US defence secretary fires DIA chief: General whose Iran strike assessment sparked Trump’s anger; military shake-up continuous

Pete Hegseth (left), Jeffrey Kruse (AP)

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has fired Lt General Jeffrey Kruse as head of the US protection intelligence company (DIA), following President Donald Trump’s dissatisfaction with the company’s preliminary assessment of US strikes on Iranian nuclear websites, in response to AP and different media experiences.Kruse’s firing, first reported by The Washington Post, comes weeks after the company’s preliminary intelligence estimate – which recommended Iran’s nuclear program had solely been delayed by just a few months – was leaked to the media. This contradicted President Trump’s public declare that the Iranian programme had been “completely and fully obliterated.”“You want to call it destroyed, you want to call it defeated, you want to call it obliterated – choose your word. This was an historically successful attack,” Hegseth stated in a June press convention, defending the operation however with out offering proof.According to officers aware of the matter, the choice was not publicly defined and comes amid a broader shake-up within the US military and intelligence management. Trump has beforehand eliminated officers whose experiences or knowledge contradict his public stance, together with these answerable for jobs knowledge and public well being info. Kruse’s dismissal follows different senior-level exits, together with air pressure normal CQ Brown Jr, normal Tim Haugh (NSA chief), and a number of other senior authorized officers throughout military branches. The workplace of the director of nationwide intelligence has additionally introduced workers and funds cuts this week.Pentagon officers haven’t launched a proper assertion on the rationale behind Kruse’s removing. Analysts say the transfer displays persevering with friction between military intelligence assessments and the Trump administration’s messaging.