Trump threatens to sue over Iran reports

>>President Donald Trump is threatening to sue The New York Times and CNN for publishing articles about a preliminary intelligence report that said the American attack on Iran had set back the country's nuclear program by only a few months.

- MICHAEL GRYNBAUM

In a letter to the Times, a personal lawyer for the president said the newspaper’s article had damaged Mr Trump's reputation and demanded the news organisation “retract and apologise for” the piece, which the letter described as “false,” “defamatory” and “unpatriotic.”

The Times, in a response on Thursday, rejected Mr Trump's demands, noting Trump administration officials had subsequently confirmed the existence of the report, issued by the Defence Intelligence Agency, and its findings.

“No retraction is needed,” the paper's lawyer, David McCraw, wrote in a letter.

“No apology will be forthcoming,” he added. “We told the truth to the best of our ability. We will continue to do so.”

A spokesman for CNN, which was the first outlet to report elements of the preliminary report, confirmed the network had responded to a similar legal threat from the president's team.

Mr Trump and his allies have sharply criticised the Times and CNN in recent days for publishing articles about the preliminary intelligence report, whose conclusions ran counter to the president's assertion the American attack had “obliterated” Iran’s nuclear program.