'Looking very hard to find the leaker': Trump threatens jail for reporter who revealed Iran airman rescue

It remains unclear which journalist or media outlet US President Donald Trump was referring to at the press conference.

United States President Donald Trump has warned of legal action against a journalist who first reported the rescue of a US airman in Iran, raising concerns about a possible leak within the American government.

At a press conference on the high-risk rescue mission on Monday, Trump said he would compel the reporter to disclose their source. “We’re going to go to the media company that released it, and we’re going to say, ‘national security, give it up or go to jail,’” he said, adding that authorities were actively trying to identify the leaker.

Trump argued that the report had compromised both the sensitive rescue operation and the safety of the stranded weapons systems officer, who had been trapped in Iranian territory after his US F-15E fighter jet was shot down.

Following the downing of the aircraft, multiple media outlets reported that one of the two airmen had been recovered by US forces. Trump maintained that this disclosure jeopardised efforts to rescue the second airman, though the mission was ultimately completed successfully.

“We didn’t talk about the first one for an hour. Then somebody leaked something, which we will hopefully find that leaker. We’re looking very hard to find that leaker,” he said.

It remains unclear which journalist or outlet Trump was referring to. According to Reuters, several media outlets, including The New York Times, CBS News and Axios, reported the development around the same time. The White House also did not immediately clarify the specific target of Trump’s remarks.

Reuters noted that Trump’s comments mark a sharp escalation in his administration’s criticism of the press, amid his complaints that coverage of the US-Israel conflict with Iran has been overly negative.

(With agency inputs)