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Joseph Kent, director of the US National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), resigned on Tuesday in protest against the ongoing US-Israeli war with Iran, saying the Islamic Republic posed “no imminent threat” to the United States.
“I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran,” Kent wrote in his resignation letter to President Donald Trump.
He added that the conflict was “started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.”
Kent, a former CIA paramilitary officer and Green Beret, is the first high-ranking US official to leave the administration due to the Iran War.
He said the conflict serves no benefit to Americans and criticised the misinformation campaigns that, in his view, drew the US into unnecessary conflicts, comparing them to the Iraq War.
Kent stated, “Early in this administration, high-ranking Israeli officials and influential members of the American media deployed a misinformation campaign that wholly undermined your America First platform and sowed pro-war sentiments to encourage a war with Iran.
“This echo chamber was used to deceive you into believing that Iran posed an imminent threat to the United States, and that should you strike now, there was a clear path to a swift victory.
“This was a lie and is the same tactic the Israelis used to draw us into the disastrous Iraq war that cost our nation the lives of thousands of our best men and women. We cannot make this mistake again.”
Kent’s wife, Shannon, was killed in a 2019 suicide bombing in Syria. In his letter, he said: “As a veteran who deployed to combat 11 times and as a Gold Star husband who lost my beloved wife Shannon in a war manufactured by Israel,
“I cannot support sending the next generation off to fight and die in a war that serves no benefit to the American people nor justifies the cost of American lives.”
After much reflection, I have decided to resign from my position as Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, effective today.
I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran. Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this… pic.twitter.com/prtu86DpEr
— Joe Kent (@joekent16jan19) March 17, 2026
During his tenure at the NCTC, Kent coordinated US counterterrorism strategy and served as the president’s principal adviser on terror threats.
He also ran twice for Congress from Washington state as a Trump-endorsed Republican, losing both elections.
