'Meetings in Iran': Why Tucker Carlson claims CIA is investigating him and why Washington is denying it

Over the weekend, Tucker Carlson posted a video to X (formerly Twitter) claiming that US intelligence had hacked his private communications. "The CIA is preparing some kind of criminal referral against me, a crime report to the Department of Justice, on the basis of a supposed crime I committed," Carlson stated. He alleged that the government plans to charge him under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) for operating as an unregistered foreign agent.

When addressing why he was allegedly being targeted, Carlson pointed to his past contacts with Iranian officials. "What's that crime? Well, talking to people in Iran before the war. They read my texts," he claimed. This heavily references Carlson’s highly controversial actions in July 2025, when he gave Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian a massive, uncritical global platform during an exclusive interview, just months before the outbreak of the current US-Israeli war on Iran.

Anticipating massive backlash for his communications with a hostile state, Carlson vehemently denied being an Iranian asset. "I'm not an agent of a foreign power," he stated in the video. "Unlike a lot of people commenting on US politics and global affairs, I have only one loyalty, and that's the United States, and have never acted against it." He insisted he never took foreign money and that talking to adversarial leaders is simply his job as a journalist.

Despite Carlson’s claims, the Trump administration and US intelligence circles have entirely rejected the narrative. Axios White House correspondent Marc Caputo investigated the claims and reported that administration officials dismissed Carlson's allegations as "bullsht."* Caputo confirmed through sources across multiple intelligence agencies, including the NSA, that "there is no CIA investigation of Carlson" and no criminal referral has been made.

Even if Carlson isn't legally an Iranian agent, foreign policy experts argue his platform has been hijacked by Tehran. Following the July 2025 Pezeshkian interview, Marcus Kolga, a leading expert on foreign disinformation, told Iran International: "This was a major victory for Iranian information warfare operations. Whether intentionally or not, Carlson is acting as a significant conduit and amplifier for Iranian government information operations." Critics argue Carlson is confusing legitimate journalism with allowing dictators to spread unchecked propaganda.

This entire CIA controversy is playing out against the backdrop of a massive ideological divorce between Donald Trump and Tucker Carlson. Carlson has aggressively opposed Trump's "Operation Epic Fury," calling the US-Israeli strikes on Iran "absolutely disgusting and evil." In response, President Trump publicly disowned the host during a March 5 interview on ABC News, stating: "Tucker has lost his way... he's not MAGA. MAGA is saving our country... and Tucker is none of those things."

Carlson claims the phantom CIA investigation is purely political retaliation for his anti-war, anti-Israel views. By putting this narrative out there, he has effectively weaponized his massive audience against the Trump administration's foreign policy. Influential allies are already drawing battle lines, with conservative commentator Candace Owens posting on X: "If they come for Tucker, we ride at dawn... We're not doing the gulags 2.0."