President Donald Trump on Monday said he had spoken with a former U.S. president who privately expressed regret over not taking similar military action against Iran. Questions quickly arose about which former president he was referring to. However, aides to all four living former presidents later denied that any such conversation had taken place.

During a White House press session, Trump went on to say that a predecessor lamented he did not take similar action against Iran when he had the opportunity. When pressed by reporters to identify the former president, Trump denied it was George W. Bush and declined to say whether it was Bill Clinton, prompting immediate speculation.

Later that day, speaking at an event at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Trump repeated the claim, quoting the unnamed former president as saying, “I wish I did what you did.” He again declined to identify the individual, saying he did not want to “embarrass him.”

However, representatives for former Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden quickly contradicted Trump’s statements, saying they had not recently spoken with Trump and disputing that any such conversation occurred.

Across Monday’s remarks, Trump reiterated his account but did not provide evidence or additional details.

The reported exchange comes as U.S. military activity related to Iran remains a central focus of Trump’s foreign policy. The administration has defended its actions as necessary to counter nuclear and regional threats, while critics have raised concerns about the absence of a clear diplomatic path and the risk of escalating instability in the Middle East. Some analysts have drawn comparisons to past U.S. conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, where military interventions led to prolonged wars. The Trump administration has said that the situation with Iran is not comparable and that any intervention would be limited in scope.

In a related development Tuesday, Joe Kent, director of the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center, resigned from his post, saying he “could not in good conscience” support the administration’s military actions because Iran “posed no imminent threat” to the United States. Kent’s resignation marks the most senior protest within the administration to date over the conflict, and President Trump has publicly rejected Kent’s assessment of the threat.

Public disagreements between a sitting president and former presidents are relatively rare, particularly on matters of foreign policy. The denials from all four former commanders in chief underscore the unusual nature of Trump’s claim and quickly became a focus of discussion in Washington.

The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the former presidents’ denials.