{"id":30642,"date":"2026-03-18T05:31:16","date_gmt":"2026-03-18T05:31:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/?p=30642"},"modified":"2026-03-18T05:31:19","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T05:31:19","slug":"us-national-counterterrorism-centre-director-joe-kent-resigns-over-iran-war","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gsrra.com\/?p=30642","title":{"rendered":"US National Counterterrorism Centre director Joe Kent resigns over Iran war"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Kent, who advised Trump and the national intelligence director on \u2018terror\u2019 threats, says Iran \u2018posed no imminent threat<\/strong><\/em>‘<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"FILE
Joe Kent, director of the US National Counterterrorism Center, speaks during a congressional debate at KATU studios on October 7, 2024, in Portland, Oregon, the United States [File: Jenny Kane\/AP Photo]<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/a>The director of the US National Counterterrorism Centre, which advises both US President Donald Trump and the director of national intelligence on \u201cterror\u201d threats, has resigned over the\u00a0war with Iran<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a resignation letter posted on X,\u00a0Joe Kent<\/a>\u00a0said he could not \u201cin good conscience\u201d support the ongoing war.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIran posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He pointed to Trump\u2019s past pledges to end US engagement abroad, writing, \u201cyou understood that wars in the Middle East were a trap that robbed America of the previous lives of our patriots and depleted the wealth and prosperity of our nation\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The resignation is the most high-profile from the Trump administration since the US and Israel launched attacks on Iran on February 28.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kent\u2019s reference to the term \u201cimminent threat\u201d is also significant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Such imminence is considered a prerequisite for US presidents to launch military attacks without congressional approval under US law. It is also significant to launch legal attacks on sovereign nations under international law<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump dismissed the resignation shortly afterwards, telling reporters, \u201cI always thought he was weak on security\u201d and that he \u201cdidn\u2019t know him well\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a good thing that he\u2019s out, because he said that Iran was not a threat. Iran was a threat. Every country realised what a threat Iran was,\u201d Trump added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trump endorsed and nominated<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Trump had nominated Kent to lead the role after formerly endorsing his unsuccessful campaign for the US House of Representatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kent had previously been a US Army Ranger and member of the US Special Forces, serving 11 combat deployments in the Middle East. His wife was killed by an ISIL (ISIS) suicide bomber in Syria in 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In his resignation letter, Kent referenced his wife\u2019s death, saying she had been killed in a war \u201cmanufactured by Israel\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI 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,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To date, 13 US soldiers have been killed<\/a> since the war began. At least 1,444 people have been killed in Iran, 20 across the Gulf region, and at least 15 in Israel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a statement following Kent\u2019s Senate confirmation in July, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard praised him as someone who has \u201cconsistently put country before self, enduring great personal sacrifice in that service\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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