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The director of the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center, Joe Kent, resigned Tuesday over the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, saying Tehran “posed no imminent threat” to the United States.
“I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran,” Kent said in a resignation letter to U.S. President Donald Trump posted on X.
“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.
Kent, a veteran who said he deployed to combat 11 times, also referenced personal loss, describing himself as a “Gold Star husband” whose wife was killed in a previous war.
“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,” he wrote.
Kent also criticized Israeli officials and some American media figures, accusing them of misleading the administration and drawing parallels with the Iraq war.
"... 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."
Addressing Trump directly, Kent urged him to change course.
“You can reverse course and chart a new path for our nation, or you can allow us to slip further toward decline and chaos,” he wrote. “You hold the cards.”
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The developments come as Israel and the United States have continued a joint offensive on Iran since Feb. 28.
The strikes have killed around 1,300 people, including then-Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, according to Iranian authorities.
Iran has retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel, Jordan, Iraq and Gulf countries hosting U.S. military assets, causing casualties and damage to infrastructure while disrupting global markets and aviation.
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