‘100% fake news’: Trump slams CNN over Iran war

United States President Donald Trump has lashed out at CNN over its coverage of the Iran war.

The White House Press Secretary, Karoline Leavitt, in a post on X on Friday, March 13, 2026, blasted the news network’s story on the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway for the world oil trade.

Leavitt wrote: “This story is 100% FAKE NEWS.

“The Pentagon has been planning for Iran’s desperate and reckless closure of the Strait of Hormuz for DECADES, and it has been part of the Trump Administration’s planning well before Operation Epic Fury was ever launched.”

Also speaking at a press conference at the White House on Friday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said he looked forward to David Ellison, an ally of Trump, taking over CNN.

Hegseth spent part of the conference on US military operations against Iran criticising the media and CNN in particular, urging for what he called an “actual patriotic press.”

The former Fox News host was particularly incensed by a story the channel ran suggesting the United States had underestimated Iran’s ability to disrupt global oil traffic in the Strait of Hormuz.

“Patently ridiculous,” Hegseth told reporters, adding: “The sooner David Ellison takes over that network, the better.”

4 dead as US refuelling aircraft crashes in Iraq

David Ellison is the head of Paramount Skydance, which is set to complete a landmark takeover of Warner Bros Discovery, the current owner of CNN, after beating Netflix in a bidding war.

Earlier this month, Ellison vowed to protect CNN’s editorial independence.

His father, Oracle billionaire Larry Ellison, one of the world’s richest men, largely financed the takeover and is also a longtime ally and financial backer of Trump.

In response, CNN chief Mark Thompson said: “Our only interest is in telling the truth to our audiences in the US and around the world and no amount of political threats or insults is going to change that.”

Trump himself has frequently lashed out at CNN reporters, particularly anchor Kaitlan Collins, whom he scolded in February for failing to “smile” when she was asking him a question about the victims of late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The Star