Joe Kent, Director of the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), said in an X post it is clear Iran posed no threat to the U.S. and the war in Iran was started due to pressure from Israel. The announcement comes a day ahead of Gabbard’s hearing in front of the House Intelligence Committee on worldwide threats.
“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,” Kent wrote in his post.
Kent, a staunch supporter of President Donald Trump, was confirmed as the NCTC director in July. His remarks stand in stark contrast to the administration’s stated reason for starting Operation Epic Fury, as they claimed Iran was rapidly rebuilding their nuclear weapons — even after the U.S. destroyed key nuclear sites in the nation during June 2025’s Operation Midnight Hammer.
Kent wrote in his resignation letter that the president’s America first platform was derailed by a “misinformation campaign” waged by high-ranking Israeli officials and influential members of the American media. Thirteen service members have died in the war so far.
“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.”
The resignation also arrives on the heels of reports that Israel killed Iran’s top security leader, Ali Larijani, in an airstrike attack Tuesday. Larijani was the Islamic Republic’s most vital figure behind Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei who was killed on the first day of the war.
Top administration officials briefed Capitol Hill’s Gang of Eight in February and Speaker of the House Mike Johnson told reporters Israel deemed they faced an existential threat from Iran and would have acted with or without the U.S. Members of the administration claimed the strikes in the region reflected an “America first objective.”
Gabbard, who is preparing to face lawmakers on Capitol Hill this week, has campaigned against U.S. intervention abroad since her time serving as a Democratic congresswoman representing Hawaii.
Kent, a veteran of the Iraq war, is retired from the U.S. Army Special Forces. He lost his first wife and mother of his two sons, Navy cryptologist Shannon Kent, in a suicide bomb attack in Manbji, Syria in 2019. Kent wrote in his resignation letter she was killed in a “war manufactured by Israel.”
“I pray that you will reflect upon what we are doing in Iran, and who we are doing it for. The time for bold action is now,” Kent wrote. “You can reverse course and chart a new path for our nation, or you can allow us to slip further toward decline and chaos. You hold the cards.”
Kent notably ran for Congress with Trump’s endorsement in 2022 and 2024, narrowly losing to Democratic Washington Rep. Marie Gluesenkamp Perez both times. During his first run, he unseated six-term incumbent Republican Washington Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler in the primary, after she had voted to impeach Trump the year before.
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