The Pentagon has removed Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse, head of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), just weeks after controversy erupted over an intelligence report about U.S. strikes on Iran.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced the decision Friday, confirming Kruse will no longer lead the DIA, the military’s main intelligence branch. Two other senior commanders were also dismissed. No official explanation was given for the shake-up.

The move follows a heated clash between the White House and the DIA in June. A leaked intelligence review concluded that U.S. attacks had only temporarily slowed Iran’s nuclear program—by months, not years. President Trump blasted the findings as “flat out wrong,” insisting the strikes had “completely destroyed” Iranian facilities. He also accused the media of trying to downplay what he called “one of the most successful military strikes in history.”

Hegseth, echoing the president, criticized the report at the NATO summit, describing it as based on “low intelligence,” and confirmed the FBI was investigating the leak.

Kruse’s removal, first reported by The Washington Post, comes amid broader leadership changes. Sources told Reuters that Hegseth also dismissed the chief of the U.S. Naval Reserves and the commander of Naval Special Warfare Command.

The DIA, part of the Pentagon, focuses on military intelligence to support U.S. operations worldwide. While it gathers technical data and battlefield intelligence, it operates separately from civilian spy agencies like the CIA.

The shake-up drew sharp criticism from some lawmakers. Senator Mark Warner warned that Kruse’s firing showed Trump was treating intelligence “as a loyalty test rather than a safeguard for our country.”

This isn’t the first time the Trump administration has clashed with its own analysts. In recent months, Trump has dismissed several officials after reports or assessments contradicted his public claims. In July, he ordered the firing of the Commissioner of Labor Statistics after data showed job growth slowing. Earlier this year, he ousted NSA director Gen. Timothy Haugh along with over a dozen national security staff.

Hegseth has also overseen a string of high-level removals at the Pentagon, including Air Force Gen. C.Q. Brown and several admirals and generals earlier this year. Photo by "DoD photo by Master Sgt. Ken Hammond, U.S. Air Force.", Wikimedia commons.