Israel strikes Tehran minutes after Trump’s ‘pause’; ex-US counterterrorism chief Joe Kent says ‘Step 1 in de-escalation must be…’
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Israel strikes Tehran minutes after Trump’s ‘pause’; ex-US counterterrorism chief Joe Kent says ‘Step 1 in de-escalation must be…’")
Joe Kent, former Director of the National Counterterrorism Center Photograph: (AFP)
Joe Kent, the former Director of the National Counterterrorism Center who resigned on March 17, over the handling of the West Asia conflict and the direction of US policy, said the first step toward de-escalation must be restraining Israel’s military actions.
Less than a Hour after US President Donald Trump announced a five-day postponement of strikes on Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure on Monday (March 23), the Israeli military in a social media post said it is “currently conducting strikes” on Iranian regime targets across Tehran.
"The Air Force has begun, a short while ago, another wave of strikes targeting infrastructure of the Iranian terror regime across Tehran," the Israeli air force wrote in the post.
Earlier in the day, Trump announced in a social media post a five-day postponement of all planned military strikes against Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure. The pause is intended to provide a window for ongoing diplomatic talks aimed at reaching a "complete and total resolution" of hostilities in the region.
Notably, the US President underlined that the instruction to the Department of War is contingent upon the continued success of these detailed and constructive meetings, which are scheduled to continue throughout the week.
Meanwhile, Joe Kent, the former Director of the National Counterterrorism Center who resigned on March 17, over the handling of the West Asia conflict and the direction of US policy, said the first step toward de-escalation must be restraining Israel’s military actions. “Step 1 in de-escalation must be restraining the Israelis; all efforts to negotiate will follow this pattern,” he wrote on X.
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Kent warned that even when the US President publicly signals de-escalation, “Israel takes major strikes to destroy the negotiations & in turn weaken our ability to negotiate. The war accelerates,” suggesting that continued escalation risks derailing diplomatic efforts and prolonging the conflict.
In his resignation letter, Kent, a 20-year Green Beret veteran and Gold Star husband who lost his wife, Shannon, to a previous Middle Eastern conflict, asserted that "Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation" and claimed the war was manufactured due to "pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby."
(Disclaimer: WION takes utmost care to accurately and responsibly report ongoing conflicts in West Asia involving Israel, Iran, the US, Gulf nations and non-state actors like Hezbollah, Hamas, Houthis, Islamic State, and others. Claims and counterclaims, disinformation and misinformation are being made online and offline. Given this context, WION cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, social media posts, photos and videos.)
