Hegseth fires general whose agency’s intel assessment of damage from Iran strikes angered Trump
Aug 22, 2025, 12:19 PM
FILE - Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, speaks during a hearing on Capitol Hill, Thursday, May 2, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)
Credit: ASSOCIATED PRESS
(AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, File)
WASHINGTON (AP) — Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has fired a general whose agency’s initial intelligence assessment of damage to Iranian nuclear sites from U.S. strikes angered President Donald Trump, according to two people familiar with the decision and a White House official.
Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse will no longer serve as head of the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency, according to the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss it publicly.
The firing comes a few months after details of the preliminary assessment leaked to the media. It found that Iran’s nuclear program has been set back only a few months by the U.S. strikes, contradicting assertions from Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
In a news conference following the June strikes, Hegseth lambasted the press for what he claimed was an anti-military bias but did not offer any direct evidence of the destruction of Iranian nuclear production facilities.
