“Trump claimed that a leaked report of the planned 12:07 departure time for B-2 bombers from Missouri appeared in the New York Times and CNN, leading him to cancel the June 2025 strike on Iran's nuclear facilities.” — Trump. Our verdict: False.
Trump made the claim during a midterm political rally in Bullhead City, Arizona on 14 October 2026, as recorded in a Roll Call transcript and reported by The Jerusalem Post and Anadolu Agency.
Our verdict
False
Donald Trump did say that a leaked 12:07 departure time for B-2 bombers appeared in the New York Times and CNN, and that he cancelled the June 2025 strike on Iran's nuclear sites because of it. But the strike was not cancelled: US warplanes attacked Iranian nuclear sites in June 2025, so the claim is false.
What we found
Trump did make this claim. A transcript of his speech in Bullhead City, Arizona on 14 October 2026 records it, and Anadolu Agency reported the next day that he said leakers should be shot for disclosing the timing of the Iran strike and that he called off a strike after the timing leaked. So the fact that he said it is not in doubt.
The problem is the substance. The New York Times reported on 21 June 2025 that US warplanes attacked Iranian nuclear sites that month. That directly contradicts the idea that the strike was called off. If the strike went ahead, then no leak — real or imagined — stopped it.
We also could not find any evidence that a report about the 12:07 departure time actually appeared in the New York Times or CNN. Reports from France 24 and NBC News from June and July 2025 discuss Trump's statements and the strikes but make no mention of such a leak. Our verdict is therefore false: the strike happened, so the central claim cannot stand.
The evidence
1 of 6 sources contradict the claim; none support it.
- Background
The Jerusalem Post reports that Trump said a leak of the 12:07 departure time appeared in the New York Times and CNN, and that he cancelled the June 2025 strike on Iran's nuclear facilities because of it. [1]
- Background
A Roll Call transcript confirms Trump gave a speech at a midterm political rally in Bullhead City, Arizona on 14 October 2026, which is where the claim was made. [2]
- Background
Anadolu Agency reports that Trump said a leak of the 12:07 departure time appeared in the New York Times and CNN, and that he called off a strike after the timing was leaked. [3]
- Contradicts the claim
The New York Times reported on 21 June 2025 that US warplanes attacked Iranian nuclear sites, showing the strike was not cancelled. [4]
- Background
France 24's coverage of Trump's June 2025 statements about Iran and Israel does not mention any leak of a B-2 bomber departure time in the New York Times or CNN, nor any claim that such a leak led him to cancel a strike. [5]
- Background
NBC News reports that Trump was briefed on a strike plan and praised the strikes, but does not mention any alleged leak of a B-2 bomber departure time in the New York Times or CNN or any claim that such a leak caused a cancellation. [6]
What we could not confirm
- Whether a report about the 12:07 B-2 departure time actually appeared in the New York Times or CNN.
- Whether such a leaked report existed at all.
- Whether a strike was genuinely planned for that time and then called off, even in part, before the June 2025 attacks went ahead.
How we checked
We looked at transcripts and news reports of Trump's 14 October 2026 rally, contemporaneous reporting from June and July 2025 on the US strikes on Iran's nuclear sites, and later coverage of Trump's statements about the strikes. We checked whether any of these sources mentioned a leaked 12:07 departure time in the New York Times or CNN. We reviewed 6 relevant sources.
Sources
- [1]www.jpost.com · Donald Trump speaks at Arizona midterm election rally | The Jerusalem Post
- [2]rollcall.com · Protected: Factbase Transcripts · October 14, 2026
- [3]aa.com.tr · Trump says ‘leakers should be shot’ for disclosing timing of Iran strike · October 15, 2026
- [4]nytimes.com · Trump Claims Success After Bombing Key Iran Nuclear Sites (Published 2025) · June 21, 2025
- [5]france24.com · Israel-Iran War: US strike set back Iran's nuclear programme 'by only a few months' · June 24, 2025
- [6]nbcnews.com · New U.S. assessment finds American strikes destroyed only one of three Iranian nuclear sites · July 17, 2025
Have evidence we missed?
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