Joe Kent, a top counterterrorism official, resigns citing Iran war

Photo: Official portrait of the Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, Joe Kent – July 31, 2025. Photo credit: Office of the Director of National Intelligence via Wikimedia Commons. Public Domain. Article by NPR Washington Desk. NPR – March 17, 2026.

The head of the National Counterterrorism Center has resigned in protest over the war with Iran. Joe Kent, an Army veteran who completed 11 combat deployments to the Mideast and elsewhere, said he “cannot in good conscience” support the war. He said that Israel pushed the U.S. into the conflict with a pressure campaign to “deceive” President Trump, and that Iran “posed no imminent threat to our nation.” He shared his resignation letter in a social media post. […]

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