White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt labeled a CNN report on the Pentagon and National Security Council underestimating “Iran’s willingness to close the Strait of Hormuz in response to U.S. military strikes” as fake news.
“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 classified briefing) have directly disputed this false reporting,” Leavitt said.
“THE TRUTH: 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. The idea that Chairman Cain and Secretary Hegseth weren’t prepared for this possibility is PREPOSTEROUS. 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,” Leavitt continued.
“President Trump will not allow rogue Iranian terrorists to stop the freedom of navigation and the free flow of energy. Wiping out these terrorists who indiscriminately target civilians and attempt to hold the global economy hostage is part of the ongoing noble U.S. mission. The Fake News is working overtime to discredit President Trump, his Administration, and our U.S. Military, all of whom are working 24/7 to eliminate the threat of the Iranian regime. It’s a complete disgrace to witness this from the media, and we will keep fighting back against it,” she added.
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
Read what CNN wrote below:
The Pentagon and National Security Council significantly underestimated Iran’s willingness to close the Strait of Hormuz in response to US military strikes while planning the ongoing operation, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.
President Donald 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 sources said.
While key officials from the Departments of Energy and Treasury were present for some of the official planning meetings about the operation before it started, sources said, the agency analysis and forecasts that would be integral elements of the decision-making process in past administrations were secondary considerations.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Energy Secretary Chris Wright have been key players throughout the planning and execution stages of the conflict, the sources acknowledged. But Trump’s preference of leaning on a tight circle of close advisers in his national security decision making had the effect of sidelining interagency debate over the potential economic fallout if Iran were to respond to US-Israeli strikes by closing the strait.
And now it may be weeks before the administration’s efforts to alleviate the intensifying economic fallout take hold, officials said Thursday, including high-risk naval escorts of oil tankers through the strait that the Pentagon believes are currently too dangerous to conduct. The president, meanwhile, has continued to downplay the tumult in energy markets and the danger. He told Fox News that oil tanker crews should “show some guts” and go through the strait.
The reality in the strait has left diplomatic counterparts, former US economic and energy officials and industry executives who spoke with CNN in a state of confusion and disbelief.
“More fake news from CNN reports that the Trump administration underestimated the Iran war’s impact on the Strait of Hormuz,” Hegseth said.
“Patently ridiculous, of course. For decades Iran has threatened shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. This is always what they do, hold the strait hostage. CNN doesn’t think we thought of that. It’s a fundamentally unserious report. The sooner David Ellison takes over that network, the better,” he continued.
Footage below:
Hegseth: No quarter, no mercy for our enemies. Yet some in the press just can’t stop. More fake news from CNN reports that the Trump administration underestimated the Iran war’s impact on the strait of hormuz. The sooner David Ellison takes over that network, the better. pic.twitter.com/BehjVYK0Hy
— Acyn (@Acyn) March 13, 2026
The Hill shared further:
CNN later added a clarification to the story that reads: “This story has been updated to reflect additional developments and clarify that top Trump administration officials briefed lawmakers on long-standing military plans to address a major disruption to the Strait, according to one official, but that multiple sources familiar with the session said there was no indication there were any near-term solutions.”
Leavitt reacted to the clarification and called it “pathetic.”
“Still waiting on @ZcohenCNN to delete his completely inaccurate post,” she wrote, referring to one of the story’s co-authors, senior national security reporter Zachary Cohen.
White House communications director Steven Cheung reacted to a post from the X account PatriotTakes asking if it is “normal for the military to be commenting on how news networks should be ran?”
“Yes 100%,” Cheung wrote in his post. “When Fake News outlets like CNN publishes verifiably false information, it is completely appropriate to comment on how sh***y outlets are run.”
White House principal deputy press secretary Anna Kelly also blasted the reporting. She reacted to CNN media analyst Brian Stelter sharing the outlet’s statement that it supports the reporting.
“No one cares, Brian,” Kelly wrote on X. “This story was always wrong and we said so on the front end. CNN wrote anyway because they’re more interested in pushing a dishonest narrative critical of the Administration than accurately reporting the facts.”