Hegseth fires Defense Intelligence Agency chief, other senior Pentagon officials
Defense Secretary dismisses Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse, Vice Adm. Nancy Lacore and Rear Adm. Milton Sands
By Louis Casiano , Liz Friden Fox News
Published August 22, 2025 7:23pm EDT
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has fired the head of the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), which issued an assessment on U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, as well as other senior military officials.
Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse will no longer serve as head of the DIA, a senior defense official told Fox News Digital on Friday.
The firing came months after DIA details of the preliminary assessment of Operation Midnight Hammer were leaked to the news media. The assessment questioned the effectiveness of the strikes on Iranian nuclear sites.
After the June strikes, President Donald Trump said Iran's nuclear program had been "completely and fully obliterated." However, the DIA found that the strikes only set Tehran back a few months.
In a news conference after the strikes, Hegseth tore into the media and accused the press of misrepresenting the facts.
"You, the press, specifically you, the press corps, because you cheer against Trump so hard," he said. "It's like in your DNA and in your blood to cheer against Trump because you want him not to be successful so bad. You have to cheer against the efficacy of these strikes. You have to hope maybe they weren't effective."
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