WSJ claims Trump was left out of key war-room briefings after missing airman crisis

A new report in the United States has put Donald Trump’s conduct during the Iran crisis under scrutiny. Citing senior administration officials, The Wall Street Journal claimed Trump erupted in anger after being told that one of two American airmen was missing following the downing of an F-15 over Iran. The report further alleged that as the crisis unfolded, Trump was kept out of some key operational briefings. The White House denied that account and insisted he remained steady throughout the operation.

The crisis began with the downing of an F-15

According to the report, the crisis started on April 3 when an American F-15 Eagle was shot down over Iran. One crew member was quickly recovered by US forces after ejecting before the aircraft went down. The second airman, however, remained behind enemy lines for more than 24 hours, triggering an urgent rescue effort.

The report said the situation quickly turned into a high-stakes operation as officials raced to locate and extract the missing serviceman before Iranian forces could reach him.

Trump is said to have shouted at aides for hours

The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump reacted furiously after learning that one of the two American airmen was still missing. The paper said he shouted at aides for hours and became increasingly focused on comparisons with the Iran hostage crisis.

According to the report, the images and memory of that earlier crisis weighed heavily on him as events unfolded.

He was allegedly excluded from real-time briefings

One of the most striking claims in the report was that Trump was not included in minute-by-minute Situation Room updates during the crisis. Senior officials, including Vice President JD Vance and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, were said to have dialed into the Situation Room over the next 24 hours.

Trump, according to the report, was only updated by phone at what officials described as meaningful moments. The paper said some aides believed his impatience would not help during real-time operational decision-making and chose to keep him out of the room.

The White House pushed back

The White House rejected that portrayal. Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump had “remained a steady leader our country needs.”

The administration also argued that the operation was consistent with Trump’s stated goal of preventing Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.

The missing airman was later found

After the first crew member was recovered on April 3, US agencies intensified efforts to find the second. More than 24 hours later, on the evening of April 4, Trump was told that the missing airman had also been rescued safely.

A senior administration official cited in the report said the mission became possible after the CIA alerted the Pentagon and the White House to the airman’s location.

CIA support was said to be critical

The report described the rescue as the ultimate “needle in a haystack” mission. The missing serviceman was said to have been located inside a mountain crevice.

The Wall Street Journal also reported that the CIA carried out a deception campaign by circulating false information suggesting the airman had already been found and recovered.

Trump later posted about the rescue

According to the report, Trump wrote about the successful operation on Truth Social around midnight and went to bed at about 2 a.m. local time. In that post, he described the rescued serviceman as a “brave warrior” who had been behind enemy lines in the mountains of Iran.

The following morning, the report said Trump escalated his rhetoric and ordered Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz in a message containing harsh language.

Report also detailed his later threats

The Wall Street Journal said Trump went even further on April 7, warning that a “whole civilisation will die tonight” unless Iran reopened the strategic waterway. Hours later, however, he announced a fragile two-week ceasefire beginning on April 8.

The report said that contradiction added to the concern surrounding his conduct and messaging during the crisis.

Unusual language in his posts drew attention

Another claim in the report was that Trump told an adviser he had deliberately used religious language in his public messages. According to the paper, he said he chose to “praise Allah” in order to appear unpredictable and offensive, believing that kind of rhetoric might unsettle Iranian leaders.

The report said those remarks raised alarm internationally and prompted some US lawmakers to contact the White House seeking clarity about the president’s state of mind.