National Counterterrorism Center director resigns, cites Iran war

PHOTO CAPTION: Illustrative file photo — National Counterterrorism Center Director Joseph Kent attends a House Homeland Security hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., U.S. Dec. 11, 2025. (REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz)

WASHINGTON  -  The head of the National Counterterrorism Center resigned on Tuesday, becoming the first and most senior member of U.S. President Donald Trump's administration to resign over the war in Iran, saying Tehran posed no imminent threat to the United States.

"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 lobby," Joseph Kent wrote in a letter to Trump posted on X.

Some experts have said an imminent threat would be required for the United States to launch a war under current law. 

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence also did not immediately respond.

Intelligence officials were caught off guard by the news.

Kent is close with Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, who has kept a low profile since the Iran war began. 

Gabbard has not issued any public statements and has only appeared in public during the dignified transfer of American soldiers killed earlier this month during the conflict with Iran.

(Reporting by Katharine Jackson, Susan Heavey, Phil Stewart, Erin Banco, Idrees Ali and Jarrett Renshaw, editing by Michelle Nichols // REUTERS // Headline revised by Paul Garraty (OAF Nation))