Joe Kent, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, stepped down Tuesday from his position in the Trump administration, citing his opposition to U.S. military strikes on Iran.

In a resignation letter addressed to President Donald Trump, Kent said he could not continue serving while the United States was engaged in a conflict with Iran that he believed posed no imminent threat to the country.

“I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran,” Kent wrote, arguing that the United States had entered the conflict due to pressure from Israel and what he described as its “powerful American lobby.”

Kent, a retired Green Beret who deployed to combat multiple times, said his views were shaped in part by the death of his wife, Shannon Kent, who was killed in a terrorist attack in Syria in 2019 while serving with the U.S. Navy.

“As a veteran who deployed to combat 11 times and as a Gold Star husband who lost my beloved wife Shannon in a war manufactured by Israel, I cannot support sending the next generation off to fight and die in a war that serves no benefit to the American people,” Kent wrote.

In the letter, Kent praised Trump’s earlier foreign policy positions during his 2016, 2020, and 2024 presidential campaigns, saying the president had previously recognized that Middle East wars often entangle the United States in costly conflicts. He also commended Trump’s first-term actions, including the killing of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani and the campaign against ISIS.

Kent argued that early in Trump’s current administration, Israeli officials and segments of the media promoted narratives designed to push the United States toward war with Iran. He warned that the situation risked repeating mistakes similar to the Iraq War.

He urged Trump to reconsider the current course of action, writing that the president still had the ability to reverse the policy and pursue a different approach.

Kent’s resignation quickly drew sharp criticism from former Trump administration officials.

Taylor Budowich, a former deputy White House chief of staff, dismissed Kent’s claims and accused him of undermining the administration.

“Joe Kent is a crazed egomaniac who was often at the center of national security leaks, while rarely producing any actual work,” Budowich said in a statement. He added that Kent had repeatedly worked to subvert the chain of command and suggested the resignation was intended to generate attention before he was removed.

Other officials also pushed back on Kent’s characterization of the threat posed by Iran. Former FBI deputy director Dan Bongino said the Iranian government represented a serious danger to the United States and its allies.

“The Iranian theocracy was an imminent threat,” Bongino said, arguing that claims to the contrary were misleading.

Trump administration officials have pointed to intelligence assessments and statements from Iranian negotiators during diplomatic talks to justify the decision to strike.

According to Trump’s chief negotiator Steve Witkoff, Iran currently possesses significant quantities of enriched uranium, including material enriched to 60 percent purity that could potentially be further refined into weapons-grade uranium within days.

Witkoff said Iranian representatives acknowledged controlling roughly 460 kilograms of uranium enriched to that level and indicated they understood it could theoretically be converted into enough material for multiple nuclear weapons.

Kent had previously expressed skepticism about military action against Iran. In a 2024 interview, he warned that direct strikes could strengthen Iran’s leadership by rallying public support around the regime and triggering retaliation from Iranian-backed groups across the region.

Kent previously worked closely with Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, serving as her chief of staff before being appointed to lead the National Counterterrorism Center. Gabbard is scheduled to testify before the Senate in the coming days.