Trump Accuses CNN of Airing a ‘False Statement’ From Iran in Heated Truth Social Post — Network Insists It’s Authentic

President Donald Trump is lashing out at CNN for airing a statement from Iran on the newly-announced ceasefire — which the network insists is indeed genuine.

In a heated post on Truth Social Tuesday night, the president ripped CNN for reading on air a statement he dismissed as a “FRAUD.”

“The alleged Statement put out by CNN World News is a FRAUD, as CNN well knows,” Trump wrote. “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. The Official Statement by Iran was just released, and posted on TRUTH, below. Authorities are looking to determine whether or not a crime was committed on the issuance of the Fake CNN World Statement, or was it a sick rogue player? CNN is being ordered to immediately withdraw this Statement with full apologies for their, as usual, terrible “reporting.” Results of the investigation will be announced in the near future.”

The statement Trump was referencing came from Iranian Foreign Affairs Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi, who said the following:

In response to the brotherly request of PM Sharif in his tweet, and considering the request by the U.S. for negotiations based on its 15-point proposal as well as announcement by POTUS about acceptance of the general framework of Iran’s 10-point proposal as a basis for negotiations, I hereby declare on behalf of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council:

If attacks against Iran are halted, our Powerful Armed Forces will cease their defensive operations.

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

Approximately 20 minutes into her show on Tuesday night, CNN’s Erin Burnett read from that statement. But she also read from a second statement sourced to Iran’s Supreme National Security Council. That statement was more strongly-worded and had a distinctly more pro-Iran bent — with the council declaring “great victory.” Burnett did not quote that particular comment, but did refer to some of the council’s stronger claims.

“‘The regulated passage through the Strait of Hormuz, under the coordination of the armed forces of Iran — thereby conferring upon Iran a unique economic and geopolitical standing,’ — which sounds like in a translation, Iran saying that they see this as acknowledgment that they control the Strait of Hormuz,” Burnett said.

Burnett also quoted the statement saying, “Our hands remain upon the trigger and should the slightest error be committed by the enemy it shall be met with full force.”

During the 9 p.m. ET hour, CNN correspondent Matthew Chance delivered a follow-up report from on the ground in Qatar — in which he addressed President Trump’s beef with the Supreme National Security Council’s statement, which CNN read.

“The second document, the one apparently President Trump seems to be objecting to, is the one that’s been sent to us by the Supreme National Security Council of Iran — that’s Iran’s highest military body — and that’s a lot more aggressive and it goes into a lot more detail about what that 10-point plan to end the war from Iran actually involves,” Chance said. “And it includes things like this regulating passage through the Strait of Hormuz in coordination with Iran, so basically making sure that Iran still can exercise control over that strategic waterway through which 20 percent of the world’s oil passes.”

Chance explained how CNN verified the authenticity of the council’s statement after Trump accused the network of airing a fraud.

“It had already appeared on state news agencies in Iran, like the Fars news agency and the semi-official Tasmin news agency as well,” Chance said. “But when President Trump posted on Truth Social that he objected to that report, to that document, he said it was fake, I followed up with the Iranian Foreign Ministry and said, ‘Look, do you have this document that you can send to me? ‘And they sent me the document themselves, which was exactly the same as the document we originally had. And so I think we’re pretty confident, very confident that this document is authentic.”

Numerous other outlets have reported on the security council statement as authentic.

In response to an inquiry, a CNN spokesperson told Mediaite, “The statement in question was obtained by CNN from Iranian officials and reported on multiple Iranian state media outlets. We received the statement from specific official Iranian spokespeople who are known to us.”

Watch above, via CNN.

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