Washington – Joe Kent, director of the National Counterterrorism Center and a top Trump administration intelligence official, has resigned in protest over the U.S.-Israel war with Iran.
Kent’s resignation on Tuesday, 17 March 2026, makes him the first senior official to publicly break ranks with the U.S. President.
In a resignation letter posted on X, the 45-year-old Army Special Forces and CIA veteran wrote: “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 accused high-ranking Israeli officials and U.S. journalists of spreading misinformation that misled Trump away from his “America First” agenda, urging the president to “reverse course.”
Kent, who reported to Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, cited his 11 combat deployments and the 2019 death of his wife, a Navy cryptologic technician killed in Syria, saying he could not send another generation to fight a war offering “no benefit to the American people”.
A Trump loyalist who ran unsuccessfully for Congress in Washington state and was narrowly confirmed despite Democratic criticism over past remarks, Kent had supported the administration’s foreign policy until recently.
His departure exposes growing fissures in Trump’s coalition over the conflict, with allies like Tucker Carlson praising the move.
The U.S.-Israeli campaign against Iran, now in its third week, shows no signs of ending.
American and Israeli forces have conducted widespread airstrikes on Iranian military infrastructure, nuclear sites, and leadership targets, including the killing of Iran’s national security chief.
Iran has retaliated with missile and drone attacks, including strikes on the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad and targets in Dubai, Qatar and Israel.
The U.S. Navy has sunk Iranian warships, while Tehran has disrupted shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, driving oil prices higher and raising recession fears globally.
Trump has claimed the strikes prevented a nuclear breakout; officials indicate operations could continue for weeks.
The White House had no immediate comment on Kent’s resignation.
Meanwhile, the price of oil remains on an upward trajectory above US$100 a barrel.
*Disclaimer: This article was compiled using AI tool Grok on X and may contain inaccuracies
