US general whose report on Iran nuclear sites angered Trump fired

A general has been fired by US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth because his agency’s preliminary intelligence assessment infuriated President Donald Trump because it was claimed, based on reports, that the US attack on Iranian nuclear sites in June had only caused a small amount of damage.

The Trump administration’s latest moves to purge officials at the Department of Defense include two additional senior military commanders, according to US officials who spoke to the Reuters and Associated Press (AP) news agencies.

The Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) leader since early 2024, Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse, whose position was not immediately known, was fired.

However, President Trump had previously criticised the agency’s initial assessment of US strikes against Iran.

Trump’s initial DIA assessment dissented from his assertion that the strikes had completely destroyed the nuclear sites, drawing the president’s and other government officials’ fury.

A senior defense official announced Kruse’s “will no longer serve as DIA director” on Friday, without giving an explanation for why the general left.

Prior to joining the DIA, Kruse held positions including director of intelligence for the coalition fighting ISIL (ISIS), where she advised the director of national intelligence on military affairs.

According to officials who spoke to both AP and Reuters, Hegseth also fired Vice Admiral Nancy Lacore, the Navy Reserve’s chief of staff, and Rear Admiral Milton Sands, a Navy SEAL officer in charge of Naval Special Warfare Command.

The Trump administration, which has requited loyalty from all branches of government, has fired all three military personnel, according to all three of them.

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

Trump has overseen the firing of top military officers, including General Charles “CQ” Brown, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, since he first took office in January.

The US Navy and Coast Guard’s top military leaders were among the senior officers fired this year, along with three top military lawyers, a general who oversaw the US Air Force’s vice chief of staff, and a Navy admiral who was assigned to NATO.

The US Air Force’s chief announced his retirement plan only halfway through his tenure on Monday in a surprise announcement.

Democrats have expressed concern about the potential politicisation of the traditionally neutral US military, despite Hegseth’s claim that the president is simply selecting the leaders he wants in top positions.

Hegseth also mandated a 10% decrease in the overall number of general and flag officers, as well as a 20% reduction in the number of four-star generals and admirals on active duty in the US military.

Two days after Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard revealed that she was revoking 37 current and former US intelligence professionals’ security clearances on Trump’s orders, Kruse was fired.