AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): CNN has examined the series of false claims made by U.S. President Donald Trump at yesterday's Monday press conference, none of which can be verified even by the U.S. government.
At his press conference yesterday, Trump raised issues regarding the attack on Iran and made a series of false claims, during which his remarks extended to other foreign policy matters.
At this press conference, Trump made several unverified claims, the accuracy of which cannot be determined—including that every living former president is now telling "their friends" that the United States should have attacked Iran long ago.
CNN examined the series of false statements made by Trump, some of which he had also raised previously.
Trump's Book and Osama bin Laden
Yesterday, the U.S. president repeated his old falsehood regarding the content of a book he published in 2000, claiming that Washington officials at the time should have killed Osama bin Laden.
At his press conference, after referring to the assassination of General Soleimani, he added, "I did another thing, but it didn't get attention: Osama bin Laden. If you read my book, I said you should take him out. One year before the World Trade Center collapsed. So I wish you had read the book."
However, the truth is that Trump's book contains no advice on how to deal with bin Laden, let alone take action against the al-Qaeda leader. He only mentions bin Laden briefly, in passing.
The fact is that this fundamentalist terrorist was killed in a 2011 raid by U.S. forces under the orders of then-President Barack Obama, more than five years before Trump took office.
Iran and American Aircraft
After mentioning that Kuwait, as a U.S. Arab ally, accidentally shot down three American aircraft during the Iran war, Trump said, "The only planes we really lost—they call it friendly fire."
CNN notes that the U.S. president's claim of losing only one aircraft comes despite the fact that during the rescue of an F-15 pilot inside Iranian territory, the United States lost an A-10 close air support aircraft after it was hit by Iranian fire and the pilot ejected. Tehran also destroyed a U.S. AWACS aircraft in an attack on a base in Saudi Arabia.
Trump's Claim of Ending Eight Wars
According to this American media outlet, another of Trump's false claims during yesterday's press conference was his assertion of having ended eight wars. He even counted a diplomatic dispute between Egypt and Ethiopia, an unspecified situation between Serbia and Kosovo, and the ongoing war between Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo as victories for himself.
Maduro and the Sending of Venezuelan Prisoners to the United States
CNN notes that although Trump has repeatedly claimed that Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, during his leadership, freed hundreds of thousands of prisoners from his country and sent them toward the United States, neither he nor his aides have ever substantiated this claim, and Venezuela experts have previously told CNN and other media outlets that there is no basis for it.
Number of American Troops in South Korea
Trump once again exaggerated regarding the U.S. military presence in South Korea, saying that he has 45,000 soldiers in South Korea. However, according to public Pentagon data as of December 31, 2025, there were 26,722 U.S. military personnel in South Korea, of whom 23,495 were on active duty. Furthermore, there is no indication that an additional 20,000 troops were deployed to the country in early 2026.
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