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Axios
12 hours ago
- Politics
- Axios
Trump administration scolds reporters on Iran strike coverage
The Trump administration is using the podium to assail journalists for their reporting about a leaked intelligence report that provided an initial assessment of the U.S. strike on Iranian facilities. The big picture: From the White House, to the Pentagon, to the the Netherlands, the administration's messaging campaign on the Iranian operation has carried with it an all-out offensive against the media, singling out reporters by name online and in briefings. Context: President Trump's initial claims that the operation "totally obliterated" Iran's key uranium enrichment sites were scrutinized after a preliminary report from the Defense Intelligence Agency was leaked to several outlets, which reported the strikes may not have set the program back as dramatically as the president predicted. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, speaking during a Thursday briefing alongside Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Dan Caine, emphasized that the DIA assessment was a "low confidence" report. Zoom in: The leak infuriated Trump and top officials, who saw it as an attempt to undercut the president's claims that the sites were destroyed, Axios' Marc Caputo reported. Hegseth — in the conference meant to defend the "Great American Pilots" — nearly immediately launched into berating members of the press, accusing them of missing "historic moments" by "hunting for scandals all the time, in trying to find wedges and and spin stories." Hegseth claimed it's in the press' "blood" and "DNA" to "cheer against Trump" and said the "hatred of this press corps" undermined reporting about the operation. Zoom out: White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt targeted CNN during a briefing Thursday and singled out a reporter who Trump had previously said should be "thrown out 'like a dog.'" "Despite agenda-driven leaks by the fake news media aimed at undermining this incredible accomplishment achieved by President Trump and our brave fighter pilots, there is broad consensus emerging already that Iran's nuclear capabilities were indeed destroyed," Leavitt said. CNN, in a statement issued Wednesday, said it stood "100%" behind its journalists' reporting on the early intelligence assessment and that it "made clear" the initial finding could change with additional intelligence. Trump — who on Thursday described reporters from CNN and The New York Times as "BAD PEOPLE WITH EVIL INTENTIONS" — repeatedly lambasted journalists who covered the preliminary report, saying at the NATO Summit Wednesday, "They're sick. There's something wrong with them." The New York Times pushed back against Trump's claims that the reporting was "fake news," noting in a Wednesday statement that the president and his national security team confirmed the DIA did produce the assessment described in the report. Friction point: The administration has acknowledged the original assessment was real but is planning to limit sharing classified information with Congress after the leak, which the FBI is probing. On Wednesday, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard wrote that "new intelligence" confirmed that Iran's nuclear facilities had been "destroyed," accusing the "propaganda media" of selectively reporting on the leaked assessment. And CIA Director John Ratcliffe, citing"a body of credible intelligence," shared a statement that Iran's nuclear program was "severely damaged," saying that information contradicted "illegally sourced public reporting." Asked what that "credible intelligence" was on Thursday, Hegseth said Ratcliffe was being "very careful" about how he discusses sensitive information but was "reflecting that the sources he's seeing are highly credible."
Washington Post
4 days ago
- Politics
- Washington Post
B-2 bombers involved in US strike on Iran nuclear facilities return to Missouri Air Force base
KNOB NOSTER, Mo. — The B-2 stealth bombers that dropped massive bunker-buster bombs on Iranian nuclear facilities began returning to their U.S. base in Missouri on Sunday. An Associated Press journalist watched on a clear but windy afternoon as seven of the B-2 Spirit bombers came in for landing at Whiteman Air Force Base. The base, about 73 miles (117 kilometers) southeast of Kansas City, is home to the 509th Bomb Wing, the only U.S. military unit that operates the B-2 Spirit bombers. The first group of four of the stealth aircraft did a loop around the base before approaching a runway from the north, while a final group of three arrived within 10 minutes. The day before, the B-2s had been part of a wide-ranging plan involving deception and decoys to deliver what American military leaders believe is a knockout blow to a nuclear program that Israel views as an existential threat and has been pummeling for more than a week . According to U.S. officials, one group of the stealth aircraft headed west from the base in the U.S. heartland on Saturday, intended as a decoy to throw off the Iranians. Another flight of seven quietly flew off eastward, ultimately engaging in the Iran mission. Aided by an armada of refueling tankers and fighter jets — some of which launched their own weapons — U.S. pilots dropped 14 30,000-pound bombs early Sunday local time on two key underground uranium enrichment plants in Iran. American sailors bolstered the surprise mission by firing dozens of cruise missiles from a submarine toward at least one other site. U.S. officials said Iran neither detected the inbound fusillade, nor mustered a shot at the stealthy American jets. Dubbed Operation Midnight Hammer, the mission carried out a 'precision strike' that 'devastated the Iranian nuclear program,' U.S. officials said, even as they acknowledged an assessment was ongoing. For its part, Iran denied that any significant damage had been done, and the Islamic Republic pledged to retaliate.
