Trump Says Leakers 'Should Be Shot' and That He May Have Gone 'Too Far' on Iran's Leaders

President Donald Trump told a rally in Bullhead City, Arizona, on Wednesday, Oct. 14, that he scrubbed a B-2 bombing mission against Iran after its timing was leaked, and that "leakers should be shot."

He said the bombers were set to leave Missouri at 12:07 and that the departure and arrival times appeared in The New York Times and on CNN. "Iran was waiting for them," he said. He called Gen. Dan Caine, called off the raid, then flew it two days later at the same time. "That was the only time that they didn't expect us," Trump said.

"In the old days, we used to shoot leakers," he added. He called leakers "the scum of the earth" who "ought to go to jail" and said they should be "dealt with very, very strongly."

Trump did not name a suspect, and he did not say when the aborted mission took place beyond describing a two-week stretch. These are his claims about the timeline. The newspaper and the network he named did not appear in his account as having responded.

'Might have gone too far'

The same speech included something rarer: a mild admission. Trump said Iran's navy, air force, radar and air defenses are "gone," and that U.S. strikes have burned through its leadership. The opening U.S.-Israeli strikes on Feb. 28 killed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and several senior officials.

"Their first level leaders are gone. They pick the second level. Their second level leaders are gone," Trump said. "I probably went a little too far. I'm sorry, because I don't know who the hell we're dealing with anymore."

He said Iranian officials got a promise from him not to "take out anymore." He predicted the conflict "is going to end very soon."

He made nearly the same point at a rally in Youngstown, Ohio, on Monday: "We might have gone too far with the leaders because we don't know who the hell we're dealing with anymore." He added that "nobody wants to be the president of Iran." Vice President JD Vance told Reuters earlier this month that Washington is unsure how decisions are made inside Iran's leadership, and that any deal would require Tehran to cut its enrichment capacity meaningfully.

The midterm pause

The Atlantic reported on Oct. 7 that the Pentagon was developing strike options against Iranian targets, with no final decisions made. The next day Trump said on Truth Social that the U.S. would not attack Iran before the Nov. 3 midterms.

On Tuesday, Oct. 13, he told reporters, "We'll make a decision on Iran very soon," and called Iran a "failed country" with "300 percent inflation." He did not say what the decision was.

Polling on the war is lopsided. A Pew Research Center poll released Oct. 8 found 65% of Americans disapprove of his handling of military action against Iran and 33% approve. Most respondents expected the conflict to last at least six more months.

Iran's answer

Tehran is not signaling a wind-down. Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf said Wednesday that Iran must be prepared for war even while negotiating. "They break their promises," he said of the U.S., adding that a signed agreement is no guarantee. "America must be punished. America must change its behavior."

Trump says Iran has no navy. U.S. Central Command said Wednesday that U.S. forces destroyed an Iran-affiliated dhow in the Gulf of Oman last week that was conducting surveillance and targeting U.S. Navy ships. The crew was removed first, and CENTCOM did not say whether they were detained or released. Fresh attacks also hit commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday.

A second front in Saudi Arabia

The Houthi-Saudi war is feeding the oil problem. A Houthi strike on Saturday on Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport killed 13 people and wounded more than 300. The Saudi-led coalition said it intercepted five drones and six missiles on Tuesday aimed at Riyadh, Dhahran and the south. A missile attack set off a fire at Saudi Aramco's headquarters in Dhahran. The Energy Ministry said the fire was limited to an administrative building and caused no injuries.

The coalition said it downed another drone aimed at the Eastern Province on Thursday, Oct. 15, local time. The Houthis vowed Wednesday to keep hitting Saudi airports and oil facilities. Brent crude rose 37 cents, or 0.35%, to $106.06 a barrel on Wednesday.

Trump said Saturday he was weighing whether the U.S. should join the Saudi campaign. On Tuesday he wrote on Truth Social that the Houthis were acting "probably at the behest of Iran" and "purposefully trying to drive up Oil Prices, probably prior to the U.S. Elections." Neither the Houthis nor Iran has been shown in these accounts to have said that. He also floated asking Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to help Riyadh, saying Erdogan "would do as I ask."

Yemen's foreign minister, Afrah Alzouba, asked Washington on Wednesday for training, intelligence support and wider sanctions on the Houthis. She said Yemen's government is "not calling for starting any negotiations" with the group.

What is unresolved

Trump has promised no strikes on Iran before Nov. 3 and said a decision is coming "very soon." Those two statements leave a gap of 19 days. Whether the Houthi-Saudi front draws in U.S. forces during that stretch is the open question.

Trump has also not said whether anyone is under investigation for the alleged leak, or whether the Justice Department has been asked to find one.