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U.S. And Israel Escalate Attacks Against Iran; Oil Prices Spike As Middle East Fears Escalate; Today: Chicago Honors Rev. Jesse Jackson With Celebration Of Life. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired March 06, 2026 - 07:30   ET

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

[07:30:00]

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: And those interceptor units to stop Iranian missiles and drones, another $1.7 billion in that time.

These costs are expected to go down but the future price tag all depends on the intensity of the operations and, of course, how long this war goes on.

We have reporters fanned out across the region. CNN's Fred Pleitgen is the first journalist from a U.S. network to go inside on the ground in Iran driving over the border. We should note CNN operates in Iran only with government permission. Fred filed this report for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's certainly been quite a kinetic morning here in the Iranian capital of Tehran. There were really heavy airstrikes, I'd say a little bit before dawn. We heard jets flying around this area for an extended period of time.

There were also some massive airstrikes. And we saw thick, black smoke billowing from one location which seemed to be in sort of the central -- maybe southern central part of the city as we were driving around. That also went on for an extended period of time as well. Clearly, a very large airstrike that happened there with that plume of smoke hanging over almost the entire city.

This, of course, happens as the United States and Israel continue their air campaign not just here in Tehran but in various locations around the country. They say that they're going to continue to try and degrade the Iranian military infrastructure and then also take out, as they put it, key leaders as well.

At the same time, the Iranian government is vowing not to back down and not to negotiate with the United States. And Iran's military says that it is going to continue targeting not just U.S. assets here in this region, like military bases in the Gulf states, but of course, continue to target Israel as well. The Iranians are saying that their missile stockpiles are still very much filled and that their missiles are very capable as well.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SIDNER: Our thanks to Fred Pleitgen for that report. He has been in and out of Iran for many, many years.

Now let's go to Nic Robertson who is in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. What are you seeing on that end because, of course, you know, when you see these bombings happening from the U.S. and Israel into Tehran you are also seeing the response from Iran and places like Saudi Arabia and the UAE are feeling the brunt of those.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yeah, they are, and they're trying to interpret the response from Iran and how joined up it is. And there's been a lot of discussion that Iran sort of has ballistic missiles under control and sort of one unit, perhaps drones, are in the hands of other groups and that cruise missiles may be with others.

So Riyadh and what happened here overnight and the early hours of this morning is really instructive to that effect. Three ballistic missiles intercepted in the early hours of the morning flying toward Prince Sultan Air Base, a major Saudi air base that historically has had U.S. aircraft based there.

A couple of hours later a drone was intercepted flying in the same sort of area. No reports of injuries associated with any of these incidents. Then a couple of hours later a cruise missile is intercepted in the similar sort of area. A couple of hours later three drones are intercepted in the same sort of area. An hour later, and we're talking 9:00 in the morning here now, another drone was intercepted close to this key air base.

Instructive because it appears Iran intent on hitting this base but with a variety of different munitions under different command and control but seeming to be coordinated.

It perhaps had a bump-on effect to some of the international flights inbound overnight to Riyadh. Several coming from Europe, from Munich, from Frankfurt, from Paris, from London were heavily delayed and yet to arrive. Not clear if it's because of the increase in missile activity around Riyadh but again, that's been a standout from what we've seen over previous days.

And just ever so briefly on trying to understand the statistics and interpret them from Iran's strike, we can look at Kuwait. Kuwait in the first four days took in all it had fired at it -- 212 ballistic missiles, 394 drones. On the first day there were 86 ballistic missiles. They intercepted 68 of them. Four days later there were only 27 ballistic missiles fired at Kuwait, a very small country. Yes, 27 fired at them. They intercepted all of them. So Iran perhaps able to fire less; the Gulf states perhaps able to defend better.

The cost for the military forces in Kuwait, two service personnel dead, 67 injured. That is a significant number for a small nation like Kuwait.

SIDNER: Yeah, the cost of the war and lives as well. Nic Robertson, thank you so much for your reporting throughout all of this and throughout the conflict -- John.

[07:35:00]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: With us now CNN political and global affairs commentator Sabrina Singh, and CNN global affairs analyst Brett McGurk.

And I want to help visualize what Nic Robertson was just talking about there. All the yellow dots here you can see largely in the Gulf and then throughout the Middle East -- these are sites that have been hit by Iran since this conflict began one week ago. But Central Command told us yesterday the number of missile attacks is down 90 percent from the first day. Drone attacks down 80 percent from the first day.

Meanwhile, we know all the red dots here are where the U.S. and Israel are hitting inside Iran. The intensity of those strikes is increasing. I can show you both together here.

So Brett McGurk, to you. A week into this where do things stand? Who is winning the battle of time here?

BRETT MCGURK, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST, FORMER MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA COORDINATOR, NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL: The battle of time, John, is exactly right.

Look, Iran -- let me kind of step back and Iran -- what's really going on.

You hear about the Revolutionary Guard Corps, a pillar of the Iranian state since the 1979 revolution. Just as the name demonstrates, John, they guard the revolution. Internally, if there's a protest, they're the guys who help crack down with these besieged militias. They have an external operation arm called the Quds Force. For decades they spread the revolution all over the place supporting proxies, acts of terrorism, and killing Americans.

But the deterrent -- Iran has always believed they have a deterrent against anyone ever actually attacking them inside Iran, and the supreme leader has believed this. That is their missiles, that is their asymmetric terrorism capabilities, and it is the threat that the Strait of Hormuz, which they have threatened for decades they could mine, they could shut it.

So you are seeing them put their plan. Missiles -- I think we're doing a pretty good job getting those down. Drones is the new capability -- a little harder. We're also going after those. Their terrorism capabilities have been really degraded over the years -- still there.

So I think right now it is that energy piece in the -- in the Strait of Hormuz and that is really key. And I think, look, we have a lot of tools to try to do this. You saw the Treasury Department yesterday is releasing what they call stranded barrels -- these tankers which have Russian oil which was sanctioned now go to India. We have a strategic reserve you might tap. That was tapped in the 1991

Gulf War, in the war in Libya, in the war in Ukraine. It's lower than it normally is but there's still -- there's still quite a bit there. And that will help, you know, buy time on the clock as I know the military is focused on the Strait of Hormuz and trying to make sure Iran does not have these kind of anti-ship missiles that can hit these ships, which we have seen Iran try to do.

But that step back, John -- that's what's going on. Iran is trying to shorten the clock and put pressure on the White House, particularly on President Trump, to shorten the military campaign, which on its own has a few weeks left to run.

BERMAN: Yeah. And when we talk about the military campaign, Sabrina, the White House and the Secretary of Defense continues to insist it's about destroying missiles. Destroying the Iranian Navy. Taking care of Iran's nuclear program.

And yet, President Trump -- and that's where all these strikes have been hit. But, and yet, President Trump yesterday said that he wants a say in who Iran's next supreme leader is. So that messaging -- what does that do?

SABRINA SINGH, CNN POLITICAL AND GLOBAL AFFAIRS COMMENTATOR, FORMER Well, I think the messaging that you're seeing yet again continues to change. I mean, just from the comments yesterday the president said that he's going to personally pick the next leader of Iran, it stands very differently from the video message that he released on Saturday when he said basically, when the bombs stop dropping it's for the Iranian people to take back their country.

So you're not only seeing conflicting messages, that is going to send conflicting messages to the military. I think the military does have its objectives and missions to degrade the Iranian Navy or destroy ballistic missile capabilities, but still, what is the end goal? The president continues to move the goal post, which causes confusion I think amongst the force because that is unclear.

And I think it's also unclear for the American people who are going to bear the brunt of this cost. I know just earlier you were talking to Harry about gas prices going up. Americans are feeling this here at home in their pocketbooks and this administration has just not done an effective or frankly, a good job of explaining why America is yet again brought into another Middle East costly war.

So who knows what the messaging will be this weekend? But I think it's just -- it's really unfortunate that, you know, we're now in this larger regional war and we don't have a clear objective.

BERMAN: And Brett, Kate is going to talk about this with Matt Egan in just a moment and much more extensively, but you can see oil prices here. This is, you know, crude oil -- Brent crude and WTI crude oil up a lot. The Qatari energy minister just said these prices -- $86 and $84 -- could hit a $150 soon if this conflict doesn't end.

What kind of pressure do you think that puts directly on the United States?

MCGURK: Again, some context, John. We talked about this earlier in the week.

[07:40:00]

In the Ukraine war prices went up to $130 -- that Brent price -- and hovered around $110. There was a huge effort in the U.S. administration, and I was part of that. My colleague Amos Hochstein, an oil expert, working all aspects to get those prices stabilized.

You're going to have to do that, yeah. Oil during this conflict is going to go up and Iran wants to use that as a pressure point. And I think it's very important -- you know, a contemporary George Washington said in the worst days of the war -- it looked like everything is chaos and he was cool in judgment when all else and everyone was heated.

And you've got to try to stick to the plan as everything else is kind of cascading because the military plan -- at least let it run its course. It is going after the missiles, the Navy, the drones, leadership targets, but it has a few weeks to run. But Iran wants -- Iran wants focus on energy markets and thinking that, you know, they can really wreak havoc. And a week from now, if we haven't solved some of this problem in the Hormuz Strait and we haven't kind of stabilized some of this, it'll be an even more serious problem.

BERMAN: We're watching it very closely obviously.

Brett McGurk, Sabrina Singh, thank you to you both -- Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, we have some breaking news coming in. Two of the world's largest shipping companies are no longer accepting cargo bound for the Persian Gulf and that is causing a surge in helping to push the surge in gas prices this morning, now at an average of more than $3.30 per gallon, the highest that they've been at any point in either of Trump's presidencies.

Oil being shipped through the Strait of Hormuz, as John was just talking about with Brett and Sabrina -- it really has come basically to complete standstill. The Gulf is packed with tankers and other ships, as I'm standing on top of this right now -- other ships unable to get out -- get out and as they face the very real threat of being attacked by Iran if they try.

No oil tankers passed through the Strait on Wednesday -- none. The red dots -- you see them over there. You see those red dots. Those are tanker ships. President Trump has promised to provide naval escorts to give them safe passage for ships carrying oil through the Strait, but many experts say that solution -- it's just unrealistic and also won't eliminate the threat that is ongoing.

Taking a look at the price of WTI crude oil, the benchmark here, it's been hovering around $85 a barrel, the first time that has happened in two years.

CNN's Matt Egan has got some more important perspective on this. What's happening now?

MATT EGAN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Well, what's happening Kate is we're living through a major energy price shock. And I think the questions now are how long does it last and how much damage does it do to the economy and to consumers along the way?

So the national average for gas prices is up by another seven cents overnight to $3.32 a gallon. That's the highest level since September of 2024. As you can see, it's up from just below $3.00 a gallon before the war started and well above where prices were when the president took office in January 2025. And as you mentioned, this is now the highest price for a national average for gas in either of the president's terms in office.

Now to be fair, I should note that gas prices were not as bad as they were after Russia invaded Ukraine four years ago --

BOLDUAN: OK.

EGAN: -- when they went to $5.00 a gallon. And people are making more money than they were years ago --

BOLDUAN: Um-hum.

EGAN: -- so that means that gas is swallowing up a smaller part of paychecks.

But still, look at this trend for oil prices. Prices have just skyrocketed above $83 a barrel. It's just -- look at this.

BOLDUAN: Yeah.

EGAN: It's gone basically straight up because of the war.

BOLDUAN: Yes.

EGAN: And when you look at live oil prices this morning, crossing $86 a barrel for the first time since April of 2024. And keep in mind this increase today of six percent -- that's on top of yesterday's increase of almost nine percent, the biggest one-day increase since COVID in 2020.

Now as you mentioned, of course, the problem is that oil supplies are just not coming out of the Gulf -- out of the Middle East, the most critical place for energy on the planet. Exactly zero oil tankers went through the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday. That's down from a typical day when about 60 would go through.

This is just not sustainable, right?

BOLDUAN: Oh. I mean, and the -- yeah. The administration is making moves to try to --

EGAN: Yes.

BOLDUAN: -- one, take out the Iranian threat full-stop but also trying to offer some reassurance that they're going to provide protection essentially for safe passage. But it doesn't seem that people are believing it.

EGAN: That's right. Look, the president has talked about naval escorts --

BOLDUAN: Right.

EGAN: -- if necessary and maritime insurance. But I think the message from the market, Kate, is this is not enough and a lot more needs to happen to restore confidence as we look at U.S. stock futures set to open modestly in the red this morning.

BOLDUAN: Yeah. All right, we'll see. Matt, thank you so much.

EGAN: Thanks, Kate.

BOLDUAN: This is where we need to be keeping our eye for sure -- Sara.

SIDNER: All right.

[07:45:00]

Approval for the president's massive new ballroom now delayed after some scathing public criticism that included comparisons to a brothel and a Vegas casino.

Plus, animals on the lam now striking back. An angry turkey in a standoff with officers trying to shoo it off of a busy road. Who won this battle?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

POLICE OFFICER: Get outta here, you hear me?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL)

BERMAN: New this morning the Justice Department has now posted online three FBI interview memos that detail unverified sexual assault allegations against President Trump. They've been among dozens of witness interviews that were missing from the released Epstein files. That's according to a CNN analysis. The president has consistently denied any wrongdoing in connection with the late convicted sex offender.

Let's get right to CNN's Katelyn Polantz. The files -- they weren't released, now they have been.

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: They have been and they're notable because these are files capturing a woman's unverified accusations against both Jeffrey Epstein and Donald Trump that she had been sexually assaulted by both of them when she was in her teens.

[07:50:10]

Now John, there's a lot of questions around these still and I should say that these woman's accusations -- they are unverified. The FBI did hear them and did do four interviews with this woman in 2019, but we don't know much else. We don't even know the woman's name and, of course, it would very likely not come out because she would be potentially a victim here.

This is a situation though where previously the Justice Department released one of its memos of an interview that it had done with this woman about her claims against Jeffrey Epstein and those came out in the large document release of the Epstein files that was put out previously. But three other interviews with this woman -- those FBI memos memorializing what she had told them -- that wasn't released and now it has been. Those are the three memos that we are now seeing in the Epstein files publicly, John.

Now the Justice Department -- there's still a lot of questions around this. It has been reviewing files that are out there in those three million documents -- part of the trove online that the Justice Department has released under the Transparency Act.

But John, there is questions about why these ones? Why weren't they out in the first round? That could be something that Capitol Hill may want to ask Attorney General Pam Bondi now that they have subpoenaed her for testimony about the Justice Department's handling of these files.

But again, these are unverified accusations from a woman the FBI was checking out in 2019. The White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, in a statement yesterday, said these were completely baseless accusations backed by zero credible evidence.

And Donald Trump -- he has not been found to have any viable accusations where he needed to be investigated and has multiple times denied doing anything wrong related to this.

They are notable though because they are 302s -- FBI 302s mentioning Trump. A woman making claims of sexual assault.

BERMAN: Which by law were supposed to be released with the full release of the Epstein files. The question was it a bureaucratic snafu or perhaps deliberately being withheld. We don't know.

Katelyn Polantz --

POLANTZ: Thank you, John.

BERMAN: -- thank you very much for that -- Sara.

SIDNER: All right. Thank you, John.

Today Chicago is hosting a celebration of life for the late Rev. Jesse Jackson. He's being honored not only as a civil rights leader but as man who mentored and shaped generations of activists and politicians from around the country. Friends, family, and dignitaries including, former presidents Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden, are among those paying their respects.

Jackson died last month at age 84 after battling a rare neurological disorder that mimics Parkinson's disease.

Joining me now is NAACP president and CEO Derrick Johnson. Thank you so much for being here.

First to you, what will you remember most about Jesse Jackson today?

DERRICK JOHNSON, PRESIDENT AND CEO, NAACP: Well, good morning.

Reverend Jackson was an American leader. You can measure his impact over decades. You could also measure his impact not just in one specific area. He was not simply a civil rights leader and not simply a human rights leader or worker rights leader. He represented so many facets of creating a space to make the American dream possible for so many individuals.

SIDNER: Look, of course, I bumped into him in many different places, usually in protests where he would show up, including in 2020 during the George Floyd protests. And he would seek people out that -- you could see him seek out young people often and talk to them about why it's important to champion civil rights.

Can you give us some sense of what -- the saying that you will remember? All of us are going to remember "keep hope alive" but some of the things he said that have really stuck generation after generation.

JOHNSON: Well, I think the biggest thing for me is the '88 speech when he talked about our patch isn't big enough and that if the individual patches, whether it is worker rights or advocating for farmers in Iowa, or women's rights, if we put our patches together, we can make a quilt -- a mosaic.

Personally, he was important to me with sage advice. I can recall when I took this position some eight years ago, he reached out and we sat down and had a great conversation, and he provided much insight on things I should be aware of and things I should consider in my leadership role.

SIDNER: Give us some sense today of what you're expecting and what you hope that other people remember about him and what you hope about his legacy that is continued.

[07:55:00]

JOHNSON: But that he was much broader than people were seeking to project. You know, he was a global leader as well.

He was on the forefront of the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa. He negotiated with foreign nations to release hostages. He was in the middle of a campaign where he realized that the rights of farmers and white America was the same as the needs of Black Americans and he began to pull things together in Rainbow Coalition.

He was someone that was much more dynamic and diverse than what people give him credit for because he cared about this nation. He wanted to see the Constitution to fulfil his promise, and he wanted to make sure he used his voice to -- in that pursuit.

SIDNER: Yeah.

I do want to ask you about, you know, as -- in his later years whether he thought that quilt that he loved of people -- the Rainbow Coalition, the thing that makes America America was starting unravel a bit, or did he still very much feel like we were progressing?

JOHNSON: Well, he thought both that we had lost traction, but we were also progressing. He understood that growing up in the '60s -- what we had -- the progress made was great. He was a part of a lot of the movements in the '70s in creating opportunities for the business class not only here in Chicago but across the country.

He registered more voters in 1980 than anyone else for that entire decade. He was on the forefront of so much in the '90s. And when you turn the corner to 2000, he created the wind behind President Obama's sails so he could become president.

We're talking about someone who has seen so much. So he understood that progress was never in a straight line. It moves back and forward but we always had to press forward to ensure the commitments of this nation would be met and that all individuals would be treated with human dignity and equal protection would be afforded to every citizen.

SIDNER: You know, he had this neurological disease -- this rare disorder that mimics Parkinson's disease. And yet, how do you explain how he still showed up at protests and moved around the country wherever he felt he was needed?

JOHNSON: You know, it was amazing at the George Floyd protests. There's a picture of him and I in the lobby because he refused to sit idly by. He wanted to mend whatever he could, whether it was advice or his presence, his voice, or his insight. He never quit trying to be a part of the movement because he was the movement. And for so many people in so many ways his legacy will live on for decades to come.

SIDNER: Yeah. You know, he at one point got the key to the city of Chicago. Wasn't born there -- was born in South Carolina -- but people loved him just the same there and around the country.

Thank you so much, Derrick Johnson, for sharing your times with Jesse Jackson. We will be watching his homegoing -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: So the man suspected of committing three gruesome murders in Utah is now expected in court today. Police found three women dead in two different locations in Utah. Two bodies were found on a hiking trail and the third, a woman in her 80s, was found in her home. A frantic manhunt ensued. A man was then arrested.

Court documents now show that 22-year-old Ivan Miller from Iowa has now been charged with three counts of first-degree aggravated murder. Police say he admitted to the killing spree saying he did it because he needed money.

There is also new video in showing the moment a 58-year-old hiker was rescued after being missing for two days. More than 20 rangers were involved in the search. The man was finally found, thankfully, suffering from mild hypothermia and frostbite when they came upon him. He was airlifted to the hospital.

President Trump's ongoing renovation of the East Wing has hit a snag. The commission tasked with approving it has now delayed the vote on it by a month after getting flooded with more than 32,000 public comments. A CNN analysis using AI and human verification found more than 97 percent of those comments -- they were overwhelmingly opposed to the project. Among some of the more brutal comments in the mix, people likening the aesthetic to a brothel.

In Georgia, a wild encounter caught on camera. Officers in Cobb County tried to move a turkey named Henry out of the road. That sounds easy enough, right? Absolutely not. Henry had other plans. He started chasing the officers who were chasing him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

POLICE OFFICER 1: Why does he keep coming after me?

POLICE OFFICER 2: He's fluffing his feathers, man, and I don't like it.

POLICE OFFICER 1: He's getting mad.

POLICE OFFICER 2: Look at him, bro, he's bucking up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: "Look at him, bro, he's bucking up." I mean, honestly, we've got to talk to these officers. I think I love them. I mean, I would run. Turkeys are not only one of the ugliest animals alive but they're also clearly scary. John, you don't agree that turkeys are ugly?

BERMAN: I think they're beautiful inside.

SIDNER: Wow.

BOLDUAN: Absolutely.

BERMAN: I like the juicy meat.

BOLDUAN: End of the story. The turkey eventually did leave but not before stalking other officers. We have lots of thoughts here but no, guys, we're going to another hour.