The director of the Defense Intelligence Agency was dismissed on Friday, a decision that came only weeks after the agency produced an early bomb-damage report—later leaked to the press—suggesting that recent U.S. airstrikes on Iran had only briefly disrupted the country’s nuclear development efforts. The assessment, which circulated widely after its unauthorized release, stirred intense controversy inside the administration.

Air Force Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse, who had headed the DIA since February 2024, “will no longer continue in his role,” a senior defense official told The Post. The agency’s website now lists Christine Bordine, previously the deputy director, as the acting head.

According to two congressional officials cited by the New York Times, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth removed Kruse after concluding he no longer had confidence in the lieutenant general’s leadership. The move adds to a growing list of abrupt personnel changes within the national-security apparatus.

The tension began in late June, when U.S. B-2 bombers and cruise missiles struck Iran’s Fordow, Isfahan, and Natanz nuclear facilities. Three days later, CNN published details from a classified DIA evaluation that offered a less optimistic view of the mission’s impact than the administration had projected. The assessment—described as “low confidence”—reported that Iran retained portions of its enriched-uranium stockpile and could restore significant elements of its nuclear program within one to two months.

An intelligence official later explained that the report was based on limited information collected the day after the strikes and was never intended to serve as a final analysis. Nonetheless, the leak provoked immediate outrage from senior officials, including President Donald Trump, who took to Truth Social to dismiss the conclusions as misleading. The president called the leak “AN ATTEMPT TO UNDERMINE ONE OF THE MOST SUCCESSFUL MILITARY STRIKES IN HISTORY,” insisting that the Iranian nuclear sites were “COMPLETELY DESTROYED.”

White House special envoy Steve Witkoff also pushed back strongly during an appearance on Fox News’ The Ingraham Angle, calling doubts about the mission’s success “completely preposterous.” Witkoff condemned the leak as a serious breach of trust and urged the government to identify and discipline whoever released the document.

The fallout from the episode heightened existing scrutiny within the intelligence community. Kruse’s removal follows several other high-level departures this year. In April, former NSA Director Timothy Haugh was dismissed, along with multiple National Security Council employees, in what sources described as part of a broader restructuring.

This week, the Defense Department found itself entangled in a separate dispute after a Washington Post report examined Secretary Hegseth’s extensive security detail. The article—based on interviews with more than a dozen Pentagon personnel—said the protective demands placed on the Army Criminal Investigation Division had surged dramatically, resulting in agents being pulled from investigative assignments to support security operations at Hegseth’s residences in Minnesota, Tennessee, and Washington, D.C.

The department reacted with anger. Joel Valdez, the acting deputy press secretary for the Pentagon, accused the paper of compromising the safety of the secretary and his family.
“The Washington Post intentionally revealed sensitive details about Secretary Hegseth’s protective team, putting him and his family at risk,” Valdez wrote on X. “There must be consequences for what these reporters have done.”

The Post defended its reporting, which quoted a Pentagon official as saying, “I’ve never seen this many security teams for one person.” The article suggested that Hegseth’s expanded security posture had placed strain on the unit responsible for his protection.

Hegseth’s chief spokesperson, Sean Parnell, sharply criticized the report, arguing that it ignored a volatile threat environment.
“Given two assassination attempts on President Trump, a dramatic rise in assaults on ICE agents, and Iran’s repeated threats of retaliation, it’s astonishing that the paper is attacking a Cabinet official for having appropriate security—especially after the same outlet publicized the DHS secretary’s private information last week,” Parnell said.

He added that all security measures for Hegseth were implemented on the recommendation of the Army Criminal Investigation Division, which evaluates threats against senior officials.

Kruse’s dismissal, combined with the growing turbulence surrounding the administration’s intelligence and security operations, highlights ongoing tensions within the defense establishment. The leaked assessment, the political blowback, and the leadership shake-ups have contributed to an atmosphere of uncertainty across the national-security community—one that shows no signs of easing as officials brace for further internal investigations and potential reforms.