Trump's top official says Israel dragged US into war with Iran, quits
In another setback for US President Donald J Trump, Joseph Kent, the head of the country's National Counterterrorism Center, has resigned from his position over the US-Israel war against Iran.
Washington: In another setback for US President Donald J Trump, Joseph Kent, the head of the country's National Counterterrorism Center, has resigned from his position over the US-Israel war against Iran.
In his resignation letter, Kent said that Iran posed no "imminent threat" to the US and that Israeli pressure pushed Trump to start the war.
"Can't back Trump's war"
Kent wrote that he has taken the decision "after much reflection", and that he cannot in good conscience" back the Trump administration's war in Iran.
In his letter posted on social media platform X, he claimed that Trump knew till June 2025 that the wars in the Middle East only robbed the US of lives and exhausted the nation's wealth.
"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 war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby", he wrote.
Full Text of Joe Kent's Letter
President Trump,
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 war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.
I support the values and the foreign policies that you campaigned on in 2016, 2020, 2024, which you enacted in your first term. Until June of 2025, you understood that the wars in the Middle East were a trap that robbed America of the precious lives of our patriots and depleted the wealth and prosperity of our nation.
In your first administration, you understood better than any modern President how to decisively apply military power without getting us drawn into never-ending wars. You demonstrated this by killing Qasam Solamani and by defeating ISIS.
Early in this administration, high-ranking Israeli officials and influential members of the American media deployed a misinformation campaign that wholly undermined your America First platform and sowed pro-war sentiments to encourage a war with Iran.
This echo chamber was used to deceive you into believing that Iran posed an imminent threat to the United States, and that should you strike now, there was a clear path to a swift victory.
This was a lie and is the same tactic the Israelis used to draw us into the disastrous Iraq war that cost our nation the lives of thousands of our best men and women. We cannot make this mistake again.As a veteran who deployed to combat 11 times and as a Gold Star husband who lost my beloved wife Shannon in a war manufactured by Israel, I cannot 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.
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. You hold the cards.
It was an honor to serve in your administration and to serve our great nation.
Joseph Kent
Director, National Counterterrorism Center
Interestingly, Trump himself has admitted it was a mistake to start the war with Iran.
Talking to reporters when the war started on Feb 28, 2026 was in its first week, Trump said he was misled by Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and his Jewish son-in-law Jared Kushner.
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