Trump’s own counterterrorism chief resigned over the Iran war, and his letter accused Israel of deceiving Trump into a fight with no clear victory

Joe Kent, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, has resigned from his position, saying he could not support President Donald Trump’s decision to go to war with Iran. Kent announced his resignation on X, stating he couldn’t “in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran” because Iran posed “no imminent threat to our nation.”

In his resignation letter addressed to Trump, Kent claimed the U.S. war on Iran was started “due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.” He accused “high-ranking Israeli officials and influential members of the American media” of running a “misinformation campaign” to undermine Trump’s policies and “encourage a war with Iran.”

According to The Independent, Kent told Trump that an “echo chamber” had been used to “deceive” him into believing Iran was an “imminent threat” and that attacking would lead to a “clear path to a swift victory.” He called this a “lie,” comparing it to what he believes were the tactics Israel used to involve the U.S. in the Iraq war, which he called “disastrous.” 

Kent’s resignation exposes a serious split inside the Trump administration over the justification for war with Iran

As a former U.S. Army special forces soldier and CIA operator whose wife was killed in an ISIS bombing in Syria, Kent said he couldn’t 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.”

Concluding his letter, Kent wrote, “I pray that you will reflect upon what we are doing in Iran, and who we are doing it for. The time for bold action is now. You can reverse course and chart a new path for our nation, or you can allow us to slip further toward decline and chaos.” He ended with: “You hold the cards.”

Trump responded from the Oval Office, calling Kent “a nice guy” but claiming he was “very weak on security.” “It’s a good thing that he’s out, because he said that Iran was not a threat,” Trump said. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt also hit back, claiming Kent’s letter contained “many false claims” and that Trump “had strong and compelling evidence that Iran was going to attack the United States first… compiled from many sources and factors.” 

The resignation comes as the joint U.S.-Israeli air war against Tehran enters its third consecutive week. The conflict has already taken a serious toll on civilians, with toxic black rain forcing Tehran residents to flee amid warnings of even deeper long-term damage. 

The administration’s reasons for the conflict have also shifted. The strikes were initially framed as necessary to stop Iran from rebuilding a nuclear weapons program. However, Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters on March 5 that the decision to attack was made to stop Tehran from retaliating against American bases after an Israeli attack.

Trump contradicted Rubio on the same day, saying, “Based on the way that the negotiations was going, I think that they were going to attack first. And I didn’t want that to happen. So if anything, I might have forced Israel’s hand.” 

He added, “They were going to attack if we didn’t do it. They were going to attack first, I felt strongly about that.” Israel has also been making significant military claims during this period, including Israel’s assertion that it eliminated Larijani and a top commander, though key details have been difficult to verify.