US counterterror chief says in resignation letter Israel 'deceived' Trump into attacking Iran
A senior Trump administration official in the directorate of national intelligence has resigned over the war on Iran, saying that the US president was tricked into the conflict by an Israeli and pro-war “echo chamber”.
“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,” Joseph Kent, the director of the National Counterterrorism Centre, wrote in a resignation letter shared on Tuesday.
The centre oversees all US government intelligence on threats and falls under the Directorate of National Intelligence, which is run by Tulsi Gabbard.
Kent is one of the highest-profile political appointees to resign in decades over a foreign war.
Kent’s public broadside against Israel is the first in a resignation letter by a senior presidential administration official in history. Kent, who has top security clearance, accused Israel of misleading President Donald Trump.
“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,” Kent wrote.
“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,” he wrote.
Reacting to Kent's resignation on Tuesday, Trump told reporters in the Oval Office that he didn't know Kent very well and thought he was a "nice guy" but "weak on security".
"But when I read his statement, I realised that it's a good thing that he's out because he said that 'Iran was not a threat'. Iran was a threat - every country realised what a threat Iran was, the question was whether or not they wanted to do something about it."
"When somebody is working with us and says they didn’t think Iran was a threat, we don’t want those people, because there are some people, I guess, that would say that, but they’re not smart people, or they’re not savvy people. Iran was a tremendous threat," Trump added.
Kent was named director of the National Counterterrorism Centre in February 2025.
Trump posted on Truth Social at the time that it was his "pleasure" to nominate Kent for the director position and credited him with hunting down criminals and "terrorists" his "entire adult life".
"Joe will help us keep America safe by eradicating all terrorism, from the jihadists and the World to the cartels in our backyard."
Resignations
The Biden administration saw a few protests over US support for Israel amid the war on Gaza, but they were mainly low to mid-career-level officials.
Kent also has a prestigious US military record.
He is a former Army Ranger who undertook 11 combat deployments after the 11 September 2001 attacks. In 2018, he became a CIA paramilitary officer. He later ran for Congress as an ardent Trump supporter.
Kent’s wife, Shannon, was a US Navy cryptologist. She was killed in 2019 by a bombing at a restaurant in Manbij, Syria.
US troops deployed to Syria to defeat the Islamic State (IS) militant group. Around 1,000 US troops remain in Syria despite IS’s territorial defeat in 2019.
Kent said that Israel was also responsible for the US intervention in Syria.
“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,” Kent wrote.
Kent’s resignation was praised on social media by high-profile members of Trump’s Maga movement who have opposed the war.
Shawn Ryan, a former Navy Seal and podcaster who backed Trump in the 2024 presidential election, welcomed the resignation.
“Sometimes the most impactful statement you can make is a strong resignation. It's unfortunate it's come down to this. God speed [Joe Kent], I hope this wakes some people up,” Ryan wrote on X.
Kent was a diehard Trump supporter who backed protesters arrested during the 6 January 2021 attack on Capitol Hill.
This article was sourced from Middle East Eye.
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