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On Tuesday evening, following the announcement of a tentative ceasefire agreement with Iran, President Donald Trump accused the news network CNN of falsely reporting a statement from some of Iran’s leaders that claimed victory over the United States in the war that has been waged over the past month.
Earlier on Tuesday, Trump made a promise to engage in additional war crimes and genocidal attacks against Iran unless an agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz was reached.
“A whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again,” Trump said, giving Iran until 8 p.m. ET to comply.
Ninety minutes before that deadline, Trump then announced via Truth Social that a two-week ceasefire deal had been reached. Wrote Trump:
Based on conversations with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Field Marshal Asim Munir, of Pakistan, and wherein they requested that I hold off the destructive force being sent tonight to Iran, and subject to the Islamic Republic of Iran agreeing to the COMPLETE, IMMEDIATE, and SAFE OPENING of the Strait of Hormuz, I agree to suspend the bombing and attack of Iran for a period of two weeks.
Trump also said the U.S. received a 10-point proposal from Iran that “is a workable basis on which to negotiate.”
Trump shared a statement from Iran’s minister of foreign affairs, which read, “If attacks against Iran are halted, our Powerful Armed Forces will cease their defensive operations.”
That same evening, CNN reported on a statement from Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, which was much more forceful in its telling of events.
“The enemy, in its unfair, unlawful, and criminal war against the Iranian nation, has suffered an undeniable, historic, and crushing defeat,” that statement read. “Our hands remain on the trigger, and at the slightest mistake by the enemy, a full-force response will be delivered.”
The reporting of that statement upset Trump, who claimed on Truth Social that it was “a FRAUD” and a fake news story emanating from Nigeria. Trump provided no evidence for his assertions, but suggested the reporting by CNN could be criminal.
“Authorities are looking to determine whether or not a crime was committed on the issuance of the Fake CNN World Statement,” Trump wrote. He added:
CNN is being ordered to immediately withdraw this Statement with full apologies for their, as usual, terrible ‘reporting.’ Results of the investigation will be announced in the near future.
In a later post, Trump also claimed CNN was “inflaming a very delicate situation” rather than reporting on the facts of a statement from Iran.
Federal Communications Chair Brendan Carr, whose statements against other news agencies and individuals critical of Trump have been viewed as a form of attempted censorship in the past, similarly issued a statement against CNN on his X account.
“Fake news is bad enough for the country, but pushing out a hoax headline in such a sensitive national security moment as this requires accountability,” Carr wrote, again providing no evidence that the story was “fake.”
“Time for change at CNN,” Carr added.
CNN stood by its reporting after Trump’s attacks.
“The statement in question was obtained by CNN from Iranian officials and reported on multiple Iranian state media outlets,” a statement from the news network said. “We received the statement from specific official Iranian spokespeople who are known to us.”
The Trump administration has made many attacks on the media over the past year, including during the Iran War, with Trump stating earlier this week that he could imprison journalists if they used confidential sources from the Pentagon in their reporting and didn’t divulge who they were.
The comments from Trump came in response to reporting from multiple news agencies regarding a U.S. airman who went missing after his plane was shot down in Iran. The airman was eventually recovered.
“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,’” Trump threatened in comments he made on Monday.
Holding Trump accountable for his illegal war on Iran
The devastating American and Israeli attacks have killed hundreds of Iranians, and the death toll continues to rise.
As independent media, what we do next matters a lot. It’s up to us to report the truth, demand accountability, and reckon with the consequences of U.S. militarism at this cataclysmic historical moment.
Trump may be an authoritarian, but he is not entirely invulnerable, nor are the elected officials who have given him pass after pass. We cannot let him believe for a second longer that he can get away with something this wildly illegal or recklessly dangerous without accountability.
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