Pentagon in turmoil: Top intel chief fired after Iran report

This move by U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth marks the latest wave of dismissals within the Pentagon under President Donald Trump’s administration.

According to Reuters, it remains unclear why Jeffrey Kruse, head of the Pentagon’s Intelligence Agency, was fired by Hegseth. However, the Washington Post reported that the dismissal followed the release of a preliminary report by the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) on U.S. military strikes against three major Iranian nuclear sites. The report, which was initially published by CNN and The New York Times, sparked a sharp backlash from the Trump administration.

The DIA report stated that Iran’s nuclear capability had been pushed back only a few months, whereas Hegseth and Trump had claimed those capabilities were “completely destroyed.”

News of Kruse’s dismissal came two days after U.S. Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard announced that, at Trump’s direction, the security clearances of 37 current and former U.S. intelligence specialists would be revoked.

Just days earlier, Gabbard also revealed the first major structural changes to her office since its founding, saying that by October 1st, her staff would be cut by more than 40%, saving over $700 million annually.

One U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity, added that along with the Pentagon’s intelligence chief, two others—the head of the Naval Reserve Force and the head of Naval Special Warfare Command—had also been dismissed.

Senator Mark Warner, vice chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, said: “The firing of yet another senior national security official highlights the Trump administration’s dangerous habit of treating intelligence as a loyalty test rather than a tool to safeguard our country.”

According to Reuters, this appears to be the latest effort by the Trump administration to punish current and former military, intelligence, and law enforcement officials whose views conflict with Trump’s.

Back in April, Trump carried out another wave of dismissals and purges, which included 12 members of the White House National Security Council, removing General Timothy Haugh from his position as Director of the National Security Agency.