bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

helpersCheckIsPostiesArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

moreOnThisArticles

urlAlias

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

sponsorType

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

socialHeadline

headline

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

publishedDate

additionalInfoBoxes

images

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

createdDate

sponsor

paywallTypes

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

Agence France-Presse

US President Donald Trump on Wednesday dismissed a scandal over leaked plans for Yemen air strikes as a “witch hunt” and defended his embattled Pentagon chief amid calls by Democrats for him to quit.
Republican Trump lashed out after The Atlantic magazine published the transcript of messages accidentally shared with its editor in a chat group of senior US officials on Signal, a commercially available messaging app.
Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth revealed details in the chat including the times of strikes on Iran-backed Houthi rebels and the type of aircraft, missiles and drones used, before the attacks actually happened, The Atlantic said.
“Hegseth is doing a great job, he had nothing to do with this,” Trump said when asked by reporters in the Oval Office whether Hegseth should consider his position over the scandal.

“How do you bring Hegseth into this? Look, look it’s all a witch hunt,” added Trump, who was taking questions after announcing new tariffs on foreign-made cars.
Trump repeated his insistence that no classified information was shared in the breach, and added that National Security Adviser Mike Waltz “took responsibility” for the error.
It was Waltz who mistakenly added journalist Jeffrey Goldberg to the chat, sparking what has been dubbed “Signalgate” in the biggest scandal since Trump returned to power in January.
The magazine initially withheld the details of the attack plans, but finally published them on Thursday after White House had insisted that no classified details were involved and attacked Goldberg as a liar.
The White House and a string of officials involved in the chat lined up to try to play down the story as the pressure mounted.
Hegseth, visiting Hawaii, himself said the exchange on March 15 involved “No names. No targets”.

US Vice-President J.D. Vance, who fired a rifle on a shooting range while visiting a Marines base near Washington, said the Atlantic had “overplayed” what happened.
Only Secretary of State Marco Rubio admitted that there had been a “big mistake”, while highlighting his own limited role.
Democrats have trained much of their fire on Hegseth, a former Fox News contributor and veteran.
“The secretary of defence should be fired immediately if he’s not man enough to own up to his mistakes and resign in disgrace,” House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries told MSNBC.
Democratic Senator Tammy Duckworth said Trump should sack all the officials in the chat and called Hegseth a “liar” who “could’ve gotten our pilots killed”.
Meanwhile Roger Wicker, the Republican chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said he was seeking an independent report from the Trump administration.

The Atlantic said the texting was done barely half an hour before the first US warplanes took off to hit the Houthis on March 15 – and two hours before the first target was expected to be bombed.
“1215et: F-18s LAUNCH (1st strike package)”, Hegseth writes, referring to US Navy jet fighters, before adding that “Target Terrorist is @ his Known Location so SHOULD BE ON TIME.”
“1415: Strike Drones on Target (THIS IS WHEN THE FIRST BOMBS WILL DEFINITELY DROP, pending earlier ‘Trigger Based’ targets).”
Hegseth wrote also about the use of US drones and Tomahawk cruise missiles.
A short time later, Waltz sent real-time intelligence on the aftermath of an attack, writing that US forces had identified the target “walking into his girlfriend’s building and it’s now collapsed”.
The Atlantic said the White House had asked it not to disclose the plans. On Wednesday, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt called the reporting a “hoax”, arguing that the magazine had described the content as “war plans” in its original story but “attack plans” in the subsequent post.

“The Atlantic has conceded: these were NOT ‘war plans’,” Leavitt wrote on X. “This entire story was another hoax written by a Trump-hater who is well-known for his sensationalist spin.”
Elon Musk, the billionaire running a huge government cost-cutting drive for Trump, had offered “technical experts” to find out how he was added to the chat, she said at a press briefing.
Trump’s comments came as Houthi media said late Wednesday that new US strikes had hit the rebel-held capital Sanaa, after earlier reporting 19 American raids elsewhere in Yemen.
His administration has stepped up attacks on the Houthi rebels in response to constant attempts to sink and disrupt shipping through the strategic Red Sea.
But the US military has so far declined to publicly offer even basic details about the offensive in Yemen, including how many strikes have been carried out, what senior leaders have been targeted or killed and even whether the operation has a name.
The Houthis claim they were acting in solidarity with Gaza amid Hamas’ war on Israel.
Additional reporting by Bloomberg and Reuters


EU trade commissioner says bloc seeks to deepen cooperation with China

Trump plan to take over Greenland is ‘serious’, Putin says

Fourth Beijing warning for Li Ka-shing’s Hutchison over Panama ports deal

For China’s cross-border e-commerce, it’s ‘unstoppable momentum’ vs ‘big challenges’

United States

Trump rages against ‘witch hunt’ amid fallout over Yemen attack plan leak

A Yemeni man inspects the damage in the Al-Rasul Al-Aazam cancer and oncology hospital’s unfinished building, a day after it was hit in a US strike in Yemen’s northern Saada province on March 25. Photo: AFP

US President Donald Trump speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Wednesday. Photo: Pool via AP

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth at Joint Base Pearl Harbour-Hickman, Hawaii. Photo: US Navy via Reuters

A US F/A-18 Super Hornet jet takes off from the USS Harry S. Truman on March 16. Photo: DVIDS via AFP

Democrat congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi points to text messages by Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth during an annual worldwide threats assessment hearing in Washington. Photo: AFP

Atlantic releases entire Signal chat showing detailed US attack plans against Houthis

US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth at Joint Base Pearl Harbour-Hickman, Hawaii. Photo: US Navy via Reuters

An area struck by a US air strike in Sanaa, Yemen on March 20. Photo: AFP

Trump officials texted secret Yemen war plans to journalist

A woman walks on debris at the site of a US strike in Sanaa, Yemen on March 24. Photo: Reuters

The aftermath of US strikes in Sanaa, Yemen on March 20, 2025. Photo: Reuters

A US F/A-18 Super Hornet taking off from the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier at sea on March 16, 2025. Photo: Photo: DVIDS via AFP

US Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth. File photo: Reuters

US allies alarmed by leaked group chat about war plans

Demonstrator Gary Rush holds a placard depicting US Secretary of Defence Pete Hegseth as US intelligence chiefs appeared before a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing in Washington on Tuesday. Photo: Reuters

(From left) FBI Director Kash Patel, US Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and Central Intelligence Agency Director John Ratcliffe appear during a Senate Committee on Intelligence Hearing on Tuesday, during which the Signal leak was discussed. Photo: TNS

Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks to a Canadian lieutenant colonel as he visits a military base to meet planners mapping out next steps in the Coalition of the Willing in Northwood, London, on March 20. Photo: AP

US officials’ texts reveal disdain for ‘freeloading’ Europe amid Yemen strikes planning

Smoke rises from a neighbourhood following US air strikes in Sana’a, Yemen, on March 19. Photo: EPA-EFE

Trump threatens Iran with ‘dire’ consequences over Houthi attacks

US President Donald Trump watching military operations on a screen. Photo: White House via Reuters

A fighter plane takes off for an operation against Houthi rebels. Photo: USCENTCOM via Reuters  

Images of a fireball exploding on a cargo ship are shown on a giant screen in Sanaa, Yemen. Photo: AFP

A house hit by a US strike on the weekend in Yemen’s northern Saada province. Photo: AFP

News

World

United States & Canada

Middle East

US president defends his Pentagon chief in ‘Signalgate’ scandal, and insists that no classified information was shared in breach


US president defends his Pentagon chief in ‘Signalgate’ scandal, and insists that no classified information was shared in breach.


Donald Trump

War and conflict

Yemen