Joe Kent, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, testifies at a House Homeland Security Committee hearing titled “Global Threats to the Homeland,” in the Cannon Building on Wednesday, December 11, 2025.

Tom Williams | Cq-roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images

National Counterterrorism Center Director Joe Kent announced his resignation Tuesday in response to the Trump administration’s war on Iran.

“I cannot in my right mind support this ongoing war,” Kent said in a letter addressed to President Donald Trump that was published on Kent’s personal page.

Kent, a supporter of radical conspiracy theories, who was narrowly confirmed by the Senate last month, accused the president of being misled by Israel into supporting the war.

“Iran posed no immediate threat to our country, and it is clear that we started this war because of pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby,” Kent wrote in his letter.

The White House and the National Counterterrorism Center did not immediately respond to CNBC’s inquiries.

The director of the NCTC leads U.S. counterterrorism and counternarcotics efforts and advises the president directly. An hour after Kent announced his resignation, he was still listed as the center’s director on its official government website.

The NCTC is housed within the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, led by Tulsi Gabbard, a once-vocal opponent of war with Iran who has kept quiet on the Trump administration’s latest military actions.

The ODNI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.