Counterterrorism Director Joe Kent Resigns, Saying Iran Posed 'No Imminent Threat'

Joe Kent, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, announced his resignation on March 17, 2026 in a statement posted to social media, writing that Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation before the February 28 strikes and that senior leadership had been misled about the threat. Kent said high-ranking Israeli officials and media figures had run a misinformation campaign to push for war, and that the conflict began because of pressure from Israel and its American lobby. He referred to the death of his wife in Syria as having occurred in a conflict he described as manufactured by Israel. Kent, a former Army Ranger and Special Forces soldier, had been nominated by Trump after Trump endorsed his unsuccessful House campaign. Trump responded that he always thought Kent was weak on security and that Iran was a threat.

The resignation of the official who runs the government's terrorism-threat integration center, on the stated ground that the intelligence case for an ongoing war was wrong, is a rare public dissent from inside the intelligence community about a live conflict.

Kent left the post. Trump publicly dismissed his account.