Trump’s Top Counterterrorism Official Resigns Over Iran War

The National Counterterrorism Center Director, Joe Kent, has resigned from his post, citing opposition to the ongoing US war in Iran and urging President Trump to “reverse course.”

In a letter posted on his X account on Tuesday, Kent said that Iran posed “no imminent threat” to the United States and accused the Trump administration of starting the conflict under pressure from Israel and its influential American lobby.

Kent, 45, a veteran of US Special Forces and the CIA, lost his wife, Navy cryptologic technician Shannon Kent, in a suicide bombing in Syria in 2019. He described in his resignation letter that his military experience and personal loss made it impossible for him to support a war that he believes offers no benefit to the American people and risks further loss of American lives.

In the letter, Kent said he had previously supported Trump’s foreign policy platform and until last year had believed in his “America First” approach. He alleged that high-ranking Israeli officials and prominent US journalists disseminated misinformation that exaggerated the threat posed by Iran, influencing Trump to pursue military action.

Kent’s tenure at the National Counterterrorism Center was short. Confirmed last July, he reported to the Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, overseeing the analysis and detection of potential terrorist threats worldwide. He had previously deployed 11 times overseas with US military special forces in Iraq and later served as a paramilitary officer at the CIA.

During his confirmation, Kent drew attention for his links to extremist groups, including members of the Proud Boys, and for refusing to renounce claims that federal agents had fomented the January 6 Capitol riots or that Trump had lost the 2020 election.

Kent’s resignation marks the most high-profile public criticism from within the Trump administration over the US-Israeli operations in Iran, signaling growing dissent among senior officials regarding the conflict and its justification.