The director of the National Counterterrorism Center, Joe Kent, has resigned over the U.S. war with Iran. A new report reveals that Vice President JD Vance met with Kent the day before his public announcement and urged him to handle his departure with deference to President Donald Trump.
JD Vance reportedly met Joe Kent before he resigned
According to The Washington Post, Joe Kent and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard met with JD Vance at the White House on March 16. During that meeting, Kent presented his resignation letter to the vice president.
A White House official claimed Vance encouraged Kent to speak with the White House chief of staff and the president before making any final decisions. “The VP encouraged him to be respectful to POTUS,” the official alleged. A spokesman for Vance later maintained that the vice president “believes that it’s imperative for the national security team to remain cohesive, trust one another, and avoid mouthing off to the media about internal deliberations.”
Joe Kent announced his resignation publicly on March 17, posting a letter to President Donald Trump on X. “After much reflection, I have decided to resign,” Kent wrote. “I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran.” In his letter, Kent argued that “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.”
The former Green Beret, who deployed to combat 11 times, praised Trump in his letter for previously using military power “without getting us drawn into never-ending wars.” He specifically cited the killing of Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani and the defeat of the Islamic State during the first Trump administration.
All in all, Joe Kent accused “high-ranking Israeli officials and influential members of the American media” of deploying what he called a “misinformation campaign” that encouraged war with Iran. The White House quickly disputed his assertion that Iran posed no imminent threat.
Originally reported by Devanshi Basu on Mandatory
