Joseph Kent, director of the US National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), has resigned in protest over America’s role in the ongoing conflict with Iran.
Kent’s resignation follows Israel’s February 28 missile strikes on Iran, which President Donald Trump confirmed were carried out in coordination with the United States. The strikes have since sparked a cycle of retaliatory attacks between Iran and the US-Israel alliance.
As head of the NCTC, Kent oversaw the integration and analysis of terrorism-related intelligence from federal agencies. In his resignation statement on Tuesday, he explained that he could not “in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran.”
Kent argued that Iran posed no immediate threat to the United States and suggested that the conflict was driven by pressure from Israel and its influential American lobby. He cited Trump’s earlier military actions, including the killing of Qasem Soleimani and the defeat of ISIS, as examples of targeted operations that avoided entangling the US in prolonged wars.
“Early in this administration, high-ranking Israeli officials and influential members of the American media launched a misinformation campaign that undermined your America First agenda and encouraged a war with Iran,” Kent wrote. “This campaign deceived leadership into believing Iran posed an imminent threat and that striking now would lead to a swift victory. It was a lie, the same tactic that drew the US into the disastrous Iraq war, costing thousands of American lives. We cannot repeat that mistake.”
Kent, a veteran deployed 11 times, also revealed that he lost his wife in a war he described as instigated by Israel. He said he could not support sending another generation of Americans into a conflict that serves no clear benefit.
“I urge reflection on our actions in Iran and question who we are truly serving,” Kent concluded, calling for a reconsideration of US involvement in the conflict.
