President Donald Trump responded to a question Tuesday about former Director of the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) Joe Kent’s resignation over the Iran conflict.
Kent stated in his resignation letter that he could not support the war in Iran because the nation posed no “imminent threat” to the U.S. While taking questions in the Oval Office, Trump scoffed at Kent’s statement and defended his administration’s decision to begin the ongoing conflict.
“Director of the National Counterterrorism Joe Kent, he just resigned today. He said he can’t support your conflict with Iran. What’s your reaction to that?” Daily Caller White House correspondent Reagan Reese asked.
“Well, I always thought he was a nice guy, but I always thought he was weak on security, very weak on security. I didn’t know him well, but I thought he seemed like a pretty nice guy,” Trump said. “But when I read his statement I realized, it’s a good thing that he’s out because he said that Iran was not a threat. Iran was a threat, every country realized what a threat Iran was. The question was whether or not they wanted to do something.”
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Kent never denied that Iran was a threat to the U.S. or any other country, and clarified in his statement that Iran posed no “imminent” threat.
The administration has maintained that Iran intended to advance its ballistic missile program and its nuclear capabilities. Trump, along with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and other officials, have yet to clarify how Iran posed an imminent threat to the U.S.
Trump’s letter to Congress intending to justify the strikes did not specify an imminent threat, but instead mentioned that the strikes were designed to “neutralize Iran’s malign activities” and “advance vital United States national interests.”
Kent also claimed that the administration’s America First platform has been diminished by a “misinformation campaign” waged by high-ranking Israeli officials and influential members of the American media. He said the conflict began due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.
“This echo chamber was used to deceive you into believing Iran posed an imminent threat to the United States, and that should you strike now, there was a clear path to a swift victory,” Kent wrote. “This was a lie and is 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.”
Top administration officials told congressional members in February that Israel would have acted with or without the U.S. since Iran posed an existential threat to their nation.
Kent is a veteran of the Iraq war and is retired from the U.S. Army Special Forces. He lost his wife, Navy cryptologist Shannon Kent, in a suicide bomb attack in Manbji, Syria, in 2019. He alleged in the resignation letter that his wife died in a “war manufactured by Israel.
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