US official resigns over Iran; Trump says he doesn’t need Nato

Happy Wednesday and welcome to your morning wrap of the latest political and business headlines from around the world.

We begin in the United States where the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, Joe Kent, announced his resignation overnight, citing concerns about the justification for the military strikes on Iran.

Kent said he “cannot in good conscience” back the Trump administration’s war in a social media post that was reported by the Associated Press.

“Iran posed no imminent threat to our nation, and it is clear that we started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby,” he said. Donald Trump has denied the claims.

Joe Kent. (Source: Wikimedia Commons.)

Kent, a former Green Beret and political candidate with connections to the right-wing extremist group the Proud Boys, is a popular figure among Trump supporters because of his military background and his personal story of loss. His wife, a Navy cryptologist, was killed by a suicide bomber in 2019 while fighting Islamic State in Syria.

His resignation reflects unease within Trump’s base about the war.

In an exchange with reporters in the Oval Office overnight, Trump said he always thought Kent was “weak on security” and he did not want people who did not think Iran was a threat.

The US president has also seemingly flip-flopped on Nato.

Earlier this week he was calling on the alliance for assistance to help secure the Strait of Hormuz, but overnight, he criticised the alliance for not wanting to get involved.

“Well, we don’t need any help,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, the BBC reported. He went on to say that the allies had been in favour of the US actions because of the nuclear threat from Iran.

He said Nato was making a “foolish mistake”.

"We don't need them but they should've been there."

The growing doubts that Trump will be able to assemble a meaningful coalition to help escort fuel tankers through the Strait of Hormuz pushed oil prices 2% higher overnight, CNBC reported.

Brent crude oil, the international benchmark, was up 2.23% or by US$2.30 to US$102.50 per barrel (as of 6:43am NZT).

“While the US administration has touted the idea of insurance guarantees and naval escorts, neither has materialised yet,” ING head of commodities strategy Warren Patterson told CNBC.

Meanwhile, Wall Street’s main indices were all up between 0.2% and 0.3%.

The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow channel through which about 20% of global oil flows.

To the conflict itself, Israel has claimed it has killed Iran’s security chief, Ali Larijani, widely seen as one of the most powerful figures in the country, as Iran rejects offers to de-escalate the war, the ABC reported.

Israel’s defence minister, Israel Katz, said Israeli forces had killed Larijani and Gholamreza Soleimani, who led the volunteer Basij militia that plays a role in domestic security.

Tehran is yet to respond.

In other news, Reuters reported that more than 400 people were killed and 265 wounded in an airstrike by Pakistan on a drug rehabilitation centre in Afghanistan's capital, according to a spokesperson for the Taliban government.

It marks the deadliest incident since fighting between the two nations began in October.

Pakistan rejected the statement as false and misleading, saying it had “precisely targeted military installations and terrorist support infrastructure”.

The airstrike came hours after China said it was ready to continue efforts to ease tensions and urged both countries to return to negotiations.

Fighting between the former allies picked up last month with Pakistani airstrikes on Afghanistan, which it said targeted militant strongholds. However, the Taliban deny the allegations.

Finally, Canadian billionaire Stephen Smith has purchased a 27% stake in The Economist for $683m, The Guardian and the Financial Times reported.

Smith bought the stake in The Economist Group held by Lynn Forester de Rothschild, in only the third significant ownership change in the company’s 183-year history.

“This investment reflects Mr Smith’s full support for The Economist’s long-standing tradition of rigorous editorial independence and will see The Economist’s strategy and operations continue unaffected,” a spokesperson said.

The deal is subject to approval by the company’s four independent trustees, who are responsible for maintaining editorial values at the publication.

Smith’s family holding company, Smith Financial Corp, has interests in several financial businesses, including the influential proxy adviser group Glass Lewis.