The head of the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center resigned March 17, saying he “cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran,” the first top Trump administration official to quit over the conflict.
Joe Kent, a decorated former Army Ranger and CIA paramilitary officer, was a top aide to Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, who oversaw all U.S. counter-terrorism efforts in the U.S. and overseas.
In a March 17 post on social media platform X, Kent said that “after much reflection, I have decided to resign from my position as Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, effective today.”
“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,” Kent wrote in a letter to President Donald Trump, who nominated him for the top U.S. counterterrorism job on Feb. 3, 2025.
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