White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt reacted furiously on Friday to a CNN report concerning the ongoing conflict in Iran.
The report alleged that President Donald Trump and his top officials “significantly underestimated Iran’s willingness to close the Strait of Hormuz in response to US military strikes.”
Citing multiple anonymous sources, CNN claimed that the president’s “national security team failed to fully account for the potential consequences of what some officials have described as a worst-case scenario now facing the administration.”
In a post published to the social media site X on Friday, Leavitt described the report as “100% FAKE NEWS.”
This story is 100% FAKE NEWS.
CNN decided to run this garbage based on three anonymous “sources familiar with discussions.”
This is despite the fact that myself, the Secretary of War, the Secretary of State, and multiple lawmakers (who were actually present for the recent… pic.twitter.com/IchmwpDnO7
— Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) March 13, 2026
“CNN decided to run this garbage based on three anonymous ‘sources familiar with discussions,'” she wrote. “This is despite the fact that myself, the Secretary of War, the Secretary of State, and multiple lawmakers (who were actually present for the recent classified briefing) have directly disputed this false reporting.”
She continued by alleging that the administration “has been planning for Iran’s desperate and reckless closure of the Strait of Hormuz” since day one.
“[A] goal of the Operation itself, to annihilate the terrorist Iranian regime’s navy, missiles, drone production infrastructure, and other threat capabilities is quite literally intended to deprive them of their ability to close the Strait,” she explained.
Sen. Tom Cotton, the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, also lashed out at CNN over its fraudulent reporting:
As Chairman of the Intelligence Committee, let me make clear: whoever leaked this lied.
CNN should do some fact-checking.
The U.S. has planned for Iran to try to close the strait for decades. pic.twitter.com/hSeMi13svh
— Tom Cotton (@SenTomCotton) March 13, 2026
Speaking at the Pentagon on Friday, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth dismissed CNN’s reporting as “more fake news from CNN.”
“For decades, Iran has threatened shipping in the Strait of Hormuz,” he said. “This is always what they do, hold the strait hostage. CNN doesn’t think we thought of that. It’s a fundamentally unserious report. The sooner David Ellison takes over that network, the better.”
Hegseth: “More fake news from CNN reports that the Trump administration underestimated the Iran war’s impact on the Strait of Hormuz…It’s a fundamentally unserious report. The sooner David Ellison takes over that network, the better.” pic.twitter.com/tiIfHJ6Y2u
— The Bulwark (@BulwarkOnline) March 13, 2026
CNN responded to the hubbub by issuing a minor “clarification.”
“This story has been updated to reflect additional developments and clarify that top Trump administration officials briefed lawmakers on long-standing military plans to address a major disruption to the Strait, according to one official, but that multiple sources familiar with the session said there was no indication there were any near-term solutions,” the clarification read.
However, the network chose to double down on its original accusation:
CNN CEO Mark Thompson says the network will stand by its journalism, stating that political criticism will not deter CNN from reporting what it believes is the truth to audiences in the U.S. and worldwide. pic.twitter.com/lTaIaQwKIb
— Neelotpal Srivastav (@NS_Neelotpal) March 13, 2026
“We stand by our journalism,” CNN chairman and CEO Mark Thompson said in a statement. “Politicians have an obvious motive for claiming that journalism which raises questions about their decisions is false.”
“At CNN our only interest is in telling the truth to our audiences in the U.S., and around the world and no amount of political threats or insults is going to change that,” he added.
All this comes days after ABC News ran a report claiming that the FBI had in recent days alerted police departments in California to impending Iranian drone attacks along the West Coast.
This report was also false. CBS News senior White House reporter Jennifer Jacobs eventually revealed that “law enforcement and intel officials” were rebutting the FBI’s alert.
“Multiple US and state law enforcement and intel officials told @CBSNews there is no credible intelligence underpinning the bulletin distributed on the unverified possibility that Iran could retaliate for American attacks by launching drones at the West Coast,” she wrote in a tweet.
Writers and editors can be contacted at [email protected] with feedback, tips, or corrections.
V. Saxena is a staff writer with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University. Saxena also contributes to BizPac Review.
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