Trump can declare Iran victory now and withdraw troops, former counterterror official argues

Former National Counterterrorism Center Director Joe Kent is continuing to advocate for President Donald Trump to remove U.S. forces from the Middle East.

“President Trump again called off strikes on Iran—this is a good decision. It is clear that he wants out of this war, for all the obvious reasons. It is also clear that Iran will not simply return the SOH [Strait of Hormuz] to how it was before the war. We need to accept that we can’t use military force to open the SOH (we’ve tried that) without a catastrophic escalation into a bloody, years-long war,” Kent wrote.

“Now is the time for President Trump to pull our troops out of the region. He can declare victory (reiterate the previously stated goal—no nukes—was met) & quietly use the carrot of sanctions relief to open the SOH once our troops are out of harm’s way. If we stay, we risk accelerating an escalation/retaliation cycle we can’t control,” he added.

EX-COUNTERTERRORISM OFFICIAL JOE KENT CONTINUES CALLING FOR US MILITARY WITHDRAWAL FROM MIDDLE EAST

Kent cited his opposition to the Iran war when he resigned from the National Counterterrorism Center director role earlier this year.

Fox News Digital reached out to request comment from the White House early on Monday morning.

President Donald Trump indicated in a Saturday night Truth Social post that the U.S. was going to hold off on launching new attacks against Iran.

TRUMP SAYS IRAN DEAL ‘IMMINENT’; PLANNED STRIKE WOULD’VE BEEN LARGEST SINCE WORLD WAR II

“The U.S.A. is locked and loaded and ready to go against the Islamic Republic of Iran, at levels of Military Terror, Strength, and Power not seen since World War II. Despite this, we have just been asked by Iran, and other Middle Eastern Countries, to hold off any attack in that the perimeters of a deal has been agreed to. This would include the Immediate, Complete, and Total OPENING OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT, and an end to Iran’s nuclear threat,” Trump wrote.

“Based on this request, I have agreed, for the future benefit of the WORLD and, likewise, the survival of a successful and prosperous Iran, to cancel the attack, subject to being able to rapidly make a DEAL. The Country of Israel joins me in this commitment. Get to work, everybody, and get it DONE. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” he added.

Iran’s semi-official Mehr News Agency pushed back against the notion that Iran requested America refrain from additional attacks, calling Trump’s claims, “nothing but a new lie,” the BBC reported.

NPR reported that Mehr described the U.S. president’s assertions as “simply a new lie,” citing unnamed Iranian military figures.

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While speaking to the press aboard Air Force One on Sunday, Trump, referring to negotiations, said, “It begins tomorrow afternoon.”