Hegseth Fires Top Military Intel Officer Over Iran Leak

The director of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) was dismissed Friday, weeks after the agency prepared a preliminary bomb-damage assessment — later leaked to the media — that indicated U.S. strikes on Iran had delayed the country’s nuclear program by only a few months.

Air Force Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse, who had led the DIA since February 2024, “will no longer serve as DIA director,” a senior defense official told The Post.

Deputy Director Christine Bordine is now listed as acting director on the agency’s official website.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth reportedly fired Kruse over a “a loss of confidence” in the lieutenant general, two congressional officials told the New York Times.

The DIA’s classified, “low confidence” assessment of the June 21 airstrikes on Iran’s Fordow, Isfahan, and Natanz nuclear sites was leaked to CNN three days after U.S. B-2 stealth bombers and cruise missiles targeted the facilities.

An official said the assessment was based on limited intelligence collected the day after the strike. The document reportedly concluded that Iran could restore elements of its nuclear program within one to two months and that its stockpile of enriched uranium had not been destroyed in the airstrikes.

The leak drew sharp anger from President Donald Trump and other senior administration officials. In a Truth Social post, Trump described the leak as “AN ATTEMPT TO DEMEAN ONE OF THE MOST SUCCESSFUL MILITARY STRIKES IN HISTORY.” He added in all caps: “THE NUCLEAR SITES IN IRAN ARE COMPLETELY DESTROYED!”

Special envoy Steve Witkoff dismissed claims that the United States failed to achieve its military objectives in Iran, calling such suggestions “completely preposterous” during an interview on Fox News’ The Ingraham Angle.

He also condemned the leak of the DIA assessment, describing it as “outrageous” and “treasonous,” and urged an investigation to identify and hold accountable those responsible, the New York Post added.

Kruse’s dismissal marks the latest shake-up within the intelligence community under the Trump administration.

In April, former National Security Agency Director Timothy Haugh was removed from his post on the same day that at least three National Security Council staff members were also dismissed.

A Defense Department spokesman lashed out Wednesday at a Washington Post investigation into Secretary Pete Hegseth’s security detail, accusing the newspaper of endangering the Cabinet member and his family.

“WaPo intentionally published sensitive details of @SecDef’s security detail for him and his family – putting their safety at risk,” Joel Valdez, the acting deputy press secretary for the Department of Defense, said on X. “There should be severe punishment for what @TaraCopp, @DanLamothe, and @AlexHortonTX are doing.”

The Post story, headlined “Hegseth’s expansive security requirements tax Army protective unit,” was published Wednesday morning and was allegedly based on more than a dozen interviews. Reporters Tara Copp, Alex Horton, and Dan Lamothe detailed how Hegseth’s “unusually large” protective demands are straining the Army agency charged with safeguarding him, forcing agents to be pulled from criminal cases to cover his residences in Minnesota, Tennessee, and Washington, D.C.

“I’ve never seen this many security teams for one guy. Nobody has,” one Pentagon source said, according to the paper.

The story drew sharp criticism from Hegseth’s chief spokesperson, Sean Parnell, who said the report ignored the volatile threat environment.

“In the wake of two assassination attempts against President Trump, ICE agents facing a 1000% increase in assaults, and repeated threats of retaliation from Iran for striking their nuclear capabilities, it’s astonishing that the Washington Post is criticizing a high-ranking Cabinet official for receiving appropriate security protection, especially after doxxing the DHS Secretary last week,” Parnell said.

“Any action pertaining to the security of Secretary Hegseth and his family has been in response to the threat environment and at the full recommendation of the Army Criminal Investigation Division (CID),” he added.

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