President Donald Trump on Monday claimed that someone from the administration had ‘leaked’ critical information from the mission as the US raced to find the F-15 airman who had gone down behind enemy lines in Iran.
Trump said the leak threatened National Security, adding “we’re looking very hard to find that leaker.” He added “They see all these planes coming in. It became a much more difficult operation because a leaker leaked that we have one, we’ve rescued one, but there’s another one out there that we’re trying to get.”
The president also continued “So actually, the country Iran, put out a major notice — you all saw it — offering a very big award for anybody that captures the pilot. So in addition to a hostile, very talented, very good, very evil military, we had millions of people trying to get an award, so when you add that to it, but we have to find that leaker, because that’s a sick person.”
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Two F-15 airmen had fallen into enemy territory amid the ongoing Operation Epic Fury, and while one of them was rescued soon, the other remained in danger for some time. Now, Trump’s statement on the ‘leaker’ has caused a buzz on social media.
Several asked who the leaker was, and many profiles seemed to point to Amit Segal, a reporter who is believed to be close to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Segal is a political analyst for Israel’s Channel 12, and was reportedly offered ‘any ministerial role’ by Netanyahu in 2022, as per a 2026 Jerusalem Post report.
Amit Segal in the spotlight
While it remains unclear if Segal is the ‘leaker’ Trump is referring to, many have pointed out that Segal was among the first to report on the situation and have turned to his Telegram channel in the process.
Segal ‘just acknowledged on his Telegram channel, he was the first to publish details about the missing second airman. Segal is an Israeli journalist known for his immediate proximity to Netanyahu,’ Ryan Grim of Drop Site News wrote, adding ‘Trump has threatened to jail the journalist who first reported on the missing airman in order to force him to confess the identity of his source. Segal does not appear concerned.’
Caitlin Doornbos of the New York Post added “Israel’s Channel 12 reporter Amit Segal had an early tweet about this report, but told me he was unsure if he was the first to report it.”
She shared Segal’s response: “I’m not sure I was the first,” he said. “And anyway — I will protect my sources.”
Pro-MAGA commentator Nick Sortor also posted about Segal, saying “Segal cited “western sources” in his post (as opposed to “US sources”), and a second Israeli reporter,
Ariel Kahana, later specified the news came from ‘Israeli sources’.”
Segal also has a political column for Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper and is regarded as one of the most influential journalists in Israel. Ariel Kahana, meanwhile, is a diplomatic correspondent for Israel Hayom daily. Notably, Trump has not named either of the journalists as the ‘leaker’ and there have been speculations that the president might have indicated CBS News’ reporting on the matter as well.
Grok remarked on Segal’s connection to the matter, saying “Trump didn’t name the journalist or outlet in his press conference. The initial report that one F-15 crew member had been rescued (implying a second was still missing) came from Israeli Channel 12 reporter Amit Segal, who posted it on X Friday morning citing a Western source. US outlets like Axios and WaPo followed shortly after. That’s the leak Trump says tipped off Iran and complicated the rescue.”
