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President Donald Trump on Thursday accused Democrats of leaking classified details about U.S. airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, claiming the disclosures were intended to undermine the success of the operation.
The president shared the accusations in a post to his Truth Social account.
“The Democrats are the ones who leaked the information on the PERFECT FLIGHT to the Nuclear Sites in Iran. They should be prosecuted!” Trump posted.
Trump has consistently maintained that the strikes, which he ordered over the weekend, effectively destroyed Iran’s nuclear capabilities. Trump and his allies insist the mission achieved its objectives despite doubts from some mainstream media outlets.
Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard publicly backed Trump’s claims this week, stating that the latest intelligence supports his position.
“New intelligence confirms what @POTUS has stated numerous times: Iran’s nuclear facilities have been destroyed. If the Iranians chose to rebuild, they would have to rebuild all three facilities (Natanz, Fordow, Esfahan) entirely, which would likely take years to do,” she posted to X on Wednesday.
“The propaganda media has deployed their usual tactic: selectively release portions of illegally leaked classified intelligence assessments (intentionally leaving out the fact that the assessment was written with ‘low confidence’) to try to undermine President Trump’s decisive leadership and the brave servicemen and women who flawlessly executed a truly historic mission to keep the American people safe and secure,” she continued.
The strikes have drawn criticism and prompted debate within the intelligence community and media outlets over their effectiveness. Reports by CNN and The New York Times earlier in the week cited preliminary intelligence suggesting that Iran’s program had only been set back by a few months, not dismantled.
Trump and his legal team have since threatened lawsuits against both outlets, accusing them of spreading false and damaging information. The legal threats followed Trump’s public criticism of CNN correspondent Natasha Bertrand. In a Truth Social post on Wednesday, Trump called for her to be fired.
“Natasha Bertrand should be FIRED from CNN! I watched her for three days doing Fake News. She should be IMMEDIATELY reprimanded, and then thrown out ‘like a dog.’ She lied on the Laptop from Hell Story, and now she lied on the Nuclear Sites Story, attempting to destroy our Patriot Pilots by making them look bad when, in fact, they did a GREAT job and hit ‘pay dirt’ — TOTAL OBLITERATION!” Trump wrote.
“She should not be allowed to work at Fake News CNN. It’s people like her who destroyed the reputation of a once great Network. Her slant was so obviously negative, besides, she doesn’t have what it takes to be an on camera correspondent, not even close. FIRE NATASHA!” he added.