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New Day Sunday

Trump: If Iran Attacks, We Will Hit 52 Iranian Targets; Exclusive: Adviser To Iran's Supreme Leader Says Iran's Response To U.S. Will Be Military; Terrorist Attack Near U.S.-Kenya Military Base Foiled; Lawmakers Return To Impasse Over Trump Impeachment Trial; New Heat Wave Could Make Conditions Even Worse In Australia; Iran Expected To Finalize A New Retreat From Nuclear Deal. Aired 7-8a ET

Aired January 05, 2020 - 07:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

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[07:00:12]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: President Trump on Saturday issuing a serious threat to Iran: Let this serve as a warning that if Iran strikes any Americans or American assets, we have targeted 52 Iranian sites.

JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Any further action against Iran requires congressional authorization.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Iran continues to be in a state of mourning but at the same time is vowing retaliation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The secretary of state said that the U.S. remains committed to de-escalation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think the administration understands that there's a serious risk of consequences here. It's unlikely that the Iranian regime is now going to come hat in hand to the negotiating table and say, OK, you killed our number two guy, let's talk. We're ready to surrender.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: This is NEW DAY WEEKEND with Victor Blackwell and Christi Paul.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world.

We begin with the CNN exclusive. An advisor to Iran's supreme leader says its response to the U.S. airstrike that killed its top general will be, quote, against military sites.

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: And right now, thousands in Iran are flooding the streets as the country pays tribute to General Qasem Soleimani. Hours from now, the general's body is expected to be transferred to Tehran for an official ceremony there. BLACKWELL: And in the United States, President Trump is sending

another loaded warning to Iran, saying if they attack again, quote, we will hit them harder than they have ever been hit before.

PAUL: In Washington, skepticism is mounting about the evidence used to justify killing Soleimani.

We're following breaking news as well out of Kenya. We should point out, al Qaeda affiliate Al-Shabaab is claiming responsibility for a strike near a military airstrip. We have the latest on that in a moment.

But, first, our reporters and correspondents spread out across the globe covering all angles of these stories.

BLACKWELL: Let's start now with CNN's Frederick Pleitgen in Tehran.

Frederik, you just got this exclusive response to what Iranians will say will be their response to the attack that killed Soleimani.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Victor, we've heard a lot from pretty much all levels of Iranian public life, Iranian politics and the Iranian leadership, that there would be revenge, response, and retaliation for the killing, the assassination of Qasem Soleimani. And today, for the first time, we managed to get an interview with the main military advisor to Iran's supreme leader. This is someone very close to the supreme leader, very close to the center of power of this country.

And essentially Hossein Dehgan told me that there would be a response from the Iranian side. It would be a military response against military targets. But he also said that Iran wants it to end there. They don't want a wider war with the United States.

Here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOSSEIN DEHGAN, MILITARY ADVISER TO IRAN'S SUPREME LEADER (through translator): The response for sure will be military and against military sites. Let me tell you one thing. Our leadership has officially announced that we have never been seeking war and we will not be seeking war. It was America that started the war. Therefore, they should accept appropriate reactions to their actions.

The only thing that can end this period of war is for the Americans to receive a blow that is equal to the blow they've inflicted. Afterwards, they should not seek a new cycle.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PLEITGEN: So, essentially, the Iranians are saying they will respond militarily, but they don't want this to end there. They don't want that to descend into wider conflict or a bigger conflict, of course, in the entire region. That, of course, would affect Iran as well. And we talked about a wide range of issues, Victor, and one of the

things that he also touched on was that tweet from President Trump saying that the U.S. had designated 52 targets, including targets that were important to Iranian culture. And when the advisor heard that, he said, if that were the case, if the U.S. were to strike cultural targets in Iran, that then the gloves come off and then it would be a full-on conflict between the U.S. and Iran. He also pulled out a picture of Qasem Soleimani and said on this day, all young Iranians and, in fact, all Iranians are Qasem Soleimani.

And, of course, that brings us to some of those pictures that we have been seeing from around with the body of Qasem Soleimani being brought to various cities with those giant mourning processions that are taking place there. And all of this going as far as Iranian parliament where almost all members of parliament earlier today stood up and chanted "Death to America" in response to the killing of Qasem Soleimani.

I want to you just listen in to a little bit of what we saw in Iranian parliament earlier today.

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[07:05:02]

PLEITGEN: So, there you see some very strong reactions coming from Iranians -- from Iran's parliament, but also coming from the streets in Iran today. Something we expect to see over the course of today and tomorrow as well as the body of Qasem Soleimani, of course, was a towering figure for the Revolutionary Guard's Quds Force, the international wing of the Revolutionary Guard, and indeed to many Iranians who are taking part in these giant processions that are going around. They also, of course, are voicing serious anger at the U.S. after the killing of this top Iranian general, Victor.

BLACKWELL: So, Fred, that response that comes from Iran speaks only to Iran's response, but let me ask you about the sympathizers, allies and proxies of Iran. We heard from Nasrallah that Hezbollah and Lebanon, they could potentially respond as well. What's the potential for more than just this singular military asset strike that could spread to other groups across the region or from other groups across the region aimed at the U.S.?

PLEITGEN: Yes. Well, that's a very good question. The big question, of course, with a lot of that, is whether or not some of these groups could take matters into their own hands. You're absolutely right. Of course, there is a lot of anger with some of these groups specifically, Hezbollah, but then also some of these popular mobilization forces in Iran -- in Iraq also, who, of course, are quite angry after this assassination of Qasem Soleimani.

The other thing that also is a question when we asked that, whether or not they could take matters into their own hands, is to what degree has this blow that, of course, has been afflicted to the Quds Force disable, it wouldn't say disable, but weakens the Quds Force, how has it weakened their leadership. I also talked about that with the military advisor. And he said,

look, we're not going to miss a beat. You need to understand that the person who has been designated as a successor to Qasem Soleimani was working with Qasem Soleimani for two decades. He has the same mindset. They say they have a saying in Iran if one of their commanders is martyred, 10 new commanders will spring up and take on his role and continue to work.

So, the Iranians are saying they're still going to have full control of those groups that they have in the wide region of the greater Middle East, but whether or not there might be some retaliatory structures, of course, impossible to say. But as far as the Iranians are concerned, what we heard today from the advisor from the supreme leader is that there will be a response, a military response, but they certainly want to avoid a wider war with the United States in this region -- Victor.

BLACKWELL: Fred Pleitgen for us there in Tehran -- Fred, thank you.

CNN's Kristen Holmes is traveling with the president in South Florida.

Kristen, the president, he laid out this really sharp warning to Iran through a series of tweets overnight. What can you tell us?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, this isn't just a warning. This is a serious escalation. This is coming at a time where foreign leaders across the globe are reaching out to the United States, to Iran asking for de-escalations. Also coming at a time where the Trump administration says it wants to de-escalate the crisis.

This is clearly the complete opposite. I want to start with President Trump's tweets yesterday evening. He wrote a series of tweets. I am going to read part of them here to you.

It says: Let this serve as a warning if Iran strikes American or American assets, we have targeted 52 Iranian sites. Then he goes on to say if they do, Iran will be hit very fast and very hard.

Again a serious escalation here. I do want to note in the series of tweets, he talks about hitting cultural sites which has raised a huge question here over whether or not this is a threat of war crimes.

But the president didn't stop there. Take a look at this one. He threatens them again. He says they attacked us and we hit back. If they attack again, which I would strongly advise them not to do, we will hit them harder than they have ever been hit before.

So, again, a clear escalation here. This is coming after the White House warned members of Congress that they expect Iran to retaliate in the next couple of weeks. It's also coming at a time where there are a lot of questions circling over whether or not this was actually necessary, the strike was actually necessary to kill Soleimani.

PAUL: Kristen Holmes, we appreciate it so much. Thank you.

CNN's Dianne Gallagher is following up developments out of Washington, and a new development this morning as well.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi saying that the War Powers Act notification that was delivered to congress, quote, raises more questions than answers. So, the controversy over the intelligence that led to this obviously as Kristen was just pointing out, that's not dying down. What specifically is the speaker unhappy with?

DIANNE GALLAGHER, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it appears the skepticism is growing at this point here in Washington. And part of that is because the documents sent over in a classified manner, Christi. And so, it does not give Democrats or other members of Congress the ability to discuss what it included.

There was no sort of unclassified counterpart discussing the justification the administration had for ordering the killing of Soleimani. And we are hearing from Democrats who say that their staff members have been briefed, did not come away with that information feeling as if it was necessary or imminent, this sort of attack here with Soleimani.

[07:10:11]

Now, look, according to officials, defense officials, including the Joint Chiefs Staffs chair, General Mark Milley, this was an imminent threat. The discussion is on exactly what the definition of imminent is.

And the decision was made by the president we are told from a source on Sunday. He was presented options about what to do with Iran. At that point made the decision killing Soleimani was the choice he wanted to make. We are told some left the room surprised he chose that because that was one of the more extreme options that he was presented.

Still, the Democrats who have been told about some of this, Representative Van Hollen, Representative Udall, said the information they received was not convincing at this point. The administration has continued to try and push, saying that they did feel this was an imminent threat.

I want you to take a listen to what national security advisor, Ambassador O'Brien, had to say about what sort of led up to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT O'BRIEN, NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: I can tell you it was very solid intelligence. Soleimani was traveling around the region working out a plan to attack Americans with his proxy allies, with Iran's proxy allies, and Syria and Lebanon and in Iraq. We had the intelligence. We knew what he would, you know, he was in the process of planning these attacks, and we acted to defend American lives.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GALLAGHER: And it's important to point out there, he said we had the intelligence. We are told by a senior administration official this did not hinge on some sort of golden opportunity that he was in some sort of unknown location and they had to act because they had eyes on him at that point, that he had been under frequent surveillance and his motions were well known in the intelligence community.

PAUL: Dianne Gallagher, thank you so much.

BLACKWELL: Now, let's get you more on that terror attack in Kenya. Authorities say at least four terrorists were killed, attempted to attack an airstrip near a U.S. military base.

PAUL: I want to go to CNN's Sam Kiley who's with us now.

Sam, what can you tell us about the attack?

SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we know according to the Kenyan defense forces that they claim to have killed four and captured five alleged al-Shabaab terrorists during an attack on the Manda Airstrip. Now, that is an airstrip that provides tourist access predominantly to the world heritage site in Lamu. Indeed, these pictures are filmed of what is purported to be smoke from that attack from Lamu itself, a destination for celebrities and fans of the African heritage from around the world.

But on Manda is also a base called Camp Simba, which is well established more than a decade as a center for U.S. Special Forces operations against al-Shabaab in Somalia. Now, the AFRICOM, the U.S. command operations center operating out of Germany have confirmed that there was an attack on the airfield. They are saying though that they are still conducting battle damage assessments, trying to work out what was damaged.

Al-Shabaab claimed to have damaged some equipment. The Kenyans say only some fuel was burned. But I have independent sources who are now investigating whether there were, indeed, some aircraft that were damaged during this attack.

So, from the Kenyan perspective, this is potentially disastrous, a blow coming about a year since the last terrorist attack against tourists in Nairobi. And from the U.S. perspective, this is an attempt to get right into the heart of the drone operations against al-Shabaab, which over the last 12 months at least have been very significantly increased in tempo as the U.S. has gone over their al Qaeda affiliates, people on the ground inside Somalia.

PAUL: Sam Kiley, so grateful for your reporting, thank you.

BLACKWELL: The Iraqi parliament has now delayed the debate on the future of U.S. troops in Iraq. So, what happens now? We'll take you live to Baghdad.

PAUL: And Congress is returning to Washington this week. They are deadlocked over the impeachment trial. Of course, this is happening while the Trump administration combats growing tensions with Iran. How do they move forward? That's still ahead.

BLACKWELL: And these raging wildfires burning out of control in Australia. And now, firefighters from the U.S. are on their way to help.

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[07:17:02]

BLACKWELL: We've just learned that Iraqi government, that extraordinary session called today to decide the future of U.S. troops in Iraq, it has been delayed.

CNN's Arwa Damon is in Baghdad.

Arwa, what's the reason for the delay?

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Look, a couple of things to take into consideration when we are talking about Iraqi parliamentarians and how they manage crucial issues and this one that's on the table most certainly as controversial as anything that they have come up against. Iraqi politics historically speaking are very slow moving. So, it's not entirely uncommon for a parliamentary session of this magnitude to be postponed.

We do still expect it to be happening today. What we do understand is that there are a number of different bills being presented. You have the hard-line Shia groups who want to see the Americans out now. You have some of the more moderate Shia groups who are saying maybe we should put forward an option where immunity on U.S. troops is lifted.

And then you have other groups like the Sunnis and Kurds who are arguing that Iraq needs the American president, the Iraqi security forces these U.S. training, the fight against ISIS is not over. And Iraq also still needs all of the assets that the U.S. does put on the table as well.

But the other big question here is, how long will these various different Shia paramilitary groups wait? What is their timeframe when it comes to how long they'll allow the Iraqi political process notoriously slow to drag out?

Yesterday, we were already hearing from Kataib Hezbollah, that's the group that was targeted on Sunday, whose leader was also killed alongside Qasem Soleimani, issuing a warning to the Iraqi security forces telling them to stay away from U.S. military installations and not allow themselves to become human shields for, as they put it, the American enemy. So, suffice to say, this is a very extraordinarily tense time for this country.

And the other thing to keep in mind, too, as we're talking about all of this, is that, yes, there are people here who want revenge. There are also Iraqis here who for months have been demonstrating against their government and demonstrating against Iran's influence, but they, too, feel like this act of aggression by the United States was out of line. They are sick and tired of America and Iran using their own country as a proxy battlefield.

And so, as people are analyzing what's happening here, I think one thing is being very clearly expressed, and that is that even if Iraqis are anti-Iranian, that does not necessarily mean they support what America has done.

PAUL: Arwa Damon, thank you so much. Really appreciate the report.

Let's talk to Michael Fuchs, who's a former assistant secretary of state for East Asian and Pacific Affairs and a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress.

[07:20:07]

Thank you so much. We appreciate you being here.

MICHAEL FUCHS, FORMER ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE FOR EAST ASIAN & PACIFIC AFFAIRS: My pleasure.

PAUL: Absolutely.

I want to ask you first of all about your reaction to the news we are getting this morning really in the last hour of military advisor to Iran's supreme leader told CNN exclusively that Iran will respond militarily and they will do so focusing on military sites.

Your reaction to that?

FUCHS: Well, look, I think it just reinforces how dangerous this situation is and that how dangerous the situation that president Trump put us in right here.

Right now American troops, personnel, diplomats, facilities are very vulnerable in Iraq, elsewhere around the region, and the Iranians have serious proxies, capabilities and right now obviously intent to respond to this latest assassination of General Soleimani. And so, again, I think it just reinforces the very extreme state of danger and peril that U.S. forces, diplomats, personnel, and other interests are right now and how close we could be to an escalating conflict.

PAUL: The president and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have both said that the intention of this strike was to de-escalate things with Iran. But overnight, we heard a lot from the president on Twitter.

President Trump tweeting: A warning to Iran that the U.S. has, quote, targeted 52 sites representing the 52 American hostages taken by Iran many years ago. Some at a very high level and important to Iran and the Iranian culture, and those targets and Iran itself will be hit very fast and very hard. The USA wants no more threats.

That is, in itself, a threat. How is that de-escalating anything?

FUCHS: Well, of course, it's not. It just goes to show that the Trump administration has no strategy when it comes to Iran other than, unfortunately, what it seems to be plundering into, an escalating conflict.

Let's remember there is context for this, right? A year and a half ago the Trump administration unilaterally pulled out of the nuclear deal with Iran that had stopped Iran from pursuing nuclear weapons. Ever since then, we have been seeing an escalating series of tensions, attacks by both sides over the last 18 months or so, and that's why we find ourselves in the trouble and the problem that we find ourselves right now.

What President Trump is talking about, first, hitting cultural sites, is actually could be considered by the U.N., international law war crimes, but the Trump administration is talking about this notion of escalating to de-escalate, which is completely preposterous right now. What's going to happen here is the Iranians, as you heard earlier today from the advisor to the supreme leader, are going to consider their responses.

Their responses are not necessarily going to come in a conventional fashion. Iran is a master at asymmetric escalation. They have the ability to do so not just in Iraq, not just in the Middle East, but frankly all over the world. They have done so in the past 30 years.

And so, right now, the United States needs to be focused on, one, protecting its personnel, its facilities, our troops in the region and around the world, and, two, looking for a way to de-escalate the situation with Iran. We are going to get nowhere other than into a broader conflict and a potential war with Iran by more escalation.

PAUL: So, let me ask you this, because you write in "The Guardian": the question is not whether he is bad, referring to Soleimani. The question is whether it was in America's interest to kill Soleimani now. Killing him was the equivalent of lighting a match on top of a powder keg.

So many analysts, most of them that we've talked to say it's not necessarily a bad thing he is no longer here. He was a dangerous man, a bad man as you mentioned in your piece. But what was the other option to deal with him then?

FUCHS: Well, I think that unfortunately misses the point, I'd argue. I think that this situation is not -- the question is not how would we deal with General Soleimani who everyone agrees is a terrible person, a ruthless murderer, and terrorist. The question is how do we deal with protecting our interests vis-a-vis Iran.

Escalating more conflict which will result in more threats to Americans and American interests is not the way to deal with it. You take out General Soleimani like we just did, you do not decapitate and extinguish Iran's capabilities in the region. And, frankly, you give them very much more reason to respond to us right now.

We should have been 18 months ago staying in the Iran deal obviously. But that ship has sailed right now. And so, what the Trump administration needs to be doing, and again in addition to protecting our facilities and our personnel and our interests right now in the region, is doing everything we can to send a message to the Iranians through all available channels that we are open for dialogue, that we want to de-escalate this situation right now.

[07:25:15]

And you can see this right now, even our allies like the Iraqis are talking about evicting U.S. forces from Iraq. That doesn't seem like it's in America's interests according to the, what the Trump administration is talking about.

PAUL: Michael Fuchs, grateful to have you with us this morning -- thank you.

FUCHS: Thank you.

BLACKWELL: Could the escalating conflict with Iran complicate lawmakers' movement on the Senate impeachment trial? What's the overlap here? We'll talk about that.

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PAUL: Twenty-eight minutes past the hour. So grateful for your company. I'm Christi Paul.

BLACKWELL: I'm Victor Blackwell. Good to be with you.

Congress returns to Washington this week still deadlocked over the Senate impeachment trial against President Trump. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has not yet handed over the articles of impeachment. It's an action required to start the trial.

Meanwhile, the escalating situation with Iran could add another layer to the impeachment debate. The big question this morning, does it strengthen or weaken the Democrats' hand?

Let's put that question now to Lynn Sweet, Washington bureau chief for "The Chicago Sun-Times."

Lynn, good morning to you.

What's the overlap here of the Iran discussion and the impeachment trial and does this weaken the Democrats' hands?

LYNN SWEET, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, THE CHICAGO SUN-TIMES: It doesn't weaken the hand for the moment. I'm not sure if it strengthens it.

Victor, here's a few reasons why. We -- I have heard your past few segments talk about that these 52 targets Trump is talking about striking include cultural sites in Iran. That is, and I want to emphasize what your previous guests have said, a war crime.

So, here's how this works with impeachment. The next step is for the Senate to decide if they're going to hear witnesses. They only need four Republican senators to say, yes on that one to get witnesses.

So, even though Trump is not charged with anything having to do with this attack that he led that is now so much of a controversy with Democrats, but it could give pause to his judgment.

[07:30:08]

It certainly could do that. It is a way to have Republicans react and say maybe we do need to at least have witnesses to try and be thorough in dealing with this president because once he goes down the path of even threatening to bomb significant religious cultural targets, whatever that really means, we will see if he spells it out, then you are going down the path that will certainly rid whatever allies we have left in the world that could give pause to the president through impeachment. That's how that could intersect.

BLACKWELL: There is this -- there are these two elements, and I think it's an important point.

SWEET: Yes.

BLACKWELL: First, Congress is always very territorial over their purview, right? If the authorization of use of military force, and they may want the president to come back before any next step with Iran.

But you also raise the element, and we've seen this, the difficulty with Republicans compartmentalizing, right? We saw Republicans oppose the president's actions in Syria while supporting him in this impeachment fight and the reporting from the Mueller, or the reaction to the Mueller report. Is that going to be difficult for them to do now as they have potentially three balls in the air in which two of them they may not side with the president?

SWEET: Well, this one is a little tougher because everyone agrees that Soleimani was a bad actor.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

SWEET: Whether or not Trump acted with proper planning is one of the issues here and certainly his reaction by tweet seems to be escalating the rhetoric here. We will see what the actions are. You know, it couldn't be clearer that there is a retaliation here.

So, will some Republicans be concerned about this? Part of it depends on what they are told.

Now, the leaks from -- coming out of Capitol Hill, say that the communique sent by the White House wasn't really thorough, and it was all classified, which is interesting since Trump is tweeting about this attack and talking even about future plans. By the way, those 52 hostages were held 38 years ago. To plan retaliation on that basis -- well, it just goes into what is -- what is the plan here?

BLACKWELL: You also point out that the war crime elements, Geneva Convention --

SWEET: Yes.

BLACKWELL: -- the '54 Hague agreement on cultural site, the Department of Defense law of war all say that those sites should be protected, not just protected but that signatories should avoid attacking them.

Let me get you on this -- on this statement from the general counsel for the House, Douglas Letter, and what he said. This was in court on Friday, back on impeachment. He was asked by a federal court judge, appeals judge, Thomas Griffith, he says there have been two articles of impeachment that have been acted upon. Are you here to say that there maybe a third?

Letter says, there might be, yes, absolutely. Griffith then says, the House Judiciary Committee is not finished with its work on impeachment, and Letter says, nor has the Intelligence Committee.

What's the potential considering what we saw from some of those purple district Democrats in the first round of impeachment articles and the calendar that there would be more impeachment votes in the House?

SWEET: Well, the strategy here, Victor, is one of the rules of politics I learned early on in covering Chicago. You always want to keep them guessing.

So, that is a tool that Pelosi has now. I understand why the House counsel would not close the door to the judge because, who knows with President Trump? There is no reason to close door because that is a reasonable position for Democrats to take because of documents that are now flowing out adding more light on the very articles that he was impeached upon.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

SWEET: So, Trump has this hanging over him, which may be in the psychological operations that are going on are helpful to Democrats. Whether or not this would really yield a third article, I don't think so. Not at this time.

BLACKWELL: Because the calendar makes it very difficult. We've run out of time, Lynn. Thank you so much for being us with. As you understand, there is a lot going on, and we want to make sure we get it all in.

SWEET: Yes, and thank you. Certainly.

BLACKWELL: Lynn Sweet, "Chicago Sun-Times" -- thanks so much.

PAUL: The U.S. saw some anti-war protests after the death of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani. There were also some celebrations.

Coming up, we hear from Iranian Americans who say they are happy Soleimani is gone.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:37:54]

BLACKWELL: The Department of Homeland Security is investigating an apparent hack of a government website.

PAUL: The Federal Depository Library Program website is down this morning. It was defaced with pro-Iranian messages. Now, DHS says the messages included an image of President Donald Trump bleeding from his mouth with an Islamic Revolutionary Guard fist in his face. Officials didn't comment on who could be behind that act.

Now, the death of Iran's top General Qasem Soleimani brought out anti- war protesters across the country. Yesterday, there were demonstrators from Washington, New York, Texas, California.

We're hearing a different message from some Iranian-Americans in the U.S., though. They see Soleimani's death as a good thing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TODD KHODADDADI, IRANIAN-AMERICAN: Praying for the peace, you know. It's everybody's goal. Peace in the world.

NOOSHIN MASHKATY, NASA ENGINEER WHO WAS BORN IN IRAN: Soleimani is the brain behind all of the terrorist attacks internal and external. So, you could imagine how everyone was happy because he not only has killed many Americans. He's killed many Iranians and many other people around the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: There is another Iranian-American though who is watching this very closely. Babak Namazi is his name, and his brother and elderly father are American prisoners who are being held in Iran right now. And he is with us here.

Babak, thank you for taking the time to be with us.

How long have your father and brother been held, and do you know how they are doing right now?

BABAK NAMAZI, SON AND BROTHER OF AMERICANS HELD IN IRAN: I mean, this is unfortunately going on for over four and a half years. It's been a horrific four and a half years for all of my family.

My father is 83 years old. He has had multiple surgeries and heart ailments while he was in prison. He is currently on a highly restricted medical furlough, which means he is on -- he is outside the prison, but he has to report on a weekly basis and his medical furlough is renewed every two, three months upon confirming that he is absolutely too sick to go back physically in prison.

[07:40:04]

He cannot leave the country. He has a lot of restrictions. His health, unfortunately, is deteriorating very, very rapidly where we're beyond desperate for his health.

I haven't seen my father over four and a half years. My children haven't seen him for over four and a half years. And we miss him terribly.

The situation for my brother also is extremely worrisome. He is for the past four and a half years, he's been held in solitary confinement for very extended periods. He is in notorious Evin Prison right now, and he is not doing well, physically or mentally. PAUL: How do you communicate with them and how often are you able to

do so?

NAMAZI: Well, when he was -- when my family was being held by the IRGC wing of Evin Prison, I had no communications. It was only after two years that I was able to start having, when they were transferred to the ordinary wing, if you will, of Evin Prison where I was able to have more regular contacts. Imagine I hadn't heard from my family for over two years until they were moved to another section of the prison.

PAUL: Help us understand what it is like for you and your family to be so disconnected and so concerned about your father and your brother. It must be a very helpless feeling.

NAMAZI: I wish I could find words to describe the pain that you go through. Nothing -- nothing really prepares you for such a horrific nightmare. Nothing prepares you for being ripped away from your family and having your loved ones being treated so badly and for no reason at all. It's a wound that is constantly bleeding. You know, with a situation and the relations between Iran and the U.S. and the escalations, you are on a constant rollercoaster of not knowing what's going to happen.

And you obviously are always thinking this is the last thought I have when I go to sleep, will I see my father again? Will I see my brother? Will my children see them? It is the first thing I think about when I wake up and all the dreams in between and the nightmares in between.

PAUL: You said that there is never a bad time for humanitarian gestures. How confident are you that you may be able to see one, a humanitarian gesture perhaps, and some sort of, as I understand it, you are hoping for a potential prisoner swap perhaps between the U.S. and Iran so you can bring your family home.

NAMAZI: Yes, I mean, as we saw last month with the release and exchange of Xiyue Wang, the American citizen, with an Iranian prisoner in the U.S., we saw the possibility that even when we are having very combative relations between our country and Iran, even at the height of tensions, it's possible to reach a humanitarian agreement where both sides and both countries can benefit from.

I was expecting after this four and a half years, we saw those signs a few weeks ago. Both Iran and, of course, our own government expressed interest, a public interest in further exchanges. And I really believe, I strongly believe that this type of humanitarian gestures will go a long way in de-escalation of the current environment we are in right now, which is, obviously, horrific for all sides.

This will be something that will be viewed, I would imagine, and I'm confident, positively by Americans, by Iranians, and by all humanitarian (ph) international community.

PAUL: Babak Namazi, we are holding out with you and we are wishing you the very best. Please keep in touch with us and let us know how things continue to go. Thank you for taking time to be with us. NAMAZI: Thank you for having me on, and thank you. Thank you very much.

PAUL: Absolutely.

BLACKWELL: There is a memorial service being held in Lebanon to honor the Iranian General Qasem Soleimani. Our reporter is there live in a moment.

Plus, what officials here in the U.S. are saying about where the next threat could come from.

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[07:47:52]

BLACKWELL: We got new pictures in moments ago of a memorial service. This is in Lebanon by Hezbollah in honor of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani.

Now, the administration here in the U.S. is warning of possible attacks coming from the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group.

PAUL: CNN International Security Editor, Nick Paton Walsh, is on the line with us from Beirut, Lebanon. He is actually at that memorial ceremony right now.

Nick, what do you see?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY EDITOR (via telephone): Extraordinary scenes of anger and focused energy here. If you look at the scenes of the crowds, the yellow headbands all have the word "death to America" on them and speaking often in English to the men in the crowd. The message very clear, they expect war to be coming. They consider Qasem Soleimani to be one of their key leaders and that they expect revenge and conflicts to be ahead.

Some of the women in the crowd here actually in black are holding signs, saying be proud (INAUDIBLE)

Shortly ahead we will hear from Hassan Nasrallah, who had been comparatively toned down in his rhetoric since the death of Qasem Soleimani. But remember, Lebanese Hezbollah have long received assistance from Iran. In fact, there was an Iranian flag flown in the crowd here, along with the Lebanese flag as well, along with another flag here, I believe, of the face of Qasem Soleimani in the crowd.

But Lebanese Hezbollah have long been in a state of conflict with Israel to the south. And the chants we often hear in the crowd, along with "Death to America" is "Israel is the enemy of the Muslims". So, many, I think, are concerned that as long has been anticipated and possibly overdue in a timetable of conflicts here in the Middle East, there may be flash points between the Lebanese Hezbollah perhaps the Lebanese states and Israel to the south, Lebanon has been, many of the intelligence calls this juts a surprise to Hezbollah with a lot of potential ballistic missiles that could be used to attack Israel and Israel has specifically said if it is attacked, the war this time will not be like '06, all of Lebanon will potentially be a target.

[07:50:02]

So, many are deeply concerned if there was a spark of conflict between these two sides, it could end in utter catastrophe. But it is unclear in the crowd here precisely what they believe the nature of the retaliation will be. They say they wait orders. There are moments when the crowd sit patiently in silence, with some of the video played before.

(INAUDIBLE) will hear from Hassan Nasrallah imminently, as exactly possibly more detailed information on what he thinks the response will be (INAUDIBLE) Qassem Soleimani.

Back to you.

BLACKWALL: Nick Paton Walsh there in Beirut -- Nick, thank you so much.

PAUL: There is another round of sweltering heat headed to Australia. Crews are battling deadly bushfires and they are about though to get some help from the U.S.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAUL: There's another round of extreme heat that's expected to move across Australia this week.

And I want you to take a look at these pictures we are getting in. Look at these clouds. This is called a fire-induced thunderstorm.

BLACKWELL: Now, the intense heat from the fires that's creating a cloud cover, sparking lightning, which could set off even more fires.

CNN's Allison Chinchar is watching the latest heat patterns.

So, the conditions were supposed to be a little better to help firefighters. Were they actually?

ALLISON CHINCHAR, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. Not by much, but a little bit. And I think at this point even just a little bit helps.

If you remember yesterday we talked about this, the total active fires for New South Wales and Victoria was over 200, well, back down to about 190. The out of control fires was over 50. We're now down in that 40 range. So, again, little improvements, but at this point, that's what we need. And the hope is in about the next 12 to 24 hours before the next heat wave really sets in, we can make even more improvements.

But take a look at some of these numbers. Take for example, Sydney, a high temperature on Monday at 75, back into the 80s on Tuesday. Camber going from 80 on Monday, up to 93 on Tuesday. But it's going to get even warmer than that.

Look at this. Camber on Friday back into the triple digits. So this is going to be a longer lasting heat wave than the previous heat waves which in most cases were only averaging a day or two long.

[07:55:02]

Melbourne as well getting two different days, Thursday and Friday, this week into the 90s. This is a problem because that heat not only makes it difficult for firefighters to fight the fires, but it's that heat that can relay into other problems.

Take, for example, this video. You are looking at a firenado. This was on the eastern coast area of Australia, not that long ago.

But exactly what is a firenado?

Here is the thing. When you have these wildfires already in place, you've got the fire on the ground, here is the thing though. That heat then begins to rise, and as the heat rises you also have converging air that comes in. It's that converging air that starts that rotating column of air, and as it goes up, it turns into a fire whirl or often called a firenado.

Now, not only are these scary and can be very dangerous for the firefighters because they pop up out of nowhere, it also can trigger additional fires because those firenados end up sending out embers from within the firenado, Victor and Christi, and that can trigger new fires. And remember, some of the firefighters that are within the fires can be standing very close to where those embers can be thrown. So, it's also just incredibly dangerous for the firefighters themselves.

BLACKWELL: Allison Chinchar, thanks for watching it for us.

CHINCHAR: Thanks.

BLACKWELL: And we are just getting this. Iran says they will work to finalize a new retreat from their nuclear commitments. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani's cabinet with meet tonight to discuss the new approach to the Iran nuclear deal. They begin withdrawing from parts of the deal last July. France, Germany, and China are calling on Rouhani to preserve the agreement and avoid any measure that would violate it.

PAUL: We have also got breaking news and a quote here of mass casualties. What you are looking at here is from CNN affiliate WPXI reporting all directions of the Pennsylvania turnpike are closed right now after what you see there, a crash. It involves two tractor- trailers, a tour bus, and several cars.

BLACKWELL: It happened near Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania. It's about an hour southeast of Pittsburgh. The crash left packages all over the road. And tour bus lying on its side.

There are reports of multiple fatalities. So, of course, we'll get you more as we get it. You see here the truck laying on the side and the bus there as well.

PAUL: And, of course, it's winter, so you don't know if perhaps weather may have played a role in this.

BLACKWELL: Well, remember to stay tuned to "STATE OF THE UNION" today. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, former Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Senator Elizabeth Warren, House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff all with Jake Tapper. That's at 9:00 Eastern, right here on CNN.

PAUL: We are so grateful to have your company. We hope you make good memories today. Thank you for spending time with us.

BLACKWELL: "INSIDE POLITICS" with Nia-Malika Henderson, up next.