Assessment of attacks on Iran/ Pentagon dismisses head of Intelligence Agency

2025-08-23 16:37:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has fired the head of the Pentagon's National Intelligence Agency, just weeks after a White House rebuke over a report assessing the impact of US strikes on Iran, US media reported. Reports suggest that Lieutenant General Jeffery Kruse will no longer serve as head of the US Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). Two other senior military commanders have also been fired from the Pentagon. The Department of Defense has not given any explanation for the firings.

In June, President Donald Trump strongly objected to a released DIA report that found that the strikes on Iran had only set back its nuclear program for months. The White House called the agency's assessment "totally wrong." Trump had declared Iran's nuclear facilities "totally destroyed" and accused the media of "an attempt to discredit one of the most successful military strikes in history." Speaking at a NATO summit at the time, Hegseth said the report was based on "poor intelligence" and that the FBI was investigating the leak.

The DIA is part of the Pentagon and specializes in military intelligence to support operations. It collects vast amounts of technical intelligence, but it is different from other agencies such as the CIA. Hegseth had also ordered the firing of the head of the US Naval Reserves and the commander of Naval Special Warfare Command. In a statement, US Senator Mark Warner warned that Kruse's firing was a sign that Trump had a "dangerous habit of treating intelligence as a test of loyalty rather than a defense for our country".

Trump has fired a number of officials whose analysis has been seen as contradicting the president's. In July, Trump said he had ordered his team to immediately fire the Commissioner of Labor Statistics, Erika McEntire, after a report showed job growth had slowed. Also in April, Trump fired General Timothy Haugh as director of the National Security Agency, along with several staff members on the White House national security council. Hegseth has also fired a number of military officials at the Pentagon. In February, he fired Air Force General CQ Brown, along with five other admirals and generals./ CNA, translated by BBC