From Fox News: White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Friday forcefully rejected a CNN report that said President Donald Trump’s national security team was unprepared for the possibility Iran would move to close the Strait of Hormuz after U.S. strikes.
“This story is 100% FAKE NEWS,” Leavitt wrote on X, accusing CNN of relying on anonymous sources and defending the administration’s planning for such a scenario.
Leavitt said the Pentagon had planned for a possible Iranian closure of the strait for decades and said the threat had been part of the administration’s planning before Operation Epic Fury began.
The Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway, has become a focal point in the conflict due to its significance in global oil transportation, as approximately one-fifth of the world’s oil shipments pass through it.
Citing anonymous sources “familiar with the matter,” CNN reported Thursday that Trump’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.”
“The idea that chairman Cain and Secretary Hegseth weren’t prepared for this possibility is PREPOSTEROUS,” Leavitt said.
“The President was fully briefed on it, and 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.”
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
Others blasted CNN on different forums.
“As chairman of the Intelligence Committee, let me make clear: whoever leaked this lied,” Sen. Tom Cotton, chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, wrote on X. “CNN should do some fact-checking.”
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
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth called the CNN report “more fake news” and said it was “patently ridiculous” during a briefing at the Pentagon on Friday.
WATCH: Hegseth looks press in the eye and goes scorched earth, pointing out insanity of reports
CNN Is Lying to Undermine Operation Epic Fury’s Crushing Success https://t.co/QlDdpOJUzw
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) March 13, 2026
Read more at Fox News
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