Washington, DC: US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth has dismissed Lt Gen Jeffrey Kruse, the head of the Pentagon's Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), along with two other senior officers, Reuters reported.

Vice Admiral Nancy Lacore, who led the US Naval Reserves, and Rear Admiral Milton Sands, commander of the Naval Special Warfare Command, were also removed, an official told Reuters on condition of anonymity.

The officers said they were unaware of the reasons for their dismissal.

Their ouster followed the DIA’s assessment of the US strike on Iran, which found only limited damage to nuclear facilities — a conclusion at odds with President Donald Trump’s claim that they had been “completely obliterated.”

Both the Pentagon and the White House confirmed Kruse’s removal but declined to provide further explanation.

Congressional officials, however, said they had been informed it was due to a “lack of confidence,” a term often used as cover for firings, according to NBC News.

US Senator Mark Warner, vice chair of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, criticised the move, saying: “The firing of yet another senior national security official underscores the Trump administration's dangerous habit of treating intelligence as a loyalty test rather than a safeguard for our country.”

Christine Bordine, the DIA’s deputy director, has stepped in as acting chief, the agency confirmed.

In April, Trump had also dismissed General Timothy Haugh, head of the National Security Agency (NSA), in a broader shake-up that saw more than a dozen National Security Council staff removed.