Overview
- Joe Kent quit as director of the National Counterterrorism Center, saying he could not in good conscience support the Iran campaign and asserting Iran posed no imminent threat.
- President Trump dismissed Kent’s claims and welcomed the resignation, calling him weak on security, while the White House labeled his assertions false and said Iran is a clear threat.
- Kent’s letter accused Israeli officials and sympathetic U.S. media of running a misinformation campaign that pushed the U.S. into war and referenced the 2019 death of his wife in arguing against continued fighting.
- He becomes the first senior administration official to leave over the conflict, drawing sharp GOP rebukes from Rep. Don Bacon and Speaker Mike Johnson, even as Sen. Mark Warner said there was no credible evidence of an imminent Iranian threat.
- The war, now in its third week after late‑February strikes, has killed at least 13 U.S. service members and wounded more than 200, with reporting citing roughly 1,200 deaths in Iran.