On Saturday, former President Donald Trump strongly criticized media outlets for their coverage of an incident involving Iran allegedly targeting five U.S. refueling planes at a military base in Saudi Arabia.
Trump condemned what he described as a “deliberately misleading headline” and challenged assertions that the aircraft had been rendered inoperable.
He criticized the “terrible reporting” and referred to journalists as “sick and demented people,” echoing sentiments expressed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who had also denounced critical headlines about the Iran-related mission just a day earlier.
“In reality, the base was hit a few days ago, but the planes were not ‘struck’ or ‘destroyed’,” Trump clarified on his Truth Social platform from West Palm Beach, Florida, where he had traveled on Friday.
He noted that four out of the five planes sustained “virtually no damage” and have already returned to service.
One plane experienced “slightly more damage,” he added, but assured it would be operational again soon.
The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that five refueling tankers were struck during an Iranian missile strike on the Prince Sultan air base in Saudi Arabia.
It said they were damaged but not fully destroyed.
