"Iran posed no immediate threat to our country," says Joseph Kent (Joe Kent) and points out that Israel dragged the US into the war
The head of the US National Counterterrorism Center, Joseph Kent, resigned with sharp criticism against the war launched by the US and Israel against Iran, stating in a letter to President Donald Trump, which he published on X, that "Iran did not pose an immediate threat to our country."
After much reflection, I have decided to resign from my position as Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, effective today.
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… pic.twitter.com/prtu86DpEr
— Joe Kent (@joekent16jan19) March 17, 2026
"After much consideration, I have decided to resign from my position as Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, effective today," Kent wrote in his letter.
"I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war on Iran. Iran posed no immediate threat to our country, and it is clear that we started this war under pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby," wrote Kent, who faced criticism for his ties to white nationalists before being selected for the high-ranking post in the Trump administration.
“Early in this administration, high-ranking Israeli officials and powerful members of the American media developed a disinformation campaign that completely undermined your ‘America First’ platform and sowed pro-war sentiment to encourage a war with Iran.
“This environment of unanimity was used to deceive you into believing that Iran posed an immediate threat to the United States and that if you bombed now, there was a clear path to a quick victory. This was a lie and is the same tactic the Israelis used to drag us into the disastrous Iraq War that cost our nation the lives of thousands of our best men and women. “We cannot make that mistake again,” Kent stresses.
Although the press releases will range from very select to rare, I said I'd pass...because sometimes the editors hide.
