Joe Kent, Director of the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center, has resigned from his post over the current conflict in Iran, stating that he "cannot in good conscience" support the war.
“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,” Kent expressed in his resignation letter posted on social media.
In a letter addressed to President Trump, Kent wrote, “I support the values and the foreign policies that you campaigned on in 2016, 2020, 2024, which you enacted in your first term. Until June of 2025, you understood that the wars in the Middle East were a trap that robbed America of the precious lives of our patriots and depleted the wealth and prosperity of our nation.”
Before being appointed to his role as Director of the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center, Kent served in the U.S. Army Special Forces, as a CIA paramilitary officer, and unsuccessfully ran for Congress.
Kent was confirmed as Director in July 2025 on a 52-44 vote, which was met with opposition from Democrats due to his alleged ties to far-right extremists and an alleged attempt to influence a Venezuela intelligence report.
Kent urged President Trump to "reflect upon what we are doing in Iran, and who we are doing it for." He said Trump could "reverse course and chart a new path for our nation, or you can allow us to slip further toward decline and chaos. You hold the cards."
“As a veteran who deployed to combat 11 times and as a Gold Star husband who lost my beloved wife Shannon 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,” Kent expressed.
Kent’s wife, Shannon Kent, a Navy Senior Petty Officer, passed away serving in Syria in 2019.
