The White House sharply criticized CNN after the network aired portions of a televised address from Iran’s newly installed supreme leader, intensifying tensions between the Trump administration and the broadcaster during the ongoing conflict with Iran.

Officials in the administration said the network broadcast several minutes of footage from Iranian state television showing remarks by Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, who recently assumed leadership after the death of his father in an Israeli airstrike.

The statement marked the new leader’s first public message since taking power and addressed the direction of Iran’s war effort and its regional strategy.

In a forceful response, the White House accused CNN of amplifying messaging from a hostile regime.

In a statement posted on social media, officials said the network aired “four straight minutes of uninterrupted Iranian state TV” from a regime responsible for decades of attacks against Americans and their allies.

The administration argued that repeating such material risked giving a platform to propaganda from a government currently engaged in military confrontation with the United States and Israel.

The clash comes amid a broader wartime information battle as the United States continues a major military campaign targeting Iran’s missile infrastructure, drone networks and naval assets.

The operation, launched by President Donald Trump as part of a strategy to neutralize the Iranian regime’s nuclear and military threat, has drawn intense global attention and heightened scrutiny of how the conflict is covered by international media.

Administration officials also pointed to a recent CNN interview with a former Iranian nuclear negotiator as another example of what they described as overly sympathetic coverage of the regime.

White House communications director Steven Cheung criticized the interview on social media, accusing the network of repeating unverified statements from Iranian representatives and undermining American efforts during a time of war.

CNN defended its editorial decision, saying the remarks from Iran’s new leader were clearly newsworthy and part of the global effort to understand the direction of the conflict.

The network noted that the speech had already been widely reported and broadcast by other international outlets and that its coverage included translation and analysis from reporters rather than presenting the statement in full.

Media analysts say the dispute illustrates the ongoing debate about how journalists should report statements from adversaries during wartime.

While some argue that broadcasting such messages risks spreading propaganda, others say understanding the intentions and rhetoric of opposing leaders is essential for public awareness of how a conflict may evolve.

The confrontation also reflects a long-running rivalry between President Trump and CNN that has frequently surfaced during moments of major political and international developments.

With tensions in the Middle East continuing to escalate, disagreements over media coverage of the war are likely to remain part of the broader national debate about information, security and public accountability.