# Patel denies firing the FBI's Iran experts

> An FBI director keeps rejecting reports that his purge gutted the bureau's Iran unit weeks before a war.
- Title: Patel denies firing the FBI's Iran experts · Mother Jones
- Summary: An FBI director keeps rejecting reports that his purge gutted the bureau's Iran unit weeks before a war. Patel has now denied the same reporting in three…
- Keywords: fbi, kash patel, iran, congress, accountability, Patel, denies, firing, FBI's, experts, Mother Jones
- Source: Mother Jones — https://motherjones.com/politics/2026/09/fbi-kash-patel-iran-fired-agents-intelligence-senate
- Author: Alex Nguyen
- Published: 2026-09-15T15:59:31+00:00
- Read time: 1 min
- Topics: fbi, kash patel, iran, congress, accountability
## Oversight day, no answers
Kash Patel sat for Senate Judiciary oversight on September 15, 2026, and gave almost nothing on the agents he fired over the Trump classified documents case.
## A dozen from the Iran unit
Multiple outlets report at least a dozen fired counterintelligence staffers worked in the unit tracking Iranian threats. The firings landed days before the February military campaign began.
## Blumenthal draws the line
The senator asked whether removing the president's perceived opponents mattered more than keeping decades of Iran expertise inside the bureau.

> Do you think firing the president's political opponents is more important than retaining the decades of experience?
## They're not experts
Patel's reply was flat denial plus a slogan about ending a weaponized FBI. He never engaged with what the unit actually did.

> The individuals you are referring to are not experts.
## The contradiction he skipped
Blumenthal noted Patel had promised not to punish agents for their casework, then did exactly that. Patel answered with a circular line instead of the question.

> Simple. If you weaponize law enforcement, you don't get to work at the FBI.
## Third hearing, same denial
Patel rejected the reporting in a March House hearing and again in May, citing pending litigation. Three fired agents sued in March, alleging retribution for the 2020 election investigations.
## Key takeaway

Patel has now denied the same reporting in three hearings without answering what the firings cost the FBI's Iran watch.