US President Donald Trump said he would force the journalist who first reported the rescue of an airman in Iran to reveal their source, warning they could face jail if they refuse.

He claimed the leak jeopardized the mission to rescue a second airman, who was later recovered.

"We didn't talk about the first one for an hour. Then somebody leaked something, which, we will hopefully find that leaker. We're looking very hard to find that leaker," Trump said.

"We're ‌going ⁠to go to the media company that released it, and we're going to say, 'National security, give it up or go to jail.'"