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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees
U.S. to Strike "Deeper" into Iran as War Spirals Across Region; Israel Launches New Wave of Airstrikes; Hegseth: The Press Only Wants to Make the President Look Bad; Trump Declares Opening Days of War With Iran a Major Success; Successor of Iran's Supreme Leader Unclear as War Rages on; Senate Republicans Reject War Powers Resolution; Sources Say CIA Working to Arm Kurdish Forces to Spark Uprising in Iran; Americans in Need of Evacuation Urged to Call 1-202-501-4444; Iran Strikes Kurdish Groups in Iraq; U.S. To Strike Deeper Into Iran as War Spirals Across Region. Aired 8-9p ET
Aired March 04, 2026 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): ... with him remember his leadership and care for his team.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He cared about people. Hey, I'm not going to put soldiers in harm's way. That's what you look for in a commander.
SERFATY: And Sergeant First Class Noah Tietjens was 42 years old, a devoted husband and father who stood out for his professionalism.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I hate to say this, but I don't think I ever saw the guy smile, but that's a testament to just how professional he was.
SERFATY: And mentorship.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He always took the time, you know, he made you feel important.
SERFATY: A black belt in Taekwondo his family were prominent members of a martial arts studio in their hometown for Bellevue, Nebraska.
Sunlen Serfaty, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: And we're grateful for that very small chance to remember their lives.
AC360 starts now.
[20:00:57]
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST, "ANDERSON COOPER: 360": Good evening, today, President Trump calls the war against Iran an amazing thing and Israel launches a new wave of airstrikes. Take a look at new video from the Israeli military. The Pentagon says it will be hitting deeper into Iran and says American forces have now substantially degraded Tehran's capability to retaliate, like they did yesterday in a drone strike on the U.S. consulate in Dubai. We have this new video of that attack.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(VIDEO OF IRANIAN DRONE STRIKE ON THE U.S. CONSULATE COMPOUND IN DUBAI.)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: So that was the Iranian drone strike on the U.S. consulate compound in Dubai yesterday. Today, Joint Chiefs Chairman Dan Caine said that attacks like that are down 73 percent, though shortly before airtime, Iran's state-run news agency reported that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps hit an Amazon data center in Bahrain. We haven't independently confirmed that.
It was General Caine who told reporters that American forces will start "striking progressively deeper into Iran," while cautioning that military operations were still at a very early stage. And Defense Secretary Hegseth said the effort to dismantle Iran's military has, in his words, only just begun.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETE HEGSETH, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE SECRETARY: Death and destruction from the sky all day long. We're playing for keeps.
Our warfighters have maximum authorities granted personally by the President and yours truly our rules of engagement are bold, precise, and designed to unleash American power not shackle it.
This was never meant to be a fair fight. And it is not a fair fight. We are punching them while they're down, which is exactly how it should be.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: The Pentagon also released this video, and what it shows is remarkable. You're looking through the periscope. An American attack sub at the Iranian warship it has just torpedoed as it sinks off the coast of Sri Lanka.
The Sri Lankan Navy says it rescued 35 sailors from the sea later telling the associated press it also recovered 87 bodies. The President, meantime had this to say about how things are going in his opinion.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: We're doing very well on the war front, to put it mildly, I would say. Somebody said, on a scale of ten, where would you rate it? I said, about a 15. And were going to continue to do well we have the greatest military in the world by far, and that was a tremendous threat to us for many years, 47 years, they've been killing our people and killing people from all over the world and I think we have great support. And I think if we didn't do it first, they would have done it to Israel and give us a shot if that was possible.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: He added that, "it's an amazing, amazing thing that's taking place before your eyes because for 47 years we were pushed around."
And on Capitol Hill, Republicans rejected a War Powers Resolution which would have compelled the President to seek congressional approval for military action against Iran. The measure failed 47 to 53, with Republican Rand Paul voting to advance it and Democrat John Fetterman crossing the aisle to vote no.
Starting off, our CNN global war coverage tonight in Beirut. We have CNN chief global affairs correspondent Matthew Chance. Also, CNN International Security Correspondent Nick Paton Walsh in Tel Aviv on Israel's latest wave of strikes tonight.
Let's go first to Nick. So, the Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman General Caine said today; Nick, that the number of missile launches and one way drone shots from Iran are down dramatically more than 70 percent, he said does that track with what you've seen and heard in Tel Aviv and elsewhere in Israel?
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, interestingly, I suppose that you can probably track some of that here, although just in the last 20 minutes or so, we've had eight interceptions behind me here. And indeed, I think another alert coming through imminently.
But one interesting change we've seen just in this morning about lunchtime, was the first use of combined missile attack combining both a launch from the North from Hezbollah in Southern Lebanon and also from Iran trying to hit Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.
Now, they were intercepted, as far as we can tell from now, over the last eight interceptions behind us, these didn't cause any damage either. Although the numbers appear to track a drop in the number of missiles and drones fired since the beginning of this war, it does appear here that were seeing a more sophisticated tactic, potentially -- Anderson.
[20:05:34]
COOPER: And Matthew, you're in Beirut. Is it clear how effective the Israeli strikes against Hezbollah targets? Iranian backed Hezbollah targets are in and around Beirut?
CHANCE: Not entirely, no, I mean, that South Beirut is a very strongly controlled, area by Hezbollah, the Iranian backed militia. We don't have free access to roam around it. But we visited a small hotel in a slightly sort of more upscale Christian neighborhood this morning it was struck overnight by an Israeli airstrike.
Now of course, the Israelis say they're targeting Hezbollah operatives and infrastructure. The owner of that hotel was absolutely categorical there were no Iranian citizens and no Hezbollah sort of staying in that in that hotel. So, she thinks it was a mistake that it was it was struck. Of course, the reality of it we don't really know but obviously mistakes happen in conflicts like this.
There are lots of airstrikes, strikes taking place both here in Beirut and elsewhere in the country as well. There was an attack which seemed to have demolished part of an apartment building in the Lebanese city of Baalbek in overnight strikes as well, last night. And it is an escalating situation, one that is causing a great deal of hardship, deaths, of course injuries, but also many thousands of people being forced from their homes.
Israel remember, has recently issued an evacuation order for everybody in the South of Lebanon to leave North of the Litani River. That's tens of thousands of people and aid workers and government agencies here are really bracing for a massive influx of displaced people and a kind of humanitarian crisis as a result of this escalating conflict.
COOPER: And, Nick, in Tel Aviv, are there any developments on the on the diplomatic front, or is that just on pause?
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, this is something that hasn't garnered much attention during the day, but is potentially of note. Now, we started today with a phone call between the Iranian Foreign Minister Saeed Abbas Araghchi, who rang his French counterpart. He also later rang his Qatari counterpart.
Now, that's potentially the first phone call we've seen publicly known of with the Qatar between the Iranians and the gulf states, who indeed they've been attacking over recent days, quite unprecedentedly.
At the same time, following that, there was a phone call between Emmanuel Macron of France and Prime Minister here Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel and then later President Trump rang President Macron of France. They've even been reports suggesting, perhaps that Prime Minister Netanyahu and President Trump may have been in contact as well.
So, it's just hearing the sirens beginning here, Anderson. So, while we don't know the full outcome of those calls, it is clear that there has been some element of diplomacy here, which I think is fair to say is relatively unprecedented from the beginning of this war. So, it may --
COOPER: We lost contact with Nick Paton Walsh obviously, hell most likely be seeking protection inside some of the bomb shelters in his location. Nick thank you, Matthew Chance as well.
We're joined now by former Trump National Security Adviser, actually we reconnected with Nick. Nick, what's the situation where you are?
WALSH: Do you want to come back or we just been disconnected? COOPER: Yes, Nick, you're on the air with us now. It looks like you're heading inside.
WALSH: Thank you. Yes, we're heading inside now as you've seen before, when the sirens go off here obviously the instinct is to move inside to hardened shelter here, but just to, we don't know exactly where these may be headed. Just to remind you that in the last 20 minutes, we've had eight interceptions, quite close actually to where we are here. And it shows the sort of relatively persistent pattern that we've seen.
My colleague Natalie went out just pointing that she can see smoke trails and what looks like intercepts potentially in the skyline just over here again. So, that would mark the second time in about half an hour that we've seen this particular part of Tel Aviv come under attack, under restrictions requested to abide by, by the Israeli government. We don't show live images of these intercepts. That's relatively common these days in a combat zone where what occurs on the skyline can often be of assistance to those firing the projectiles towards us.
But as I say, this comes at a day in which there has, it seems, been some sort of background diplomacy to matters here, those flurry of phone calls between the Qataris the French and then later in the day, the Presidents and Prime Ministers of Israel, France and the United States. And so, there's no public sign here of any traction from that. I think it is notable that the Iranians are choosing to make phone calls to the French, to the Qataris.
Well, that's one interception here, quite close to us, actually. I could feel the reverberations that coming through even quite this substantial concrete shelter here. And my colleague is actually saying there are further signs of interceptions happening at the moment.
[20:10:47]
COOPER: Hey, Nick, if you can just explain, Nick, if you can just explain to people, there are apps in Israel that people have access to that actually kind of informs people of an approximate time of when these things are going to cross into Israeli airspace, when there might be. Can you just talk about what people are able to see on those apps?
WALSH: Yes, so what happens is you get a general alert on your phone and its sort of everyone's phone simultaneously goes off. In fact, what I'm going to do is just move slightly in this direction so I can see what's happening, although we can't necessarily show you that more clearly.
Your phone, everyone's phone will go off simultaneously, giving you a heads up that something is inbound, and then it gets more geographically specific around the country. Quite a few interceptions, my colleague is saying we can see just out there on the skyline.
So that's quite a significant continued series of bids to pass through here or strike here. Then it gets more geographically specific in terms of the warning and what you heard during the last interchange we had, Anderson, that caused us to move inside here is a siren going off, which essentially says the threat is inbound to the area where you are and now, we have the interceptions over in that particular part of Tel Aviv.
And as I say, that's quite a significant amount in the last 30 minutes or so. I guess were probably getting to about 15 or 20 interception blasts on the skyline. It seems like it may have gone quiet now. Is that correct? Natalie, what you're seeing, that seems to be where we are for now. But as I say, this is a persistent tend to get salvos. Theres clearly been a bid we've seen earlier today of combined launches from the North and from Iran simultaneously, perhaps a bid to try and confuse or overwhelm Israel's air defenses.
But we don't know the consequence of this latest round here. So far during the day, we've seen debris land inside Israel, but no significant injuries that we know of as yet. But this situation obviously still unfolding -- Anderson.
COOPER: Yes, Nick, our thanks to you and your entire team there, please pass it along and stay safe.
We're joined now by former Trump National Security Adviser John Bolton. He also served as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations during the George W. Bush administration.
Ambassador Bolton, thanks for being with us.
Days ago, Secretary of State Rubio indicated Israeli actions precipitated the U.S. entering the war. President Trump seemed to correct that the following day saying maybe he even pushed Israel. You said the threat Iran posed may not have been imminent, but in your view, that's beside the point.
How do you think the administration has positioned this, and what do you think the objective should be?
JOHN BOLTON, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS: Well, I think the objective should be regime change. It's not one or two people who are objectionable, it's the regime and its radical ideology that have threatened America for a long, long time.
I am worried, I must say that the administration didn't prepare the public for the attack and the objectives of the war, which the President has said include regime change, whether his subordinates try to walk it back or not that doesn't mean you have to tell the public what were about to do. But over a period of time, you want to build public support. This is a representative government. You have to convince the people. I think the case for regime change is overwhelming. They didn't do that. They didn't prepare Congress adequately. I'm worried about that.
They didn't consult adequately with allies, I'm worried about that and what I'm most worried about is the level of consultation and coordination with the opposition inside Iran and in the Iranian diaspora, because what we're doing in degrading the instruments of state power in Iran is important but ultimately the opposition has to play a major role.
And I'm just nervous that that we haven't laid the groundwork with them given them adequate assets were just doing this by the seat of our pants, which could turn out to be problematic, to say the least.
COOPER: Well, to that end, there's reporting the CIA may be trying to arm some Kurds to help foment an uprising in Iran. I'm not sure how long that effort has been going on, but if it hasn't been a long-term effort, how worried are you about you know, being able to kind of organize something like that? With short notice? And is that going to be enough given there are hundreds of thousands of Revolutionary Guard Corps member and militia inside Iran who are well armed and trained?
[20:15:15]
BOLTON: Well, I think if the opposition wants arms, I think we should certainly supply them. The Kurds seem to me to be the last part of the opposition who need arms, their brother Kurds in Iraq and elsewhere, I'm sure could supply them but this goes to the heart of the question how much cooperation there's been?
It was reported yesterday, I think The White House admitted that the President had spoken to Iraqi Kurdish leaders Barzani and Talabani, the two big figures in the Kurdish area of Iraq. That's a plus, but there's a lot more work that could be done and people complain, well, we don't have a plan for the day after. Nobody can have a plan for the day after.
The key here is to get the regime out of power and then look for defectors from the regime from the regular army not the Revolutionary Guard but the regular army who can help keep order. My figures may be approximate here, but the regular Army and reserves are about 800,000 people compared to 200,000 in the Revolutionary Guard.
So, the Guard is fearsome and fanatic, to be sure but there are plenty of other forces at play. At a point when the regime is at its most unpopular and weakest since any point after it took power in 1979, which is why right now presents a real opportunity for regime overthrow.
COOPER: There's obviously a lot of people who'll be hearing that and say, well, look I mean, have we not learned the lessons of, of Iraq, a de-Ba'athification campaign after the fall of Saddam Hussein, getting rid of, you know, taking out from power members of the Ba'ath Party? They had access to weapons. They had military experience, and an insurgency was born. Why wouldn't Revolutionary Guard Corps, even if there's 200,000 of them, why is that not a potential force for an insurgency?
BOLTON: Of course, it is but the question for the United States, our National Security interest is eliminating the nuclear weapons program, the ballistic missile program, their ability to support terrorism outside the country and their ability to close the Strait of Hormuz that's what we're focused on.
And I think regime change gives the Iranian people the opportunity to create a new regime. We can't guarantee it for them. I would say our mistake in Iraq was not overthrowing Saddam. That was a great success. The mistake was becoming a political player inside Iraq after that with the best of intentions, to be sure but it turns out it's a mistake.
So, I think it's really up to the Iranians, which just goes back to the point I made a moment ago. We have to be coordinating with the opposition, and I'm concerned that we are not doing it adequately to help them with the objective of getting some other kind of government than a bunch of theocratic authoritarians.
COOPER: Ambassador Bolton, thanks for being with us tonight. I appreciate it.
Coming up next, the tradition of honoring American fallen troops and telling their stories. Now the administration is characterizing it as they're seen in global report on the war continues.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HEGSETH: I get it. The press only wants to make the President look bad, but try for once to report the reality.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
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[20:22:30]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KIERA COADY, SISTER OF SGT. DECLAN COADY: He's 20, he was going to be 21 in May in two months.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: That is Kiera Coady talking about her brother, Sergeant Declan Coady, one of four soldiers the Pentagon identified yesterday. They and two others were killed over the weekend in Kuwait when their army reserve unit was hit by an Iranian airstrike.
Sergeant Coady was from West Des Moines, Iowa. According to the Des Moines register, he was a sophomore at Drake University who joined the reserves in 2023 as an information technology specialist. His older sister, Kiera, spoke with the associated press.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
K. COADY: I still don't fully think it's real. I didn't think it was real when they told us because I just remember all of our conversations about what he was going to do when he came back. I just wished he kind of known one more time that we all loved him, because he was so amazing and kind. He was just like a soul brother you could have.
(END VIDEO CLIP) COOPER: Reporting on the casualties of war is never easy, but telling the stories of those who have fought and died is the least we can do, and a privilege.
Today, Defense Secretary Hegseth painted it differently.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HEGSETH: This is what the fake news misses. We've taken control of Iran's airspace and waterways without boots on the ground. We control their fate. But when a few drones get through or tragic things happen, it's front-page news. I get it, the press only wants to make the President look bad but try for once to report the reality.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: A Secretary of Defense, who is responsible for every man and woman now in harm's way at his press conference this morning.
CNN's Kaitlan Collins asked White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt about it a short time later.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN'S CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT AND THE ANCHOR OF "THE SOURCE": Given what Secretary Hegseth said this morning, is it the position of this administration that the press should not prominently cover the deaths of U.S. Service members?
KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: No, it's the position of this administration that the press in this room and the press across the country should accurately report on the success of Operation Epic Fury and the damage it is doing to the Rogue Iranian regime that has threatened the lives of every single American in this room.
COLLINS: Secretary Hegseth was complaining that it was front page news about these six service members who were killed.
LEAVITT: That's not what the Secretary said, Kaitlan, and that's not what the Secretary meant and you know it. You know you're being disingenuous, there is not, we've never had a Secretary of Defense who cares more --
COLLINS: -- tragic things happen, it's front-page news. I get it, the press only wants to make the President look bad. As you know, we cover the deaths of U.S. service members under every President.
LEAVITT: The press does only want to make the President look bad. That's it! That's a fact --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[20:25:12]
COOPER: And Kaitlan Collins joins us now. We're you surprised to hear this from Hegseth? I mean, I don't know that I've heard a Defense Secretary say that. I mean, honoring U.S. service members who have died, there is a long tradition of that.
COLLINS: Yes, I'm not sure we've ever heard a Secretary of Defense say that the press is giving too much coverage to the deaths of U.S. service members. And those are from his prepared remarks. It seemed as you were watching this press conference this morning, obviously looking to see what the update is on, on the state of the war and what The White House and the Pentagon envision happening next, where he made that remark saying, you know that sometimes this happens and that the press is only trying to make the President look bad.
And so, I wanted to ask The White House about this, especially because obviously there are always questions after something like this happens. There were in President Biden's term, President Trump's first term, whether or not the President has called the families of these fallen soldiers, if they plan on attending the dignified transfer that happens at Dover, which the press secretary had said during that briefing that President Trump does plan to attend the dignified transfer for these six service members who were killed as a result of an Iranian drone.
And so, to follow up on that, I just thought it was an important point with the White House Press Secretary. And I just want to play you a little bit more, Anderson, of what happened during my exchange with Karoline Leavitt.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LEAVITT: I just told you that the President of the United States will be attending their dignified transfer. So please --
COLLINS: -- that dignified transfer, that's not making the President look bad, that's showcasing that as he did in his first term and so with Biden's --
LEAVITT: And we expect you to cover that as you should. We expect you to cover that as you should, Kaitlan. But you and your network know that you take every single thing this administration says and tries to use it to make the President look bad. That is an un-objectable fact.
COLLINS: I don't think covering troop deaths is trying to make the President bad.
LEAVITT: If you're trying to, if you're trying to argue right now that CNN's overwhelming coverage is not negative of President Donald Trump, I think the American people would tend to agree.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: I mean, in that exchange, Anderson, she went from arguing that I wasn't quoting Hegseth correctly. And then when I directly read what he said to reporters this morning, because I had the exact quote in front of me, then she turned it into to a thing about making President Trump look bad. And, Anderson, I just think obviously, the bottom line here is this actually has nothing, this isn't about President Trump. It's not about CNN; it's not about our coverage of him. It's about these fallen service members and you know, listening to the sister of one of them that you were just talking about.
And I think you put it well, Anderson, by saying it's a privilege to be able to tell their stories because these are people who gave the ultimate sacrifice to this nation and that is why we cover the deaths of U.S. service members.
COOPER: I don't know anyone here who views this as a reflection on the President that for service members died serving their country. It's an interesting positioning on it.
Kaitlan, I appreciate it. Thank you very much. You can join Kaitlan at the top of the hour for "The Source" her guess is going to be former Vice President Mike Pence.
With me now is Rahm Emanuel, former White House chief of staff under President Obama and former ambassador to Japan under President Biden. I want to talk big picture in a minute, but just to this argument that covering service members who have given their lives in the line of for all of us is somehow a criticism of Donald Trump, does that make sense to you, that they would argue this?
RAHM EMANUEL, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL AND GLOBAL AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR: Anderson, my view is we've had a big debate in this country. Who makes the one percent. It's not the people that acquire wealth. It's the one percent that donate their lives to serving these ideals, that's the true one percent.
You should cover this because it's not just about how many missiles we have, it's not how much it costs, it's the future of America, the youth its future. Of course, you should cover it, because for the rest of those families' lives, there is going to be an empty seat. And on that fireplace mantel, there will be a flag and a triangle.
Kids are going to grow up only hearing stories about the person that used to be their father or their mother. You better cover it, because that's the cost of this war.
COOPER: In terms of what we have seen so far, I'm wondering what you make of how the war seems to be going and how the administration is describing it, conducting it.
EMANUEL: I step back from this and I look at this at this point and say, had the President of United States said to the country and to the world we were trying to negotiate the nuclear capacity, the missile delivery and the proxies they refused to have any negotiation. This is what we're going to do. There could have been a consensus he took this into a political realm of regime change. It's calling it a war and he's divided the country and he's divided the world on the United States.
Now, on a purely military capacity. They are doing serious damage, as you could hear to the Navy, the Air Force and missile capacity, the frontline defense that they had in Lebanon and Syria. There is damage there, there's no doubt.
But he set the goal in a way you cannot change a regime from 25,000 feet in the air, it's just not possible. And that's wrong to do set something up a bar that the military cannot achieve because they are achieving the strategic piece of this in that effort. And I thought he lost the ability not only to unite the country, but probably unite the world behind the mission.
[20:30:27]
COOPER: Do you think much thought was given to who would come next? Who might actually run the country? Because does it seem to you that it's sort of, you know, launching this operation and then just kind of seeing what happens?
EMANUEL: No, zip, nada. They've given no thought to it. You had, A, nobody saying anything to three people, the secretary of defense, the secretary of state, and the president, all giving different answers to the same question. Anderson, I want you to take one step back. The president of the United States has been president in this term 15 months.
We have now launched military strikes on eight separate countries, one every six weeks. He owes an obligation at that quantity. No president has done this like this. Eight separate countries in 15 months. It's one every six weeks. What are we doing? What is the goal? What are we asking of America?
When George Bush in Operation Desert Storm spoke to the country, spoke to the world, we were united. Not just our soldiers, not just our airmen, not just our Navy, America went to war. And the more you think about it that way, that's the obligation of the chief executive, to explain to the American people the purpose, the mission, and the why of the most important decision a commander-in-chief will make, which is we're going to risk your life on behalf of this interest.
He has failed to do that.
COOPER: The reporting that the CIA may be looking to arm --
EMANUEL: Right.
COOPER: -- some Kurdish factions, how -- what chance of success do you give that?
EMANUEL: Well, think about the dynamics of this. You have the Kurds in Turkey. The Turks are going to be looking at this. Wait a second. You have Kurds in Syria. You have Kurds in Iraq. That's going to set off its own tremor in capacity. I don't think that it really has a likelihood for success.
I think it's weird that we've taken, you know, the Israelis are bombing the security and the apparatus of the state, not the security piece. I thought this was all about nuclear weapons, the delivery of nuclear weapons, and also the missiles. And all of a sudden now we're doing different pieces of this.
I just think the political component of this is totally misguided. And the weird thing is, you've had two Middle Easts side by side, a failed one by Iran, Syria, Lebanon, Iraq, and a successful one by the Gulf Nations, et cetera.
The Gulf Nations, and the successful one, is really on the march. And by making this political and not strategic, the president has put us behind the eight ball in a way that we should not be, as a country.
COOPER: Rahm Emanuel, appreciate it. Thanks very much.
Just ahead, we're going to talk to Senator Elissa Slotkin, a former CIA analyst, who served three tours with the military in the region. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:37:05]
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: And I think I can say, and you see it as well as I do, you see the tremendous progress that's being made. Their missiles are being wiped out rapidly. Their launchers are being wiped out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: President Trump giving his administration and himself high marks on progress the United States has made after five days of military strikes in Iran. Despite the progress, Iran still can and still is striking back.
Just moments ago, we learned that authorities in Qatar are evacuating people living near the U.S. Embassy there. The Qatari interior minister calls it a, quote, "temporary precautionary measure."
Just before airtime and shortly after the Senate, Republicans blocked a war powers measure. I spoke with Senator Elissa Slotkin, the Michigan Democrat who serves on the Armed Services Committee. She's a former CIA analyst who served three tours alongside the U.S. military in Iraq.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Senator, is it clear to you what the objective of this war is? The White House says the goal is to eliminate threats posed by Iran, not regime change. Though administration officials say they would welcome that. Does the strategy make sense to you?
SEN. ELISSA SLOTKIN, (D-MI) I mean, I'm not sure I've heard a strategy. And I think I've heard, I think at this point, four different rationales for why we started these operations. The president saying there was an imminent threat and then not saying there was an imminent threat. Marco Rubio saying the Israelis were under threat. And then, no, he cleared it up later. Hegseth, something different. So it's hard to keep track.
And therefore, I don't feel like I have a full understanding of what they're hoping to achieve.
COOPER: You worked with the CIA alongside U.S. forces in Iraq on a number of tours. CNN is reporting the CIA is working to arm some Kurdish forces with the aim of trying to foment a popular uprising in Iran. Does that sound like a wise idea to you?
I don't know if this is something that's been in the works for a long period of the time. But is that something you would support?
SLOTKIN: Well, look, I think we have to get clarity. There's already some confusion in the press. We were talking about Iranian Kurds or Iraqi Kurds. And even, you know, if you're just talking about Iraqi Kurds, there's a lot of different groups, a lot of different folks in that.
COOPER: And a lot of them don't like each other.
SLOTKIN: Yeah, and a lot of them -- some of them don't like us. Some of them are bad guys. And some of them are great guys. So, I just think it's a little too early. And people are interested in this, though because, again, if we don't know what the goals are, right, and it may be regime change or it's not a regime change, then supporting groups to do action on the ground in Iran gets much more appetizing if that's what your agenda is, if regime change is your agenda.
So I think we need a little bit more time to figure out what's actually happening. And certainly, we have not been briefed on that.
COOPER: Do you think regime change, whether or not that is a goal or not, but just theoretically, regime change is possible without some sort of forces on the ground?
[20:40:00]
SLOTKIN: It's very difficult to have full-scale regime change without boots on the ground. Right? Just ask George W. Bush. It's you -- if you really want to change and have a different direction for the state of Iran, it's usually very difficult to do that just from an air campaign prosecuted from outside the country.
And I certainly have no love lost for the Iranian government. I served alongside the military. I watched friends of mine killed by Iranian weapons and Iranian backed groups in Iraq. But it is very difficult to do without a long-scale engagement. And I think what the administration is trying to figure out right now is, are they kind of done or are they going to go, as the president has sort of suggested, and keep this up for a number of more weeks into months to do something more full scale?
Either way, the president needs to be clear on his agenda and he needs to be clear about the risks to U.S. forces. Obviously, we've already lost tragically, six U.S. citizens who are now stuck in 11 different countries across the Middle East. But then also, on the money, right? There's losing blood, there's losing treasure. And we hear there's now a new $50 billion request to resupply munitions after the operations we've done.
That's a significant request on top of the $1 trillion budget the Pentagon already has.
COOPER: Just finally, there's a lot of Americans watching us right now in hotel rooms and friends houses all throughout the Middle East trying to figure out how do I get out of here? I've heard from people in Dubai who are being told, oh, you'll get a flight but in four weeks. What should they do?
SLOTKIN: Yeah. Well, at this point, shelter in place. Right? Spend as much time as you can. Just hunker down, don't spend a lot of time going out and being on the streets. Register with the embassy. Right? There's a step called the Step Program, register so they know where you are and how many American citizens are there.
And then honestly, just keep up with the daily reports. We've had conflicting messages out of this administration. You know, get out of the country. But the airspace is closed. You know, call the embassy. But the embassy voicemail says don't call us.
I mean, there is real conflicting messages. And I know that's very scary. Certainly, I've got a lot of people who have called me very scared. Shelter in place. Stay on top of what is coming out of your embassy in terms of guidance. Make sure they know where you are.
And obviously, the White House is going to have to answer the call to that many Americans stuck in the Middle East across 11 different countries.
COOPER: Senator Slotkin, I appreciate your time. Thank you.
SLOTKIN: Thank you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Coming up next, more on what the Senator and I were talking about, namely regime change and the potential role of Kurds in the war when our CNN Global Report 'War with Iran' continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:46:54]
COOPER: Welcome back to our continuing coverage tonight. Sources say that the CIA is working to arm Kurdish forces in the battle against Iran. The aim is to enlist armed Kurds to try and foment a popular uprising, getting them to engage and pin down Iranian security forces and help sow chaos against the regime.
Wanted to talk about it with CNN Global Affairs Analyst, Brett McGurk and Karim Sadjadpour, Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and a Contributing Writer at The Atlantic.
Karim, let me start off with you. This idea of arming Kurds as a force for regime change, how feasible is that?
KARIM SADJADPOUR, SENIOR FELLOW, CARNEGIE ENDOWMENT FOR INTERNATIONAL PEACE: I don't think it's feasible, Anderson. Kurds have -- there are large Kurdish populations in Turkey and Iraq and Syria and in Iran (ph).
COOPER: These red areas on the map here.
SADJADPOUR: Exactly. And inside Iran they constitute about 10 percent of Iran's population. I would say that Kurds are actually culturally, historically, linguistically closer to Iranians than they are to Turks or to Arabs. But, this is a regime which is very brutal and I think it only probably has 15 percent popular support.
But it's very important that the opposition to the regime tries to stay as united as possible. And so, if the U.S. government gets involved in trying to play favors and playing off different factions, that's going to actually widen opposition divisions and ultimately, benefits the regime.
COOPER: And Brett, just from a military standpoint, if you have a Revolutionary Guard Corps of 200,000 or however many hundred thousand, and you have militias inside Iran supporting the regime and they have the weaponry, that's a big force to try to defeat.
BRETT MCGURK, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Yeah, these reports, it's unclear what's happening here. I've spent a lot of time in these mountains with various Kurdish groups, the two main Iraqi parties, the PUK and the KDP, very close to the United States. There's a number of factions of Iranian Kurds, about 10 percent of the population, as Karim said.
A lot of history here. You know, if you look right where the Iraq- Turkey border intersects, Mahabad is a town about right here. This was actually the only time the Kurds had an independent republic for about a year in 1946. It was backed by the Soviet Union. They withdrew and it was crushed by the Shah of Iran. So a lot of history.
I agree with Karim. This is really, first of all, very difficult work to try to get groups to work together. Unclear what the objective is. Now, listen, if we had information that there was a threat and about to be a massacre or something, you want to go in and provide some protection, that's a different thing. But this seems to be trying to set up an enclave for operations inside Iran. I think that is really opening up a Pandora's box.
COOPER: And if we look at another map of the strikes that Iran has been able to make against not only Israel, but a number of countries in the region, Karim, what is the strategy there? And how centralized right now, do you think command and control inside Iran actually is? Or is it all decentralized now and just different areas are just operating essentially independently?
SADJADPOUR: Well, the Iranian foreign minister said it is decentralized. It's a regime which is like a chicken with its head cut off. [20:50:00]
It's kind of flailing in all directions. But I think their strategy is pretty clear. They're trying to really make life hell for these neighboring Gulf countries in order for those countries to put pressure on President Trump and try to get him to end the war.
You know, I say Anderson, that there's really two kinds of actors in this region. You have those who are in the business of building and those who are in the business of destroying. And these Gulf countries, it's very impressive what countries like the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar have built over the last five decades.
One lesson I've learned in watching and living in the Middle East is that it takes decades to build things. It takes weeks to destroy things. And that's the one thing that this regime in Iran is very good at. And I think they're trying to appeal to American public opinion, spike the price of oil, create explosions.
COOPER: Do you think that's working or do you think that's backfired?
SADJADPOUR: It's backfired in that those countries actually have been deeply angered by what Iran has done. And it's gone to the U.S. and says, how can we help? The question is, will it have an impact on President Trump? Is President Trump seeing oil prices spike, American service members being killed? Does that have an impact on his resolve?
COOPER: And Brett, we heard from the Chairman Caine today, Joint Chiefs Chairman, saying that the number of strikes by Iran has drastically reduced.
MCGURK: Key variable. So ballistic missile attacks are way down. The dots all the way down there to the west by Israel, those are ballistic missiles. Takes about 13 minutes for that flight. The drones for that distance take about three hours. They're actually easier to take down.
(CROSSTALK)
COOPER: So a lot of the stuff we've been seeing in the UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, those are drones?
MCGURK: Yeah. Iran has a much easier time here. Obviously, the distance is shorter. They launch the drones from southwestern Iran here. And they have a lot of them, but it's gone down about 76 percent. This is the key indicator I'm looking at, Anderson, whether Iran can keep up this tempo, particularly the drone attacks.
As we get after the missiles, we're going after the launchers. Seem to have an effect. It's these Shahed drones and they're cheap. They're plentiful. Iran has, you know, nobody knows the exact number, low thousands. They, of course, supply them to Russia. That is what has sustained Russia's war against Ukraine.
If we can get on top of that problem, as a military proposition, that would be a good thing for the world, if Iran can no longer proliferate these missiles and drones all over the place. But I think there's a ways to go here.
COOPER: We're going to take a quick break. We'll have more of our conversation here. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[20:56:41]
COOPER: And welcome back. We're here with Brett McGurk and Karim Sadjadpour at the map. This is a map of U.S. and Israeli strikes in Iran. And we heard today from U.S. authorities, they're looking to be striking deeper and deeper into Iran.
Karim, just in terms of endgame, what do you see?
SADJADPOUR: Well, it depends on the president, how he defines his objectives. Before the war began, I think there was four broad objectives. One was nuclear, one was missiles, one was regional proxies, and the other was the whole reason why this thing happened, which is that Iran's abusive treatment of its own people.
And it's not quite clear, I think, even in the president's head what his endgame is. I think the reality right now is you have a regime which believes it's kill or be killed. They're loathed by their own population and they're fighting for their survival. And I think it is critical for the president and for the White House to really understand what it is that we're trying to achieve here.
COOPER: They're loathed by the population and yet, we see images of hundreds of thousands of people out in the streets in demonstrations. How much is that real?
SADJADPOUR: You know, Anderson, when you have a population of 90 million people, even if they have probably about 15 percent popular support of the adult population, that's still six, seven, eight million people. So the regime is able to mobilize its forces, but they're deeply unpopular.
And I describe it as a zombie regime. It has a dying ideology, a dead leader now, dying legitimacy, but it still does maintain lethal capacity.
COOPER: And yet regime change, Brett, is still an incredibly difficult thing.
MCGURK: Regime change from the air to orchestrate such a political outcome, I think, extremely difficult, if not impossible. Military missions, I've been listening to Admiral Cooper, the CENTCOM Commander, and General Caine. They are saying we are going after the missiles, the Navy, the drones, the nuclear.
I mean, they were very focused on the mission. I think you'll see those targets continue. But you're going to see more strikes, I think, into the east of Iran. This is a total game-changer, by the way, Anderson. The idea that U.S. military forces would be able to fly over Iran at will just overturns almost every assumption we've had about the balance of power in the region.
COOPER: And do you think that's the situation right now, that U.S. forces, Israeli planes, can fly over Iran pretty much at will?
MCGURK: Well, what was briefed today is that we now have increasing air supremacy and that we can now go in and do these, not just standoff strikes, but more dynamic targeting, meaning you're over the target. So that seems to be what we're going to be seeing. And that was never even feasible, if you look back years.
COOPER: And once you have that, it allows you to bring in a whole different level of munitions that may be even less costly than the ones we've been using.
MCGURK: Yes. It changes the balance. The balance of power here seems to be really shifting decisively. Military initiative, again, but the political outcome, the political end state, that is still a very open question.
COOPER: All right. Well, Brett McGurk, thank you. Karim Sadjadpour, thank you, as always. Really appreciate your expertise.
In just the last few minutes, I want to point out that the Pentagon has identified the remaining two soldiers who were killed over the weekend in Kuwait. We had heard about the four. We've now learned the names of the other two.
One is Major Jeffrey O'Brien. He was from just outside Des Moines, Iowa. He was 45-years-old. Also identified was Chief Warrant Officer Robert Marzan of Sacramento, California. We do not have a photo of him. He was 54. He and Major O'Brien and four others died, and 18 more --
