President Donald Trump threatened to jail a journalist who reported on the rescue of a U.S. airman in Iran, demanding the reporter reveal their source or face imprisonment for national security violations.
Trump made the threat during a White House press conference Monday, targeting an unnamed reporter who first disclosed that American rescue forces had successfully recovered one of two airmen after their F-15E fighter jet was shot down over Iran on Friday.
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.'
Donald Trump, U.S. President — Al-Monitor
The president claimed the leak compromised the ongoing operation to rescue the second airman, though that crew member was eventually recovered successfully after 36 hours on hostile territory. Trump argued that Iranian forces became aware a second American remained missing only after media reports about the first rescue.
Multiple outlets including The New York Times, CBS News, and Axios reported on the initial rescue within a short timeframe, though Trump did not specify which organization or journalist he was targeting. The White House has not clarified which reporter faces potential prosecution.
Al Jazeera frames Trump's threat as part of a broader pattern of attacks on press freedom, emphasizing the escalatory nature of targeting journalists with imprisonment. The outlet highlights the contradiction between Trump's claims and Iranian media's prior reporting, undermining the administration's national security justification.