On 6th April (Monday), US President Donald Trump warned that action would be taken against the journalists and the media organisation if they refused to explain how they obtained critical information about the rescue mission of the US airmen from Iran. The US had launched a complex mission to rescue the two-person crew of a fighter jet after it was shot down inside the Islamic Republic on 3rd April.
The second airman was eventually successfully retrieved, but Trump asserted that the media revelation had jeopardised the security of the effort. He indicated that the name of the anonymous source will need to be disclosed because the matter pertained to national security.
“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. They didn’t know there was somebody missing until this leaker gave the information. So, whoever it was, we think we’ll be able to find it out because 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. It made it much more difficult for the pilots,” the president conveyed while talking to the media at the White House.
President Trump on leak during rescue of two U.S. airmen from Iran: "We're going to go to that media company that released it, and we're going to say 'National Security—give it up or go to jail.'…It made it much more difficult for the pilots." pic.twitter.com/v2CsdDMAt4
— CSPAN (@cspan) April 6, 2026
According to Trump, Iran only found out about the crew member’s disappearance in its territory through media reports, which made the search and rescue drive more difficult. “All of a sudden, they know that there’s somebody out there. They see all these planes coming in. It became a much more difficult operation because a leaker leaked that we have one, we’ve rescued one, but there’s another one out there that we’re trying to get,” he had mentioned.
Trump described the source as a “sick person,” but added that they “probably didn’t realise the extent of how bad it was.” However, he reiterated that “the person that did the story will go to jail if he doesn’t say, and that doesn’t last long.”
The F-15E Strike Eagle was on a combat mission over Iranian skies when it was hit someplace in southwestern region of the country, in the challenging terrain of the Zagros Mountains. The pilot was brought to safety within a few hours, but the second airman remained trapped in Iranian territory until early 5th April, and the American troops had to land there to save him, losing multiple aircraft during the process.
