The former director of the National Counterterrorism Center, Joe Kent, has continued to advocate for a complete withdrawal of U.S. forces from the Middle East. He believes that President Donald Trump's decision to call off strikes on Iran is a positive step towards ending the war.
Kent emphasized that Iran will not simply return the Strait of Hormuz to its pre-war state, and that using military force to open the strait would lead to a catastrophic escalation into a long and bloody war. He believes that President Trump should pull U.S. troops out of the region and declare victory, then use the carrot of sanctions relief to open the Strait of Hormuz.
Kent's opposition to the Iran war led to his resignation from the National Counterterrorism Center director role earlier this year. The former director cited the risks of accelerating an escalation/retaliation cycle that the U.S. cannot control.
President Trump indicated in a recent statement that the U.S. would hold off on launching new attacks against Iran, subject to the possibility of a future deal that includes the opening of the Strait of Hormuz and an end to Iran's nuclear threat. However, Iran's semi-official news agency has pushed back against the notion that the country requested the U.S. to refrain from additional attacks.
President Trump was quoted as saying that the negotiations would begin tomorrow afternoon, as he spoke to the press aboard Air Force One on Sunday. The development has raised questions about the future of the U.S.-Iran conflict and the possibility of a peace deal.
