Joe Kent, the head of the National Counterterrorism Center, has officially stepped down over the US and Israeli war on Iran, making him the first senior official to openly break ranks with the White House on the conflict. Kent announced his resignation on X in a letter to President Donald Trump on March 17, 2026, stating he could not “in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran.”
According to The Washington Post, Kent, a staunch supporter of Trump and former Green Beret confirmed as NCTC director last July, claimed that Iran posed “no imminent threat to our nation.” He explicitly stated that the war began “due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.” Kent’s decision highlights a divide between those skeptical of foreign military interventions and those who advocate for exercising US military might globally.
