Top US counterterrorism official resigns over war on Iran

WASHINGTON: A senior United States counterterrorism official resigned on Tuesday in protest against the ongoing US-Israeli war on Iran, stating that Tehran posed no imminent threat to Washington.

Joseph Kent, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, submitted his resignation in a letter addressed to former US president Donald Trump, saying he could not support the conflict.

“I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran,” Kent wrote, adding that “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.”

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Kent, a former Green Beret who served multiple combat tours, became the first senior official to step down from the administration in protest of the war.

In his letter, he said that until June 2025, Trump had recognised that wars in the Middle East were costly and detrimental to US interests, but claimed that position had since shifted.

He further alleged that high-ranking Israeli officials and sections of the American media had pushed a misinformation campaign that undermined the administration’s “America First” agenda and encouraged military action against Iran.

According to Kent, this narrative created an “echo chamber” that led to the belief that Iran posed an immediate threat and that a swift military victory was achievable.

“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,” he wrote.

He concluded by saying he could not support sending American troops into a conflict that, in his view, offered no benefit to the country and did not justify the loss of lives.