
The US president calls CNN's report on the limited impact of the US attack on Tehran's nuclear facilities 'fake news'.
US President Donald Trump today demanded the firing of CNN correspondent Natasha Bertrand after she broadcast an internal assessment by US intelligence agencies, according to which the US attacks on three Iranian nuclear facilities (Fordo, Natanz, Isfahan) in the early hours of last Sunday caused only a temporary delay of several months in Tehran's program.
Through the Truth Social platform, Trump accused it of spreading “fake news” and demanded its “immediate removal like a dog,” as he specifically wrote. He even harshly criticized the publication, claiming that it is “trying to destroy our patriotic pilots, portraying them as failures.”
Trump and his administration insist that the attacks completely destroyed the uranium enrichment infrastructure, endorsing Israel's assessment that Iran's nuclear program has been delayed for years. In contrast, the domestic intelligence report cited by CNN and also reproduced by major media outlets such as the Washington Post and the New York Times argues that the delay is temporary and will ease within a few months, a fact that has caused concern in the White House.
CNN, in an official statement, fully defended Natasha Bertrand and stressed that the journalistic coverage was accurate and based on available information in the public interest. A spokesperson for the network noted that the assessment was preliminary and that the coverage itself included statements of distrust of Trump.
"We do not consider it reasonable to criticize the report for accurately presenting an assessment that exists and is critical to public information," he said.
