Israeli reporter responsible for revealing information about missing F-15 airman?
What's the story
Israeli journalist Amit Segal has publicly identified himself as the first to report on the second missing American airman from a downed F-15 fighter jet in Iran. The revelation comes after United States President Donald Trump threatened to jail him if he didn't disclose his sources. "As you may recall, this was first published here," Segal wrote on his Telegram channel, confirming his role in breaking the news.
Accusations and defense
Trump threatens jail time for journalist who leaked information
During a White House briefing, Trump accused the media of leaking information about the missing crew member, which he said led to Iran offering a bounty for the pilot's capture. He vowed to track down those responsible, saying, "The person that did the story will go to jail if he doesn't say, and that doesn't last long." "We're going to go to the media company that released it....we're going to say, 'National security. Give it up or go to jail.'"
Report
US didn't disclose that 2nd crew member was missing initially
After the F-15 was shot down over Iran on Friday, US officials announced the recovery of one pilot but did not reveal that a second crew member was still missing. On Monday, Trump blamed the US media for the Iranian bounty on the airman, stating that news outlets should not have revealed details about the missing crew member. He did not identify any specific outlets or journalists.
Journalistic impact
Segal's background and career
Within hours of Trump's threat, Segal publicly identified himself on Telegram as the first to report on the missing airman. Segal is a prominent figure in Israeli journalism, serving as a political commentator for Channel 12 news and a columnist for Yedioth Ahronoth. He also has over 300,000 followers on Telegram and writes monthly columns for The Wall Street Journal. His father is a former journalist and convicted member of the Jewish Underground.
Legal ambiguity
Segal backtracks on being the 1st to report the story
However, when asked by the New York Post, Segal backtracked on being the first to report the story. "I'm not sure I was the first," he said. "And anyway, I'll protect my sources." Other publications, including the Washington Post, Reuters, and CBS News, also published stories quoting US and Israeli officials and sources shortly after his tweet. On Sunday, President Trump said the soldier who went missing in Iran after the downing of his F-15E jet had been rescued.
Incident
What happened
On Friday morning, an F-15E jet carrying two crew members was shot down while flying over southern Iran. Tehran claimed the aircraft was shot down by Iran's "new advanced air defense system," which it said was still operational despite US claims that it had been destroyed. Washington quickly initiated a rescue operation, recovering one crew member hours after the crash. The second pilot, believed to be a colonel-rank weapons system officer, was not located until a day later.