US National Counterterrorism Center Director Joe Kent announced Tuesday that he is resigning over his opposition to the war in Iran, claiming the conflict was initiated under pressure from Israel and disputing the administration’s assessment of the threat posed by Tehran.
In a resignation letter posted on X, Kent said he had supported US President Trump’s policies “until June 2025,” referencing the strike against Iran’s nuclear facilities. While crediting the administration for “killing Qasam Solemani (an IRGC commander) and … defeating ISIS [Islamic State],” he wrote that the United States entered the Iran conflict after being influenced by Israel and its supporters, asserting that Iran “posed no imminent threat” to the US.
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
Kent, a US special forces veteran who has worked with the CIA, alleged that “high-ranking Israeli officials and members of the American media deployed a misinformation campaign that wholly undermined your America First platform and sowed pro-war sentiments to encourage war with Iran.”
He added that President Trump had been misled into believing the war would be swift and justified, writing, “this is a lie and is the same tactic the Israelis used to draw us into that disastrous war in Iraq that cost our nations the lives of thousands of our best men and women.”
During the Iraq war, Kent’s wife, Shannon, a cryptologic technician with the US Navy, was killed in a suicide bombing in Syria in 2019.
Kent concluded his letter with an appeal to the president, stating, “I pray you will reflect upon what we are doing in Iran and who we are doing it for,” and said there was still time to “reverse the course” to avoid national “decline and chaos.”
Speaking in the Oval Office on Tuesday, Trump said he viewed Kent as a “nice guy” but “weak on security.” He added that Kent’s resignation letter reinforced his belief that “it was a good thing that he’s out,” and said he disagreed with Kent’s assessment of the Iranian threat.
