Washington (TDI): The director of the United States’ National Counterterrorism Center, Joe Kent, has resigned in protest over President Donald Trump’s war on Iran, publicly acknowledging that the war has been started on Israel’s pressure and has no other sound cause.
“I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran. Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation…” Kent wrote in a post on X, formally announcing his designation and sharing a picture of his resignation.
Kent’s departure marks the first high-level resignation tied directly to the conflict, and reflects growing unease even among Trump allies about the justification for the war.
A former Green Beret and longtime advocate of an “America First” foreign policy, Kent said the decision to go to war contradicts the administration’s earlier opposition to foreign interventions.
After much reflection, I have decided to resign from my position as Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, effective today.
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… pic.twitter.com/prtu86DpEr
— Joe Kent (@joekent16jan19) March 17, 2026
In response, White House officials said the president acted on credible intelligence indicating Iran was preparing for an attack, while Trump himself dismissed Kent as “weak on security” and defended the military campaign as necessary to protect US interests.
Kent, 45, is a former political candidate who has faced scrutiny over past connections to far-right activists. He is a former soldier with the US Army Special Forces who completed 11 combat deployments, including tours during the US-led war in Iraq.
Simultaneously, the war on Iran is also not sailing well with the US European allies who have, on multiple occasions, dismissed the possibility of getting involved militarily.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer emphasized that Britain “will not be drawn into the wider war” and that British forces should act only under lawful, carefully planned circumstances.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz stressed that NATO is a defensive alliance, not an interventionist one, and said the alliance has no role in the war. While agreeing that Iran’s regime should end, he added that bombing it into submission is unlikely to succeed, based on historical experience.
At a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said the US and Israel need to define clear military objectives. “We need more clarity here,” he told reporters.
