United States Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth on Friday fired Head of Defence Intelligence Agency, Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse, amid President Donald Trump purge of the country’s military leadership.

Mr Kruse’s dismissal came weeks after his agency published a preliminary report that the United States bombing of Iranian nuclear sites had minimal impact; an assessment that angered Mr Trump and publicly dismissed as fake.

A spokesperson for the DIA told NBC that Mr Kruse “will no longer serve as DIA Director,” without providing any details as to why the military chief, who had overseen the agency since 2024, was fired.

Meanwhile, Deputy Director Christine Bordine was immediately appointed as the new Acting Director of DIA effectively.

In another separate series of dismissals on Friday, Mr Hegseth also fired Vice Admiral Nancy Lacore, the Chief of the Navy Reserve, and Rear Admiral Milton Sands, a Navy SEAL officer in charge of the Naval Special Warfare Command.

The three senior military officials joined a list of generals and admirals sacked under Trump since his return to the White House, including a former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Charles Brown, the first time someone in the position would be fired.

Others on the list include Admiral Lisa Franchetti, Chief of Naval Operations, Rear Admiral Shoshana Chatfield, U.S. military representative to NATO, Lieutenant General Joseph Berger III, Army Judge Advocate General and Lieutenant General Charles Plummer, Air Force Judge Advocate General.