Donald Trump’s most senior counterterrorism official has resigned, saying he could not “in good conscience” support war on Iran and that the country poses “no imminent threat” to the United States.
Joe Kent was director of the National Counterterrorism Center, which led the agency as it tracked and analyzed terrorist threats to the US.
Announcing his resignation in a post on social media, he wrote: “I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war on Iran. Iran poses no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war because of pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.”
Iran war latest: Senior US official quits and blames Israel
Who is Joe Kent and why did he resign?
Mr. Kent was appointed Mr. Trump and confirmed by the Senate last July by a vote of 44 to 52, has twice run unsuccessfully for Congress and been criticized for his ties to far-right extremists.
The 45-year-old is the highest-ranking administration official to publicly oppose Mr Trump’s war. IranThat highlights concerns among some of Mr Trump’s supporters about his justifications for the conflict.
Mr Kent said he was concerned about the reasons, or lack of reasons, given for the strikes on Iran.
Some experts said an imminent threat was needed for Mr. Trump to launch his war without congressional approval and under international law of war.
Mr. Kent’s letter of resignation
Mr Trump has offered several reasons for war, including stopping Iran from developing nuclear weapons, destroying its ballistic missile capabilities and regime change. He disputed that the Israeli action forced the US to strike.
Responding to Mr Kent’s resignation at an Oval Office news conference on Tuesday, Mr Trump said he had always felt “weak in security”. If someone in his administration doesn’t believe Iran is a threat, “we don’t want those people,” he said.
Mr. Kent ran unsuccessfully for Congress in Washington state twice. Image: Reuters
A career in the Special Forces and two failed political bids
Mr. Kent previously served in the military for 20 years, including 11 deployments as a Green Beret — an elite counterterrorism force known for conducting unconventional warfare — before joining the CIA as a paramilitary officer. He later served as a counterterrorism adviser to Mr. Trump’s 2020 presidential re-election campaign.
Before he entered Mr. Trump’s administration, Mr. Kent attempted two unsuccessful bids for Congress in Washington state.
She has previously been a strong supporter of Mr Trump, having met the president after his wife Shannon, a US Navy cryptologist, was killed by a suicide bomber while fighting Islamic State in Syria in 2019, leaving him to raise their two sons.
Joe and Shannon Kent with their children. Image: Joe Kent / NBC
Praise for Trump’s ’empathy and thoughtfulness’
in An opinion piece for NBC NewsSky News’ US partner network, published a year later, Mr Kent met Mr Trump in the days after his wife was killed and praised him for “his empathy and thoughtfulness during the worst days of my life”.
Mr Kent said he could “unequivocally” see in the president’s eyes “the same pain I have seen in the eyes of other senior leaders who ultimately bear responsibility for sending men and women to their deaths in war”.
Mr. Kent was the director of the US National Counterterrorism Center. Image: AP
In stark contrast to his resignation letter, Mr Kent wrote: “His (Mr Trump’s) use of decisive military force only when absolutely necessary, his reluctance to use the military as the sole tool of foreign policy is not only good and smart, but a sign of the utmost respect for the lives of our soldiers.”
He said: “Past presidents’ support of endless wars has cost thousands of American lives and trillions of dollars to American taxpayers, but President Trump’s limited use of military force and swift action when necessary marks a decisive shift from that policy.”
File photo: Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call/AP
Links with right-wing extremists and conspiracy theories
During his 2022 congressional campaign, Kent paid Graham Jorgensen, a member of the far-right group Proud Boys, for consulting work.
He worked closely with Joey Gibson, founder of the Christian nationalist group Patriot Prayer, but received support from various right-wing figures.
Democrats opposed his appointment to head the National Counterterrorism Center, criticizing him for his past ties to far-right figures and his penchant for conspiracy theories.
During his Senate confirmation hearing, Mr Kent refused to back away from a conspiracy theory that US federal agents instigated the January 6 attack on the US Capitol in 2021 and did not back down from false claims that Mr Trump had won the 2020 presidential election.
Democrats grilled Mr Trump for participating in a group chat on the Signal messaging app used by Mr Trump’s national security team. to discuss airstrikes on Yemen’s Iran-backed HouthisRepublicans praised his counterterrorism credentials and pointed to his military and intelligence experience.
