Former president Donald Trump on Saturday vowed to hunt down a suspected leaker who disclosed details of a U.S. rescue operation and threatened the unnamed media company that published the information with jail time if it does not cooperate. In remarks that framed the disclosure as a national‑security breach, Trump said the leak alerted Iran to the presence of a missing pilot and “put this mission at great risk.”
“We’re looking very hard to find that leaker,” Trump said, according to excerpts of his remarks. “We’re going to go to the media company that released it, and we’re gonna say national security — give it up or go to jail. And we know who — and you know who we’re talking about.” He described the leaker as a “sick person” and said the person likely did not grasp how badly the disclosure endangered the rescue effort.
Trump said the government had delayed public discussion of an initial rescue for about an hour but that a subsequent leak signaled to Iran that another crew member remained missing. “They didn’t know there was somebody missing until this leaker gave the information,” he told reporters, adding that the disclosure complicated search operations because Iranian authorities and civilians suddenly knew a pilot might be on their territory.
The former president also asserted that Tehran had issued a “major notice” offering a large reward for anyone who captured the pilot, turning the situation into “millions of people trying to get a reward.” He warned that, beyond facing a well‑armed adversary, U.S. forces and rescuers were up against potential opportunists drawn by the bounty, which he argued further imperiled recovery efforts.
Trump’s comments come amid broader reporting that an American F‑15 was downed and that at least one airman was missing following a strike that has intensified tensions between Washington and Tehran. U.S. officials have described two separate rescue actions, and Trump repeatedly called them “extraordinary,” saying one rescued airman had been recovered while another remained unaccounted for.
It was not clear from Trump’s remarks which news organization he was accusing of publishing the leak, and no formal legal action was announced. He suggested, however, that the administration would press the outlet for information on the source and threatened criminal consequences if it did not comply, invoking national‑security concerns as justification.
The allegation that a media publication compromised an ongoing rescue operation raises questions about the balance between press freedom and operational secrecy in wartime or crisis settings. Trump framed his demand for cooperation as widely understood, saying the leaker “put this mission at great risk,” and reiterated his determination to find the person responsible as search efforts for the missing pilot continue.