Top US counterterrorism official resigns

2026-03-17 15:44:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

The Trump administration's top counterterrorism official has resigned from his position, citing opposition to war on Iran, and urged the president to "change course."

In a letter posted to his X account, the Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, Joe Kent, said Iran posed “no immediate threat” to the US and claimed that the Trump administration “launched this war because of pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.” Kent, 45, is a US special forces and CIA veteran whose wife, Navy cryptologist Shannon Kent, was killed in a suicide bombing in Syria in 2019.

The BBC has contacted the White House for comment on Kent's resignation.

In the letter, Kent — a two-time Republican congressional candidate from Washington state — said that by June 2025 he believed “Trump had realized that the wars in the Middle East robbed America of the precious lives of our patriots and drained our nation of wealth and prosperity.” Furthermore, Kent alleged that “senior Israeli officials” and influential American journalists had planted “disinformation” that caused Trump to undermine his “America First” platform.

"This echo was used to deceive you into believing that Iran posed an immediate threat to the United States. This was a lie," the letter continued.

Kent, an early Trump supporter, was narrowly confirmed to the post in July last year, with many Democrats criticizing his ties to extremist groups, including members of the Proud Boys. At the confirmation hearing, Kent also refused to back down from claims that federal agents instigated the Jan. 6 riots at the U.S. Capitol or that Trump won the 2020 election.

At the National Counterterrorism Center, he reported to the Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, and oversaw the analysis and detection of potential terrorist threats from around the world. Previously, Kent had deployed overseas 11 times with the U.S. military, including with U.S. Army Special Forces in Iraq.

He later became a paramilitary officer in the CIA, before leaving government service after his wife's death. Kent mentioned his military service and her death in his letter, saying he "cannot support sending the next generation to fight and die in a war that serves no benefit to the American people nor justifies the cost in American lives."/CNA, translated by BBC