HAMILTON - The director of the US National Counterterrorism Centre, Joseph Kent, resigned on Tuesday, citing his opposition to the ongoing US war in Iran, Anadolu Ajansi reported.
"I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran,” Kent wrote in a letter shared on X.
He argued that Iran posed no imminent threat to the United States and claimed the conflict was initiated under external pressure.
Kent, a veteran who said he had been deployed to combat 11 times, also referenced personal loss, describing himself as a "Gold Star husband” whose wife was killed in a previous war.
"I cannot support sending the next generation off to fight and die in a war that serves no benefit to the American people nor justifies the cost of American lives,” he wrote.
He further criticised Israeli officials and some American media figures, accusing them of misleading the administration and drawing parallels with the Iraq War.
"... The same tactic the Israelis used to draw us into the disastrous Iraq war that cost our nation the lives of thousands of our best men and women. We cannot make this mistake again."
Addressing US President Donald Trump directly, Kent urged him to change course.
"You can reverse course and chart a new path for our nation, or you can allow us to slip further towards decline and chaos," he wrote. "You hold the cards." - BERNAMA