Top Aide to Tulsi Gabbard Resigns in Explosive Letter, Blames Israel for 'Iran War'

Joe Kent, a top aide to Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard, took to X Tuesday morning to announce his resignation as director of the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), writing, “I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran.”

Kent, an Army veteran who has two failed congressional runs on his resume, also posted his official resignation letter, and tweeted, "I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran. Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby."

After much reflection, I have decided to resign from my position as Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, effective today.

I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran. Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this… pic.twitter.com/prtu86DpEr
— Joe Kent (@joekent16jan19) March 17, 2026

After much reflection, I have decided to resign from my position as Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, effective today.
I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran. Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby.
It has been an honor serving under @POTUS and @DNIGabbard and leading the professionals at NCTC.
May God bless America.

In his letter to President Trump, Kent wrote, "I support the values and the foreign policies that you campaigned on in 2016, 2020, 2024, which you enacted in your first term. Until June of 2025, you understood that the wars in the Middle East were a trap that robbed America of the precious lives of our patriots and depleted the wealth and prosperity of our nation."

Watch As Trump, Vance Stand United on Iran: 'If They Had a Nuclear Weapon, They Would Use It'

After praising the president for his diplomatic prowess during his first administration, Kent then pivoted toward his belief that "high-ranking Israeli officials" had engaged in a "misinformation campaign" that led to the United States launching Operation Epic Fury on February 28.

"Early in this administration, high-ranking Israeli officials and influential members of the American media deployed a misinformation campaign that wholly undermined your America First platform and sowed pro-war sentiments to encourage a war with Iran. This echo chamber was used to deceive you into believing that Iran posed an imminent threat to the United States, and that should you strike now, there was a clear path to a swift victory. This was a lie and is 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."

Kent, whose first wife was killed in 2019 by an ISIS suicide bombing in Syria while serving as a Navy cryptologic technician, urged the president to "reflect upon what we are doing in Iran, and who we are doing it for," also writing, "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."

In his role as NCTC director, Kent was responsible for pulling together intelligence reports from across the government, track terror threats, maintain terrorism-related data, and help coordinate strategy across federal agencies; he reported to DNI Gabbard on intelligence matters and advised the president on counterterrorism planning.

The White House has yet to officially respond to the high-profile resignation, but one reporter has revealed in a tweet it's "being derided inside the White House this morning bc the people who actually have influence in this admin have not cared about Joe Kent or what he thinks for some time now and appear to be happy he’s gone."

Editor's Note: For decades, former presidents have been all talk and no action. Now, Donald Trump is eliminating the threat from Iran once and for all.

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