US Counterterrorism Chief Resigns Over Iran Conflict
The Trump administration's leading counterterrorism official has stepped down, citing opposition to the ongoing war in Iran and urging President Trump to "reverse course."
In a letter shared on X, Joe Kent, Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, stated that Iran posed "no imminent threat" to the United States. He further asserted that the Trump administration "started this war due to pressure from Israel" and its influential American lobby.
Kent, aged 45, is a veteran of US special forces and the CIA. His wife, Shannon Kent, a navy cryptologic technician, was killed in a suicide bombing in Syria in 2019.
The BBC has reached out to the White House for a response regarding Kent's resignation.
Kent also accused "high-ranking Israeli officials" and prominent US journalists of spreading "misinformation" that led President Trump to undermine his "America First" agenda.
"This echo was used to deceive you into believing that Iran posted an imminent threat to the United States," the letter continued. "This was a lie."
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