The war between the United States and Iran began in late February of 2026. This war began due to fears of possible attacks on Americans by the Iranian government. President Donald Trump claimed that the U.S. has to “eliminate imminent threats from the Iranian regime.” While some supported this idea, others questioned the integrity of this statement and felt there was a deeper reason for why this war truly unraveled. One notable critic of the idea was Joe Kent, Trump’s counterterrorism official. Kent had originally supported Trump’s ideologies from the beginning of his campaign in 2016 but had only worked in the administration since July of 2025. Due to Trump’s decision to attack Iran, he resigned in protest. 

This sparked a lot of confusion among the public as Kent was known to be in close ties to right-wing extremists and was also seen as a Trump loyalist. Additionally, his reason for resigning seems to oppose Trump’s report that Iran was an “imminent threat” and was partaking in “menacing activities” that threatened the American citizens. 

Kent completely disagreed with this in his resignation letter. He announced he couldn’t support this war, stating that “Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation.” He also claimed that the true reason for this war is solely based on Israel’s influence on the U.S. government. He even acknowledged his agreement with the Trump administration’s policies in 2016-2020, but the moment Trump decided to enact this war, Kent could no longer stand by him. 

Kent also said, “Wars in the Middle East were a trap that robbed America of the precious lives of our patriots,” believing that if we aren’t protecting anyone, there is no reason to send off American troops to a war that is Israel’s in the first place. He himself was a veteran who fought in combat eleven times and is a gold star husband, as he lost his wife to a war that was in his words, “manufactured by Israel” to start a war for Israel. 

Several members of NATO also declined to join this war against Iran. In response, Trump criticized them for making a foolish mistake and then proceeded to say that those allies were unneeded in the first place. Meanwhile, many politicians have been sharing their views on this topic all across social media apps like X. An example of this is when Nancy Pelosi said to invoke the 25th Amendment due to Trump’s actions towards this war. Overall, the conflict has created uncertainty among many Americans today, with debate on whether this war is truly necessary for national security or not.