US counterterrorism chief resigns over Iran war

Updated: 2:34 p.m.

The head of the National Counterterrorism Center resigned from his post Tuesday over the U.S.-Israel war on Iran.

“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,” Joe Kent, the head of the center, wrote in a letter to President Donald Trump.

The National Counterterrorism Center is part of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which is led by Tulsi Gabbard.

Kent, who is the highest-ranked official to resign over the attack on Iran, echoed statements by several GOP lawmakers that the nearly 3-week-old war does not align with Trump's “America First” campaign promises.

“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,” Kent said.

Kent is a U.S. special forces and CIA veteran. His late wife, Shannon Kent, was a Navy cryptologic technician killed in a 2019 suicide bombing in Syria. 

“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 said.

Trump nominated Kent for the post in February 2025, and he was confirmed five months later.

“I always thought he was weak on security, very weak on security,” Trump said Monday when asked about the letter. “It’s a good thing that he’s out.”

In an X post, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said there are “many false claims” in Kent’s letter and Iran is the “world’s leading state sponsor of terrorism.”

“The Iranian regime is evil,” she said. “It proudly killed Americans, waged war against our country, and openly threatened us all the way up to the launch of Operation Epic Fury.”

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Gabbard is expected to testify with other top national-security officials before the Senate Intelligence Committee on Wednesday. She has campaigned against U.S. intervention overseas, but has not made public statements about the most recent Iran conflict.

Kent has been a promoter of far-right conspiracy theories, and has referred to participants in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot as “political prisoners.” He also reportedly ordered intelligence analysts to redo a Venezuela-related assessment so that it couldn’t be “used against” President Trump.

“Joe Kent’s record is deeply troubling, and in my view he never should have been confirmed to lead the National Counterterrorism Center,” Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., vice chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, said in a statement. “I strongly disagree with many of the positions he has espoused over the years, particularly those that risk politicizing our intelligence community. But on this point, he is right: there was no credible evidence of an imminent threat from Iran that would justify rushing the United States into another war of choice in the Middle East.”

Other lawmakers raised questions about Kent’s frequent mentions of Israel in his letter.

“Joe Kent resigning and immediately pivoting to blaming Israel for everything is as predictable as it is unserious,” Rep. Josh Gotteheimer, D-N.J., who sits on the House Intelligence Committee, said in an X post. “Scapegoating Israel isn’t just a tired antisemitic trope – it’s anti-American. This is a guy with ties to white supremacists and has ‘PANZER’ tattooed on his arm, referring to a Nazi tank infamously used in crimes against Jews.”

Editor's note: This article has been updated to note that Joe Kent resigned on Tuesday.