Trump lashes out at leaker after Iran strike plans are exposed, again promising a rapid end to the conflict
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President Donald Trump attacked an unnamed leaker for revealing U.S. bomber movements ahead of a planned Iran strike and claimed the war would end soon after the midterm elections, as regional diplomacy was also disrupted.
President Donald Trump said an alleged leaker disclosed the departure and arrival times of U.S. B-2 bombers scheduled for a strike on Iran, exposing and compromising the mission. He threatened that "leakers should be shot" and called the person a "sleazebag" who belongs in jail, sharpening his rhetoric in a way that again raised alarm.
At a rally in Arizona, Trump portrayed the bombers as "beautiful B-2 — the wings that carry very large bombs and are totally stealth" and said Iran was waiting for them, but the operation was derailed after the timing was published in media outlets.
Trump also claimed the Iran war would "end very quickly" after the upcoming midterm elections, saying Iran’s senior leadership had been removed and that Iranian officials were now seeking guarantees they would survive. He said the conflict would end "one way or the other" and predicted that oil prices would drop sharply afterward.
The European Union and Gulf Cooperation Council postponed a summit planned for Oct. 24 in Riyadh, with officials saying a new date would be announced later. Reuters reported the delay after Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev suggested the meeting could be canceled amid escalating regional fighting.
"Leakers should be shot," Trump said at the Arizona rally. "They ought to go to jail. But they leaked that we were leaving at 1207 from Missouri," he added. "It’s going to end very quickly, and when that happens, the oil is going to come way down," Trump told the audience in Kalispell, Montana.