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The Lead with Jake Tapper

Iran Retaliates Against Israel With Missile Barrage; Israel Says, Iran Crossed Red Lines by Firing at Civilian Areas; Right Now, Sirens Heard in Jerusalem; Moments Ago: More Strikes Intercepted Over Israel; Flyovers & Firepower Displays Planned For Army Celebration. Aired 6-7p ET

Aired June 13, 2025 - 18:00   ET

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

JAKE TAPPER, CNN HOST: Welcome to The Lead. I'm Jake Tapper. And we are following breaking news this evening. We're looking live over Tel Aviv, where Iranian missiles lit up the skies earlier this evening with missiles just last hour. Iranian state media said it has activated its air defense system over Tehran in an attempt to intercept another round of Israeli strikes. Iran says Israel strikes have killed at least 78 people and injured more than 300.

Israel confirms that some Iranian missiles did hit civilian centers and other parts of Israel, saying at least 34 people have been injured in the area around Tel Aviv.

[18:00:08]

All of this after last night, Israel initiated what they call the preemptive strike on Iran, claiming that the Islamic Republic was close to building a nuclear weapon, which they say would threaten Israel's very existence. Tonight, Israel warned Iran, quote, more is on the way, after Iranians strikes penetrated the Iron Dome missile defense system, instruct buildings in Tel Aviv injuring dozens, according to Israel, while Iran had a message of its own for Israel, saying Israel faces a dark night ahead.

We have teams stationed around the world. We're going to begin with CNN's Jeremy Diamond. Jeremy?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Jake, at this hour, I understand that the Israeli Prime Minister is huddled with his top security officials to discuss Israel's next steps in what is quickly becoming a rapidly escalating war between Israel and Iran. I am told that, as the security cabinet meets, to discuss its next steps, the next wave of attacks against Iran, that the intention here is not to do a tit-for-tat, not to have this be at the same level, but rather for Israel to continue to climb up this ladder of escalation with more intense strikes against Iran against a wider range of targets.

We know that Israeli officials since the first hours of this operation have said that this would not be a one day operation. Israeli leaders, like the prime minister, have very much framed this in existential terms in terms of the Iranian nuclear threat that they perceive, and they have also said that they expect and that they intend to eliminate that nuclear threat all together. There are still questions about whether or not that is something Israel can accomplish without the assistance of the U.S. military, but we do know that even as Israel has acted alone, its air defense capabilities have been augmented by the United States military, which is also assisting with intercepting some of these missiles as well as some broader regional cooperation with other countries in the region, although we do not know the extent of that cooperation at this hour.

What is clear, though, is that in Israel itself, there are several injuries, at least more than a dozen people have been injured at this hour, according to health officials on the ground. And this is, you know, the most damaging attack that Iran has carried out on Israel, as certainly Israel is carrying out one of its most devastating attacks against Iran over the course of the last 24 hours. Jake?

TAPPER: And, Natasha at the Pentagon, initially, we were told by the Trump White House that this is an Israeli operation, the U.S. has nothing to do with it, but there is now a US military role. What can you tell us?

NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Jake. So, we're told by multiple officials that the U.S. has helped intercept some of these Iranian ballistic missiles and drones that have been launched at Israel.

Now, it's unclear what that military action actually looks like, whether, for example, it's being carried out by U.S. destroyers, which are present in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Red Sea, air assets including fighter jets that the U.S. has in the region, or simply the Patriot batteries, Patriot air defense batteries that the U.S. also has in the area, and the terminal high altitude air defense system that it has placed in the Middle East as well. All of those assets are capable of bringing down these projectiles that are launched by Iran. But as we saw, some of them have actually gotten through.

And so it is unclear at this point what the extent of the U.S. role in this. However, we are told that they are, of course, helping defend their very key ally in the region, Israel. Jake?

TAPPER: And, Fred, we're hearing at least 78 people were killed in Iran. That's what the Iranian regime says anyway, they say hundreds injured. Do we have any idea if these are military -- members of the military or civilians? What are you learning about the extent of the damage in Iran?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, some of them started to be members of the military. Of course, we know some pretty high ranking military officials in Iran have been killed, including the leader of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. But the Iranians from the get-go, Jake, even in the early morning hours, have said that at least civilians were wounded and some were killed in some of the strikes that happened on residential buildings, of course, where the Israelis did take out some of those high level military officials.

There was also some video that came out in the early morning hours of today, especially from some of those areas in the east of Tehran, where some of these houses, some of these buildings had been damaged pretty badly. There were people in front of them who seemingly had been injured possibly in these strikes, and the Iranians now coming out with that number.

I think it was the U.N. ambassador to the Iranian U.N. ambassador coming out with that number saying, as of right now, 78 people were killed, and 320 have been injured.

Now, of course, the most prominent of those are indeed those top military officials of the Iranians, the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Aerospace Forces, the chief of the general staff, some of them have actually already been replaced by Iran's supreme leader, who gave a speech earlier tonight, coming out and saying that the Iranians would strike, would strike back in a tough way, that there would be no leniency, as he put it.

[18:10:20]

And, of course, we did then see that Iranian retaliation.

And there was, Jake, an Iranian brigadier general who then went on Iranian state T.V. and claimed that the targets of that Iranian retaliation that has happened so far were three Israeli military airfields, which he did not specify, but he said were in various parts of Israel.

Of course, the Iranians, as you noted earlier, saying that this is not the end of it, that Israel would have a long and dark night ahead of them. Of course, the Iranians had said in the past, sources telling CNN that they already have a target list, as they put it, including Israeli military facilities that they put together before the Israeli strikes even happened. At the same time, of course, the Iranians definitely reeling from some of these strikes that the Israelis managed to conduct and have been conducting throughout the better part of the day. Jake?

TAPPER: And, Jeremy, Israel's missile defense system, whether the Iron Dome or David's Sling or Arrow 2 or Arrow 3, they're all, you know, very impressive, but they don't function 100 percent of the time. Tonight, Israel's military says Iran fired fewer than a hundred missiles, but they did make a few hits. So, are the missile defense systems not working as well as they usually do? Are the Iranians figuring out how to penetrate them better? What's going on?

DIAMOND: Well, certainly these systems can only be as effective as the number of interceptors that they have and they can indeed be overwhelmed by a large barrage. And that does appear to be at least partially the story of what happened tonight. We saw several hits not only in military bases, it would appear, but also in Central Tel Aviv, as well as the outskirts of Tel Aviv in a city called Ramat Gun. And that's where we are seeing several injuries, including a hit to a residential building in Ramat Gun.

What's important to note is that back in October, a lot of those Iranian ballistic missiles, you know, a minority of them but a significant number, did also make it through Israel's air defense shield. But at the time, those that did make it through largely struck, you know, in the middle of roads, on the sides of roads.

They didn't really hit any buildings. And so Israel did get quite lucky back in October. And what we're seeing right now is a similar scenario, except this time we are seeing impacts directly to buildings, which is why we are seeing the number of injuries that we are seeing as of now.

And, in fact, right now on my phone, I'm starting to get. Sirens that are sounding once again now in Southern Israel, near the city of Be'er Sheva, where there are also a couple of Israeli Air Force bases in that area as well. And so it's clear that these barrages are going to continue. And the more missiles Iran fires at the same time, the higher the likelihood is that some of those will penetrate those air defense systems, as sophisticated as they may be.

TAPPER: All right. Jeremy Diamond in New York, Natasha Bertrand in Washington, Fred Pleitgen in Berlin, thanks to all of you.

And joining us now to discuss, CNN Global Affairs Analyst Brett McGurk, who has served as special presidential envoy for multiple presidents.

So, I know you've said in the past and including today that Iran's in a weak position, in general, certainly with Hezbollah and Hamas and the Houthis all weakened. Are you surprised that they were able to penetrate the Iron Dome and the other Israel missile defense systems as well as they did?

BRETT MCGURK, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: I think Iran clearly had a response kind of in the can. Remember, Israel attacked Iran back in October, taking out the strategic air defense. Iran, to this day, had never responded to that. We know they were preparing to. So, I think they had a number of missiles kind of in the silos. It looks like they launched them. It's very unfortunate that some of those got through in downtown Tel Aviv. Obviously, I think we'll look to why that happened.

I know the October defense quite well. So, we had missile destroyers in the Eastern Mediterranean. We had all of our systems on land. We now have a THAAD system, which was mentioned in the report, which we deployed in the latter months of the Biden administration.

So, look, I think we have very good defenses, but Iran can only keep this up for so long. Israel, what they have done here is they have demonstrated complete intelligence domination in Iran and now they have --

TAPPER: Setting up a drone base inside the country.

MCGURK: And now they have -- Jake, they have total air dominance. They have total air dominance. I know a little bit about kind of what the Israelis might be planning because I've just worked with them for so long. I don't know exactly what they have in the in the hopper here in the coming days, but they have already thought through round two, round three, round four, round five. And I think Iran is in trouble.

I am hearing that the Iranians are actually reaching out, saying, hey, we are going to respond, but then we're ready to get back to the table.

[18:10:00]

That's hugely significant. We have to see. But Iran's in a very weak position here.

And what Israel has done is quite extraordinary, the scope and scale of this operation is unprecedented. The losses to Iran, look, yes, they can replace their commanders. The supreme leader named some replacements today. I wouldn't necessarily want to be those people, but I know these guys. Hazijade is their missile and rocket commander. He is the guy that basically built their entire missile force.

TAPPER: Was.

MCGURK: Was, dead. Salami, the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, he basically was Qassem Soleimani's boss, Qassem Soleimani, the former head of the Quds Force, killed in the strike back in 2019.

Soleimani's replacement, Esmail Ghaani, it looks like he has also been killed. And the leader of Iran's entire military, General Bagheri, one of the most powerful people in Iran, someone we used to communicate with when we were trying to figure out what was going on either to deescalate, try to manage contained situations, he said -- and Ali Shamkhani, who is, really the main national security adviser to the supreme leader, he's been replaced, but he's always been -- he's still in the room. He's been basically the national security adviser of Iran.

TAPPER: How did they take them all out?

MCGURK: It's extraordinary, again, intelligence penetration. I think --

TAPPER: Were they all -- I mean, were they all in one place? Were they at home?

MCGURK: I still don't know the details. I mean, look, one reason why did this come now, I think one thing I know from the Israelis, also in our operations over the years, sometimes an intelligence-driven operation, it really is opportunistic. You have everybody in the same place at one time. But this is just -- what Israel is able to pull off here just demonstrates a level of penetration inside Iran, that even I'm surprised by, and I've been working with the Israelis for a very long time.

TAPPER: Stick around, Brett, because I want to go to Oren Liebermann, who is in Jerusalem and where it sounds like the missiles are hitting again. Oren, tell us what you're going through.

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF: Jake, this looks like the third wave of incoming ballistic missile fire from Iran. The Israeli military put out a statement just a few moments ago saying the IDF identified missiles launched from Iran toward the territory of the state of Israel.

Sirens were going off in Jerusalem behind us. I don't know if the mic is picking up on it, but it sounds like those sirens were so loud, they set off car alarms in the area, and even after they stopped here for a moment, you could hear them in neighboring towns and villages.

And then over the course of the past probably two minutes or so, we heard what sounded like four or five likely interceptions, but also possibly impacts. We're not sure about that yet. And as I sit here talking to you, the red alerts keep coming in for areas all around Jerusalem, Shoresh, for example, is just west of us, a number of other locations in the area.

So, this appears to be, from what we're seeing here, the third round of Iranian ballistic missile fire incoming at Israel. Again, the sirens went off here for quite some time, and then they continued in areas around Jerusalem and we heard a number of intercepts.

Let me stop talking for just a minute here. I doubt the microphone can pick it up, but I can hear red alert sirens in the distance essentially west of where we're sitting right now, that is towards Tel Aviv. And it looks like sirens or red alerts are also going off in the West Bank, in places like Shiloh as well.

So, it's not clear if this is all across the country, but it certainly looks like it is around Jerusalem and potentially central parts of the country as well with what is the third round of incoming ballistic missile fire.

Meanwhile, my cameraman here looking behind me. Are you seeing --

TAPPER: Yes, we're seeing --

LIEBERMANN: Possibly an interception or a flame of some sort behind us, whether that's a downed missile.

TAPPER: Yes, we're seeing some images right now from Jerusalem and also some from Tel -- that's Tel Aviv right now, we're seeing images. And for folks not used to seeing this, some of them are missiles and some of them are --

LIEBERMANN: And we just saw a launch right behind us --

TAPPER: -- anti-missiles.

LIEBERMANN: Yes, we just heard -- you might even still be able to hear it in the background. We just saw an interceptor launched off from pretty much right behind us that that was headed up right behind our shot here. We might be able to roll that back a little later, but I think that's the first time this evening, at least, that we have seen an interceptor fired from Jerusalem.

Most of the incoming had been towards Tel Aviv, some towards Northern Israel. But now it seems this missile fire, at least a portion of it headed towards Jerusalem itself obviously goes without saying this is where the prime minister's office is. This is where the Knesset is, this is where major government offices are.

And as I say this, you just heard what sounded like an interception, might have been able to see it over my left shoulder here, another one, potentially a third one. So, this looks like, and I'm still hearing them.

TAPPER: Yes. The flashes in the sky, for those watching, the flashes in the sky are missiles being exploded by the interceptors.

[18:15:02]

When the missiles get through, the flashes are on the ground when the missiles hit.

It is quite a thing to be in Israel when they are under attack, which is not infrequently, when I was in Israel after October 7th, 2023 and Hamas was firing rockets.

There we go. We see more missiles in the sky.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The sounds of the explosions taking place in Tel Aviv.

TAPPER: Now, we're hearing from a different station.

Brett McGurk, have you ever been in Israel while they were under attack?

LIEBERMANN: We see more behind us as well, yes.

MCGURK: -- type of launch. You can then see the streaks across the screen.

TAPPER: Yes. It's a remarkable thing.

MCGURK: And for a moment, you're just -- it's silent because you're waiting for them to get in range to take down, then the whole screen goes white and you got the after-action reports.

So, I very much know what is going on here. I am thinking about our men and women working with the Israelis to help defeat that attack. Fortunately, we know how to do it. I think we're very good at it. But also, unfortunately, some do get through.

TAPPER: Well, U.S. troops are obviously there at the U.S. embassy, but are they there in any other capacity?

MCGURK: We have -- obviously, we have a diplomatic presence. We have military personnel who work with our embassy. We have a THAAD system, a terminal high altitude area defense system.

TAPPER: THAAD, the missile defense system.

MCGURK: THAAD is one of our most high-end anti-missile defense systems.

TAPPER: And so we have U..S service members with the THAAD system?

MCGURK: Yes. That is operated by a U.S. military personnel working, you know, hand in glove with the IDF.

TAPPER: Oh, okay. This is -- I mean, this is something we've heard critics of Israel and of U.S. policy when it comes to the alliance with Israel on the left and the right today talking about this, about how Israel is dragging the United States into war.

MCGURK: Hundreds of thousands of Americans live in Israel. We're going to help defend Israel, period. I mean, I we're going to help defend Israel.

And I have to go back, Jake. I talked about this today on your air. The strategic equation in the Middle East really does go back to October 7th. Hamas launched an attack against Israel. Iran made a faithful decision to basically join in that attack, to turn on Hezbollah, to turn on the proxies across the Middle East, to turn on the Houthis, to launch two major attacks themselves against Israel. These were like faithful decisions they made. And Israel has struck back. And, basically, that's where we are.

This week, it was about the nuclear issue, and the IAEA finding Iran in egregious violation of the nuclear commitments. 19 countries saying Iran has to be held accountable. It's not been happening in 20 years. That happened just this week. So, there's a broader context here.

And Iran has had agency and they've made the wrong decision repeatedly one time after another. I've lived through this since October 7th, and they have just totally miscalculated. And it's a new equation here in the Middle East. And the Israelis have made clear since October 7th they will not sit as threats fester on their border. So, that's basically the situation we have.

TAPPER: Oren Liebermann, tell us what you're going through, what you're seeing there.

LIEBERMANN: Well, right now, we just hear the car alarms behind us that were probably set off by how loud the sirens themselves are. It doesn't look like there is more incoming at this particular moment, but that's only from our window here on Jerusalem here behind me. I'm still getting red alerts, for example, Bet Shemesh, which is a city that's just west of us by probably 10, 15 miles or so. So, it's possible there are continued incoming missiles simply in other locations across the country.

One of the interceptors that we saw was fired off from almost directly behind us. It was incredibly loud, not the explosion itself, which obviously makes a tremendous, thunderous boom that you can hear from miles, but the launch itself was quite close to us.

And if you look behind us here, it's essentially a straight shot to the Knesset, which is Israel's parliament, its main government building. Potentially, that was the target. If not, it looks like that's where the interceptor was launched. We saw and heard a number, probably around ten, a dozen, maybe even a few more interceptions. Difficult to tell where those are because they're so loud, they can be miles away.

But it also looked like there may be -- may have been falling shrapnel on and around the city of Jerusalem behind us. I think we're effectively facing south here from the way you're looking at the camera here behind me, which gives you an idea of where some of that may have fallen.

But at least from the red alerts we're getting, which again are the warnings of incoming rocket and missile fire, it looks like there were potentially many more missiles. The first two rounds were dozens and then dozens more. I expect we'll get an update soon from the Israeli military and how many were fired at this point. And then we'll wait to hear from emergency services on how many missiles either impacted or whether shrapnel or material from them fell across the country.

[18:20:06]

Those have caused injuries as well.

So, at least in terms of this third wave, and I just got more red alerts, not clear that it's over yet, maybe more waves coming. But it looks to be a very long night across the country here, frankly, which is what Israel was preparing for and what Iran had promised.

TAPPER: Yes, Iran promised a long, dark night. And just to put -- let's put Oren back there for one second. I just want to illustrate something for our viewers who might not fully understand how small Israel is. Israel's roughly the size of New Jersey.

Oren is there on the right. He's in Jerusalem. The image on the left is Tel Aviv, which I believe is the largest city in Israel. These two cities are separated by 40 miles. That's it. It's about a 50-minute drive on Route 1. Then these are the two biggest cities in the country. It is not a large country, though it does grab a lot of attention.

Oren, stand by. I want to keep talking to Brett McGurk. Brett, we've heard the Saudis today condemning the attack Israel launched on Iran, which, by the way, just for folks who aren't up to speed, Saudi Arabia and Iran are constantly at war with each other through proxies in Yemen, most recently, Iran backing the Houthis and the Saudis backing the government of Yemen. How does MBS, how do the Saudi leaders actually, truly, in their hearts, in your opinion how did they really think about Israel taking out the nuclear program and the military leadership of Iran?

MCGURK: I can't speak for them, but I know --

TAPPER: Just an educated guess, an educated guess.

MCGURK: Number one, they want to stay out of it. So, you want to contain this between Israel and Iran. But they welcome the dismantlement of Iran's nuclear program. TAPPER: Yes. And if Iran builds a nuke, that the sound piece thing, they have to --

MCGURK: No, they've declared that, no question.

TAPPER: Yes.

MCGURK: Look, dismantling Iran's nuclear, they have a civilian program dismantling their enrichment capability, you ultimately will have a more peaceful Middle East, yes.

TAPPER: One thing I want to ask you about, so Netanyahu said that Iran was potentially months away from creating a nuclear weapon. They have the enriched uranium. You have the ballistic missiles. They already have those, and then being able to weaponize that enriched uranium to make a nuclear weapon that they could fire presumably on Israel.

Netanyahu said that the Iranians were maybe months away from, what, a breakout weapon. There's other reports that maybe it was weeks.

I want you to take a listen to Trump's Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard in March. This is what she said during Senate testimony about the I.C., meaning the intelligence community, and Supreme Leader Khamenei of Iran. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TULSI GABBARD, DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE: The I.C. continues to assess that Iran is not building a nuclear weapon and Supreme Leader Khameini has not authorized the nuclear weapons program that he suspended in 2003.

Iran's enriched uranium stockpile is at its highest levels and is unprecedented for a state without nuclear weapons.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: So, how do you reconcile what she testified and what Netanyahu said?

MCGURK: Yes. I've been around this issue many years. In fact, I was in the Bush White House, I think, when that first assessor was made, that Iran was actually putting its program on ice. Iran had a very sophisticated nuclear weapons program. It suspended it in 2003. It's all still there. And they have advanced their civilian program to the point where it has no conceivable civilian use case.

To read that, don't take Bibi Netanyahu, read the IAEA report from last week.

TAPPER: That's the International Atomic Energy --

MCGURK: The Atomic Energy Agency, just that this report that came out a few days ago.

TAPPER: Part of the U.N. MCGURK: Yes. And it said Iran is stockpiling so much uranium enriched to 60 percent. No civilian use for that, enough for 10 bombs.

And here's the problem. In Fordo, which is the underground nuclear facility, they are putting very advanced centrifuges called IR-6. It's kind of one of their most advanced centrifuges. You can take 60 percent grade uranium and put it into the IR-6 machines, and in almost no time, you then have weapons grade uranium.

Once Iran has a canister of weapons grade uranium, it's an entirely different problem, because you can hide it anywhere in the country and you can reconstitute that program. That is why the --

TAPPER: How do we know they don't have it already?

MCGURK: Well, because we have pretty good inspections and visibility. But what -- this has always been the issue here, going back for years, to stop the program, if you have to do it militarily, you have to get at the enrichment. The enrichment, you can't allow them to cross that threshold. So, that's what happened.

The Israelis have a legitimate point that once the program gets to a certain point, once you have IR-6s in Fordo, once you have so much, 60 percent, and if Iran opens a new underground enrichment facility, which it said it would do this week, just the other day, actually the program is then immune from being taken out militarily. And then if diplomacy fails, you really have no options.

So, basically, that threshold point of what we've been talking about for years, Iran really just led right up to that point.

[18:25:03]

This week, they say, we're going to enrich with IR-6s in Fordo, and they said, we're going to open a new underground enrichment facility.

And if you read the IAEA report, I mean, Grossi, you know, sometimes he gets a benefit of the doubt to the Iranians, honestly. He basically said, I cannot justify what Iran's doing here, and they're lying to me.

So -- but, yes, they suspended their weapons program in 2003, but they still have all the pieces to put it together. It's like you take a puzzle apart, you can still easily put the puzzle together.

TAPPER: Especially if you're staring at the puzzle for 22 years.

MCGURK: Exactly.

TAPPER: And you know where all the pieces are.

MCGURK: But a lot of the scientists, I think, are no longer alive after the last 24 hours.

TAPPER: Brett McGurk, fascinating stuff, thanks so much. Much more in our breaking news in moments, and we just saw a new round of missiles intercepted over Israel. Here in the United States, President Trump told Axios that Israel strikes Iran does not, do not jeopardizes nuclear deal efforts, rather, quote, maybe the opposite. Maybe now they will negotiate seriously? Is that realistic? That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TAPPER: And we are continuing to follow the breaking news in our World Lead, as Iran is currently launching retaliatory strikes against Israel this evening.

[18:30:00]

This afternoon, Iran's envoy to the United Nations said that the United States is complicit in Israel's attack on Iran's nuclear facilities and top military leadership, Iran's envoy saying that the United States will, quote, share full responsibility for the consequences, unquote.

Let's bring in CNN Chief International Security Correspondent Nick Paton Walsh, as well as CNN National Security Correspondent Kylie Atwood.

Nick, the U.S. and Iran were scheduled theoretically to hold nuclear talks in Oman this Sunday to or get into some sort of nuclear deal. How does this all impact those talks?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: It does appear to have essentially indefinitely postponed them. I think it's impossible, frankly, given the narrative that's been prevalent inside Iran for decades, that they're essentially in a war against the United States with Israel often being a proxy for that, for them to suddenly engage in diplomacy in Muscat, and that doesn't appear to necessarily be any plan for anyone to attend those talks.

That might suddenly change. But, remember, one of the key targets of these strikes was Ali Shamkhani, who is indeed the Supreme Leader Khameini's key adviser to these nuclear talks. So, significant personnel issues exist just around that continuing.

Of course, the Trump administration may be trying to perhaps suggest that the olive branch here is for Iran to get back to the negotiating table, but Tehran are going to need some sort of mechanism to save face before they can remotely think about that kind of off-ramp. They're already suffering a huge blow to their stature in the region. Maybe these repeated waves of ballistic missiles are part of that mechanism to enable them to say, well, we had our pound of flesh back, but they aren't really, it seems, causing damage comparable to that's been inflicted on or on over the past 24 hours or so.

So, we're into a very complex moment here with the Trump administration seemingly trying to suggest perhaps too late that they were somehow part of a ruse here. Hard to really sustain that idea given the first warnings, I think, the public really got about this, where embassy evacuations by the United States. That's not something you're trying to do if you're trying to keep the Iranians feeling safe in their beds at night.

But, Jake, are quite staggering display of Israeli military and intelligence superiority here, it's ongoing. It's clear the Iranians so far have been unable to yield or provide anything similar in standing to hit Israel back with. Maybe that will change if these missiles continue to try and get through air defenses, but a startling moment, frankly, changed dynamics in the region, Jake.

TAPPER: Kylie, President Trump says that Iran needs to make a deal with the U.S., quote, before nothing is left. He also told CNN's Dana Bash that Iran should have listened to him on April 12th when he gave the 60-day warning to make the deal. The 60 days expired just a couple days ago. Why was that 60-day deadline so important?

KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jake, that was clearly a very serious deadline. And when it comes to President Trump, they are often self-imposed deadlines that he doesn't live up to. Think about the Ukraine war. How many times has he said that we'll know within two weeks if Putin is serious about trying to broker an end to the Ukraine war. Then that deadline comes and passes and there's no new assessment.

The situation here was different for a number of reasons. First of all, the president wrote in a letter to the Iranian supreme leader that he was going to be setting that 60-day clock. And then the Iranians -- excuse me, the Israelis knew that 60-day clock had been set, and they were very clearly working behind the scenes to make sure that that deadline was adhered to.

TAPPER: Kylie Atwood, Nick Paton Walsh, thanks to both of you.

As we continue to follow the breaking news out of the Middle East, we're going to take a closer look into how Israel smuggled weapons, drones inside Iran before the IDF launched its operation named Rising Lion. That story's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:35:00]

TAPPER: And we're back with our World Lead covering the Israel-Iran War. Moments ago, sirens rang out as a new round of Iranian rockets and missiles hit Tel Aviv, this after Israel carried out Operation Rising Lion, a massive, unprecedented operation. Israel says, preemptively targeted Iran's nuclear weapons program, killing several key Iranian military leaders.

Joining us now, former Israeli National Security Adviser Eyal Hulata. Eyal, we're learning that Israel spy agency, the Mossad, smuggled precision weapons into Iran long before the strikes. They established a base to launch drones from inside Iran, all theoretically under the nose of the Islamic Republic.

As a former national security adviser, what stands out to you the most about the Mossad's operation here?

EYAL HULATA, FORMER ISRAELI NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER: Well, thank you, Jake. It's good to be here again. I was national security adviser. I also served for 23 years in Mossad and in various technological roles. This is what this organization does. This is part of the role of this organization, not just to gather information but to operationalize it and to prepare capabilities that could be used when needed, such as this.

This is a very, of course, extreme case when Israel goes after leadership of the nuclear program and the military capabilities of Iran. This is what we've been doing. I think the audience have seen similar things also happening in Lebanon in the walkie-talkie and pager operations is part of Israel's positioning. It's part of Israel posture. We have a strong hand through the air Force that can reach and do a lot of damages we've all seen, but we also have a very, very good and sophisticated intelligence services.

TAPPER: So, without giving up anything operationally, who does it? I mean, obviously, Iran has a lot of dissidents who hate the current Iranian regime, who hate the ayatollah, who want more freedom and democracy in Iran.

[18:40:05]

Is it Iranians doing this? Is it Israelis pretending they're Iranians? Who are the people that are doing the -- you know, operationally carrying out these plans?

HULATA: Well, Jake, that's a good question, but I think it's not a proper time to answer it.

TAPPER: I had to give it a shot. I had to give it a shot.

HULATA: This just happened yesterday and as far as I know, maybe some of them are still in Iran making their way out into safety.

I think what's more important, if I may, Jake, and I know this is very, very intriguing, of course, but I think what's more important is to understand the selection of the targets at this point. And I've heard the previous set speaking about the nuclearization of Iran, whether or not Iran has been crossing the threshold. And I've heard what the head of the DNI, Tulsi Gabbard had to say.

I just want to remind us that just a year ago, in July of last year, the intelligence report brought by the same DNI, just by the previous administration, couldn't state anymore that they were certain that Iran was not moving their weaponization program.

And that is a very big deal. Sometimes we don't have the specific intelligence and maybe sometimes Israel and the United States do not totally agree on what we see, but those scientists that were hit by that operation, they just asked me about, are starting to mobilize the urbanization program into a point where it might be too late for Israel or it might even for the United States to attack. The fact that Mossad for months have built this capacity, gathered this information, targeted these people, monitored what they were doing, understood that they have already started doing things that might be too late in way of weaponization. I think that's even a more important piece this evening when we look at those issues. This is the reason why Israeli acted. This is what was so important to act today.

TAPPER: Prime Minister Netanyahu domestically, politically, is in hot water. The Israel's parliament, the Knesset, had met for talks about dissolving itself, forcing new elections, and polls show that Netanyahu, his party would likely not triumph. There might be an alternate prime minister. Do you think that has anything at all to do with the timing of Israel's strikes against Iran?

HULATA: So, Jake, as you know, I was national security adviser for the previous government. So, you know, I worked with the complete opposite political faction of Israel. And I have to say that on Iran, the differences between the political factions is very, very limited.

And if there were this conditions where Iran started moving ahead towards the weaponization and when the IAEA and the Board of Governors of it just yesterday morning has declared for the first time in 20 years of non-compliance of Iran towards it, if the time is up with the negotiations, as Trump has put it, and time is ripe to carry out such an attack, I think this would've been done by any government in Israel regardless of it.

Now, of course, it's true, Prime Minister Netanyahu is in a dire political situation. We have a war in Gaza that has been waging for far too long. I thought it was appropriate to finish it and to move on, to focus on Iran. I've said this on many occasions and written on it. But that doesn't mean that acting now was not a proper to do or not justified. This is getting backing from across the board in Israel and I think also from the United States.

We have all the reasons to believe -- you know, I won't get into details, and if President Trump doesn't want to expose completely what was the level of coordination was either, that's fine because, you know, he also has his issues and political considerations. Israel could not conduct this strike without the administration allowing it to happen.

TAPPER: Yes.

HULATA: If the administration didn't want it to happen, it wouldn't have happened.

So, I'm putting all of these dots together. It is true that Prime Minister Netanyahu was in dire political situation, but this was the right thing to do at this point in time.

TAPPER: All right. Eyal Hulata, thank you so much. I appreciate it.

We're continuing to follow the breaking news out of the Middle East tonight. You're taking a live look over Tel Aviv, just as we're getting some new video showing crowds in Iran taking to the streets to celebrate after the regime launched strikes on Israel, that video, the new details, all that coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:48:03]

TAPPER: Let's get back to the breaking news on our world lead. Crowds in Iran are taking to the streets to celebrate the news of Iranian missiles landing in Israel.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered a message earlier today to the people of Iran directly after the retaliatory strikes on Tel Aviv.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: Tonight, I wish to speak to you, the proud people of Iran. 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. It has never been weaker. This is your opportunity to stand up and let your voices be heard.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TAPPER: My panel of experts joins us now, Beth Sanner and Norman Roule.

Norman, Bibi Netanyahu tells the Iranian people to stand up. What is he? What is he conveying to them?

NORMAN ROULE, SENIOR ADVISER, CSIS: Good evening.

I think if you look at the nature of the Israeli strikes, they are focused heavily on Iran's security services, responsible for coercion, their Revolutionary Guard and the military. And I think he is encouraging the Iranian people to, in essence, push back against a regime that is focusing on regional aggression and a failed economy at a time when the regime is very unpopular and is at one of its most fragile points since 1988.

TAPPER: Beth, what is a -- what is a possibility for Iran in terms of its leadership? What actually might happen? The Iranian people deserve better than the Iranian government. I mean, there are a lot of people who deserve better than the governments they have. But the Iranians in particular have an oppressive regime that oppresses women and gays and on and on -- the human rights, there are awful for the Iranian people.

What's the best we could hope for as individuals who care about the Iranian people?

[18:50:02]

BETH SANNER, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Right. I'm really glad you brought this up, because I think that sometimes the population, the average Iranian, really gets left out. I don't think that Netanyahu lecturing the Iranian people is exactly the kind of, you know, get up and go that they need. You know, I think that the main problem in Iran is just the incredible, you know, ability of the regime to oppress people by, you know, arresting them and executing them. And they, you know, rule by fear.

So, you know, I do think the Iranians are hoping I mean, the Israelis are hoping that by doing this, they can get people to rise up. But the regime is certainly got their number, and they're going to be trying to make sure that they actually clamp down to prevent that from happening.

So, I mean, you know, you can't -- you can't really predict revolutions, Jake. You know, it takes a lot of people to decide they're going to send their kids to the streets and rise up. It will surprise us.

TAPPER: Norman, U.S. forces helped intercept Iranian attacks tonight. The U.S. doing what it's been doing for quite some time, helping with defense, though, not helping with offense. But what could further involvement from the U.S. mean for Iran in this conflict? Iran is saying, its envoy to the U.N. said that the United States is just as responsible as the Israelis, and Iran will act accordingly.

ROULE: Well, the United States alleged support for Israel is part of the Iranian longtime narrative. But Iran knows that were the United States to actually bring its military might against the regime. The regime would be quickly overwhelmed. They cannot compete with our military technology, their military professionals are professional, and they know what our capabilities are. And the Israelis only have a small slice of that technology.

So, what they're doing in the United Nations is a public diplomacy propaganda campaign. It's what the foreign ministry does as part of their information campaign to push back against the United States and to bring international support against Israel and to deter -- to shift attention from Iran itself.

TAPPER: And, Beth, President Trump recently met with the crown prince of Saudi Arabia, MBS. Obviously, the Saudis are publicly condemning the attack by the Israelis on Iran, saying that any sort of normalization talks between Saudi Arabia and Israel are off and never going to happen.

How do you think the Saudis really actually feel about Israel attacking Iran's nuclear capabilities and targeting so many of Iran's military leaders?

SANNER: Well, you remember when the Saudis hosted President Trump and they did the YMCA song? I think they're doing that inside their palaces very quietly right now. You know, a little a little rejoicing privately while publicly making sure that they are telling Iran, don't attack us, right? We're on our -- you know, we're saying the right things here, so don't attack us. And then they're also quietly, almost certainly helping in terms of the radar coverage and the efforts coordinated by CentCom to protect Israel.

TAPPER: Beth Sanner, Norman Roule, thanks to both of you. We're continuing to follow the breaking news out of the Middle East. Meanwhile, back here in D.C., final preparations are underway for

tomorrow's massive military parade coincidentally being held on President Trump's 79th birthday. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[18:56:03]

TAPPER: More breaking news in our world lead. Israel is telling Israeli civilians that it is now safe to leave their shelters for now. Sirens rang out across the country just a short while ago as another wave of Iranian missiles appeared to be intercepted by missile defense systems. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warning Iran today that a bigger Israeli response will be heading their way soon.

In our politics lead, preparations are underway for tomorrows military parade here in Washington, D.C., will mark the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army. And completely coincidentally, it will also be President Trump's 79th birthday.

CNN's Brian Todd got an inside look at how the thousands of service members are getting ready.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): President Trump's vision for a grand military parade in the making for nearly a decade is finally coming to fruition.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's going to be an amazing day. We have tanks, we have planes, we have all sorts of things.

TODD: Dozens of Abrams tanks, Bradley and Stryker fighting vehicles and howitzers will be rolling down Constitution Avenue in Washington. About 7 million pounds of hardware, nearly 7,000 soldiers will March. There will be flyovers, horses and the Army's golden knights parachute team will descend and hand the president an American flag.

The largest display of military firepower in the nation's capital, at least since 1991, when a parade of troops and weaponry marked the American victory in the First Gulf War.

TIM NAFTALI, CNN PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: A generation later, we are going to see a parade to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the founding of the U.S. Army. But it. Comes at a time when the president has shown a deep. Desire to have a military parade.

TODD: CNN reports the president's team asked the Pentagon in late 2016 about using military vehicles for his first inaugural parade, but the idea never took hold. Then a visit to Paris for Bastille Day in 2017. Trump was enthralled when French President Emmanuel Macron treated him to the traditional display of firepower to celebrate French independence.

Trump's been pushing for similar pageantry in Washington ever since. Trump's critics say it's anti-democratic to politicize the military.

GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D), CALIFORNIA: He's ordering our American heroes, the United States military and forcing them to put on a vulgar display to celebrate his birthday, just as other failed dictators have done in the past.

TODD: The White House pushing back, one official telling CNN, quote, no one ever calls Macron a dictator for celebrating Bastille Day.

But there's another layer of tension surrounding this event. The recent anti-ICE protests in Los Angeles and other cities raising concerns about potential unrest in Washington.

How specifically did L.A. play into your planning for this? Do you have it on the mind?

MATT MCCOOL, SPECIAL AGENT IN CHARGE, U.S. SECRET SERVICE: We're monitoring what's happening there. But to say that because of L.A., we had to change something, that -- that's not -- that's not the case because we plan for that anyway.

TODD: The Coast Guard and Secret Service showed us the massive security footprint for the parade.

MCCOOL: There will be double bike racks here.

TODD: Yeah.

MCCOOL: And they'll be on the other side. So about eight feet of double bike rack.

TODD: Eighteen miles of fencing, concrete barricades, hundreds of law enforcement officers, drones and counter-sniper teams will be deployed. On the Potomac River, the commander of a coast guard response boat team told us they'll have eyes on threats from the water.

What are the biggest vulnerabilities on the water and along the shore?

CMDR. RYAN GOMEZ, U.S. COAST GUARD: Sometimes the biggest vulnerabilities are just the edges of those perimeters. So I think we've planned for this event. We've looked at what we need to cover.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TODD (on camera): Security officials tell us there are no credible threats to Saturday's parade, but Secret Service Special Agent Matt McCool says the lone wolf attacker is always the wild card. They'll be extra vigilant looking for threats like that. But he points out this city, with its multiple law enforcement agencies, all in close coordination, is uniquely capable of handling an event this size -- Jake.

TAPPER: All right. Brian Todd, thanks so much.

Coming up Sunday on "STATE OF THE UNION", former Vice President Mike Pence, Democratic Senator Alex Padilla of California and Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass. That's Sunday morning, 9:00 Eastern and again at noon only here on CNN.

"ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT" starts right now. Have a great weekend.