated risk of attack" from Iran, particularly the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, and its proxies.

The cable doesn't elaborate on the risk of attack, but claims that "the Iranian regime is more sensitive to collective action than unilateral action, and that joint pressure is more likely to compel behavior change by the regime than unilateral actions alone."