Gabbard issues statement on Trump's Iran actions after Kent denies immediate threat

Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard on Tuesday issued a statement in defense of President Donald Trump's decision to go to war with Iran after a senior counterintelligence official resigned, saying that Trump made the decision at the behest of Israel.

Joe Kent stepped down as director of the National Counterterrorism Center on Tuesday. The NCTC falls under the purview of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) and Kent was a close ally of Gabbard. In his resignation letter, he urged Trump to reverse course and insisted that Iran was not an immediate threat to the United States.

"Donald Trump was overwhelmingly elected by the American people to be our President and Commander in Chief," Gabbard said. "As our Commander in Chief, he is responsible for determining what is and is not an imminent threat, and whether or not to take action he deems necessary to protect the safety and security of our troops, the American people and our country."

"The Office of the Director of National Intelligence is responsible for helping coordinate and integrate all intelligence to provide the President and Commander in Chief with the best information available to inform his decisions," she added.
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After carefully reviewing all the information before him, President Trump concluded that the terrorist Islamist regime in Iran posed an imminent threat and he took action based on that conclusion."

Gabbard did not endorse Trump's conclusion or directly mention Kent in her statement. She was, notably, a vocal opponent of war with Iran prior to taking office.

Ben Whedon is the Chief Political Correspondent at Just the News. Follow him on X.