Donald Trump has launched a scathing attack on "fake news media" over reporting on an intelligence leak.
The President hit out at CNN and the New York Times over the breadth of destruction caused to nuclear sites in Iran.
Outlets reported that the US Defense Intelligence Agency had assessed that the strikes had set back Iran's nuclear program by just a few months, despite administration officials saying the program had been "obliterated".
Trump himself defended the use of the term, saying it was a characterisation he says Israel has also used.
President Donald Trump took aim at the media
REUTERS
Taking to Truth Social, President Trump wrote: "FAKE NEWS CNN, TOGETHER WITH THE FAILING NEW YORK TIMES, HAVE TEAMED UP IN AN ATTEMPT TO DEMEAN ONE OF THE MOST SUCCESSFUL MILITARY STRIKES IN HISTORY."
Speaking at a Nato summit in The Hague, Trump described the news industry in the US as "scum".
Trump later argued that Iran's nuclear deal had been set back "basically decades, because I don't think they'll ever do it again".
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the US was opening an investigation into the leak of the DIA report and added to Trump's claims the report's contents had been misrepresented in the media.LATEST NEWS FROM IRAN
Trump took aim at CNN
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Marco Rubio speaks next to Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth
REUTERS
Trump said: "The intelligence was very inconclusive. The intelligence says we don't know. It could've been very severe. That's what the intelligence suggests...It was very severe. There was obliteration.
The President then went on to liken the conflict between Israel and Iran to "two kids in a school yard...Let them fight like hell for two or three minutes and then it's easy to stop them".
However, Trump was more positive about the war in Gaza, suggesting there was "great progress" being made.
He said: "Even before this, I think we were very close to making a deal on Gaza; I think this helped."
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Kremlin was monitoring the situation
REUTERS
Meanwhile, the Kremlin said on Wednesday that it thought it was too early for anyone to have a realistic picture of the damage inflicted on Iran's nuclear facilities by the US airstrikes.
Kremlin press spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that Moscow viewed the attacks on Iran as unprovoked and the situation as concerning.
Russia had indications that Washington and Tehran had open communications channels though, he said, and Moscow was closely monitoring developments and still talking to Iran itself.
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