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CNN's The Arena with Kasie Hunt
Now: Iran Retaliates Against Israel; Israel Emergency Services: Seven Injured After Iranian Strike; Officials: U.S. Helping To Intercept Iranian Attacks On Israel. Aired 4-5p ET
Aired June 13, 2025 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[16:00:02]
JAMIL JAFFER, COUNTERTERRORISM, INTELLIGENCE PROFESSOR: There are three elements you have when you have nuclear weapons program, the delivery capability, the ballistic missiles, right, the nuclear material, and then the weaponization, the ability to make explosive device. That's what he's worried about is the latter part.
JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: All right. Jamil, and Colonel, thank you so much.
Our breaking news coverage continues right now on "THE ARENA WITH KASIE HUNT." I'll see you at 5:00.
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
KASIE HUNT, CNN HOST: And we come on the air with breaking news. Iran launching a massive aerial attack on Israel. This the moment an Iranian missile struck Tel Aviv. Seven people were injured in that strike. The Israeli military saying that their entire nation is now under fire.
The United States military is helping intercept Iran's missiles and drones. A source confirms to CNN.
And at this hour, the Israeli prime minister is warning this isn't over.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: More is on the way. The regime doesn't know what hit them. They don't know what will hit them. The nation of Iran and the nation of Israel have been true friends since the days of Cyrus the Great, and the time has come for you to unite around your flag and your historic legacy by standing up for your freedom from an evil and oppressive regime.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUNT: Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. CNN is covering this breaking news from all angles across the globe. Oren Liebermann is live for us in Jerusalem. Jeremy Diamond is in New York. Fred Pleitgen standing by in Berlin. He actually just returned from Iran. Kristen Holmes is at the White House, and we're also going to be joined by Colonel Cedric Leighton.
Oren, I do want to start with you. Youve been reporting throughout the night, occasionally from a bomb shelter. Take us through what's been unfolding in Israel and what you expect.
OREN LIEBERMAN, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF: Well, we're now out of that bomb shelter, Kasie. And back in our bureau here on the third floor in the building from which the CNN office operates here. And it is almost looking back here behind me. A bizarre sight, given how quiet it is late Friday night here in Jerusalem.
That's because we spent much of the past hour and a half or so in a bomb shelter in the basement, when the Israeli military and home front command warned of incoming Iranian ballistic missile fires, sending not only us here in Jerusalem and in Tel Aviv, but effectively all across the country into bomb shelters for just about an hour. Here, as two barrages of ballistic missiles, dozens of missiles in both cases, according to the Israeli military, were incoming.
A short while ago, Israel's military spokesperson, Brigadier General Effie Defrin, said there were, in his words, less than 100 missile missiles fired. There were a few hits, meaning a few were able to penetrate Israel's air defenses. And there were obviously intercepts.
We saw that play out in the skies over Tel Aviv and over central Israel, where not only is much of the population based, but there are also very significant military bases. The ministry of defense, Mossad headquarters in that area as well. And that's where we have seen Iran target in the past, and where it appears they tried to target once again, some of those missiles intercepted by Israel's air defenses.
And we saw shrapnel falling down on the streets of Tel Aviv and other places. There were reports of damage to buildings, damage to some cars and shrapnel all across the streets there.
Crucially, the Israeli military spokesperson gave a warning that there may be more incoming rocket fire throughout the course of the night and the population is instructed to stay near bomb shelters. Immediately when Israel began its attack on Iran, some 14, 15 hours ago or so.
At this point, roughly 3:30 in the morning last night, the first warning was that there may be an imminent retaliation. It took some time. It took more than 12 hours. But that retaliation, at least the beginning of it, we saw play out as we were ordered to go to bomb shelters over the course of the past hour.
As you pointed out, Israel's emergency responders, Magen David Adom, which is effectively the equivalent of the Red Cross locally, say there were seven injuries, one moderate, largely from shrapnel as a result of the incoming rocket fire. It is worth pointing out that it is still only in the first, given an hour or so after the incoming rocket fire, so we'll wait to see if that number goes up. And again, crucially, there is an expectation that more may be coming.
Israel had warned before now that the Iranian retaliation could be well beyond what we saw back in April or October, meaning more than 100 ballistic missiles, potentially drones as well. And we did see some drones launched earlier today, the vast majority of which were intercepted before they got to Israels airspace.
But this may not be the end of it. And that works both ways. Iran, Israel expects, may launch more ballistic missiles, potentially more drones, and Israel has warned -- we heard Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu say it right at the top of the show, that Israel is also prepared to carry out more strikes in Tehran after early this morning, they went after the Natanz nuclear enrichment facility, a number of targets throughout neighborhoods in Tehran, ballistic missiles, surface to air missiles and decapitated much of Iran's military leadership and some of the top nuclear officials in the country.
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I will point out one more thing as we wait here. We have heard from U.S. officials that the U.S. helped intercept the incoming ballistic missile fire. The U.S. made clear that Israel was acting, at least offensively when it carried out these strikes on its own. But now that it comes to the defense of Israel, we are seeing U.S. troops get involved there. And that is likely U.S. THAAD batteries, Terminal High Altitude Area Defenses that would work in cooperation with Israel's own air defenses to try to intercept what were two waves of Iranian attacks as the country braces for any more that might come not only tonight, but in the coming days.
HUNT: All right. Oren Liebermann, stand by for us. Thank you for that great reporting. And we should just note, we are looking at live pictures right now on the ground from Tel Aviv.
But I do want to bring in Kristen Holmes. She's live for us at the White House.
Kristen, I understand you have new reporting on a call between President Trump and Israeli prime minister.
KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, that's right. We are just learning that Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump spoke earlier today. No details of what exactly they talked about. But this comes after a U.S. official told me that, in fact, the U.S. is helping assist Israel with those incoming missiles. They noted to me that there are hundreds of thousands of American citizens that they feel they have to protect in Israel, as well as U.S. military assets.
This is also coming after we learned that yesterday, Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu were in constant contact, had multiple phone calls, including before those strikes on Iran. That was news given that we were told by a number of people that the U.S. was not involved. Now, the U.S. still says that they were not involved in the actual strikes, that they that Israel acted unilaterally. However, this communication timeline obviously changes the idea of the U.S. or Israel informing the U.S., and U.S. talking through what was happened and what this means moving forward. (AUDIO GAP) Iranian nuclear deal. And there were the six round of talks on Sunday in Oman with the Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff. We are told that the administration is still hoping for a sixth round
of talks with the Iranians. Now, there are still a lot of U.S. officials who are casting doubt that this can happen given these strikes. But you\re hearing from Donald Trump repeatedly on social media today and in calls with reporters where he's saying that the Iranians need to come to the table, that everyone has essentially been killed or wiped out, and that it's going to be too late if they don't make a deal as soon as possible.
So he clearly believes -- the administration believes that this could give them an edge, these strikes could give them an edge in this process. Unclear whether or not that's actually going to play out the way that they want it to, but that is the that is what we are seeing unfold, at least from the U.S. side and from the White House side.
HUNT: All right, Kristen, stand by for me. I actually want to go straight back to Oren Liebermann in Tel Aviv because were getting some updated reporting about the injuries there in Israel.
Oren, what are you learning?
LIEBERMANN: We just got an updated number from Magen David Adom, again, that's effectively Israels red cross and the number of injuries that have come in from the incoming Iranian ballistic missiles. The latest update is there are 17 injured that we know of so far, based on Magen David Adom in Tel Aviv, one moderately injured, three lightly injured and then in a city called Ramat Gan, which is also in the central Israel area. Two seriously injured, one moderately injured and ten lightly injured.
There are also some statements from hospitals on men and women admitted as a result of the incoming ballistic missile fire. So again, as I -- as I had said, the initial number of seven was only the first, effectively the first number as emergency responders got out there and evaluated the results of these strikes. This is a number that could continue to rise, but we will certainly keep an eye on it.
Again, the latest right now that we have from Magen David Adom. And let me see if I can get you a time on this. This is just 10 minutes ago, 17 injured, two seriously, a couple moderately, and then the others lightly injured. And we will keep an eye on that number as the evening progresses here.
HUNT: All right. Let's bring in CNN Jerusalem correspondent Jeremy Diamond now, who, of course, has been in the region reporting day in and day out since October 7th.
And, Jeremy, I know you've been talking to sources about the response across the globe to what Israel has done here. What are you hearing?
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: That's right. Well, on two fronts. First of all, there were questions given that Israel carried out this attack on Iran alone. You know, what kind of support would it receive from the United States, from partners in the region in terms of air defense?
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And we have started to get an answer to that. We know from multiple officials, both Israeli and American officials, now that the United States did indeed help Israel to shoot down some of these missiles that were incoming. We know the United States deployed THAAD missile air defense systems in Israel last year. That was under the Biden administration. And those batteries are indeed operated largely by U.S. forces. They have been active in this air defense effort.
In addition to that, I'm told that there is some regional cooperation as well from some of the Arab countries in the region, although we don't yet have full details on what the extent of that cooperation was. We know, of course, that several of those countries in the region, some overtly, some more covertly, did indeed provide assistance to Israel during the two previous Iranian attacks. And so, a similar scenario does indeed seem to be unfolding, despite the quite unprecedented nature of this Israeli attack and the manner in which it was carried out.
In addition to that, I'm also speaking with sources about what is going to come next. Within the last hour, I was told that the Israeli cabinet had indeed convened with the Israeli prime minister at its head to discuss the next steps of Israel's military attacks inside of Iran.
I'm told that the expectation is that the result of that meeting will be an escalatory step from Israel, meaning not just a tit for tat, but climbing up that ladder of escalation in a way that Israeli officials have made clear that these attacks will not just be limited, they will not just be a one-time attack, but rather that this is something that's going to go on for days, if not even weeks.
The real question is whether or not Israeli officials and the Israeli military can actually accomplish the goal that Israeli officials have told me they have here, and that is to eliminate entirely the threat of any nuclear Iranian nuclear weapons program. There have been questions about whether or not Israel can accomplish that alone without the support of the U.S. military. That is the goal, nonetheless, that they have now laid out. And we expect those attacks in Iran to continue to escalate, likely as early as tonight, Kasie.
HUNT: All right. Jeremy Diamond, do stand by for us as we, of course, cover what you say. It could be additional unfolding strikes there.
I do want to, though, go to Fred Pleitgen, who is currently in Berlin.
But, Fred, of course, you've been to Iran more than 30 times. What is your latest reporting? What are Iranian officials saying at this hour?
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Kasie.
I've been speaking to senior Iranian officials, and basically they're telling me that the strikes that we've seen by Iranian missiles on Israeli territory are going to continue. They call this a retaliation. They call it the kept promise three operation, as they put it. And they said, and this is a quote from the source that I've been speaking to, that the Israelis are in for a long, dark night, as they put it.
The Iranians are saying that they're first and foremost targeting military, military facilities and military airfields. Of course, we heard there from Oren that for an extended period of time, pretty much all of Israel was under a rocket and missile alert. And we did, of course, also see some of those interceptions taking place as well.
One of the other things, Kasie, that a senior Iranian source told me a couple of days ago, as the Iranians seem to be anticipating some sort of military action by the Israelis, is the source claim that there was a target list that the Iranians had finalized and put together in case of an Israeli attack, that those were targets, that the Iranians would then start hitting, including, as the source put it, clandestine nuclear facilities of the Israelis.
Now, of course, it's unclear what exactly has been targeted so far, with the Israelis saying that fewer than 100 missiles have been fired. So as of this point, and that there have been a few hits, it's been interesting to see throughout the course of the day. The Iranians, of course, with their rhetoric, saying that there would be a vicious response coming from their side.
The supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, he went in an address to the nation. And there also said that there would be no leniency, as he put it, on the part of the Iranians, that there would be retaliation and that it would be massive retaliation, as, Kasie, the Iranians also acknowledging that these strikes, of course, have hit them pretty hard, the Iranians acknowledging that the Natanz nuclear facility has been hit, although they claim that the damage to that facility has been superficial.
But first and foremost, the Iranians, of course, acknowledging that large parts of their military leadership, specifically from the elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, has effectively been taken out.
Hossein salami, the head of the IRGC, the head of the aerospace forces for the IRGC, Ali Hajizadeh, of course, who's known as basically the father of Iran's missile, drone and air defense programs. And then, of course, also the chief of the general staff as well. Some of those have already been replaced.
Nevertheless, the Iranians, acknowledging that this is a big blow. But again, at the same time also saying that there is going to be retaliation, that this retaliation is going to be protracted and, of course, will continue as long as the Israelis also continue to conduct their strikes into Iranian territory as well -- Kasie.
HUNT: All right. Fred Pleitgen, stand by for us. Thank you very much for that reporting.
I want to go in, bring in CNN political and national security analyst David Sanger for some kind of big picture analysis here.
And David, you've covered Iran and its nuclear program for years, for decades even. How do you understand the depth, the severity, the breadth of the Israeli attacks last night and what that says about what we may expect over the coming days and weeks?
DAVID SANGER, CNN POLITICAL & NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Well, first, Kasie, it obviously was the biggest attack that Israel has ever launched on Iran, and certainly the biggest attack Iran has ever felt since the revolution, the Islamic Revolution in 1979.
Second, you've seen the Israelis go after individual Iranian scientists in assassinations. Youve seen them try to sabotage individual parts of the nuclear program. You've seen them join together with the United States 15 years ago to send in the Stuxnet worm, a malware that was destroying parts of the Natanz plant.
What we've never seen is the Israelis doing a bombing campaign to try to set back that program by a number of years, knowing that there would be a lot of civilian casualties and knowing that they would be killing military officers and intelligence officers and mosques. What was missing, though, last night, its almost as interesting as what they struck is what they didn't hit.
You heard Prime Minister Netanyahu talk about the stores of uranium, which have been enriched to near bomb grade that the Iranians have, that, he said, was the threat that led to all of this. But they avoided that down in Isfahan, where it is stored, my guess is somewhat deliberately, for fear of causing a radiation accident, essentially not an explosion, but environmental contamination.
HUNT: All right, David Sanger, stand by for us. And again, you walk through all of this in your terrific piece that's up right now on your -- for "The New York Times".
I want to though go to our Kylie Atwood, our national security correspondent, because she's got some new information coming in.
Kylie, I understand were learning or were seeing the first U.S. assessment of these Israeli strikes. What does that look like?
KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. So this is the early hours of the U.S. assessment of what the Israeli strikes actually carried out. And what we're learning is that these strikes went far greater than just impacting the exterior, the superficial elements of Natanz, which is Iran's largest nuclear facility. They actually wiped out the electricity in the lower levels of that facility.
The reason that's significant is that's where they actually do the enriching of uranium. That's according to two U.S. officials. I spoke with another source familiar with this assessment who said it was a full spectrum blitz. They're still trying to figure out exactly what was impacted here, but based on what they are seeing, there is an indication that there could have been a cyber element to this military attack as well. We're watching to see if that actually plays out, if there was a cyber element.
But of course, the U.S. trying to figure out what Israel accomplished and of course, what that means for what it will want to continue doing as they're promising more strikes. HUNT: All right. Kylie Atwood for us -- Kylie, thank you very much for
that.
I want to go now to Natasha Bertrand. She's at the Pentagon. And Natasha, you've been reporting on the U.S. involvement in trying to thwart these Iranian strikes, this retaliation. What do we know about that? As, of course, we seem to be expecting more through the afternoon and evening.
NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Kasie, this had been kind of an open question whether the U.S. would help defend Israel against this Iranian barrage that was widely anticipated in response to Israel's strikes. And the answer to that, according to multiple officials, is yes, the U.S. is using its military assets that it has all across the Middle East, really at this point, to help take down many of those projectiles.
The U.S. has assets in the in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea. They have ships in the Red Sea as well as in the eastern mediterranean. They have Patriot air defense batteries that are stationed across the region.
They also have Terminal High Altitude Air Defense systems, all of which can help take these missiles and drones down. Now, it's unclear at this point the extent to which the U.S. has been helping. All we have from U.S. officials at this point is that the U.S. military is engaging.
And, of course, the U.S. also has interests in the region as well. There are hundreds of thousands of Americans that live in Israel. There are also a number of very important military assets in the region as well, of course, as U.S. troops.
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And so, the U.S. sees this not only as an imperative to help defend its key ally in the Middle East, but also, of course, to help defend its own troops and its own people. And so, it remains to be seen just how many of these missiles and drones the U.S. has actually been able to help take down.
But safe to say, it is probably a significant number if history is any sign, because the U.S., of course, over the past two times that Iran has hit Israel with ballistic missiles, the U.S. has been very instrumental in helping take those projectiles down -- Kasie.
HUNT: All right. Natasha Bertrand for us, Natasha, thank you.
I want to bring in Air Force Colonel Cedric Leighton.
Colonel Leighton, it's always good to see you. Thanks for being here.
Can you just help us understand a little bit more about the reporting that Natasha just laid out there for us? What does this say about the U.S. posture going forward? COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Yeah, Kasie, I think
that's a really interesting piece that Natasha put together there, because what you're talking about is really how much the U.S. has helped with the air defense of Israel, the air and missile defense of Israel.
And what we're seeing is the based on what happened so far in this particular situation, as well as what happened back in October. And before that, during the past summer, you have a situation where the Israeli missile and air defense system, the Iron Dome, David Sling and the Arrow Systems, they are very good, but they need some help. And that help is what we're providing in the form of the egis systems that are on board the Navy vessels, as well as Air Force assets and other assets that we have in the region.
So, it's a combination of radar and intelligence support that is being provided to the Israelis, and that helps them figure out what kinds of missiles are coming at them and what the exact time of impact of those missiles is going to be. That helps defend Israel, and it helps the Israelis intercept those missiles through their defensive systems. Then that's why this is actually a critically important piece that does end up protecting Israel. You know, in these operations.
HUNT: All right. Colonel Cedric Leighton, you've been throughout our coverage this afternoon. Do stand by for us.
We are going to take a quick break here, but don't go anywhere. We'll have much more on this breaking news unfolding this afternoon evening in the Middle East. We'll be right back.
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HUNT: All right. Welcome back.
We're back now with the breaking news, Iran's attack against Israel, their retaliation.
Joining us now is Democratic Senator Chris Coons of Delaware, who is a longtime member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
Senator, always grateful to have you on the show here. We've learned a lot here just in the last few minutes. The initial American assessment of this attack that Israel launched against Iran has come through. Were you surprised at how successful this attack was, given previous understanding of what the capability would be?
SEN. CHRIS COONS (D-DE): Well, Kasie, it does certainly reshape our understanding and expectations about the strategy of Israel in its attack against Iran and the balance of power in the Middle East.
One thing that is worth commenting on for a moment, if I could, is the role of drones that Israel had successfully infiltrated into Iran and pre-positioned that made it possible for them to take down some of Iran's air defenses. It reminds me of Ukraine's recent dramatic strike great distances within Russia against their strategic bomber forces. I've been raising regularly with Pentagon officials over the last year. My concern about protecting Americans, Americans in Syria and Iraq, in Qatar and in the UAE.
There are tens of thousands of American troops currently serving throughout the Middle East, and I am concerned about and praying for their safety as this conflict between Israel and Iran escalates. I called on President Trump to do everything possible to position air defense resources in the region, and was encouraged that he took steps a few days ago to move nonessential personnel out of the region, because there's lots of Americans in harm's way, lots of civilians in harm's way. As this conflict seems to continue towards escalation.
HUNT: Senator, the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, went out of his way in a statement last night to encourage the Iranians to avoid striking American personnel or interests in the region. What would you expect if, God forbid, American troops were injured or killed or significant U.S. interests were harmed, that the response might be?
COONS: I would expect us to strike Iran in response. And that's why I thought it was important that Secretary Rubio sent a clear and strong signal to Iran that the Trump administration, U.S. forces, did not participate in this initial strike. And to caution them against striking American forces in retaliation.
Frankly, we need to protect American forces, and we need to be mindful that there are hundreds of thousands of Americans who live in Israel. So as we are working to understand exactly what these latest Iranian strikes mean and exactly what the security situation is going forward, and as it unfolds in the days ahead, we need to be mindful that there are lots of Americans in this region and in harm's way today and in the days ahead.
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HUNT: Senator the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, says that the Trump administration was aware of Israels plans here. Are you confident that he is giving us the entire picture here? Did the United States have the complete picture of what Israel was going to do before it happened?
COONS: Well, I'm not in the classified briefings of the administration, but I certainly had no foreknowledge that Israel had made a decision to go ahead and strike Iran. There were plenty of notices and stories in the press that there seem to be preparations in Israel to be ready, and that there seem to be actions taken by U.S. armed forces, as I just mentioned, for example, to take nonessential personnel out of harm's way.
So, there were some signals, but there was supposed to be a next round of negotiations between the Trump administration and the Iranian regime in Oman this Sunday. So I don't think from what I know now that there was explicit approval or participation in this attack by the Trump administration.
I do think that in the last few days, the statement by the board of the IAEA, the world's sort of nuclear watchdog, that Iran had taken significant steps to increase enrichment and was operating outside of the nonproliferation treaty. And the response by Iran to announce a new enrichment facility that moved us into a more dangerous period. But I expected that the next thing that was going to happen this weekend would be negotiations in Oman, not an Israeli preemptive strike.
HUNT: Sir, there, of course, has been discussion of the Israeli prime minister's tenuous political situation at home. He faced a possible dissolution of his own government. That, of course, has been put on hold, considering what we've seen unfolding here.
Do you think that played any role in what we've seen unfold in the last 48 hours?
COONS: Look, it's hard to know the judgment of political leaders. If there's one thing that Prime Minister Netanyahu has been relentlessly focused on during his long career in elected service in Israel, it's the threat of Iran and his relentless attacks on concerns about denunciation of the Iranian nuclear program. I understand that because Iran has repeatedly threatened to destroy Israel and has supported proxies throughout the region that have carried out attacks on Americans, on civilians, on other countries.
But you're right that the prime minister has other considerations, just like President Trump, who may want to distract from other developments. I'll remind you, we currently have a war of aggression by Russia against Ukraine. We have the ongoing conflict in Gaza. We have the risks in Taiwan, and we've got the bill, the reconciliation bill, the so-called big beautiful bill that is trying to move through the Congress.
Last week, all we were talking about was the breakup, the breakup between Elon Musk and Donald Trump and how Musk was denouncing Trump's major legislative initiative after a show of force in Los Angeles by the National Guard and the Marines in response to protests that local law enforcement had under control. Now, all we're talking about is either the situation in Los Angeles and the rough mishandling of Senator Padilla, or now these attacks in the Middle East.
So it's not unknown either here in the United States or in the Middle East for political figures to try and change the subject or to take bolder, decisive action that may or may not be in their nation's best interest, merely to change the subject from politically inconvenient developments.
HUNT: Senator, you just ran through a long list of things, many of which are incredibly politically divisive --
COONS: It's a busy week, yes.
HUNT: -- here at home, right? I mean, the political climate in the United States has been at a boiling point now, and especially with what's been unfolding in L.A., potentially at risk of tipping over entirely. Do you and how would you talk about the Trump administration in this context, considering how angry so many Democrats are at President Trump?
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Are you confident that President Trump can lead America through this crisis, especially if it escalates?
COONS: Look, I have grave concerns about many of the leaders in the Trump administration and the president. Kristi Noem, the homeland security secretary, Secretary Hegseth, who leads the Department of Defense, I did not vote for either of them. And I just had appropriations hearing with Secretary Hegseth. I have strong disagreements with some of his priorities and choices. And I think the way the security for Secretary Noem handled Senator Padilla trying to ask a question at a press conference was concerning, alarming.
But we only have one president at a time, and I recognize that the world is an increasingly dangerous place, even if at times I think our president takes actions that make it more unstable, that he divides us from our allies with tariff wars, and he fails to appreciate some of the strategic moments that we have in front of us globally.
I do think it's important for us to reduce the temperature, to not encourage anything in the way of political violence or further division in our country, and those of us who've now spent hours watching with concern what's happening and unfolding in the Middle East.
I'll end where I began, which is, I am principally concerned for the safety of American service members and their families, of those Americans who live in Israel and throughout the region, and hope that all parties will begin to move towards de-escalation and finding a way to achieve a path towards a more secure region without an Iran nuclear program that could threaten Israel or any other countries in the region.
HUNT: Very briefly, sir, before I let you go, do you think President Trump should proceed with a military parade tomorrow, considering these events?
COONS: I wish he would not. Let's be clear, the U.S. Army is celebrating its 250th anniversary tomorrow. My brother, my sister-in- law, my father, my uncles all served in the U.S. Army. I am proud of their service, and I am proud of the millions of Americans who have served and sacrificed in our U.S. Army.
But I will remind you a part of why the U.S. Army began in the first place was in resistance to a king and our nation should humbly reflect on the service and sacrifice of our armed forces and this very expensive parade. In my view, those funds could have been better spent supporting our veterans, supporting service members, supporting Gold Star families.
It is my hope that if the parade goes forward, that its principal focus will be those who have served and sacrificed in the U.S. military.
HUNT: All right. Senator Chris Coons of Delaware -- sir, very much appreciate your time today. Thank you very much for being with us.
COONS: Thank you, Kasie.
HUNT: All right. We're going to take a quick break here, but were going to continue. We'll be right back with much more coverage of this breaking, unfolding story as Iran retaliates against Israel.
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HUNT: All right. So you just watched new video. It just came in from the Israeli defense forces. It shows what they say is the Israeli interception of an Iranian drone earlier today.
Let's go now to bring in Leon Panetta, who, of course, served as both the secretary of defense and as CIA director under President Obama. He also served as President Clinton's White House chief of staff.
Secretary Panetta, I'm so grateful to have you here this afternoon, as we watch this all unfold. You, of course, have been in the room with presidents as they have had to make decisions and react to extraordinary circumstances like the ones that we are seeing unfold here.
What at this hour would be your advice to our president of the United States?
LEON PANETTA, FORMER CIA DIRECTOR: Well, I think the most the most important effort that the United States has to do right now is to try to make sure that the events in the Middle East don't escalate into a full scale regional war, and to do everything necessary to try to get the parties to return to the negotiating table and be able to resolve their concerns about nuclear enrichment in a peaceful way, that that really has to be the fundamental goal of the United States policy right now.
HUNT: Mr. Secretary, one of the things that were learning here, and we just had some new reporting in from our reporters on this, that the strikes that the Israelis launched against the main facility went so far as to knock out the power on the lowest levels, where much of the enrichment activity is taking place.
And that goes far beyond our previous understanding of what the Israelis would have been capable of in such an attack without the help from the United States. What does that tell you about whether or not the circumstances, and I understand the ones you just laid out, the longstanding policy of the United States has this new reality changed that?
[16:45:02]
PANETTA: Well, that's -- that's the issue were all dealing with right now is, is whether or not we're going to see a full scale escalation of this war that is going to result in tremendous destruction and a lot of casualties, or whether we'll be able to ultimately limit the escalation and try to get back to negotiations.
Look, this is a -- this is a challenging moment for several reasons. Number one, I think the parties have to decide what is the goal here? What is the goal?
If Israels goal is to get rid of Iran's nuclear enrichment, nuclear capability? Then (AUDIO GAP) easy goal to achieve. Even though they've got good intelligence, even though they've got good capabilities. And we've seen those capabilities put into effect.
But the problem is that a lot of these nuclear facilities are located deep in, in the ground and Fordow and Natanz and elsewhere, and they really don't have the capability to be able to strike at those facilities. So that's one, is that the goal?
The other is whether the goal is to try to arrive at some kind of agreement that limits their enrichment capability and limits their ability to achieve a nuclear weapon. That's what the United States is interested in trying to do. So, deciding what the goal is here and where we're headed will determine whether or not were going to be in a prolonged war in the Middle East, or whether were going to be able to return to some kind of negotiations.
HUNT: Mr. Secretary, how much danger do you think American troops are in right now? And if, God forbid, something were to happen to Americans in the region in uniform or potentially civilians as well, what kind of response should that warrant from the United States?
PANETTA: Well, let's not -- let's not kid anybody. This is a dangerous moment. It's a dangerous moment, not just for Israel and Iran. It's a dangerous moment for the United States, because if Iran makes the decision that they're going to decide to go after United States targets in that region, and there are a number of targets that they could go after, then there is no question that the United States would have to take steps to defend ourselves and to be able to make sure that U.S. lives are not lost.
So, if that happens, then make no mistake about it. The United States will, without question engage. And Iran needs to know that. They need to know that if they go after any U.S. targets, that the United States will fully defend ourselves from that kind of attack.
Whether Iran decides to do that, I think is a question mark, because right now the United States is playing a defensive role and not an offensive role. And that's pretty much in line with what has gone on in the Middle East for a period of time. We were able to help Israel defend itself from a missile attack. We've got to continue to do that.
Look, Iran has 3,000 missiles, 3,000 missiles. Make no mistake about it, if they decide to exhaust that missile supply, that could result in a hell of a lot of damage.
HUNT: All right. Former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta -- sir, very grateful for your time and your expertise today, sir. Thank you. PANETTA: Thank you.
HUNT: All right. Joining us now to continue this conversation, Democratic congressman Jake Auchincloss of Massachusetts. He's a former marine officer himself, has served in war zones wearing the American uniform.
Congressman, thank you very much for being here.
I want to pick up where we're leaving off here with the defense secretary. We saw that statement from the Secretary of State Marco Rubio last night, overnight, clearly warning Iran to not look at American troops, American interests in the region. What would you expect the U.S. response to be, what would you hope it should be, in the event that the worst were to happen here?
REP. JAKE AUCHINCLOSS (D-MA): Kasie, thanks for having me on.
What the world needs right now is for the American president to act like the leader of the free world, and the leader of the free world would talk not just to the governments, that matters, but it's not sufficient. He would talk to the people themselves.
[16:50:00]
He would talk to the American people first and say, our mission is peace, and we are going to strive to de-escalate in the Middle East because we are not sending American troops back into those maelstroms. He would talk to the Israeli people directly and say, your closest ally is here to defend you, alongside of you. Every missile that rains down on your cities, we will help you shoot down.
And finally, he would talk directly to the Iranian people because the Persian people have, in fact, a great bastion of decency and common sense that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps has trampled upon. And he would speak directly to the Iranian people and say, you don't have to live like this. Now is the time to take on this regime that has impoverished you and repressed you.
HUNT: So, Congressman, what is your reaction to what we have seen so far from the president of the United States, now that you've -- you've laid out in pretty clear terms, how you think he should be handling this.
AUCHINCLOSS: He hasn't said any of those three things. He has not been bold and clear enough. When there is a vacuum of leadership for the free world, the forces and the interests that fill those vacuums are ones that are seeking their own interests, ones that may have parochial ends in mind. This was the role that America played in the world since World War II, sometimes imperfectly, but always striving towards expanding the envelope of freedom for people the world over.
And right now, you know, Donald Trump is focused on Los Angeles, not on the global issues at hand for freedom.
HUNT: Congressman, the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has said that the Trump administration was fully aware of what he was going to do before he did it, what his government was going to do. Do you believe him?
AUCHINCLOSS: Yes. No Israeli government would launch this type of attack without first coordinating and alerting the American government, regardless of who the prime minister and president is.
HUNT: And do you know, is there anything that you can tell us about whether the United States tried to dissuade this from happening? I mean, what is your understanding of their posture when this was all set to unfold?
AUCHINCLOSS: I can't and candidly, I'm not confident that there was a coherent response from the American government. I mean, think about who we have on our side of the table right now. You got Ambassador Huckabee, who is entirely focused on issues in the West Bank and is quite extreme on those issues. Youve got Donald Trump who says a different thing every 12 hours about Gaza and the West Bank and Iran. And there's a deal. There's not a deal.
You've got Pete Hegseth and Tulsi Gabbard, who not exactly wired tight on national security issues as anybody who's watched their congressional testimony will tell you. So it's just not clear to me that there was a coherent response from the American government when this alert was given.
And I'm not saying that in a partisan capacity. It doesn't make me happy to say that. Again, what I want to see, regardless of whether it's a Democrat or Republican in the oval office, is strong, bold leadership of the free world, the kind of leadership that George H.W. Bush would have offered, the kind of leadership that Joe Biden offered for Ukraine.
So, both parties can do it. It's just that this guy is not.
HUNT: Congressman, one person you didn't mention there is Steve Witkoff who has been the president's personal envoy and has actually been in these rooms. I think I got a sense of what you think of him there based on your reaction, but what role do you think he's playing here? And is it productive?
AUCHINCLOSS: He was part of the hostage negotiations that got an American home from Gaza. So, I compliment and appreciate that work. And to the extent that he can credibly speak on behalf of the president of the United States, to both Iranian and Israeli political interests, that can be helpful.
I mean, that is one of the roles of the United States right now is to de-escalate while ensuring Israeli security. And so, if he can play that role, then someone's got to. But, you know, he's not -- he's not someone whose track record inspires a lot of confidence. If you look at the full scope of his career and his interests.
HUNT: Yeah. Congressman, big picture here. You of course, have been you know, you had your skin in the game literally when America was kind of embroiled more deeply in conflicts in the Middle East. What would you say about how easy it might be for what we're seeing play out over the course of the last 48 hours to become something that requires more Americans like you to go to that region and do some of what you did years ago?
[16:55:02]
AUCHINCLOSS: Events on the ground are one thing, and I won't claim to predict them, but more important is the American public. And the American public does not want to get dragged into a ground war in the Middle East. I say that with a high degree of confidence. We're going to help on aerial defense of Israeli cities.
We're obviously going to ensure force protection for U.S. troops staged overseas, and were going to indicate to Iran that if they hit U.S. troops, were going to destroy their oil and gas infrastructure, and absolutely plaster their economy and their ability to earn revenue. But I don't think there's any appetite in the United States Congress in either party to be sending U.S. troops to the Middle East, nor should there be.
HUNT: All right. Congressman Jake Auchincloss, very grateful to have you today. Thanks very much for taking some time with us today.
AUCHINCLOSS: Thanks.
HUNT: All right. We're going to continue this conversation with Joel Rubin. He's former deputy assistant secretary of state in the Obama administration and CNN analyst David Sanger of "The New York Times", who is back, joining us once again.
David Sanger, let me start with you and your reporting on this. And then I'd like to bring in Joel for some of his perspective as well.
But I'm interested to know, David, in your assessment of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his political situation, the timing of this attack, are those things related, or do you think they are not?
SANGER: When it's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, I think politics are always related. He had many previous moments when he nearly ordered strikes on Iran, moments when the planes were ready to go, and he pulled back. This time he did not. And of course, it came at a time that he's barely holding on to power with a very fragile coalition.
I'm sure this is going to have some unifying effect in Israel that will, for a while, I think, help support him. Do I think he's passionate about the Iranian threat? Absolutely. And he has been through his entire career. So, I wouldn't say this is all politics.
The big question is now is can he control that escalation ladder? Because there could be a moment where this plunges Israel into something it's not prepared really, or its public isn't prepared for at a moment that, of course, the war with Hamas is still underway.
HUNT: Well, and of course, David, I mean, to your point, this this was took so long to plan. It was so involved. Theres no way that this is something that they just, you know, snap their fingers and decided, absolutely, we're going to do overnight.
SANGER: The most planned operation over the years for Israel has always been Iran.
HUNT: Yeah. Remarkable.
And, Joel Rubin, I -- on that point that David was making, it is now a reality that Israel has opened up this this massive front with Iran. They are still fighting in Gaza. What do you think the Israeli people will tolerate here?
JOEL RUBIN, FORMER DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE: Yeah, Kasie, look, the Israeli people are war weary, without a doubt. coming up now on almost two years of military action in Gaza, consistent mobilizations of the reserves and the reserves are the population. So, there's exhaustion there.
But, you know, this this really was the most daring military gamble that Israel has taken since the six-day war in 1967. And the dice are still rolling.
So, we don't know how this is going to unfold. And I think for the Israeli people, there is a deep fear and concern and trepidation about Iran. They look at where Iran has been going, what it's been supporting along its border, along Israels borders, this advancement of the nuclear program. And I think to David's point, there's going to be a lot of unity of support for these strikes, certainly in the near term. But if it continues to drag, it's really going to burn out the population.
HUNT: All right. And just as you were finishing your thought there, Joel, we just got news in that Israel has fired rockets on Iran at this hour. Of course, retaliation there.
And you know, David Sanger, I will say -- I mean, it's very rare for us to see physical damage in Israel, reports of injuries because, of course, of the air protection system that they have. Were you surprised to see that, and what implications do you think it has for the next phase of this conflict?
SANGER: Well, I think certainly when there were the missile exchanges last year, the United States and other allies were in a better position to go do the interceptions. I think we've come to over expect on the Iron Dome system, which was really designed for these somewhat slow moving rockets coming from Lebanon and so forth.
What the Iranians have the capability of throwing at Israel moves a lot faster and moves through the atmosphere in a very different way. And the Iron Dome is not really set up to fully do those interceptions. So there's some vulnerability I think you're going to see in the next 24 to 48 hours, a real focus by the Israelis on taking out every one of the missile launchers they can find.
HUNT: All right. Joel Rubin, David Sanger, thank you both very much for your time and your expertise today. Thanks to all of you for joining us throughout this hour. Don't go
anywhere. CNNs breaking news coverage continues right now with "THE LEAD WITH JAKE TAPPER".
