In a massive setback for the Trump administration, Donald Trump’s top counterterrorism official, Joe Kent, resigned over the Iran war. Exposing rare disagreements within the administration over the Iran strikes, Joe made some massive allegations against the federal government and became the first high-ranking administration official to resign over the conflict.
Joe Kent argued that Iran posed “no immediate threat to our nation” and it was clear that the conflict had started under pressure from Israel.
Joe Kent posted his resignation letter on his social media link at X, saying, “After much consideration, I have decided to resign from my position as Director of the National Counterterrorism Center effective today. I cannot in good conscience support a continued war in Iran. Iran posed no immediate threat to our nation and it is clear that we started this war because of pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.”
What Joe Kent said in his resignation:
Joe Kent said in his resignation letter that Donald Trump “understood that the wars in the Middle East were a trap that robbed America of the precious lives of our patriots and depleted our nation’s wealth and prosperity.”
He went on to claim that senior Israeli officials and influential members of the US media had “launched a disinformation campaign”, sowing pro-war sentiment to support a war with Iran.
“This echo chamber was used to deceive you into believing that Iran was an imminent threat to the United States, and if you attacked now, there was a clear path to a quick victory. It was a lie, and it is the same tactic that the Israelis used to drag us into a disastrous war in Iraq that cost our nation the lives of thousands of our best men and women,” he repeated the mistake.
Who is Joe Kent?
Joe Kent was the head of the National Counterterrorism Center. As its leader, Kent oversaw the analysis and detection of terrorist threats.
Before being hired by the Trump administration, Joe Kent ran twice unsuccessfully for Congress in Washington.
A former soldier, Kent oversaw 11 deployments as a Green Beret before later working for the CIA.
Prior to joining President Donald Trump’s administration, Kent ran two unsuccessful campaigns for Congress in Washington state. He served in the Army in 11 deployments as a Green Beret before later working for the CIA.
Joe Kent was also involved in a Signal group chat that some of Trump’s top officials used to discuss confidential military plans linked to the Houthis.
