In a significant shake-up at the Pentagon, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Friday fired Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse, the director of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). The move comes after a DIA assessment on the effectiveness of US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites reportedly angered President Donald Trump.
According to officials, the DIA’s initial intelligence findings contradicted the administration’s claims, stating that the US attacks had a “limited effect” and only set back Iran’s nuclear program by a few months. This directly challenged President Trump’s public assertion that the program had been “completely and fully obliterated.”
Kruse’s firing is part of a broader removal of senior military leadership. The Pentagon also removed Vice Admiral Nancy Lacore, chief of US Naval Reserves, and Rear Admiral Milton Sands, commander of Naval Special Warfare Command. The official reason provided for the dismissals was a “loss of confidence.”
Democrats in Congress have raised alarm over the precedent set by Kruse’s ouster. US Senator Mark Warner, Vice Chair of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, stated that the firing “underscores the Trump administration’s dangerous habit of treating intelligence as a loyalty test rather than a safeguard for our country.”
This action is the latest in a series of high-profile departures within the US military and intelligence community since Trump’s second term began. Other top officials, including former National Security Agency head Timothy Haugh and Air Force Chief of Staff Gen David Allvin, have also recently been removed or announced their resignation.