‘Give it up or go to jail’: Trump issues ultimatum to media over Iran rescue leaks

President Donald Trump has threatened to jail journalists who refuse to disclose sources tied to leaked details of a high-risk U.S. military rescue mission in Iran, citing grave concerns over national security and the safety of American service members.

President Donald Trump sharply escalated his long-standing feud with the media on Monday, April 6, 2026, by threatening to force news organizations to disclose their sources for reporting on the daring U.S. military rescue of two F-15E crew members in Iran. During a high-stakes White House news conference, the President expressed intense frustration over leaks surrounding the high-risk operation, arguing that the premature disclosure of information from within the government placed American service members on the ground in grave danger. “We are gonna go to the media company that released it and we are going to say ‘national security, give it up or go to jail,’” Trump declared, vowing aggressive legal action to identify the leaker, whom he described as “a sick person” who failed to grasp the full extent of the harm caused to the extraction mission

The President emphasized that the unauthorized release of data made the task of locating and rescuing the missing weapons systems officer significantly more difficult. The officer had reportedly evaded Iranian pursuers for nearly 48 hours while suffering from serious injuries sustained during the initial shoot-down over Khuzestan Province. According to the administration, the leak provided Iranian forces with real-time insights that complicated the stealth movements of U.S. combat search-and-rescue (CSAR) teams. “We are gonna go to the media company that released it and we are going to say ‘national security, give it up or go to jail,’” Trump reiterated, highlighting a shift toward a zero-tolerance policy for reporting that impacts active theater operations.

While several major U.S. news outlets had reportedly held back on publishing specific details of the ongoing rescue over the weekend to avoid compromising the mission, the President’s threats have sent shockwaves through the press corps. Media advocacy groups have raised immediate concerns regarding the First Amendment and the protection of confidential sources, especially in the context of wartime reporting. However, the White House maintained that the safety of the injured airman, who was pursued for two days in hostile territory, outweighed traditional journalistic privileges. The missing officer was eventually recovered, but the President insisted that the “national security” implications of the leak necessitate a full-scale investigation into the media companies involved.

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