Top US counterterrorism official resigns over Iran war, blames 'Israel, its powerful American lobby' for conflict

The head ​of the United States National Counterterrorism Centre (NCTC) resigned on Tuesday, becoming ‌the first and most senior member of President Donald Trump's administration to resign over the war in Iran, saying Tehran ​posed no imminent threat to the US.

"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 lobby," Joseph Kent wrote in a letter to Trump posted on X.

Kent, a former member of the Green Beret special forces who served multiple combat tours. Kent's wife, Shannon, also served in the US military and was killed in a suicide bombing in Syria in 2019.

As head of the Virginia-based NCTC, Kent worked analysing and coordinating the US response to terrorist threats and serving as the principal counterterrorism adviser to the president.

"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," Kent said in his letter to Trump.

"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," he said.

"This echo chamber was used to deceive you into believing that Iran posed an imminent threat to the US, and that should you strike now, there was a clear path to a swift victory," he said.

Read More: Pentagon tells Congress no sign that Iran was going to attack US first

"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," Kent said.

"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," he added.

After leaving the US Army, Kent served as a paramilitary officer in the Central Intelligence Agency.

He ran twice unsuccesfully, in 2022 and 2024, as a Trump-endorsed Republican for a seat in the US House of Representatives from Washington state.

Some ​experts have said an imminent threat would be required ​for the US to launch a war under current law.

Trump, speaking to reporters in the Oval Office, accused Kent of being "very weak on security" and said it's a "good thing that he's out".

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt pushed back against what she called "false claims" in Kent's resignation letter, calling "insulting and laughable" the suggestion that the decision to go to war was made "based on the influence of others".

"As President Trump has clearly and explicitly stated, he had strong and compelling evidence that Iran was going to attack the United States first," Leavitt said.

"President Trump ultimately made the determination that a joint attack with Israel would greatly reduce the risk to American lives that would come from a first strike by the terrorist Iranian regime and address this imminent threat to America's national security interests," she said.

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence did not immediately respond.

Earlier in the month, Trump administration officials had acknowledged in closed-door briefings with congressional staff that there was no intelligence suggesting Iran planned to attack US forces first, two people familiar with the matter said.

Trump, one of the officials said, was not going to “sit back and allow American forces in the region to absorb attacks.”

Also Read: US intelligence warned Trump Iran could hit Gulf allies

Pentagon officials had briefed Democratic and Republican staff of several national security committees in both the Senate and the House of Representatives for more than 90 minutes on the unfolding US attack in Iran, White House spokesperson Dylan Johnson had said earlier.

During the briefings, administration officials emphasised that Iran’s ballistic missiles and proxy forces in the region posed an imminent threat to US interests, but there was no intelligence indicating that Tehran was preparing to attack US forces first, the two sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters.

Trump said the attack, which was expected to run for weeks, aimed to ensure Iran could not obtain a nuclear weapon, contain its missile programme and eliminate threats to the US and its allies.

He had also urged Iranians to rise up and topple the government.

Kent known for opposing military interventions

Kent has long been known for his "America First" beliefs and has said he opposes US military interventions abroad.

Still, the announcement ​came as a surprise, one US official said.

Kent is close with Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, who has ​kept a low profile since the Iran war began.

Gabbard has not issued any public statements and has only appeared in public ‌during ⁠the dignified transfer of American soldiers killed earlier this month during the conflict with Iran.

The National Intelligence Council, which is overseen by Gabbard's office, issued several assessments both before and after the US strikes began that highlighted the risks of U.S. intervention.

Those reports indicated the Iranian government was unlikely to collapse and Iran would likely retaliate against US ​outposts in the region and ​Gulf allies, as Reuters ⁠previously reported.

Kent has been criticised by Democrats for his associations with far-right figures, and Senator Mark Warner of Virginia, the top Democrat on the Intelligence Committee, said he should ​never have been confirmed to head the counterterrorism office.

"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," Warner said in a statement.

Last year, Kent pushed intelligence analysts to rework an assessment on Tren De Aragua, a ⁠Venezuelan gang, ​that did not support the White House's argument that Venezuelan President ​Nicolas Maduro was directing its operations. The administration had portrayed the gang as a security threat to justify its immigration crackdown.