Director of the US National Counterterrorism Centre (NCTC), Joseph Kent has resigned from his position in protest against America’s involvement in the ongoing conflict with Iran.
Reacting to his exit, President Trump welcomed the development, saying it was a good thing that he is out.
Trump, in an interview aired on Fox News, said, ‘I always thought he was weak on security. Very weak on security. I didn’t know him well. But I thought he seemed like a pretty nice guy.
‘But when I read his statement, I realised that it’s a good thing he’s out because he said Iran was not a threat’.
Kent’s resignation follows escalating hostilities that began on 28 February when Israel launched what it described as pre-emptive missile strikes on Iran.
Within hours, US President Donald Trump confirmed that the strikes were carried out in collaboration with the United States, marking a significant escalation in tensions.
Since then, Iran has engaged in a series of strikes and counterstrikes with US and Israeli forces, raising fears of a prolonged regional war.
The NCTC serves as the primary US government agency responsible for integrating and analysing terrorism-related intelligence across federal bodies, placing Kent at the centre of America’s counterterrorism strategy prior to his resignation.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, Kent said his decision to step down came after deep personal reflection, stressing that he could no longer support the war effort.
‘I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran’, he said.
Kent argued that Iran did not pose an immediate threat to the United States and claimed the conflict was driven by external pressures rather than clear national security interests.
‘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 stated.
Referencing Trump’s earlier presidency, Kent suggested the current course of action diverged from previously restrained military strategies.
‘In your first administration, you understood better than any modern president how to decisively apply military power without getting us drawn into never-ending wars’, he said.
Citing past actions, including the killing of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani and operations against ISIS, Kent further alleged that influential actors had shaped public perception in favour of war.
‘Early in this administration, high-ranking Israeli officials and influential members of the American media deployed a misinformation campaign that undermined your America First platform and encouraged pro-war sentiments’, he said.
According to him, this campaign created an ‘echo chamber’ that misled policymakers into believing there was an imminent threat and a clear path to a swift military victory.
‘This was a lie and is the same tactic used to draw us into the disastrous Iraq war’, Kent added, warning against repeating past mistakes that cost thousands of American lives.
The outgoing director, who said he had been deployed to combat zones 11 times, also revealed personal losses tied to previous conflicts.
‘I cannot support sending the next generation to fight and die in a war that serves no benefit to the American people’, he said.
Kent urged President Trump to reconsider the United States’ role in the conflict and reflect on the motivations behind its involvement.
His resignation marks the first public dissent by a senior official within the Trump administration over the Iran conflict, signalling potential fractures within the government’s national security establishment.
Meanwhile, Democratic lawmakers in the United States have intensified calls for congressional intervention, urging lawmakers to invoke constitutional powers that could bring an end to US military engagement in the Middle East.
