Director of U.S. National Counterterrorism Center Joe Kent Resigns, Citing Opposition to U.S. War Against Iran

Gate News reports that on March 17, U.S. National Counterterrorism Center Director Joe Kent announced his resignation, effective immediately. Kent stated that he “cannot in good conscience support the ongoing Iran war,” arguing that Iran does not pose a direct threat and that “it is clear this war was provoked under pressure from Israel and its powerful U.S. lobbying groups.” Earlier this month, comments by U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo sparked controversy among the president’s supporters, as he claimed Israel was determined to attack Iran, forcing the U.S. to take action. Pompeo later changed his statement, and Trump denied that this was America’s original intention. When asked whether Israel was forcing Trump to act against Iran, Trump said, “Based on the progress of negotiations, I believe they (Iran) were actually the ones planning to attack first. I didn’t want that to happen. So, if you want to put it that way, then maybe I forced Israel to take action.” Kent was not convinced by this argument; his wife, Sharon, died in a suicide bombing attack in Syria in 2019. In his resignation letter, he wrote, “Israel has launched a ‘disinformation campaign’ that completely undermines your ‘America First’ philosophy and stokes support for war to provoke a conflict with Iran. I hope you will seriously consider what we are doing in Iran and who we are doing it for.” Axios reporter states that Joe Kent is the first senior official in the Trump administration to resign over the Iran war. Political journalist Jonathan Karl noted that during Trump’s presidency, it was rare to see a senior official resign voluntarily in protest of a policy.