00:00Leakers should be, in my opinion, leakers should be shot.
00:03We begin this morning with President Trump saying government leakers should be shot
00:07as the military draws up new plans for possible strikes on Iran.
00:11At a campaign rally in Arizona Wednesday, Trump claimed he had to call off a planned attack on Iran
00:17after someone leaked the timing.
00:19He appeared to be referring to Operation Midnight Hammer,
00:22the U.S. strikes on three Iranian nuclear sites in June of last year.
00:27Those strikes did go ahead.
00:29A preliminary defense intelligence assessment later leaked to the media
00:33suggested the damage was less severe than the administration had claimed.
00:37At Wednesday's rally, Trump said leakers should face life in prison or worse.
00:42Leakers should be, in my opinion, leakers should be shot.
00:45We should be shot.
00:48In the old days, we used to shoot leakers, you know, when they leak,
00:52what time you're going to attack a country.
00:56And the reason you're attacking is really for defense,
00:59because you don't want them to have a weapon that can blow up millions of people at one shot.
01:05No, leakers should be dealt with very, very strongly.
01:08They're real.
01:09To me, they're the scum of the earth.
01:11The leakers are the scum of the earth.
01:13Meanwhile, CNN reports the U.S. military has developed new strike plans for Iran,
01:18including the possible use of the so-called Mother of All Bombs.
01:22It's the largest non-nuclear bomb in the American arsenal,
01:26and using it against Iranian energy facilities or nuclear sites would mark a significant escalation
01:32in the war.
01:32The plans are options for Trump to consider, not orders to launch an attack.
01:37The president has said he wants to resume strikes,
01:40but has sent mixed signals about whether that could happen before the midterm elections.
01:44Also new this morning, Iran is insisting the Strait of Hormuz remains closed
01:48as reports emerge of two ships being struck in the waterway this week.
01:52Iran's Revolutionary Guard confirms a cargo ship sank Wednesday,
01:56but claims it hit a naval mine while taking what it calls an unauthorized and hazardous route.
02:02A U.S. official disputes that account, telling ABC News the ship was most likely hit by an Iranian missile.
