Joe Kent, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, resigned on March 17, 2026, stating he could not support the ongoing US war in Iran due to a lack of imminent threat and alleged pressure from Israel. The move drew sharp responses from Trump administration figures defending the action as necessary against Iran's nuclear capabilities. Kent's past statements had advocated stronger action against Iran.
Joe Kent, a former Green Beret who served 11 tours mostly in Iraq and whose wife was killed by a suicide bomber in 2019, resigned as director of the National Counterterrorism Center on Tuesday, March 17, 2026. Confirmed to the role last July, Kent wrote in his letter to President Donald Trump: “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 war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.” He accused high-ranking Israeli officials and American media of a misinformation campaign that deceived Trump into believing Iran posed an imminent threat, comparing it to tactics used before the Iraq war. Kent had previously served as chief of staff to Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard before his NCTC nomination. He lost congressional races in Washington's 3rd district in 2022 and 2024 to Democrat Marie Gluesenkamp Perez after defeating incumbent Republican Jaime Herrera Beutler in the primary. An intelligence official told The Daily Wire that Kent was excluded from planning and briefings on the Iran war. Gabbard defended Trump, stating: “Donald Trump was overwhelmingly elected... As our Commander in Chief, he is responsible for determining what is and is not an imminent threat... After carefully reviewing all the information before him, President Trump concluded that the terrorist Islamist regime in Iran posed an imminent threat and he took action based on that conclusion.” House Speaker Mike Johnson, briefed as part of the Gang of Eight, said: “We all understood that there was clearly an imminent threat, that Iran was very close to the enrichment of nuclear capability, and they were building missiles at a pace that no one in the region could keep up with.” Trump responded: “I always thought he was weak on security, very weak on security.” Trump's negotiator Steve Witkoff noted Iran possesses roughly 10,000 kilograms of enriched material, including 460 kilograms at 60% purity, potentially enough for 11 bombs. However, Kent's past views contrasted: In 2020, after the Soleimani strike, he posted: “I personally think we should have crushed their ballistic & nuke capes.” In 2024, he criticized Biden for giving Iran access to over $100 billion and praised Trump's containment strategy.
