Joseph Kent, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, resigned on Tuesday in protest of the ongoing US-Israeli conflict with Iran, stating that the Islamic Republic posed no immediate threat to the United States.
In his resignation letter to President Donald Trump, Kent, a former Green Beret special forces operative with multiple combat tours, criticized the administration’s justification for the war.
“I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran,” he wrote. He further claimed that the conflict was largely driven by pressure from Israel and its influential American lobby.
Kent is the first senior US official to resign over the war with Iran. He argued that early in the Trump administration, pro-war messaging from Israeli officials and certain American media outlets misled policymakers into believing Iran was an imminent threat.
“This echo chamber was used to deceive you into believing that Iran posed an imminent threat to the United States, and that a strike would lead to swift victory,” Kent stated.
He compared the current situation to the Iraq War, saying, “This was a lie and is the same tactic the Israelis used to draw us into the disastrous Iraq war that cost our nation thousands of lives.” He added, “I cannot support sending the next generation to fight and die in a war that serves no benefit to the American people nor justifies the cost of American lives.”
Some experts have noted that under current US law, an imminent threat is required to justify launching a war.
The White House and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence have not yet responded to requests for comment. Intelligence officials were reportedly surprised by the resignation.
Kent is known to be close to Tulsi Gabbard, who has maintained a low profile since the conflict began and has only appeared publicly during the dignified transfer of American soldiers killed earlier this month.
