US counterterrorism chief Joe Kent resigns over Iran war

Joe Kent announced his resignation as President Donald Trump’s director of the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) March 17, citing opposition to the U.S. war in Iran. 

In a statement addressed to Trump, Kent said he “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 war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby,” he said.

In the statement, Kent expressed support for Trump’s earlier foreign policy approach, writing that the President had previously understood “that the wars in the Middle East were a trap that robbed America of the precious lives of our patriots and depleted the wealth and prosperity of our nation.”

He pointed to actions during Trump’s first administration, including the killing of Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani and the defeat of ISIS, as examples of what Kent described as the decisive use of military force “without getting us drawn into never-ending wars.”

But “high-ranking Israeli officials and influential members of the American media deployed a misinformation campaign” during Trump’s second term, Kent argued. That campaign “sowed pro-war sentiments to encourage a war with Iran” and became an “echo chamber” that “was used to deceive” Trump into believing Iran posed an imminent threat.

“This was a lie and is the same tactic the Israelis used to draw us into the disastrous Iraq war,” Kent wrote.

A combat veteran, Kent said he was deployed 11 times and described himself as a Gold Star husband, writing that he lost his wife “in a war manufactured by Israel.” He said he could not 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.”

“I pray that you will reflect upon what we are doing in Iran, and who we are doing it for,” Kent wrote, urging the President to “reverse course and chart a new path.”

Trump, GOP leaders respond to resignation

When asked about Kent’s resignation, Trump said, “I always thought he was a nice guy, but I always thought he was weak on security.” Trump dismissed the reasoning in Kent’s letter, particularly his claim that Iran did not pose an imminent threat before the U.S. and Israel began their strikes.

During a House Republican leadership press briefing, House Speaker Mike Johnson addressed Kent’s claims, saying, "I don't know where Joe Kent is getting his information, but he wasn't in those briefings clearly.” Johnson described Kent’s stated beliefs about the war as “clearly wrong.” 

Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt responded to Kent in a post on X hours later, saying his statement contained “many false claims” and rejecting his assertion that Iran posed no imminent threat to the U.S., calling it a claim “Democrats and some in the liberal media have been repeating over and over.”

Kent is widely respected among conservative commentators and military veterans, and his resignation and criticism of the Iran war is bound to stir sympathy among many on the right, including within the Trump coalition. 

Former Congressional candidate David Giglio, a Catholic, is among those who rejected administration officials’ talking points against Kent. 

Responding to a claim that Kent’s resignation was “self-serving,” Giglio wrote in an X post, “Joe is a former Green Beret. His wife was KIA fighting another unnecessary war in the Middle East. Imagine have the gall to type such a thing.”

Conservative pollster Rich Baris also lauded Kent’s decision to quit, arguing that “10 years from now when we look back at this war, Joe Kent will be completely vindicated and will go down as a hero.”