Trump must restrain Israel before declaring victory in Iran war, Joe Kent says

Former National Counterterrorism Center Director Joe Kent – ​​who left his government post last month over his opposition to the war in Iran – suggested in an article published Wednesday evening on X that President Donald Trump will only be able to declare victory in Iran if he “restrains” Israel.

“The purpose of POTUS’s speech tonight was to show that we can declare victory whenever we want. This is only possible if POTUS restrains the Israelis first. Israel needs our commitment indefinitely, we seek a quick end to the war. We have radically different goals than Israel and must act accordingly,” Kent said in the message.

Kent made the comments after Trump – who launched the United States’ controversial war on Iran last month in conjunction with Israel – delivered a speech to the nation on the ongoing conflict on Wednesday evening.

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Joe Kent, director of the National Counterterrorism Center, during a House Homeland Security Committee hearing in Washington, DC, Thursday, December 11, 2025. (Daniel Heuer/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“With the progress we’ve made, I can say tonight that we’re on track to achieve all of America’s military objectives shortly, very soon. We’re going to hit them extremely hard over the next two to three weeks. We’re going to take them back to the Stone Age where they belong. In the meantime, the discussions continue,” he said.

“Thanks to the actions we have taken, we are one step closer to ending the sinister Iranian threat to America and the world. And I tell you, the world is watching. And when we do…the United States will be safer, stronger, more prosperous and greater than it has ever been before,” Trump said during his speech.

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Kent said the United States should leave the war immediately.

“We do not honor our dead by killing more of our best men and women in the Middle East. We honor our dead by learning from our past and shedding American blood solely to defend our nation. The best time to exit a war of choice is now, before we lose more lives,” he wrote in an article on X.

Fox News Digital contacted the White House for comment on Thursday.

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President Donald Trump pauses as he finishes speaking about the war in Iran from Cross Hall of the White House, Wednesday, April 1, 2026, in Washington. (Alex Brandon-Pool/Getty Images)

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In an article published Thursday morning on The first step to ending the war must be to restrain Israel.