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Interview with Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL): Is a Popular Uprising in Iran Possible and What is the Endgame in the War; Israel Pummels Lebanon as Fighting with Hezbollah Intensifies; Americans Left Stranded as War Rages in Middle East; Rep. Gonzales Says He Will Address Affair Allegations Today. Aired 3:30-4p ET

Aired March 04, 2026 - 15:30   ET

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

[15:30:00]

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: ... Popular uprising in Iran, according to multiple people familiar with this thinking. Could that work? And what dynamics should they be tracking on that?

SEN. TAMMY DUCKWORTH (D-IL), ARMED SERVICES COMMITTEE: Well, I mean, in theory, it could work if there's nobody else there. The problem we have is the Trump administration, due to their poor planning, have created a power vacuum in Iran. It killed off the Supreme Leader, which is great.

I am not shedding a tear for a man who ordered the deaths of thousands of his own citizens. But you know, they've cut off the head of the biggest snake, and now there are all these other snakes that are there. And the people who are most organized right now are not Kurdish freedom fighters, are not Iranian democracy protesters.

The people who are most organized and funded are terrorist groups. They're basically creating a power vacuum and an environment where groups like ISIS could emerge in the region, which will further destabilize the Middle East and further put America and America's national interests in greater jeopardy.

KEILAR: Secretary Pete Hegseth this morning said that the six service members who were killed were America's best and that the U.S. will avenge them. And he also said this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETE HEGSETH, DEFENSE SECRETARY: This is what the fake news misses. We've taken control of Iran's airspace and waterways without boots on the ground. We control their fate.

But when a few drones get through or tragic things happen, it's front page news. I get it. The press only wants to make the president look bad but try for once to report the reality.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: What is your reaction to that?

DUCKWORTH: Well, our troops are America's best. I know them personally. They are my friends, my buddies.

These are people who will give of themselves time and again. And when this nation calls, they answer the call. That is why it is beholden upon those of us who are in the halls of power to make sure that we never ask our troops to sacrifice for something that we have not accurately planned for, that we have not safeguarded their service by making sure that we're not going to enter them into endless wars where we continue to sacrifice their lives because we have not done our job of the proper planning and what we're going to do for the next steps. As far as his, you know, Hegseth's obsession on good coverage for President Trump, well, you know what? Not only does this war of choice go against what Americans want, Trump's obsession with military adventurism is also undermining our military readiness.

And in fact, he's drawing down our resources. It's distracting us from some of our biggest adversaries, the PRC, for example, and we're continuing to strain our military with wars of choice all over the world. And this is going to make our enemies doubt whether or not we're going to have the capacity to truly withstand an attack from an adversary like the PRC if it happens.

KEILAR: House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said Americans don't want their government focused on what he called another endless war in the Middle East that is going to end in failure. And he got blowback for saying it's going to end in failure. We just spoke with David Axelrod, and he cautioned Democrats against appearing to root for failure.

What do you think about that? And what's your message to your colleagues?

DUCKWORTH: Well look, my message is actually to Donald Trump. I want to know what his end state is. What is a successful mission for him?

Is that regime change or is it not regime change in Iran? He said it both times. First, they said if they want a regime change, then they said they don't want regime change.

He said he would stand with peaceful demonstrators and democracy protesters in Iran, but then they're not doing anything to support those folks. Look, our men and women in uniform will always show up. They will execute to the highest levels of professionalism and capabilities.

Unfortunately, their commander in chief is not capable of doing that. And their secretary of defense is not capable of doing that. I want to make sure that I do my job here in the Senate to make the White House define what that mission is and how do we end the mission in a successful way and how do we get our troops home.

KEILAR: Senator Tammy Duckworth, thank you so much for being with us.

DUCKWORTH: Thank you.

KEILAR: Coming up, Israel is bombarding Lebanon and says Hezbollah and Iran carried out their first coordinated attack of this new war. We are live in Beirut with the latest.

[15:35:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: And welcome back to our breaking news coverage of the war with Iran here in the Middle East. I'm Erin Burnett in Tel Aviv tonight.

The U.S. State Department is now has an updated set of advice for Americans in the Middle East who are trying to leave and hundreds of thousands of them, I understand, across the region. Perhaps more. Officials say that American citizens in Israel, where we are, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, those four countries specifically, should fill out a crisis intake form to, quote, receive departure assistance information from the Department of State about available aviation and ground transportation options.

All of this coming, of course, as there is a complete and utter uproar because the State Department had not done anything. Now Americans in other countries who received to receive assistance and by the way, there were 14 on the original list that they told people to leave from, are still being told to call a hotline, 1202-501-4444.

[15:40:00]

The State Department has said it's gotten several hundred Americans out of Israel but has not managed or confirmed whether any charter flights have left. By the way, when I say hundreds, again, let's just put that in the context of up to a million Americans who could be in this region.

At the same time, Israeli forces are intensifying strikes as we are talking here. Right now it's about 10:40 p.m. So now and overnight, we understand U.S. and Israel are intensifying attacks both against Iran and Tehran targets, but also just to the north of where I'm standing in Lebanon, where there has been a ground invasion by some Israeli forces and attacks there. We understand 74 people killed, hundreds injured so far. This is according to numbers that we're getting from Lebanese health officials.

I want to bring in now our chief global affairs correspondent, Matthew Chance. He is joining me now from Beirut to the north of where I'm standing. And Matthew, you know, you're actually seeing some of this fighting is right up close in those suburbs of Beirut, where you are.

So what are you seeing and what's been the ramifications there in Beirut?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, well, there's a couple of things going on. The first is that Israel has really stepped up its campaign of airstrikes on Hezbollah-controlled areas of this country. So we're talking about the south of the country, south Lebanon, but also areas of Beirut, the capital city where I'm talking to you from now. The southern suburbs of Beirut are controlled by Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed militia. And it's there we're seeing daily and nightly airstrikes and drone attacks on sort of various installations. The Israelis say that they're hitting sort of weapons storage facilities in all of those locations, you know, communication centers, logistics, intelligence centers controlled by Hezbollah, things like that.

But what, you know, our experience of sort of going to those areas of south Beirut, for instance, is that that's not the case. We visited a hotel earlier today, which was owned by a Christian family. And they were absolutely adamant that no one from Iran and no one from Hezbollah was staying as a guest in the hotel when it was attacked by a missile strike in the early hours of this morning.

But, you know, what people are doing here is kind of blaming Hezbollah for, you know, dragging Lebanon into this conflict with Iran. And because it was Hezbollah, remember, that fired missiles and drones over the border into Israel in the hours after the killing of the Iranian Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Khamenei. And it's that that has attracted, for many Lebanese, the wrath of the Israeli military.

BURNETT: Yes. All right, Matthew Chance, thank you very much. And we know we understand that President of France Emmanuel Macron has been reaching out to Prime Minister Netanyahu here in Israel to try to push back and pull back that ground invasion as part of the overtures.

And I think that's the only word we can use here, overtures to potential diplomacy on several fronts, which so far, the United States says have not been met with any response from the U.S. or Israel. We'll be back with more of our special coverage on the U.S. and Israel's war with Iran. Stay with us.

[15:45:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: As the State Department works to help Americans trapped in the Middle East, evacuation for many can't come soon enough.

KEILAR: That's right. Our next guest is Oliver Sims. He's an American stranded in Qatar after trying to return home from a wedding in India.

Oliver, thank you so much. You were flying through Doha. Can you tell us more about what it was like trying to do that?

OLIVER SIMS, AMERICAN STRANDED IN QATAR: Yes. So basically, I was flying through Doha because I was coming back from a wedding in India and I just had a two hour connection. My flight was just a little bit delayed by like 30 minutes, but we did end up taking off from Doha.

And about an hour into the flight, we ended up turning around over the Persian Gulf, which I thought was kind of weird. But then I got a notification on my phone that said that the U.S. and Israel had begun strikes over Iran. So then we turned over Saudi Arabia and then the captain said that we had to turn back again to go to Doha. SANCHEZ: Have you tried contacting the State Department? Have you registered with them or are they able to help you?

SIMS: Yes, so I did contact the State Department. I signed up for the STEP program. Whenever I did that initially a few days ago, I didn't really receive much assistance.

But recently, within the past couple of hours, they did kind of revamp that system. So allegedly, I will be getting some more government assistance as I'm trying to find a way out of here.

KEILAR: So what are your options at this point in time as you're, I'm assuming, waiting to kind of see if there is a government evacuation flight, but also commercial options? What are your options?

SIMS: Yes, so officially, I am definitely waiting on the government to see if, you know, there are any viable options through them. Also, I'm wondering if the airspace is going to open again within the next couple of days and, you know, if I can get my flight rebooked on Qatar. But also, there are some other citizens who have sought out other ways and who are driving through like Saudi Arabia and Oman just to try and catch flights out there.

So I've also looked at those options, too. But they did seem just a little bit risky to me.

[15:50:00]

SANCHEZ: To that point, we've seen Iran expand the focus of these retaliatory strikes. I wonder if there's been a point yet where you have felt unsafe.

SIMS: Overall, I haven't felt too unsafe. I've felt relatively safe here in Doha, mainly because I know their air defense system is really good. Yes, I have heard many different explosions.

It's actually woken me up out of my sleep. And it's actually prevented me from going to sleep before. But I've felt overall relatively safe because I know that here in Doha, like all the citizens there, they have a lot of faith in the government here, too.

And I know that they're going to do anything to protect the citizens and visitors that are here.

KEILAR: OK, so just to be clear, Oliver, it sounds like at this point you're planning to kind of stay put because some of those overland transits to other countries where you might be able to get a flight out are worrying you. What are you hearing about the risks there?

SIMS: Yes, so essentially, I'm hearing that some of the drives may or may not be too safe for people to take. I'm hearing a lot of different conflicting reports. I haven't really heard much about going to Saudi Arabia and, you know, how easy the process has been, essentially.

So because of that, I figured I should just stay put here because I do feel, like I said earlier, relatively safe. So, yes. SANCHEZ: Oliver Sims, thank you so much for sharing your story with us. We wish you the best of luck and please keep us posted on how this effort to get home goes.

SIMS: Yes, will do. Thank you so much for having me.

SANCHEZ: Thanks so much.

Up next, embattled Congressman Tony Gonzalez is telling CNN he will address affair allegations today. He's now facing an ethics investigation in the House. We'll take you to Capitol Hill right after this.

[15:55:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: Just in, embattled Congressman Tony Gonzalez is talking to CNN one day after a primary race that saw him advance to a runoff.

SANCHEZ: The Texas Republican is accused of having an affair with a staffer who ended up taking her own life. And Gonzalez now faces an investigation by the House Ethics Committee.

CNN's Manu Raju is live for us on Capitol Hill. Manu, what did the congressman share with you?

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, he said that he is, in fact, staying in this two person runoff after coming in second place yesterday in this effort to hold on to his seat. Now that he is in this runoff, it'll go into May 26. That's so this will go on for some time.

And he's his alleged actions have caused enormous concern within the House. GOP calls for him to resign from some members. And a House ethics investigation, which was announced today against this alleged conduct, alleged affair that he had with a former staffer two years ago. That staffer later died by suicide and also revelations of text messages, salacious text messages that Gonzalez apparently sent to this staffer as well.

I asked Gonzalez directly about that affair, and he did not say whether or not it was true, only that he would address it for the first time sometime today.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RAJU: Oh, but you came in second place. I mean, that's got to be -- you came in second place.

REP. TONY GONZALES (R-TX): I did well. We did well last night. I'm proud of the work we did last night. There's more work to have.

RAJU: Are you denying --

GONZALES: This is my third runoff in four cycles. RAJU: But this is the first time these allegations have come up. The first of these allegations --

(CROSSTALK)

GONZALES: -- runoff as well. Thank you.

RAJU: But this is the first time you've run when these allegations have been public, have come out.

GONZALES: (INAUDIBLE) could win right now.

RAJU: I just guess the first time you came out since it's been alleged that you had --

GONZALES: Not everyone last night was successful. We were successful in getting to the runoff.

RAJU: So you are you denying that you had an affair with this woman?

GONZALES: I will address the allegations today. Thank you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

RAJU (on camera): And I asked Gonzalez when he would, in fact, address these allegations, say how he would do this, would it be done by video or and the like, and he just simply would not say something that he would address these allegations today. Now, the question, too, is that how the speaker deals with this and the significance of Gonzalez's seat. Remember, the speaker is clinging to the narrowest of majorities in the United States House right now.

He can only afford to lose one Republican on any party line vote. If Gonzalez were to resign his seat, as some Republican members say that he should, given this alleged conduct that would narrow that majority even further. And if another member were to step aside or anything else happened to another member that could throw the whole house GOP majority into flux, which explains the significance of Gonzalez in this critical moment.

And if he were to resign right now, he could potentially avoid a house ethics investigation because the House Ethics Committee only has jurisdiction over members who are currently serving in the body. So Gonzalez could have some incentive to drop out of this race. So the next couple of months will be critical for him, his future Speaker Johnson, his House Republican majority.

All big questions because come May 26, if Gonzalez does not have -- if Gonzalez does not win that race, he would still have until the end of the year to serve out his term. If he were to resign at that point, that could upend the Republican efforts to push to an agenda. Given how difficult it already has been, it could be even more difficult if Gonzalez were to resign.

KEILAR: Manu, real quick, we have about 30 seconds in show. You asked him, do you deny this? He did not deny it. How does that track with what he has said about the alleged affair up until now?

RAJU: Well, he has actually said very little publicly. He has issued some statements suggesting that he was a victim of blackmail, but it's been almost what we've known as a non-denial denial in some ways.

[16:00:00]

And the question is, will he actually deny it when he addresses the allegations today? We shall see.

SANCHEZ: We shall. Manu Raju, thanks so much for that reporting.

"THE ARENA" with Kasie Hunt starts right now.

END