Trump ‘locked out of Situation Room’ during Iran rescue mission

Donald Trump was allegedly excluded from the Situation Room by senior White House officials as a high-stakes extraction was carried out of a downed American airman in Iran, according to reports.

Donald Trump was reportedly barred from the Situation Room by military advisors during a high-risk Iran rescue mission.

The US President was allegedly kept out of the meeting due to concerns over his temperament.

Trump was excluded from the command room as a high-stakes extraction of a downed American airman in Iran was executed.

The Wall Street Journal [WSJ] reported that senior administration officials believed his temper could put the mission at risk.

After a US jet was shot down by Iranian forces earlier this month, Trump is said to have spent hours shouting at aides in the West Wing, reminded of the 1979 Iranian hostage crisis.

“If you look at what happened with Jimmy Carter… it cost them the election,” Trump said, according to sources familiar with the matter.

On 3 April, an F-15 jet was shot down over Iran, leading to the high-stakes mission.

One of the crew members was rescued quickly but the other spent more than 24 hours behind enemy lines before being rescued.

Following the incident and receiving news that two airmen were missing, “Trump screamed at aides for hours,” according to WSJ.

The US President’s most senior aides and administration officials, including Vice President JD Vance and White House chief-of-staff Susie Wiles, connected into the Situation Room over the next 24-hours to receive updates.

A senior administration official stated that although Trump was not included in the meeting he was kept updated “at meaningful moments” on the phone.

“Aides kept the president out of the room as they got minute-by-minute updates because they believed his impatience wouldn’t be helpful,” the official told the outlet.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt added that Trump had “remained a steady leader our country needs”.

“President Trump campaigned proudly on his promise to deny the Iranian regime the ability to develop a nuclear weapon, which is what this noble operation accomplishes.”

In a race against time to rescue the second airman, the president was informed on the evening of April 4 that he has been extracted by the US.

At the time of the rescue mission, a senior administration official said the rescue was made possible by the support of the CIA, which alerted the Pentagon and the White House of the airman’s location.

They added: “This was the ultimate ‘needle in a haystack’, but in this case it was a brave American soul inside a mountain crevice, invisible but for [the] CIA’s capabilities.”