*Photo: Joseph Kent*
Joseph Kent resigned as the Director of the US National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) on Tuesday, March 17, 2026.
In a resignation letter addressed to President Donald Trump and posted on X, Kent stated he could not “in good conscience” support the ongoing war in Iran.
Kent who was confirmed for the post in July 2025 cited several reasons for his departure:
• No Imminent Threat: Kent asserted that Iran posed “no imminent threat” to the United States.
• Foreign Influence: He claimed the U.S. was pressured into the conflict by Israel and its “powerful American lobby”.
• Misinformation: Kent alleged that Israeli officials conducted a “misinformation campaign” to deceive the President into believing a swift victory was possible, comparing the situation to the lead-up to the Iraq War.
• Deviation from “America First”: He argued that Middle East wars were a “trap” that drained American lives and wealth, contradicting the foreign policy values Trump had previously championed.
Kent, a retired Green Beret and CIA veteran, is the first senior official to resign from the Trump administration in protest of the war.