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Secretary of Defense Dismisses โIntelligenceโข Chief Amid Iran nuclear Dispute
WASHINGTON – Secretary โofโ Defense Pete Hegseth dismissed Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse, the head of the Defense Intelligence Agency โ(DIA), following a dispute over the โassessment of damage to Iranian nuclear sites โafterโข U.S.attacks. The decision, according to two people familiar with the matterโ and a โฃWhite House official, comes โafter preliminaryโค intelligence evaluations were leaked to the media. These evaluations indicated โฃthat โIran’s nuclear program had only been โคdelayed by โa few months, contradicting claims made by President Donaldโ Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Did You Know?
The dismissal of a DIA director is a rare โoccurrence, โhighlightingโ the severity of the disagreement between the governanceโข and its intelligence agencies.Hegseth criticized the press for what he defined as an antimilitar bias following the June attacks,but did not provide โany direct evidenceโค of destructionโค to Iranian nuclear facilities.Theโ Pentagon also announced that General Davidโ Allvin, the Air Force’s top uniformed officer,โ would retire two years earlier โthan planned. Additionally, the office of the โNational Intelligence Director, โขresponsible for coordinating 18 โขintelligence agencies, including the DIA, announced staff and budget reductions.
Pro tip:
Intelligence โคassessmentsโ areโฃ oftenโ complex โคandโค nuanced,andโ disagreements between policymakers and intelligence analysts are not uncommon. However, the โขpublic โคdismissal ofโข an intelligence chief overโค a disagreement is a significant event.
| Event | Date |
|---|---|
| U.S. Attacks on Iranian โคNuclear Sites | June |
| Preliminary Intelligence Evaluation โLeaked | Several months โafter June |
| Hegseth Criticizes Press | After June โคattacks |
| Kruse Dismissed | August 23,โค 2025 |
| Allvin Announces Earlyโค Retirement | Recent |
The Washingtonโข Post first reported Kruse’s โฃdismissal. This incidentโ is the latest in a series of tensions between military leaders โฃand the country’s intelligence agencies.
Is โขthe dismissal of General Kruse a sign of a broader effort to control the narrative surrounding U.S. military actions? What impact โฃwill these โฃchanges have on the intelligence community’s ability toโ provide self-reliant assessments?