Rubio, Hegseth Slam Media Over Iran Strike Leak: ‘Professional Stabbers’ Undermining U.S. Victory

After CNN, The New York Times, and other legacy media outlets tried to torpedo the success of President Donald Trump’s strike on the Iranian nuclear facilities, quoting a leak claiming the strike only set Iran’s nuclear program back by months, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth slammed the leakers, calling them “professional stabbers” and revealing an investigation is already underway.

“The US military strikes on three of Iran’s nuclear facilities last weekend did not destroy the core components of the country’s nuclear program and likely only set it back by months, according to an early US intelligence assessment that was described by seven people briefed on it,” CNN declared. “Intel Report on Iran Upends Victory Lap Trump Was Hoping for at NATO,” the Times trumpeted.

Speaking while seated with Hegseth and President Trump at the NATO summit in The Hague, Netherlands, Rubio began by attacking the leakers, saying, “First of all, all of this stuff about the intelligence: This is what a leaker is telling you the intelligence said. That’s the game these people play; they read it and then they go out and characterize it the way they want to characterize, and they’re leakers. This is the game they play. So that’s number one.”

He segued to the results of the attack: “ Number two: the conversion facility — which you can’t do a nuclear weapon without a conversion facility — we can’t even find where it is, where it used to be on the map. You can’t even find where it used to be because the whole thing is just blackened out. It’s gone.”

“It’s wiped out,” Trump interjected.

“It’s wiped out,” Rubio repeated. “Then we dropped 12 of the strongest bombs on the planet right down the hole in two places. Everything underneath that mountain is in bad shape. And I refer you to the statement of the IAEA, Mr. Grossi. You know what he said? He said there was Iran the way it looked the day before the attack, and what their nuclear program looks like now. Two very different things. They are way behind where they were just seven days ago.”

“Now, anything in the world can be rebuilt, but now we know where it is, and if they try to rebuild it, we’ll have options there as well,” Rubio asserted. “But all of this leaker stuff; these leakers are professional stabbers. That’s what they are. They go out and they read this stuff and then tell you what it says — against the law — but they characterize it for you in a way that’s absolutely false. There’s no way Iran comes to the table if somehow nothing had happened: This was complete and total obliteration. They’re in bad shape. They are way behind today compared to where they were just seven days ago because of what the president did.”

.@SecRubio sets the record straight for the Fake News: "These leakers are professional stabbers… There's no way Iran comes to the table if somehow nothing had happened. This was a complete and total obliteration… They are way behind today compared to where they were just 7… pic.twitter.com/V3wrIjic8F

— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) June 25, 2025

“When you talk to people who built the bombs, understand what those bombs can do, and deliver those bombs, they landed precisely where they were supposed to,” Hegseth said. “It was a flawless mission. Right down where we knew they needed to enter. Given the 30,000 pounds of explosives, the capabilities of those munitions, it was devastation underneath Fordo. And the amount of munitions, six per location,  any assessment that tells you something otherwise is speculating with other motives. And we know that because when you actually look at the report — by the way, it was a top-secret report — it was preliminary; it was low-confidence, you make assessments based on what you know — ”

“And it said it could be very devastating, very serious —” Trump pointed out.

“Moderate to severe, and we believe far more likely severe and obliterated,” Hegseth echoed.

“Is there a leak investigation?” a reporter asked.

“Of course,” Hegseth replied. “We’re doing a leak investigation with the FBI right now, because this information is for internal purposes, battle-damage assessments. And CNN and others are trying to spin it to make the president look bad when this is an overwhelming success.”

🚨JUST IN: WATCH:?SecDef Pete Hegseth announces criminal investigation into the leaked bad intel to CNN and NYT that the strikes on Iran didn't destroy the nuclear program

"We're doing a leak investigation with the FBI right now." pic.twitter.com/46Uzfd6qUZ

— Raylan Givens (@JewishWarrior13) June 25, 2025