Counterterrorism director Joe Kent's resignation over Iran war prompts WH pushback: 'Very weak'

By Jon Brown, Christian Post Reporter Tuesday, March 17, 2026

Joe Kent, who served as director of the National Counterterrorism Center, resigned Tuesday over the war in Iran, alleging the conflict is an unnecessary consequence of Israeli influence over U.S. foreign policy. The claim prompted pushback from the White House.

"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 said in his resignation letter to President Donald Trump, which he posted on social media.

After much reflection, I have decided to resign from my position as Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, effective today.

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… pic.twitter.com/prtu86DpEr

— Joe Kent (@joekent16jan19) March 17, 2026

Kent, a former U.S. Army warrant officer and former Central Intelligence Agency paramilitary officer who unsuccessfully ran for Congress in 2022 and 2024, said he supported Trump's noninterventionist foreign policy platform dating back to 2016 but has come to believe Trump has grown beholden to Israeli interests.

"I support the values and the foreign policies that you campaigned on in 2016, 2020, 2024, which you enacted in your first term," he said, adding that Trump adhered to those principles until last June, when the U.S. military first intervened in Iran.

Kent claimed that Trump has been deceived by and subjected to an Israeli "misinformation campaign that wholly undermined your America First platform and sowed pro-war sentiments to encourage a war with Iran."

Kent, who said he deployed to combat 11 times, also blamed the Iraq War on the disputed allegation that it was based on false Israeli intelligence and claimed his late wife, Shannon Kent, was killed "in a war manufactured by Israel." Shannon Kent, a U.S. Navy cryptologic technician, was killed by a suicide bomber during the Syrian Civil War in 2019.

Kent's letter drew condemnation from Trump, who said Kent "was a nice guy," but added, "I always thought he was weak on security; very weak on security."

"When I read his statement, I realized it's a good thing that he's out," Trump said, adding that Iran was an imminent threat.

Trump on Joe Kent: "I always thought he was weak on security. Very weak on security. It's a good thing that he's out." pic.twitter.com/225kN39r2f

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 17, 2026

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Kent's letter was filled with "false claims."

Leavitt maintained that Trump would not use U.S. military force needlessly and said he "had strong and compelling evidence that Iran was going to attack the United States first."

"Iran was aggressively expanding their short-range ballistic missiles to combine with their naval assets to give themselves immunity — meaning they would have a degree of capabilities that would give them immunity to hold us and the rest of the world hostage," she said, adding that Iran ultimately intended to obtain a nuclear weapon.

Leavitt said attempts at negotiation failed and dismissed Kent's claim that Trump is under foreign influence as "both insulting and laughable."

Leavitt's assertions were echoed by House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., who suggested Kent was misinformed when asked about his resignation during a press briefing Tuesday morning.

Mike Johnson: "We all understood there was clearly an imminent threat that Iran was very close to the enrichment of nuclear capability ... I don't know where Joe Kent is getting his information ... the president felt he had to strike first to prevent mass casualties" pic.twitter.com/r9VgPqfW8Y

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) March 17, 2026

"We all understood there was clearly an imminent threat that Iran was very close to the enrichment of nuclear capability, and they were building missiles at a pace that no one in the region could keep up with," he said, adding that he and other congressional leaders came to believe Iran intended "to fire them on Americans."

"I don't know where Joe Kent is getting his information," Johnson said.

A senior administration official said Kent was a known leaker and had been cut out of intelligence briefings months earlier, according to Fox News. The source also said Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard had been advised to fire Kent for his alleged leaks and that he played no role in recent plans or briefings related to the war in Iran.