Washington, D.C. – Joe Kent, director of the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), announced his official resignation on Tuesday.
The reason for this move is his fundamental opposition to the Trump administration’s military actions against Iran. Kent, who was confirmed by the Senate just last July, is thus the first high-ranking official in the current administration to resign in protest against the escalating war with Iran.
In a letter addressed directly to President Donald Trump and published via Kent’s personal profile on the X platform, the intelligence chief uses strong language. He accuses the U.S. leadership of allowing itself to be drawn into a conflict by Israel that does not serve American interests.
Iran did not pose an immediate threat to the U.S. Kent claims instead that the outbreak of war was the result of massive pressure from Israel and its influential lobby in the United States.
Kent, a veteran of the Army Special Forces and former CIA officer, is considered a close confidant of Intelligence Coordinator Tulsi Gabbard and is associated with the “America First” camp. In his explanation, he emphasizes that Trump was deceived by a targeted disinformation campaign carried out by Israeli officials and pro-Israel media representatives.
These actors allegedly created a narrative of a quick path to victory in order to undermine the president’s originally anti-interventionist platform. Kent draws parallels to the Iraq War and warns against repeating the same mistake.
The White House and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence have not yet responded to inquiries regarding this resignation. The departure underscores the growing rift within the Republican camp over U.S. involvement in the massive military conflicts in the Middle East in 2026.
Here is Joe Kent’s letter in its entirety:
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
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… pic.twitter.com/prtu86DpEr
— Joe Kent (@joekent16jan19) March 17, 2026
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