“Fake news from Nigeria,” Trump comes hard on CNN over alleged framing of Iran-US ceasefire deal
US President Donald Trump has criticised CNN over its coverage of the recent Iran-US ceasefire, alleging that the network relied on a “false statement” attributed to Iran and sourced from a Nigerian outlet.
The ceasefire agreement was announced shortly before Trump’s deadline to destroy Iranian “civilisation”.
CNN had reported a statement credited to Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), which claimed the country recorded a major victory and compelled the United States to accept its 10-point proposal.
Reacting via a post on Truth Social, Trump rejected the report.
“The alleged Statement put out by CNN World News is a FRAUD, as CNN well knows,” he said.
He further alleged that the “false Statement was linked to a Fake News site (from Nigeria) and, of course, immediately picked up by CNN, and blared out as a “legitimate” headline”.
Trump, however, did not name the Nigerian platform or provide evidence to support his claims. In a separate post, he described the outlet as “a new, trouble making site from Nigeria”.
The president also called on CNN to retract the report and disclosed that investigations were underway to determine whether the publication constituted a criminal act.
Following the ceasefire announcement, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi acknowledged Pakistan’s role in facilitating talks.
“If attacks against Iran are halted, our Powerful Armed Forces will cease their defensive operations,” he said.
“For a period of two weeks, safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz will be possible via coordination with Iran’s Armed Forces and with due consideration of technical limitations.”
Araghchi noted that he spoke on behalf of the SNSC, the body responsible for overseeing Iran’s national security affairs.
Meanwhile, Iran’s state-linked Tasnim news agency also published a statement from the SNSC echoing similar claims of victory.
The council stated that “Iran achieved a great victory and forced the criminal America to accept its 10-point plan”, while also asserting that the enemy had suffered a “crushing defeat”.
Amid the controversy, Brendan Carr, chairman of the US Federal Communications Commission, warned that media organisations risk losing their licences if they fail to act in the public interest.
CNN has defended its report, stating that the information was sourced from Iranian officials and corroborated by multiple state media outlets in Iran.