Trump administration denounces CNN for airing messages from Iranian
leaders
[March 13, 2026]
By DAVID BAUDER
The Trump administration denounced CNN on Thursday for airing a portion
of the new Iranian supreme leader's public statement, the second time in
three days that he's targeted the network for reporting on how the
regime is responding to the American attacks.
The attack illustrated the care news outlets must take in reporting
during wartime, and the responsibilities of American journalists to
report the perspective of countries its government views as enemies. It
also exposed inconsistencies. The message of Supreme Leader Ayatollah
Mojtaba Khamenei during his first public statement since he succeeded
his father, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike, was widely available
elsewhere.
The White House said on social media that “fake news CNN just aired four
straight minutes of uninterrupted Iranian state TV, run by the same
psychotic and murderous regime that prided itself on brutally
slaughtering Americans for 47 years.”
Earlier CNN interview criticized by Trump's communications leader
Two days earlier, White House communications director Steven Cheung took
issue with CNN anchor Erin Burnett's interview with Hossein Mousavian, a
former Iranian nuclear negotiator. Burnett asked Mousavian what he had
been hearing about the Iranian government's interest in having talks
with the United States. There wasn't much, he said.
“Ever notice how CNN just regurgitates quotes and unverified information
from Iranian terrorists?” Cheung wrote on X. “Total disgrace. They have
become the murderous Iranian Regime's version of Pravda,” he said,
referring to the official newspaper of the former Soviet Union.
CNN did not address Cheung's statement but did respond to the White
House attack on Thursday. It noted that CNN, Sky News and Al Jazeera
also showed portions of the ayatollah's statement live.
“The world is watching with anticipation which direction this war will
take,” CNN said. “Purported remarks from Iran's new supreme leader are a
critical component in helping audiences understand where this conflict
is heading and were aired for their obvious news value.”
Other news outlets, including The Associated Press, sent out alerts on
what Khamenei said. His vow to keep up attacks on other Arab countries
in the region and plans to choke off the world's oil supply were
headlines. The New York Times led its website with a story on the speech
in its immediate aftermath, later writing that the speech “was an early
indication of how the new supreme leader would approach the war, as well
as how he would lead the country.”
CNN has long been a favored target of President Donald Trump, dating
back to his first term. It's a particularly vulnerable time for the
network with Paramount Global's agreement to purchase CNN's parent
company, Warner Bros. Discovery, raising questions about its future
editorial independence.
CNN showed a news anchor reading a portion of Khameini's remarks in
Farsi, with an English translation. It did not air them in full. After
the speech, correspondent Nick Paton Walsh gave a debrief to anchor Kate
Bolduan, noting how the non-appearance of the leader — reportedly
injured in an air attack — was as important as what he said.
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Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali
Khamenei, center, attends the annual Quds, or Jerusalem Day, rally
in Tehran, Iran, May 31, 2019. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
“We were waiting to see the face of the man to have proof of his
health and survival,” Walsh said, “and they've not met that moment.
Instead, a handwritten message, it seems, that mostly reiterates
things we kind of already knew.”
A social media message board for Iran's point of view
The Tech Transparency Project has reported that several Iranian
leaders and institutions maintain verified accounts on X, formerly
Twitter, owned by Trump ally Elon Musk. CNBC said Thursday that
Khamenei has one of them, and an X account with his portrait posted
the text of his remarks, available in Farsi and in an English
translation.
Even though Khamenei's father is dead, an account with his portrait
was active on Thursday, mainly reposting messages from his son. “The
revenge we have in mind is not just because of the martyrdom of the
illustrious Leader of the Revolution,” read one message posted
Thursday. “Every member of the nation martyred by the enemy is a
separate case that demands we seek revenge.”
X is officially blocked in Iran, though many use a virtual private
network to bypass restrictions. A message sent to the platform on
Thursday was not immediately returned.
There's a long history of journalists seeking interviews with world
leaders, even when they are regarded as enemies of the United
States. Most notable was “60 Minutes” correspondent Mike Wallace's
interview with Iran's Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini in 1979, when that
country was holding Americans hostage.
Thursday's remarks by Iran's new supreme leader were absolutely
newsworthy and legitimate for CNN to air them, said Jane Ferguson, a
veteran international correspondent and founder of the journalism
platform Noosphere. It's not the job of government leaders to pick
apart what CNN is reporting, she said.
“We've always faced this,” she said, about when reporters interview
leaders or other figures hostile to American interests. “This has
been a bit of low-hanging fruit for awhile.”
Historian Douglas Brinkley of Rice University said that it's unfair
for CNN to be singled out in this instance. He, too, believes it is
newsworthy to learn what leaders of an adversary are thinking, but
it's important to make sure that journalists are careful.
“You have to be leery of being used as a propaganda tool by the
Iranian regime,” he said. “On the other hand, knowing what the enemy
is saying and looking for a sign of a peace offering or a nuance is
important … It's a difficult balance.”
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