Former US Counterterrorism Chief Calls for Middle East Withdrawal, Citing Iran's Strengthened Position

Former US counterterrorism chief Joe Kent has called on Washington to withdraw its forces from the Middle East and abandon its bases, arguing that months of military confrontation have demonstrated Iran’s strengthened regional position and warning that further escalation would damage both the US and global economy.

Kent, a former Green Beret and CIA paramilitary officer who served 11 combat tours, resigned in March in protest against the war with the Islamic Republic. In his resignation letter, he wrote that Iran posed no imminent threat to the US and that another “never-ending” conflict, launched under pressure from Israel, did not serve American interests.

“In any chaotic situation, the side that restores order wins,” the former senior official wrote on Saturday, arguing that there was “no military solution” to the war and warning that continued hostilities risked further American casualties and regional destabilization.

Kent stressed that ending the conflict with Tehran and restoring the free flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz, which carries around 20% of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments, should remain Washington’s top priority.

He described US military bases in the region as “liabilities and relics of the past,” arguing that Tehran was unlikely to make meaningful diplomatic concessions while American forces remained within striking distance. Kent called for the removal of US “troops, bases, and naval forces from the area” to deprive Tehran of military targets and restore order.

“This move removes Iran’s primary justification for disrupting shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and for attacking its neighbors. We can then offer the carrot: sanctions relief in exchange for freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz,” he said, adding that the withdrawal would represent “strategic adaptation” rather than retreat.

“The war has changed the region. Iran has emerged as a major regional power – the sooner we recognize this reality and adjust our posture accordingly, the stronger our position will be,” Kent added.

His remarks came after at least two US troops were killed in an Iranian strike in Jordan, while another died in Iraq during a “controlled detonation” of ordnance from a downed Iranian drone. The deaths brought the officially confirmed US military death toll from the five-month conflict to 17, with more than 430 service members wounded.

Since leaving office, Kent has repeatedly spoken out against the war with Iran, portraying it as the latest in a series of US conflicts fought on Israel’s behalf, following those in Iraq and Syria.