Trump threatens to sue CNN, New York Times over Iran leak

The Trump administration upped the stakes in its rhetorical battle against doubters of its success in attacking Iran on Thursday, threatening to sue two top US outlets over their reporting.

Both outlets has cited a leaked Pentagon intelligence assessment which challenged Trump's protestations that US bombings had obliterated Iran's nuclear program.

The New York Times reported that a personal lawyer had sent a letter to the august daily saying its report had damaged Trump's reputation, urging it to “retract and apologize for” the story.

The letter described the newspaper's report, which had cited a Defense Intelligence Agency initial assessment of US bomb damage to three Iranian nuclear sites, as “false,” “defamatory” and “unpatriotic".

“No retraction is needed,” the New York Times's lawyer David McCraw, wrote in reply.

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

A spokesperson for CNN cited by the newspaper confirmed that the news network had also received a similar letter from the president's legal counsel.