A senior United States counterterrorism official has resigned due to the war against Iran, saying Iran was not an imminent threat to the U.S.
National Counterterrorism Center Director Joe Kent was confirmed to the position last year and is the first high-ranking member of President Donald Trump’s administration to step down due to the war.
“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,” wrote Kent in his resignation letter.
Kent previously ran for a House of Representatives seat in Washington state, where his campaign had ties to right-wing extremist groups, the Associated Press reported. He was also formerly a member of the U.S. Army Special Forces and a CIA agent.
“As President Trump has clearly and explicitly stated, he had strong and compelling evidence that Iran was going to attack the United States first,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in response.
Democratic Senator Mark Warner, vice chair of the Senate’s Select Committee on Intelligence, said that Kent’s claim that Iran did not pose an imminent threat was correct.
“Joe Kent’s record is deeply troubling, and in my view he never should have been confirmed to lead the National Counterterrorism Center,” Warner said. “But on this point, he is right: there was no credible evidence of an imminent threat from Iran that would justify rushing the United States into another war of choice in the Middle East.”
Trump called Kent “very weak on security” following his resignation. “It’s a good thing he’s out,” Trump said.
Kent had reported to Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, and was her acting chief of staff before his confirmation. Gabbard, who voiced strong opposition to a military conflict with Iran before joining the administration, has rarely publicly commented on the war and has reportedly been sidelined in national security decision-making.
