Former director of the US National Counterterrorism Center, Joe Kent, stated that Iran's strategy to maintain military capabilities is "pragmatic", referring to the precedent of Libya.
In an interview with journalist Tucker Carlson, Kent said Tehran has learned lessons from what happened to Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi, who gave up his nuclear weapons program before his regime was overthrown.
"The Iranian strategy is actually quite pragmatic... because they saw what happened to Gaddafi in Libya when he said, 'I'm going to give up my nuclear weapons,'" Kent said.
He also added that, although Israel has highly advanced intelligence and a capable military, it is not able to overthrow governments or destabilize other countries without the support of the United States.
Kent's statements come at a time of high tensions in the Middle East, as the war between Israel, the US and Iran continues to escalate.
