The White House unexpectedly cut off press access to Donald Trump at 11 a.m. ET Saturday, the Guardian’s Hugo Lowell wrote on social media.
“The White House has called a travel/photo lid as of 11am ET, meaning we do not expect to see the president for the rest of the day,” Lowell began a post shared on X. “Trump is in Washington this weekend but we are yet to have a formal news briefing on the situation with the missing airman in Iran.”
The U.S. military has continued to search for a missing airman who ejected after his plane was shotdown over Iran this week. The White House has yet to comment extensively on the search, and Trump has threatened “all Hell will reign down” on the country if its leadership does not make a deal with the U.S. within 48 hours.
“Remember when I gave Iran ten days to MAKE A DEAL or OPEN UP THE HORMUZ STRAIT,” he wrote on Truth Social Saturday morning. “Time is running out – 48 hours before all Hell will reign down on them. Glory be to GOD! President DONALD J. TRUMP.”
Trump has delayed an escalation of actions against Iran twice before. “This brilliant no-strategy war they started has now been downgraded from ‘regime change’ to ‘Hey! Can anyone find our pilots? Please?’” Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of Iran’s Parliament, wrote on social media Friday, per the New York Times.
The loss of the airman is the first time an American has been shot down over Iran since the war began.
More to come …
