Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr on Saturday attacked broadcasters immediately after President Donald Trump declared that reports that Iran hit five U.S. tanker planes were “fake news.”
In a post on X (formerly known as Twitter), Carr cautioned that broadcasters will lose their licenses if they don’t “operate in the public interest.”
Carr wrote in the post, which attached Trump’s statement on Truth Social earlier Saturday, “Broadcasters that are running hoaxes and news distortions – also known as the fake news – have a chance now to correct course before their license renewals come up.”
Carr said, “It is very important to bring trust back into media, which has earned itself the label of fake news.”
The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that five refueling tankers were hit by missiles in an Iranian attack at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia. This report prompted reactions the following day.
In the Truth Social post on Saturday, Trump called it an “intentionally misleading headline,” citing the Journal, The New York Times, and what he called other “Lowlife” papers.
The president also indicated that four of the five Air Force refueling aircraft damaged by the Iranian attack on Saudi Arabia had suffered “virtually no damage, and are already back in service.
Also on Saturday, Trump called on other countries to send warships into the Strait of Hormuz to protect oil interests, emphasizing his position after addressing the tanker incident.
Trump said last Friday that Iran is “totally defeated and wants a deal,” but not one he “would accept,” two weeks following the U.S. and Israel’s launch of joint military operations on the Middle Eastern country.
The announcement was made not long after the president said that the U.S had carried out a bombing of Kharg Island, which is a key oil hub in Iran, and the largest single oil export terminal.
Iran’s military has threatened to attack U.S.-linked oil and gas infrastructures in the Middle East in case more of its energy facilities are attacked.
