The director of the United States' National Counterterrorism Center, Joe Kent, announced on Tuesday that he has resigned owing to the ongoing war with Iran.
He said that Iran posed “no imminent threat” to the United States and that the war was started due to the “pressure” from Israel. Kent said he took the decision after “much reflection”.
“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 wrote in a letter addressed to the United States President Donald Trump.
Track live updates of Iran US war here
A veteran who lost his wife in war ‘manufactured by Israel’
In the letter, Kent expressed his disappointment over the ongoing war between the United States, Israel and Iran and said that it serves “no benefit” to the people of America.
Kent shares that he lost his wife Shannon in a similar war and is himself a veteran who was deployed to combat 11 times.
Also read: 'Good thing he's out': Donald Trump after anti-terror aide Joe Kent resigns over Iran war
{{/usCountry}}Also read: 'Good thing he's out': Donald Trump after anti-terror aide Joe Kent resigns over Iran war
{{/usCountry}}“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,” he wrote in the letter.
Also read: 'Not the time for peace': Iran Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei says US, Israel 'must be defeated'
Once a Trump supporter, now asks him to ‘reflect’
Kent was once a staunch backer of Trump and championed for him and his foreign policies in US presidential races in 2016, 2020, and 2024. He said that until June 2025, Trump “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.”
“In your first administration, you understood better than any modern President how to decisively apply military power without getting us drawn into never-ending wars. You demonstrated this by killing Qasam Solamani and by defeating ISIS,” Kent wrote in the letter directly addressing the US President.
Kent then suggested Trump was deceived into the war and believing that Iran is a threat by an “echo chamber” consisting of high-ranking Israeli officials and influential members of the American media through a “misinformation campaign”.
“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,” Kenti wrote.
“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,” he added.
“I pray that you will reflect upon what we are doing in Iran, and who we are doing it for. The time for bold action is now. You can reverse course and chart a new path for our nation, or you can allow us to slip further toward decline and chaos. You hold the cards. It was an honor to serve in your administration and to serve our great nation.”