The director of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) was removed from his post Friday, just weeks after the agency completed a preliminary bomb-damage assessment—later leaked to the media—indicating that U.S. airstrikes on Iran had only set back the country’s nuclear program by a matter of months.
Air Force Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse, who had served as DIA director since February 2024, “will no longer serve as DIA director,” a senior defense official told The Post. Christine Bordine, the agency’s deputy director, is now listed as acting director on the DIA’s official website.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth dismissed Kruse amid what two congressional officials described to The New York Times as a “loss of confidence” in the lieutenant general. The decision followed the leak of a classified, “low confidence” assessment of the June 21 U.S. airstrikes on Iran’s Fordow, Isfahan, and Natanz nuclear facilities. The document, which surfaced on CNN three days after B-2 stealth bombers and cruise missiles struck the sites, suggested limited long-term impact on Iran’s nuclear capabilities.
Officials said the assessment was based on early, incomplete intelligence collected the day after the operation. According to the leaked report, Iran could restore aspects of its program within one to two months, and its enriched-uranium stockpile had not been destroyed in the strikes.
The leak drew immediate and forceful outrage from President Donald Trump and senior administration figures. On Truth Social, Trump blasted the disclosure as “AN ATTEMPT TO DEMEAN ONE OF THE MOST SUCCESSFUL MILITARY STRIKES IN HISTORY,” insisting, in all caps, that “THE NUCLEAR SITES IN IRAN ARE COMPLETELY DESTROYED!”
Special envoy Steve Witkoff also rejected the notion that the United States had fallen short of its objectives in Iran, calling such claims “completely preposterous” during an appearance on Fox News’ The Ingraham Angle. He denounced the leak of the DIA assessment as “outrageous” and “treasonous,” urging a full investigation to identify and punish those responsible, according to The New York Post.
Kruse’s removal is the latest in a series of high-profile intelligence shake-ups within the Trump administration. In April, former National Security Agency Director Timothy Haugh was ousted the same day that at least three National Security Council staff members were dismissed.
The turbulence continued this week, as the Pentagon erupted in anger over a Washington Post investigation scrutinizing Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s security detail. The story, titled “Hegseth’s expansive security requirements tax Army protective unit,” was based on more than a dozen interviews and described how the secretary’s “unusually large” protective footprint has strained the Army agency responsible for his safety. Reporters Tara Copp, Alex Horton, and Dan Lamothe detailed how agents have been diverted from criminal cases to secure Hegseth’s properties in Minnesota, Tennessee, and Washington, D.C.
“I’ve never seen this many security teams for one guy. Nobody has,” one Pentagon source told the paper.
The report prompted an immediate backlash from Hegseth’s chief spokesperson, Sean Parnell, who accused the newspaper of disregarding a highly volatile threat landscape.
“In the wake of two assassination attempts against President Trump, ICE agents facing a 1000% increase in assaults, and repeated threats of retaliation from Iran for striking their nuclear capabilities, it’s astonishing that the Washington Post is criticizing a high-ranking Cabinet official for receiving appropriate security protection, especially after doxxing the DHS Secretary last week,” Parnell said.
He added that all security measures taken on behalf of Secretary Hegseth and his family were implemented “in response to the threat environment and at the full recommendation of the Army Criminal Investigation Division (CID).”
