US National Counterterrorism Center director Joe Kent resigns over Iran war

Kent, who advised Trump and national intelligence director on ‘terror’ threats, says Iran ‘posed no imminent threat’.Joe Kent, Director of the US National Counterterrorism Center, speaks during a congressional debate at KATU studios October 7, 2024, in Portland, Ore. [File: Jenny Kane/AP Photo]Published On 17 Mar 2026The director of the US National Counterterrorism Center, which advises both US President Donald Trump and the director of national intelligence on “terror” threats, has resigned over the war with Iran.In a resignation letter posted on X, Joe Kent said he could not “in good conscience” support the ongoing war.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3Israel says Iran’s security chief Larijani has been killedlist 2 of 3Could the Iran war trigger a global recession?list 3 of 3German Chancellor says Iran war has no military solutionend of list“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.He pointed to Trump’s past pledges to end US engagement abroad, writing, “you understood that wars in the Middle East were a trap that robbed America of the previous lives of our patriots and depleted the wealth and prosperity of our nation”.The resignation is the most high-profile from the Trump administration since the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran on February 28.Kent’s reference to the term “imminent threat” is also significant.Such imminence is considered a prerequisite for US presidents to launch military attacks without congressional approval under US law. It is also significant to launch legal attacks on sovereign nations under international law.Trump endorsed and nominatedTrump had nominated Kent to lead the role after formerly endorsing his unsuccessful campaign for the US House of Representatives.He had previously been an Army Ranger and member of the US Special Forces, services 11 combat deployments in the Middle East. His wife was killed by an ISIL (ISIS) suicide bomber in Syria in 2019.In his resignation letter, Kent referenced his wife’s death, saying she had been killed 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.To date, 13 US soldiers have been killed since the war began. At least 1,444 people have been killed in Iran, 20 across the Gulf region and at least 15 in Israel.In a statement following his Senate confirmation in July, Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, praised Kent as someone who has “consistently put country before self, enduring great personal sacrifice in that service”.“His experience serving as the tip of the spear in some of the world’s most dangerous battlefields has given him a deep, practical understanding of the enduring and evolving threat of Islamist terrorism, as well as the threats we face from the cartels’ human trafficking and drug trafficking operations,” she said.Two Democrats had opposed Kent’s nomination, pointing to his past support of Trump’s unfounded claims that the US election in 2020 was “stolen” and his characterisation of people arrested during the January 6, 2021 riot at the US Capitol as “political prisoners”.Senator Patty Murray highlighted his past ties to far-right figures, including Nick Fuentes, saying he had a “track record chumming it up with white supremacists.”In May of 2025, the New York Times reported that Kent had pushed intelligence analysts to alter an assessment of the Venezuelan government’s ties to Tren de Aragua, which contradicted Trump’s claims that the criminal organisation was acting in direct coordination with Nicolas Maduro and his top officials.The incident preceded the January 3 US military abduction of Maduro.‘America First’ undermined?In his resignation letter, Kent also echoed criticism lodged by several influential figures in Trump’s so-called “Make America Great Again” movement.Many have condemned Trump for entering into the war with Iran despite campaign pledges to end long-term US military engagement and put “America First”.Trump and his top officials have repeatedly said that the war will end within weeks, although analysts have warned the grinding conflict could stretch on for much longer. Republicans lawmakers have largely coalesced around Trump’s pledge, scuttling efforts in Congress to rein in the war.The administration has offered shifting justifications for the attacks, including claims about Iran’s missile and nuclear developments for which they have not provided evidence. The have further claimed that the totality of Iran’s actions since the 1979 Islamic Revolution represented a present threat to the US.Kent praised Trump’s past military actions, including the assassination of Iranian general Qassem Soleimani in 2020, as examples of the president knowing “how to decisively apply military power without getting us drawn into “never-ending wars”.However, he said that in Trump’s second term “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 strike now, there was a clear path to a swift victory,” he said.He further urged Trump to change course, writing: “You hold the cards”.The White House and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence did not immediately respond to the resignation.