US President Donald Trump on Sunday (local time) accused Iran of using artificial intelligence to circulate misleading visuals about the ongoing conflict, while also attacking media organisations that reported damage to American military assets.
The remarks come as tensions between Washington and Tehran remain high following recent military strikes and counter-attacks in the region. Alongside battlefield developments, a new fight is emerging online, with both sides trading claims over what images and reports from the war can be trusted.
In a post on Truth Social, Trump alleged that Iran had a long history of manipulating information and was now using artificial intelligence to push misleading content.
“Iran has long been known as a Master of Media Manipulation and Public Relations. They are Militarily ineffective and weak, but are really good at ‘feeding’ the very appreciative Fake News Media false information.”
“Now, A.I. has become another Disinformation weapon that Iran uses, quite well, considering they are being annihilated by the day,” he said.
He claimed some videos circulating online showing Iranian attacks at sea were fabricated.
“They showed phony ‘Kamikaze Boats,’ shooting at various Ships at Sea, which looks wonderful, powerful, and vicious, but these Boats don’t exist — It’s all false information to show how ‘tough’ their already defeated Military is!” he said.
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Trump disputes reports of damage to US military assets
Trump also dismissed reports that several American aircraft had been destroyed during Iranian strikes.
He said claims that five US refuelling planes had been badly damaged were incorrect, adding that all of them remained operational except one that would soon return to service.
The President also rejected online visuals suggesting the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier had been attacked or set on fire.
“Buildings and Ships that are shown to be on fire are not — It’s FAKE NEWS, generated by AI. For instance, Iran, working in close coordination with the Fake News Media, shows our great USS Abraham Lincoln Aircraft Carrier, one of the largest and most prestigious Ships in the World, burning uncontrollably in the Ocean. Not only was it not burning, it was not even shot at — Iran knows better than to do that!”
He went further to criticise media outlets that reported these claims, saying they should face “charges for treason” if they knowingly spread false information.
Trump says Iran ‘decimated’ but stops short of declaring victory
Speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One while travelling to Joint Base Andrews, Trump said the US military had inflicted severe damage on Iran’s forces.
“I think I’d just say they’re decimated, but I haven’t–I think that we’ve done damage to them right now. If we left right now, it would take them 10 years and more to rebuild. But I’m still not declaring it over.”
Trump claimed US operations had destroyed Iran’s air force and air-defence systems.
“Militarily, we’ve essentially–as far as I’m concerned–we’ve essentially defeated Iran. I guess they can have a little bit of a fight back, but not much. Not much. We’ve taken out their air forces, as you know. We’ve taken out their air defence. They have no air defence whatsoever,” he said.
“We’ve taken out their leadership times two, four, three–might be three, we’ll find out soon,” Trump said.
He also referred to US strikes on Iran’s Kharg Island, a key hub for the country’s oil exports, saying the US could inflict further damage if it chose to.
“We attacked Kharg Island, and it was left with just one little area standing. And the standing part is where they have the pipes, where the oil pipes come in. And we can do that on five minutes’ notice. We have it all locked and loaded and ready to go if we want to do it. But we chose not to do it–I chose not to do it yet. Let’s see what happens,” he said.
Iran denies seeking ceasefire
Trump also suggested that Iran was keen to negotiate with the United States, although he said Tehran might not yet be ready for serious talks.
“They want to negotiate. They want to negotiate badly. I don’t think they’re ready. Just on what I’m hearing, they want to negotiate badly, as they should. But I don’t think they’re ready to do what they have to do. But I think they will be ready at some point,” he said.
However, Iran rejected those claims. In an interview with CBS News, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said Tehran had not asked for a ceasefire or negotiations.
“No, we never asked for a ceasefire, and we have never asked even for negotiation. We are ready to defend ourselves as long as it takes,” Araghchi said.
He added that Iran would continue defending itself until the United States ended what he described as an “illegal war”.