Trump Administration Criticizes CNN After Airing Part of Iran's New Leader's Statement

SadaNews - The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump condemned CNN after it aired part of the public statement from Iran's new leader, marking the second time in three days the administration has targeted the network over its reporting on the Iranian regime's response to U.S. attacks.

The attack highlighted the importance of caution that media must exercise when covering events during wartime, as well as the responsibilities of American journalists to present the views of countries their government considers adversaries. Additionally, Trump's administration's critique revealed some contradictions, as Mojtaba Khamenei's statement during his first public address since assuming office after his father's death in an Israeli airstrike was widely available in other sources.

The White House stated on social media: "CNN, the purveyor of fake news, aired four continuous minutes of Iranian state television, which is run by the same mentally deranged and murderous regime that has bragged about brutally slaughtering Americans for 47 years."

Two days earlier, White House Communications Director Stephen Cheung criticized CNN host Erin Burnett's interview with former Iranian nuclear negotiator Hussein Mousavian. Burnett asked him about what he was hearing regarding the Iranian government's interest in talks with the United States, to which Mousavian responded that there is only limited interest.