US counterterrorism chief Joe Kent resigns in protest over war in Iran
US counterterrorism chief Joe Kent resigns in protest over war in Iran
The United States’ top counterterrorism official, Joe Kent, has resigned from his post as Director of the National Counterterrorism Centre (NCTC), citing his refusal to support the ongoing US-led war in Iran.
In a resignation letter addressed to President Trump and Director of National Intelligence Gabbard, Kent said Iran posed “no imminent threat” to the United States and criticised the conflict as being influenced by external pressures, particularly from Israel and its American lobby.
“After much reflection, I have decided to resign from my position as Director of the National Counterterrorism Centre, 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 war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby,” Kent said.
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Kent, a decorated military veteran who deployed 11 times and is a Gold Star husband who lost his wife Shannon in a previous conflict, framed his resignation as a moral imperative.
“As a veteran and someone who has personally suffered the loss of a loved one to a war manufactured by Israel, I cannot support sending the next generation off to fight and die in a conflict that serves no benefit to the American people nor justifies the cost of American lives,” he wrote.
He praised Trump’s previous foreign policy decisions, particularly the decisive use of military power to defeat ISIS and the killing of Iranian general Qasem Soleimani, which he said demonstrated the ability to apply force without becoming entangled in never-ending wars.
Kent noted that until June 2025, the administration understood that Middle East conflicts drained American lives and resources, but he argued that recent events represented a departure from that principle.
Kent also criticised high-ranking Israeli officials and influential segments of the American media for orchestrating what he described as a misinformation campaign that encouraged a war with Iran.
He claimed this campaign misled US leadership into believing that Iran posed an imminent threat and that a swift victory was possible, comparing it to the tactics that drew the United States into the Iraq War, which cost thousands of American lives.
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