Hegseth fires Defense Intelligence Agency chief, other senior Pentagon officials

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has fired the head of the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), which issued an assessment on U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, as well as other senior military officials. 

Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse will no longer serve as head of the DIA, a senior defense official told Fox News Digital on Friday. 

The firing came months after DIA details of the preliminary assessment of Operation Midnight Hammer were leaked to the news media. The assessment questioned the effectiveness of the strikes on Iranian nuclear sites. 

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Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse was fired as director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, The Associated Press reported. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

After the June strikes, President Donald Trump said Iran’s nuclear program had been “completely and fully obliterated.” However, the DIA found that the strikes only set Tehran back a few months. 

In a news conference after the strikes, Hegseth tore into the media and accused the press of misrepresenting the facts. 

“You, the press, specifically you, the press corps, because you cheer against Trump so hard,” he said. “It’s like in your DNA and in your blood to cheer against Trump because you want him not to be successful so bad. You have to cheer against the efficacy of these strikes. You have to hope maybe they weren’t effective.”

‘THE MISSION WAS ACCOMPLISHED’: SENATE REPUBLICANS PUSH BACK AGAINST LEAKED REPORT ON IRAN STRIKES

President Donald Trump said that the U.S. completed a “very successful” strike against Iranian nuclear sites at Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan, saying that Iran’s nuclear enrichment installations have been “obliterated.”  (Fox News)

“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,” he added. 

In addition to Kruse, Hegseth removed Vice Adm. Nancy Lacore, the chief of the Navy Reserve, and Rear Adm. Milton Sands, a Navy SEAL officer who oversees Naval Special Warfare Command.

“Effective immediately, Rear Admiral Milton ‘Jamie’ Sands III will no longer serve as Commander, Naval Special Warfare Command,” a Navy official said. “Effective immediately, Vice Admiral Nancy Lacore will no longer serve as the Chief of Navy Reserve.” 

Lacore led around 59,000 reserve component personnel in the Navy and the Marine Corps. As a Naval aviator, she has 1,300 flight hours in military aircraft and was commanding officer of the U.S. base in Djibouti before becoming Chief of the Navy Reserve. The reason she was fired is unknown. 

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth prepares to give a TV interview outside the White House. According to multiple reports, Hegseth oversaw the firing of the Defense Department’s Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse on Friday. (AP/Mark Schiefelbein)

Sands was a Navy SEAL who served in both Iraq and Afghanistan. He was the Chief of Staff for U.S. Special Operations Command, Commander of U.S. Special Operations Command Africa, and Commander of Naval Service Training Command. The reason he was fired is unknown. 

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Trump has fired other military officials in recent months, including Air Force Gen. CQ Brown Jr. as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, as well as the Navy’s top officer, the Air Force’s second highest-ranking officer, and the top lawyers for three military service branches.