Pentagon purge deepens: DIA chief fired after Iran strike report defies Trump’s ‘obliterated’ claim

General who doubted Trump’s Iran strike success abruptly removed from Pentagon post

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has dismissed the head of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse, after his agency’s preliminary assessment suggested that recent American strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities were less effective than the White House had claimed.

The firing, confirmed Friday by multiple officials, is the latest in a series of shakeups inside the Pentagon and intelligence community under President Donald Trump, raising alarm among Democrats who accuse the administration of treating intelligence as a 'political loyalty test.'

Why Kruse was sacked

Kruse, who had been unanimously confirmed by the Senate in 2023 after his nomination by former President Joe Biden, oversaw an early finding that contradicted Trump’s claim that Iran’s underground nuclear facilities were “totally obliterated” in US-led strikes.

Instead, the DIA concluded the strikes had likely set back Iran’s nuclear program by only a few months. The leak of this assessment, reported two months ago, infuriated the White House.

“Again, this is preliminary, but leaked because someone had an agenda to try to muddy the waters and make it look like this historic strike wasn’t successful,” Hegseth said at the time, dismissing the report.

A broader purge at the Pentagon

Kruse’s ouster did not happen in isolation. Hegseth also fired Vice Adm. Nancy Lacore, head of the Navy Reserve, and Rear Adm. Milton Sands, commander of Naval Special Warfare Command.

In recent months, the administration has also removed the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the chief of naval operations, senior Air Force officers, military lawyers, and even the head of the National Security Agency. Security clearances have been revoked for current and former national security officials viewed as critics of Trump.

Taken together, these moves signal a sweeping attempt to reshape military and intelligence leadership around the president’s political priorities.

Democrats warn of chilling effect

Democrats in Congress immediately sounded alarms over the latest firings.

“The firing of yet another senior national security official underscores the Trump administration’s dangerous habit of treating intelligence as a loyalty test rather than a safeguard for our country,” said Senator Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Representative Jim Himes, ranking Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, added: “Unless the administration explains why Kruse was fired, we can only assume that this is another politically motivated decision intended to create an atmosphere of fear.”

Trump’s long-running distrust of intelligence

The president’s disdain for intelligence assessments that contradict his narrative is not new. He has repeatedly rejected findings, from Russia’s interference in the 2016 election to climate change and job data.

In the case of Iran, Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu both declared the nuclear program 'completely obliterated' after the June strikes. But experts say Iran’s deep underground facilities make them difficult to destroy outright.

“You want to call it destroyed, you want to call it defeated, you want to call it obliterated, choose your word. This was a historically successful attack,” Hegseth said in defense of the administration’s position.