Israeli Journalist Amit Segal Says He's Not the Leaker
After a weapons systems officer was rescued deep inside Iran, a hunt for the leaker begins. Trump claims media reports tipped off Iran, while Channel 12’s Amit Segal insists other outlets broke the news first.
Israeli Channel 12 political correspondent Amit Segal has fired back after U.S. media outlets identified him as the journalist who first reported that a second American airman was missing during a high-stakes U.S. military rescue mission inside Iran.
The controversy erupted after President Donald Trump, during a White House briefing on Monday, vowed to hunt down the “leaker” whose disclosure he says endangered the operation and the lives of U.S. service members.
“We’re looking very hard to find that leaker,” Trump said. “They basically said that we have one and there’s somebody missing. Well, [Iran] didn’t know there was somebody missing until this leaker gave the information.”
Trump added that the U.S. would demand the media outlet responsible name its source, warning: “Give it up or go to jail,” citing national security.
The incident stems from last Friday’s downing of a U.S. F-15E Strike Eagle over Iran. Two crew members ejected: one was rescued quickly, but the second, the weapons systems officer, remained missing and injured for more than 24 hours while evading Iranian forces. U.S. special operations forces conducted a daring extraction deep inside Iran and successfully rescued him over the weekend. people.com
Newsweek, the New York Post, and Firstpost quickly pointed to Segal as one of the earliest reporters to break the news that a second airman was still unaccounted for.
In a detailed public response posted on X and Telegram, Segal pushed back hard, saying the accusations are overblown and driven by a convenient headline:
“We’re looking very hard to find that leaker,” Trump said yesterday. “They basically said that we have one and there’s somebody missing. Well, [Iran] didn’t know there was somebody missing until this leaker gave the information.” Newsweek, Firstpost, and the New York Post have all pointed the finger at me. While I appreciate the attention, I fear it’s undeserved. I was not the first journalist to report that the pilot was missing, nor that he was injured. I suppose the accusations are a testament to my timely reporting, but the fact is that The Guardian and two Israeli channels broke the story before I did. I imagine ‘Israeli Journalist Endangers American Pilot’ makes a better headline.
Segal has confirmed he posted the information but insists he was not the original source and has refused to reveal who tipped him off, standard journalistic practice. He later told the New York Post he is “not sure” he was definitively first but will protect his sources.
The rescue mission ultimately succeeded despite the reported early disclosure, which Trump claims alerted Iran to the full scope of the crew situation and prompted a larger search effort.
As of Tuesday morning, the White House has not named any specific journalist or outlet for legal action.