US counterterrorism chief resigns over opposition to Iran war

The director of the US National Counterterrorism Center, Joseph Kent, resigned Tuesday, citing his opposition to the ongoing US war in Iran, Anadolu reports.

“I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran,” Kent wrote in a letter shared on the US social media platform X.

He argued that Iran posed no imminent threat to the US and claimed the conflict was initiated under external pressure.

Kent, a veteran who said he deployed to combat 11 times, also referenced personal loss, describing himself as a “Gold Star husband” whose wife was killed in a previous war.

“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,” he wrote.

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He further criticized Israeli officials and some American media figures, accusing them of misleading the administration and drawing parallels with the Iraq war.

“… 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.”

Addressing President Donald Trump directly, Kent urged him to change course.

“You can reverse course and chart a new path for our nation, or you can allow us to slip further toward decline and chaos,” he wrote. “You hold the cards.”

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