National Counterterrorism Center director resigns over war in Iran

WASHINGTON (TNND) — Director of the National Counterterrorism Center Joe Kent announced Tuesday that he would be resigning from his position due to the war in Iran.

“After much reflection, I have decided to resign from my position as Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, effective today,” Kent wrote on X.

He said that the U.S. only got into the war in Iran due to massive pressure from Israel and its American lobby.

“I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran,” Kent wrote 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 concluded by saying it was an honor to serve under Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and President Donald Trump.

“May God bless America,” his post concluded.

He also posted a picture of his resignation to Trump letter that said Israeli officials deployed a misinformation campaign to undermine the president’s America First platform.

“This echo chamber was used to deceive you into believing that Iran posed an imminent threat to the United States, and that you should strike now, there was a clear path to victory,” the letter reads. “That was a lie and the same tactic that the Israelis used to draw us into the disastrous Iraq war that cost our nation the lives of thousands of men and women.”

Prior to becoming the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, Kent ran for office in Washington state twice in 2022 and 2024.

He is a retired Green Beret and also a Gold Star husband. His first wife Shannon Kent was killed in a suicide bombing in Syria in January 2019.