ISTANBUL

Late Iranian security chief Ali Larijani, who was recently killed by a US-Israeli strike, was eager to negotiate for a deal with the US, the former director of the US National Counterterrorism Center said on Wednesday.

Joe Kent, a 20-year US Army Special Forces combat veteran and former CIA paramilitary officer who later headed the counterterrorism agency, made the comments in an interview with well-known conservative commentator Tucker Carlson the day after resigning.

“We just killed, you know, Ali Larijani, who was a negotiator, who was eager to get us a deal again,” Joe Kent said, expressing concern that the killing of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council secretary might garner support for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

“If you give the IRGC a reason to take more control, and they get support from the people, because again, you kill off the Ayatollah, they can say, hey, the last guy was too moderate. Look at what it got us. Like, give us more, more control. And the Iranian people are gonna be like, well, actually, yeah, I don't like getting bombed by the Americans and Israelis. Maybe we do need to listen to the IRGC,” Kent said.

Iranian authorities said Larijani was killed early Tuesday in a US-Israeli strike that also claimed the lives of his son Morteza, his aide Alireza Bayat, several council staff members, and bodyguards.

The US and Israel have continued a joint offensive on Iran since Feb. 28, killing so far around 1,300 people, including then-Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.

Iran has retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel, Jordan, Iraq, and Gulf countries hosting US military assets, causing casualties and damage to infrastructure while disrupting global markets and aviation.

Notably, Kent also raised questions about the investigation into right-wing American activist and influencer Charlie Kirk’s death in September of last year, suggesting that it was cut short.

He said the killing of Kirk -- one of US President Donald Trump's closest advisers and a vocal opponent of war with Iran who had reportedly advocated for the US to at least rethink its relationship with Israel -- deserved further scrutiny.

"He was suddenly publicly assassinated, and we're not allowed to ask any questions about that," he said.

"There are unanswered questions," he said, adding the probe was stopped before his team could "run down" remaining leads.