Former Fox News host Tucker Carlson has now claimed that the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) read his text messages ahead of the US' war with Iran.
The conservative political commentator posted a video on X on Saturday night and claimed that the US Department of Justice (DOJ) is gearing up to charge him with being an "unregistered foreign agent" for Iran, as per the CIA's recommendation.
In a five-minute video, Tucker Carlson claimed that the CIA was preparing to send a criminal referral to the Justice Department over what he described as a supposed offence. He said the alleged violation involved speaking with people in Iran before the war.
Alleged charges against Tucker Carlson The conservative pundit claimed that he is likely to be charged under the "Foreign Agents Registration Act," which mandates that anyone being paid by governments abroad for lobbying or political advocacy register with the DOJ. Carlson, who has been an outspoken critic of the US President Donald Trump's "Operation Epic Fury" in Iran, denied that he was an Iranian asset, adding that his loyalty is strictly to the US.
Commenting on whether he received any money, he said that he has never received anything from foreign governments and does not even need it. He further went on to say that communicating with foreign sources is part of his job as a journalist and political commentator.
The conservative commentator, in his video message, said that the case against him is a "politically motivated" one.
According to Carlson, some people are angry at him for his views about Israel and claim that intelligence agencies tend to monitor American citizens more during such times of conflict.
Carlson-Trump ties According to a Politico report, Carlson has been a strong Trump supporter in the past, who described him as "a very conservative guy, a very good guy." During a 9 January White House lunch with oil executives, the political commentator was also present.
In the weeks before the US and Israel launched strikes against Iran, Carlson met Trump at the White House multiple times, with the last meeting being reported on 23 February, hours after his controversial interview with Mike Huckabee, the US ambassador to Israel.
According to a report in the New York Post, it was during this meeting that the conservative commentator was reprimanded by the US President.
Carlson's previous Iran links Earlier in July 2025, Carlson was slammed for interviewing the Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, providing the Islamic Republic's representative a global platform. Marcus Kolga, a foreign disinformation expert, told the UK-based outlet Iran International that the situation represented a significant success for Iranian information warfare efforts, adding that Tucker Carlson was, intentionally or not, helping spread and amplify narratives promoted by the Iranian government.