Iran Says Conscientious Americans Will Reject “Illegal” War

Iran has expressed confidence that American citizens and officials with a sense of conscience will oppose and reject what it describes as an ongoing “illegal” war against the country.

Tehran has called on all U.S. citizens and “conscientious officials” to stand against what it claims is a joint U.S.-Israeli military aggression. Iranian authorities have labeled the conflict, which began late last month, as unlawful and provocative.

On Thursday (March 19), Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei referred to the reported resignation of Joseph Kent, director at the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center, in a post on social media platform X (formerly Twitter).

According to Iran, Kent stepped down in protest of the war, stating in his resignation letter that he could not support military action against Iran as a matter of conscience. Responding to this, Baghaei said the conflict is not the war of ordinary Americans, and that rejecting such an “illegal war” is the minimum moral responsibility for any conscientious U.S. citizen or official.

Kent also reportedly argued that Iran posed no immediate threat to the United States, and claimed that Washington’s involvement was influenced by Israel and pro-Israel lobbying efforts. His resignation is believed to have exposed divisions within the Trump administration and among its supporters over the justification of the war.

However, former President Donald Trump has cited varying reasons for the strikes at different times and has denied any pressure from Israel.

Earlier this month, House Speaker Mike Johnson indicated that the White House believed Israel was determined to act independently, creating a difficult decision-making situation for the U.S. administration.

It is worth noting that the conflict began on February 28, when U.S. and Israeli forces launched joint airstrikes on multiple targets in Tehran. Since then, Iran has carried out retaliatory missile and drone attacks targeting Israeli-controlled areas and U.S. military bases across the Middle East.