White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt defended the Trump administration’s claim that Iran posed an "imminent threat" in remarks made following the resignation of National Counterterrorism Center Director Joe Kent, even though she said the opposite in the past.
Kent, a former Green Beret and senior intelligence official who led the National Counterterrorism Center, stepped down on Tuesday after saying he could not support the war. He argued that Tehran posed no immediate danger to the United States, setting off a direct clash with the White House over the intelligence used to justify military action.
The National Counterterrorism Center serves as the government’s central hub for analyzing and integrating terrorism intelligence across agencies, advising the president and senior national security officials. Kent’s role placed him at the center of threat assessments tied to Iran, making his public break with the administration’s position highly unusual and politically significant.
Military.com reached out to the White House, Department of Defense, U.S. Central Command, State Department and intelligence agencies for comment.
A White House spokesperson pointed Military.com to a statement from press secretary Karoline Leavitt, who said Kent’s assertion was false and contradicted intelligence reviewed by the president.
Leavitt said President Donald Trump acted on “strong and compelling evidence” that Iran was preparing to strike the United States.
“The commander-in-chief determines what does and does not constitute a threat,” Leavitt said Tuesday, adding that allegations the decision was influenced by foreign governments were “insulting and laughable.”
Leavitt said the administration viewed Iran’s expanding short-range ballistic missile and naval capabilities as a growing danger to U.S. interests and global shipping and defended the military campaign under Operation Epic Fury. The administration viewed Iran’s expanding short-range ballistic missile and naval capabilities as a growing danger to U.S. interests and global shipping and defended the military campaign under Operation Epic Fury, she added.
The press secretary also rejected Kent’s suggestion that the decision was driven by foreign pressure, calling that allegation “insulting and laughable.”
While Leavitt has previously said on the administration's behalf that Iran posed “imminent threats” to U.S. interests and risked domestic attacks, she has also stated the opposite.
Earlier this month, she said on X in response to an ABC News report: “TO BE CLEAR: No such threat from Iran to our homeland exists, and it never did.”
The Pentagon did not offer a separate public assessment and instead referred Military.com to the White House statement.
U.S. Central Command also declined to discuss threat assessments, with a defense official responding on background that the command does not discuss such matters or force protection measures because of operational security.
Kent Quits Over Iran War
Kent announced his resignation in a public statement on March 16, saying he “cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war in Iran," arguing the U.S. initiated the conflict despite no imminent threat. Reuters and the Washington Post both reported that he was the first senior administration official to resign over the war.
Kent oversaw the government’s main hub for integrating terrorism intelligence, putting him close to the national security assessments now at the center of the political fight. His break with the White House deepened the clash over whether Iran posed an imminent threat to the United States.
He also said the conflict was driven by pressure from Israel, a claim that drew immediate backlash. The Washington Post reported that his resignation triggered criticism from some Republicans, while Reuters reported that Virginia Sen. Mark Warner—the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee—said there was “no credible evidence of an imminent threat” that justified rushing the United States into war.
The resignation sharpened scrutiny on Capitol Hill over how the administration interpreted and presented intelligence to justify the use of force. Reuters reported that Warner publicly backed Kent on the core point about the lack of an imminent threat, giving the story a concrete oversight angle even before any formal hearing announcement.
Congress was already moving toward a war powers fight after Trump approved strikes on Feb. 28, underscoring how questions about presidential authority and the scope of the campaign had been building well before Kent’s resignation.
