Joe Kent, the top counterterrorism official, said Iran poses no imminent threat as he resigns over Trump’s war

WASHINGTON (AP) — Joe Kent, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, announced his resignation Tuesday, citing concerns about the justification for military strikes in Iran and saying he “cannot in good conscience” support the Trump administration’s war.

“Iran did not pose any 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 a statement posted on social media, citing allegations denied by President Donald Trump.

He watches: Johnson denied the outgoing counter-terrorism chief’s claim that Iran poses no imminent threat

Kent, a former Green Beret and political candidate with ties to right-wing extremists, was confirmed last July by a vote of 52 to 44. As head of the National Counterterrorism Center, he was in charge of an agency charged with analyzing and detecting terrorist threats.

His resignation shows that concern about war within Trump’s base extends to at least one senior member of his Republican administration.

The leadership change comes at a time of heightened concern about terrorism following several recent violent attacks in the United States

Iran’s justification strikes at the heart of the resignation

Kent’s decision came about because of the reasons behind the strikes on Iran, as he wrote in his resignation letter.

Trump has given varying reasons for the strikes and rejected claims that Israel forced the United States to act. House Speaker Mike Johnson indicated that the White House believes Israel is intent on striking on its own, leaving the Republican president with a “very difficult decision.”

Speaking with reporters in the Oval Office on Tuesday, Trump said he has always believed Kent is “weak on security,” and if someone in his administration doesn’t believe Iran is a threat, “we don’t want those people.”

“They’re not smart people, or they’re not smart,” Trump said. “Iran was a huge threat.”

He watches: Trump addresses Iranian strikes and Kent’s resignation during St. Patrick’s Day visit with Irish Taoiseach Martin

A year ago, when nominating Kent, Trump praised him as a man who had “chased terrorists and criminals his whole life.”

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, whose office oversaw Kent’s work, wrote in a social media post on Tuesday that it would be up to Trump to decide whether Iran poses a threat.

“After carefully reviewing all of the information before him, President Trump concluded that the Islamic terrorist regime in Iran poses an imminent threat and took action based on that conclusion,” Gabbard wrote in the post. She did not mention her view on the strikes.

Democrats strongly opposed Kent’s confirmation because of his past ties to far-right figures and conspiracy theories. But after his resignation, Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said Kent’s concerns about the war in Iran were justified.

“I strongly disagree with many of the positions he has adopted over the years, especially those that risk politicizing our intelligence community,” Warner said. “But on this point, he is right: There was no credible evidence of an imminent threat from Iran that would justify pushing the United States into another war of choice in the Middle East,” he added.

But Johnson walked back Kent’s claims in a press conference on Tuesday.

“I received all the briefings. We all understood that there was clearly an imminent threat that Iran was very close to enriching nuclear capacity and that they were building missiles at a pace that no one in the region could keep up with,” Johnson said.

Johnson said he was convinced that if Trump had waited, “we would have had significant casualties of Americans, service members and others, and our facilities would have sustained significant damage.”

The departure comes after three recent incidents of violence

In New York City, two men who federal authorities say were inspired by the Islamic State group took powerful homemade bombs to a far-right protest outside the mayor’s mansion.

In Michigan, a naturalized citizen from Lebanon rammed his car into a synagogue, where security personnel shot him before shooting himself.

In Virginia, a man previously imprisoned on a terrorism conviction opened fire in a university classroom. Officials said the attack ended with his death at the hands of the students.

Gabbard, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and FBI Director Kash Patel are scheduled to testify before lawmakers this week about threats facing the United States, an annual hearing likely to be dominated this year by questions about the Iran war and revelations that outdated intelligence likely led the United States to launch a missile that struck an elementary school in Iran and killed more than 165 people.

Gabbard, a former congresswoman from Hawaii, had previously criticized talk of military strikes in Iran. Six years ago, she said, “An all-out war with Iran would make the wars we’ve seen in Iraq and Afghanistan look like a cakewalk. It would be far more costly in lives, American lives, and American taxpayer money — all for the sake of achieving what goal? What goal?”

A Gabbard spokesman declined to answer questions about Gabbard’s views on the current strikes.

A popular figure among Trump supporters

Kent’s military background and personal story of sacrifice made him a compelling figure among Trump supporters.

Before joining the Trump administration, Kent ran two unsuccessful congressional campaigns in Washington state. As a Green Beret, he participated in 11 combat deployments before retiring to join the CIA. He also suffered tragedy: His wife, a Navy cryptologist, was killed by a suicide bomber in 2019 in Syria, leaving him with two young sons. Kent, 45, has since married.

During the chaotic US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, Kent criticized what he said was a misguided desire for nation-building by some in Washington, DC.

“It reflects our arrogance,” Kent told reporters while campaigning for Congress. “For us, not learning from all of this shows that there are people making money and making their careers on the other side of it. They were doing it on the backs and bodies of American soldiers.”

During his 2022 congressional campaign, Kent paid Graham Jorgensen, a member of the far-right militant group the Proud Boys, for consulting work. He also worked closely with Joey Gibson, founder of the Christian nationalist group Patriot Prayer, and attracted support from a variety of far-right figures.

Early in his first campaign, Kent admitted that a political consultant made a call aimed at expanding his social media reach, and was joined by Nick Fuentes, a popular right-wing influencer who said Jews were holding the United States “hostage” and once declared that “Hitler was great, and Hitler was right.”

Kent later denied those connections and stated that he rejected all “racism and bigotry.”

During his Senate confirmation hearing, Kent refused to distance himself from the conspiracy theory that federal agents incited the January 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol, as well as false claims that Trump won the 2020 election over Democrat Joe Biden.

Republicans praised Kent’s counterterrorism credentials, noting his military and intelligence experience.

Senator Tom Cotton, chairman of the Republican Intelligence Committee, said in a speech that Kent “has dedicated his career to fighting terrorism and keeping Americans safe.”

Associated Press writers Kevin Freking and Brian Slodesko contributed to this report.