BREAKING: Joe Kent Resigns as NCTC Director Over Trump's War in Iran, Israeli Influence

The Trump administration’s top counterterrorism official has resigned, stating that he “cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran,“ which he says posed “no imminent threat to our nation.”

“It is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby,” Director of the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) Joe Kent said in his resignation letter, which he posted to the social media site X on Tuesday morning.

In this role, Kent “[led] the U.S. counterterrorism and counternarcotics enterprise and serve[d] as the principal counterterrorism advisor to the President,” according to the official website of the office of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI).

He previously served in the U.S. Army for 20 years, where he “completed 11 combat deployments in the Middle East and other high-threat regions,” according to the same bio page.

“During his time in the Army, he served with the 75th Ranger Regiment, Army Special Forces and U.S. Army Special Operations Command, and received numerous military commendations, including six bronze stars. After retiring from the Army in 2018, he served as a paramilitary officer in the CIA’s Special Activities Center. . . . His experience at the tip of the spear—in some of the world’s most dangerous places—has given him a deep, practical understanding of the threats we face and how to defeat them.”

Kent Sworn in as NCTC Director by DNI Tulsi Gabbard in July 2025.

Kent posted this photo on X on November 6, 2024, congratulating Trump on becoming president elect.

“It’s my pleasure to nominate Joe Kent as the Director of the National Counter Terrorism Center,” Trump wrote on Truth Social just over 13 months ago. He went on in the same February 3, 2025 post:

As a Soldier, Green Beret, and CIA Officer, Joe has hunted down terrorists and criminals his entire adult life. Above all, Joe knows the terrible cost of terrorism, losing his wonderful wife, Shannon, a Great American Hero, who was killed in the fight against ISIS. Joe continues to honor her legacy by staying in the fight. Joe will help us keep America safe by eradicating all terrorism, from the jihadists around the world, to the cartels in our backyard. Congratulations Joe!

Here’s the full text of Kent’s resignation letter:

President Trump,

After much reflection, I have decided to resign from my position as Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, effective today.

I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran. 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.

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.

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. You demonstrated this by killing Qasam Solamani and by defeating ISIS.

Early in this administration, high-ranking Israeli officials and influential members of the American media deployed a misinformation campaign that wholly undermined your America First platform and sowed pro-war sentiments to encourage a war with Iran. This echo chamber was used to deceive you into believing that Iran posed an imminent threat to the United States, and that should you strike now, there was a clear path to a swift victory. This was a lie and is the same tactic the Israelis used to draw us into the disastrous Iraq war that cost our nation the lives of thousands of our best men and women. We cannot make this mistake again.

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.

I pray that you will reflect upon what we are doing in Iran, and who we are doing it for. The time for bold action is now. You can 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.

It was an honor to serve in your administration and to serve our great nation.

Joseph Kent
Director, National Counterterrorism Center

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