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Gulf Nations Report New Aerial Attacks from Iran; Mojtaba Khamanei, Son of Iran's Late Supreme Leader, Named Successor; Oil Prices Surged Past $100 a Barrel Today as War with Iran Escalates; Evacuations of U.S. Citizens Out of Middle East Underway; Growing Outcry Over Texas Family's Detainment by ICE. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired March 09, 2026 - 14:30   ET

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

[14:30:00]

JOSH CAMPBELL, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: A vulnerable explosive that can cause mass damage. You can just imagine how terrible this could have been if that device was more sophisticated.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN HOST: Yes. As they said, they wanted to do something bigger than the Boston bombing marathon. One of them expressed, according to police there, and as one suspect put it, it resulted only in three deaths, that word only.

Josh, thank you so much. We'll be right back with more.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:35:00]

ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: Welcome back to our breaking news on the widening war with Iran. I'm Erin Burnett here in Tel Aviv.

And we've been watching a new wave of attacks here across the Middle East and an uptick in attacks and ballistic missile attacks here in Tel Aviv as well. And as we've seen that, Israel says that it is starting wide-scale strikes in Iran. And we're seeing that play out as well with our teams on the ground there.

We are learning more about the new leader who is going to be the one we understand to be calling the shots for Iran. Today, large crowds gathered across the country to pledge allegiance to him.

Now, that's what the state media there put out there. That's what you see. What you see is what you get.

These are real people, right? This happened. It does not perhaps represent the whole country, but it is very meaningful.

Mojtaba Khamenei was announced as his father's successor just yesterday. And today, Iran's president said that Khamenei's appointment reflects the will of the people in governance, which is significant, because there had been some, we understand, who had not necessarily supported his ascension. And that is all clearly gone now in the sense that he is fully supported and obviously has been very much supported by the military and the IRGC.

Ali Vaez joins me now. He's the director of the Iran Project International Crisis Group. And Ali, I appreciate your time today.

So a few questions, and I want to ask you about the supreme leader in a moment, because there is a very big mystery. But first, something that just happened a few moments ago. The director general of the IAEA just spoke in an interview, and he said that there has been only limited damage at key nuclear sites in Iran and that the enriched uranium stockpile and the nuclear know-how, meaning the human beings, remain intact in Iran.

There are some who might say, as we are on the 10th day of this war, that that is truly stunning, given that it was one of, if not the primary goal of the war itself. Do you find it shocking?

ALI VAEZ, DIRECTOR, IRAN PROJECT INTERNATIONAL CRISIS GROUP: It's good to see you, Erin. Yes, I do believe that that remains one of the key areas of insecurity here, because that material is enough for 10 sophisticated nuclear warheads, but also about four rudimentary nuclear weapons. The type that we used in Hiroshima in 1945.

It could also be material that could be used in dozens of dirty bombs. So if that material gets out of the oversight of U.S. or Israeli intelligence, it will pose a massive threat to international peace and security.

BURNETT: That's frightening the way that you lay out the different possibilities there. Now, the supreme leader, who is now selected, finally, after all those delays, and obviously there had been debate and there were many who did not support him, who were in power positions, but they are now behind him. And Mojtaba Khamenei is the new Supreme Leader.

The thing is, we understand that perhaps he might have been injured in the strikes last weekend in which his father, his mother, his son, his wife, all were eliminated by U.S. and Israeli airstrikes. But we have not seen him yet. So he's the supreme leader, and yet no one has seen him.

What do you make of that?

VAEZ: Well, this is a man who has always operated from the shadows. He's been working at his father's office for many years, calling a lot of shots from behind the curtain. You know, I live and breathe Iran every single day.

I've never heard his voice. I've never seen him doing an interview. He was never elected to a public office.

We really just don't know much about him. Now, one would expect that now that he has been selected, that he would make a speech. Probably the reason he hasn't done it is either because of security reasons because he knows that there is a target painted on his back as a result of his selection. And Israel or the U.S. would try to take him out as long as this war is ongoing. Or it might be because his injuries are too severe. We just simply don't know.

BURNETT: I mean, it's incredible that such a thing is a mystery on a war that is now engulfed the world. You mentioned the target on his back.

And the Israeli foreign minister just about an hour or so ago told our Bianna Golodryga the exact quote was, well, you'll have to wait and see as to whether Mojtaba is a target for Israel or not. Now, in a sense, that seems to be playing coy because Israel has said regime change is essential, right?

That's been very clear. And obviously this going from father to son is not regime change. But the question for you, Ali, what happens if they do eliminate him?

VAEZ: Look, Erin, at this moment, I don't really think that Mojtaba is the person who's running the show.

[14:40:00]

The power, I think, is in the hands of two individuals, Ali Larijani, the National Security Advisor, and Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the Speaker of Parliament. Both of them are former commanders of the IRGC.

And in fact, the reason Mojtaba was elected, I think, is because the IRGC was pushing for his candidacy. There were probably people in this system who toppled a monarchy in 1979 were pretty uncomfortable with the concept of a dynastic rule.

But it's really the IRGC who was the kingmaker here. It's the IRGC who's calling the shots and it's the IRGC who will continue on even if Mojtaba is eliminated as well. So all President Trump has achieved so far is to replace one Khamenei with another. And even if that Khamenei -- Mojtaba, is eliminated, what he would inherit is a state run by the most sanctioned entity in the world that is designated by the U.S. and the European Union as a foreign terrorist organization.

BURNETT: Ali, thank you very much. Ali Vaez with that insight.

And Brianna, as I pass it back to you, when you talk about the sanctions on the IRGC, the one way in which they had been able to fund so much of what they were able to do, despite all of the economic pain that Iran has suffered, right, was sales of oil and some of that oil sort of being on the shadow market.

So what we're seeing now with oil prices, you know look, could benefit them, could also hurt them if they can't move it around. I mean, there are real question marks in this crucial moment with the surge in oil prices.

KEILAR: Yes, so important to look at here, Erin. And one oil industry analysis finds the war with Iran is causing the biggest oil disruption that the world has ever seen. CNN's Matt Egan has been tracking all of this. What are you seeing

there, Matt?

MATT EGAN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Well, Brianna, we are looking at a historic oil shock, and drivers in the United States are certainly feeling this at the gas pump, even though, of course, the war is taking place on the other side of the planet. If you look at gas prices, the national average before the war started was just $2.98 a gallon. Look where we are now, $3.48 a gallon.

That's the highest since the summer of 2024. And this is now a 50 cent increase in the span of just nine days. That kind of a move is very rare.

And unfortunately, it's likely not done yet because, one, gas prices, they move with a lag to oil. And two, yes, oil prices continue to rise. This is a live look at oil prices, $95 a barrel for WTI, the U.S. oil contract, up 4 percent on the day. You know, things are not going well when this qualifies as good news, because earlier today we saw an even bigger spike, up to $119 a barrel. You can see it on this chart here. This is just a massive move higher.

Now, as you mentioned, we're talking about a significant historic oil price, oil supply disruption. Roughly 20 percent of the world's oil supply has been disrupted by this war. That's more than the Gulf War, more than the events of the 1970s when we had the Arab oil embargo.

And it's actually twice as big as the last time that there was a disruption like this back in the 1950s, Brianna. And look, the longer it lasts, the higher prices will go.

KEILAR: Yes, we're going to feel that. Matt Egan, thank you so much for taking us through that.

The State Department says it's facilitated more than two dozen charter flights out of the Middle East as Americans are told to evacuate. We'll see how they're doing it.

[14:45:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: The urgent rush to evacuate Americans from the Middle East is ramping up. The State Department says that so far, more than 32,000 U.S. citizens have safely returned to the U.S. since the strikes on Iran began. And that figure includes people who were transported on nearly two dozen charter flights and many others who found their way back to the U.S. without government assistance.

Let's discuss these efforts with Aaron Murphy. He's a pilot and a flight instructor for UFly Simulator. He joins us now live from a flight simulator.

I wanted to ask about the State Department ordering non-emergency diplomats to leave Saudi Arabia because your flight simulator is actually showing us the airport in the capital of Riyadh right now, I understand. How difficult currently is it to get out of there?

AARON MURPHY, PILOT: You know, Boris, thanks for having me on the show. And my deepest condolences to everybody who's involved in this conflict. And, you know, let's hope this gets resolved quickly.

On with the news. Right now, we're at the Riyadh International Airport, Runway 33, right? It is nighttime right now in Riyadh.

It's almost 10 o'clock at night. So that's why it's dark out there right now. I've been watching the air traffic in and out of the Emirates, Emirates Airlines out of Dubai Airport for the last few days.

And I just have to give a big hat tip to the Emirates Airlines guys and gals that are out there working as hard as they can under dangerous conditions. They are going nonstop with their airplanes. If they get an attack, they stop for a little bit and then they're out of there again with their airplanes.

I just can't give them enough praise for the work they're doing. A lot of other people are having to travel a distance to Riyadh, for example, where you can still get flights out of Saudi Arabia. But that's about a thousand miles to travel to Riyadh.

[14:50:00]

So the question is, how are you getting from Dubai or from other cities that are close to the conflict areas safely? That would be my question. Private jets, helicopters. If you have the money, I assume there's people that can help get you where you need to go.

SANCHEZ: Talk to us about who makes the ultimate decision to open up airspace, who the responsibility rests with and what risks they have to weigh.

MURPHY: Yes, with a conflict like this, that is reaching out in so many different directions, I would expect the U.S. Air Force, the United States government, every airline and every agency who's moving people around the area, they are in close contact with somebody from the government who is giving them some kind of intel as to whether it's safe to continue or not. And, you know, like I said, the flights out of Dubai, they definitely have a tide and an ebb and a flow, but watching on Flightradar24, you'd almost expect there's really nothing going on in the area until you zoom out and look at the whole area and you see all the airplanes going all the way around Iran. And if I can, for just one second, can you guys, can you see that OK where you are?

I mean, this is 13:15 Eastern Standard Time, 1:15 in the afternoon today. And I'm just looking over at my monitor now. That's the night of March 2026.

This is what's happening with the air traffic going around and around Iran, Iraq, Syria. I'm going to give you one more here. Here's Dubai at that same time today.

Not a whole lot different than what you normally see in Dubai. And that's air traffic in and out of the area. And as we are in Riyadh right now, Riyadh looks like business as usual.

It's incredible the amount of air traffic because you simply can't stop the flow. And Riyadh is far enough away from the conflict area that that's not a problem.

Let's just go back to Iran for one second. And this is exactly what it looks like around Ukraine for the last, how many years has that been going on? So a lot of extra gas to burn. Now there's a higher fuel surcharge because the oil going up.

What can we do? You know, we can't keep doing these things, right? We have to try to get along if we can, right?

SANCHEZ: Aaron Murphy, thanks so much for that look at the air traffic around the Middle East. Thank you so much.

MURPHY: Thank you.

SANCHEZ: Still ahead on CNN NEWS CENTRAL, more of our coverage of the war in Iran.

Plus, ICE detains some prominent teen mariachi musicians and their family members. The latest on their detention and the anger this has provoked when we come back.

[14:55:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: There's growing backlash after a Texas family was detained by ICE. Two of the detainees are teenagers and members of their high school's popular mariachi Oro band, which is sparking protests.

CNN's Ed Lavandera is with us now. Ed, what's the latest?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, right now efforts are underway by lawyers trying to get this family of five released from ICE detention facilities in South Texas. The two parents and the two youngest children are being held at that ICE detention facility in Dilley, just south of San Antonio. And the oldest son, 18- year-old Antonio, is being held at a separate facility.

So right now there have been efforts at both of those facilities and through both of those cases to try to get the family released from custody. We understand that there's a great deal of movement going on as we speak here this afternoon, but it's not exactly clear if the family has been released yet. But this has come over the last few days as there has been an intensifying call for this family to be released from custody.

We understand that they were taken into ICE custody at the end of February after they had gone into a routine check-in appointment, the entire family, with ICE officials. And that is when they were taken into custody. We were told by lawyers representing the family that they had come across the border and requested asylum back in 2023. And they had gone through the process of applying through the CBP-1 app at that time, and that they had been complying with all of the visits to and with ICE officials and immigration officials over the last few years. And of course, the young students had been enrolled in school, participating in the mariachi bands and the program at their high school down in South Texas as well. The lawyers and their supporters, what includes a Republican congresswoman in South Texas, as well as Democratic Congressman Joaquin Castro in San Antonio, have been calling for their release here.

So we'll see how things continue to play out this afternoon.

KEILAR: All right, Ed, thank you so much. Actually, Ed, I do want to ask you a follow-up question on this. As they're at this point trying to help these students, I mean, what is the concern in this community, especially because this is a band that is so popular?

There are a lot of people watching it. It's something that has been honored by, you know, the representative there for that region. This is something that stretches far and wide in this community.

LAVANDERA: Well, there's no question. If you're familiar with ...

END