U.S. counterterrorism director Joe Kent resigns over Iran war
National Counterterrorism Center Director Joe Kent resigned Tuesday, opposing the war with Iran and citing Israeli pressure on the Trump administration.
1:47 PM
Joe Kent, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, resigned Tuesday in protest of the war with Iran. In a letter posted to his X account, Kent said he "cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran."
Kent, 45, is a U.S. special forces and CIA veteran who completed 11 combat deployments to the Middle East and elsewhere. His wife, Shannon Kent, a navy cryptologic technician, was killed in a suicide bombing in Manbij, Syria, in 2019. The Senate narrowly confirmed his appointment to the counterterrorism director role in July 2025 after his nomination by President Donald Trump.
In his resignation letter, Kent stated that "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 wrote that he could not "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."
Kent, a long-time Trump supporter and Republican congressional candidate in Washington state, referenced the president's past foreign policy positions in his letter. He noted that Trump had previously 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." Kent said he supported "the values and the foreign policy" that Trump campaigned on and urged the president to "reverse course" on the Iran conflict.
The National Counterterrorism Center advises both President Trump and the director of national intelligence on terror threats. Kent's resignation marks the highest-profile departure from the Trump administration over the Iran war.
The White House dismissed Kent's claims. A spokesperson said Trump had "compelling evidence" that Iran was going to attack the U.S. first. Trump later responded to Kent's resignation, saying "It's a good thing he's out."
Kent has promoted far-right conspiracy theories and previously worked as chief of staff to Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard. His resignation letter was shared on social media on Tuesday morning, effective immediately.