Joseph Kent, Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, said Iran posed no imminent threat and the war was started 'due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby,' adding: 'I cannot in good conscience support the ongoing war.' 

Kent, who served under Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, accused the President of reneging on the non-interventionist principles he campaigned on.

'Until June of 2025, you understood that the wars in the Middle East were a trap that robbed America of the precious lives of our patriots and depleted the wealth and prosperity of our nation,' the former Army Special Forces soldier wrote in his resignation letter.

'The time for bold action is now. You can reverse course and chart a new path for our nation, or you can allow us to slip further toward decline and chaos. You hold the cards.' 

Kent, who deployed to combat 11 times and lost his wife Shannon in what he calls a war manufactured by Israel, is closely aligned with the populist 'America First' wing of the Trump administration, including Gabbard and Vice President JD Vance, who have both warned against new Middle East entanglements. 

His resignation lays bare a widening split inside Trumpworld. Kent accused high-ranking Israeli officials and members of the American media of running a 'misinformation campaign' to deceive the President into believing Iran posed an imminent threat, drawing a direct parallel to the lead-up to the Iraq war. 

The divide pits the Gabbard-Vance non-interventionist faction against hawkish Republicans who back US support for Israel and a harder line on Tehran. 

The Daily Mail has contacted the White House and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence for comment. 

Speaker Mike Johnson was asked about Kent's accusations that the US launched the war against Iran because of Israel. 

Johnson again repeated the Trump administration's claim that there was an immediate threat from Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon. Trump claimed last summer that the US had obliterated Iran's nuclear program.

'I don't know where Joe Kent is getting his information because he wasn't in those briefings,' Johnson told reporters. 'Had the president waited, we would have had mass casualties of Americans.' 

Trump's ongoing war has spiraled across the Middle East, leading to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and deaths of 13 troops with hundreds more injured across seven countries. 

Gas prices have surged to an average of $3.80 a gallon from $2.90 before the conflict began three weeks ago, while the narrow strait - through which a fifth of the world's oil flows - remains blocked by the threat of Iranian mines and missiles.