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CNN On The Ground In Tehran As U.S. And Iran Trade Strikes; Graham Platner Ends Maine Senate Bid, Denies Rape Allegation; Scientists Consider Solar Geoengineering To Tamp Down El Nino Effects. Aired 7:30-8a ET

Aired July 09, 2026 - 07:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL)

[07:32:50]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, breaking news. We're getting word that air raid sirens are going off in Jordan after it seemed that Iranian missiles breached the country's airspace. The U.S. Embassy there issued an alert telling people to shelter and cover immediately.

Now this is just the newest development in the exchange of strikes between the U.S. and Iran. There are explosions being reported by Iranian state media in Iran right now.

CNN's Fred Pleitgen is on the ground in Tehran. Now, CNN operates in Iran with the permission of the government but maintains full editorial control of its reports. Fred, why don't you bring us to speed on the latest from there.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, John.

Yeah, it certainly seems as though things could be escalating once again between the United States and Iran after the past two nights really. We have had -- or seen some airstrikes in the coastal areas of Iran by the United States, and then the Iranians retaliating. So it certainly seems as though now things really heating up once again. That's for the first time in quite a long time we're actually seeing during the day some of these strikes apparently taking place.

You just mentioned those air raid sirens in Jordan with the Iranians possibly firing some missiles towards U.S. military installations there.

But you also talked about some of those strikes that were reported in Iran not too long ago today. Those appear to be around the vicinity of the Bushehr nuclear power plant, the Iranians are saying. We don't have any confirmed -- confirmation from the U.S. yet that they struck that area. That's in sort of the northern part of the Persian Gulf. The Iranians also have some military bases there. We'll wait and see what exactly may have been struck there and what exactly is behind those reports.

However, the Iranians certainly are upping the rhetoric as well. The Iranian Foreign Ministry coming out and saying that the U.S. military action that we've seen over the past 42 hours in their mind constitutes a war crime as the Iranians put it.

They're especially angry at two railway bridges in the northeastern part of Iran that have been struck. Those railway bridges extremely important on this day because, of course, today, the slain supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is set to be laid to rest in the eastern city of Mashhad and those railway bridges are the railway line that connect Tehran, the capital, to Mashhad. So the Iranians are saying that caused a lot of disarray and they certainly are taking very badly to those strikes that took place, John.

[07:35:07]

BERMAN: Fred, let me ask you one more question since we don't know when we'll get you back. It's great to have you.

You have been in Tehran --

PLEITGEN: Yeah.

BERMAN: -- during periods of heavy bombardment earlier in this war.

PLEITGEN: Yeah.

BERMAN: What does it feel like now compared to that? Does it feel like there's an increased war footing?

PLEITGEN: Well, certainly on the part of authorities it feels as though it could go back to an armed conflict with the United States. As far as the people are concerned, I think many of them have gotten used to situations like this where it's unclear which direction things are going to go into.

If you look behind me, you can see there's people on the street. There's cars on the street. Nevertheless, of course, people are concerned that things could go into a very bad direction.

And, of course, one of the things that we've seen, John, on the streets, especially over the past couple of days as these funeral ceremonies have been going on for the late supreme leader also here in Tehran, is many Iranians calling for revenge against the United States. Revenge against President Trump.

And I think one thing that we found fairly surprising here on the ground is that there is a lot of backlash against the memorandum of understanding. Against the negotiations with the United States with especially conservatives and hardliners saying they believe that Iran should fight it out with the United States and say a confrontation with the United States instead of going into a memorandum of understanding or some sort of agreement that would seek compromises from the Iranians, John.

BERMAN: It's possible, I suppose. This is the first stages of that actually happening.

Frederik Pleitgen, we're lucky to have you inside Tehran. You and your team please stay safe -- Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: Absolutely.

Let's talk more about where things stand and are headed here with Democratic Congressman James Walkinshaw of Virginia. He sits on the House Homeland Security committee. Congressman, thank you for being here.

The president had said that he thinks the memorandum of understanding is over in his view. Another U.S. official said that the ceasefire has at least temporarily ceased. Iran making clear they're going to continue targeting ships in the Strait of Hormuz.

And that's the question. Despite -- you know, even despite your criticisms of the president's handling -- well, starting this war and handling this war, if Iran is targeting ships in the strait, should the U.S. be returning to strikes?

REP. JAMES WALKINSHAW (D-VA) (via Webex by Cisco): Well look, I think as you noted, it highlights the strategic failure of this entire enterprise. But at this point we have to get a real agreement, and that memorandum of understanding was not a real agreement. Trump said Iran was agreeing to open the strait. Iran said no, we're not agreeing to open up the strait. And Trump had a huge signing ceremony at Versailles.

Anyway, we need an agreement that ensures that the strait is open and commits long term to continuing the dialogue around Iran's nuclear material. That's the kind of agreement we need real negotiators to get to. Unfortunately, we have amateurs in Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner negotiating with Iran and thus far failing.

BOLDUAN: What do you want to then see as the next move from the United States when it comes to Iran?

WALKINSHAW: I'd like to see a return to the negotiations. A commitment on both sides to keep the Strait of Hormuz open and a commitment to continue a dialogue around the nuclear program.

I never thought that an attack on Iran -- a war against Iran would lead to them abandoning their nuclear program. If you put yourself in their shoes once they're attacked by the United States and Israel, hardliners in the regime are going to be more committed than ever to their nuclear weapons program. Clearly, that is the case today so we're going to have to continue to work on that issue long term.

But we've got to get a real agreement -- a real negotiated, signed commitment to open the Strait of Hormuz. It would be better if we could work with our allies around the globe to increase pressure on Iran to get to that agreement. Unfortunately, we've alienated our allies and put the United States in a weaker position.

BOLDUAN: There's a question of just how great is the threat from Iran right now. As I mentioned, you sit on Homeland Security.

There's somewhat of a strange thing that happened when the president was leaving the NATO summit. He left Turkey on -- he -- on the -- well, the old Air Force One instead of his new plane, the Qatari- donated gifted plane that he actually has been touting so much, and he actually rode it to the summit initially.

Officials briefed on a plan said that the switch was a security precaution related to resuming hostilities with Iran, but the president denied any security concerns was behind the switch. He said he wanted to kind of show off the plane to troops in the U.K.

What are you hearing about this?

WALKINSHAW: So with respect to the planes I know only what I've read, so I don't have any access to classified material related to the Qatari plane.

[07:40:00]

I think it highlights the folly of accepting that $400 million Qatari jet and then asking the taxpayers to renovate it. It seems apparent that it is not up to the security standards of the original Air Force One or the Air Force One that the president was previously using because it takes time to implement those kind of systems into a new plane. So that was a mistake across the board.

And look, the Iranians retain significant capabilities. Cyber capabilities. Obviously, the ability through their proxies across the globe to implement terror attacks, and that's something we have to be very cognizant of.

BOLDUAN: Congressman, there's a big conversation going on within the Democratic Party and it's been truly highlighted by Graham Platner, the -- running -- who is the Democrat running -- was running for Senate in Maine, now no longer.

What are your thoughts on him ending his bid -- and in this video in ending his bid for Senate, blaming the "corporate media system and the political establishment" for forcing him out?

WALKINSHAW: Yeah, look, Mr. Platner should look in the mirror, I think, and evaluate his own not just behavior over the course of his adult life, including in recent years, but also the way that he has failed to be honest, quite frankly, with Mainers about that behavior. I hope he'll not have some time and space to do that.

BOLDUAN: Congressman James Walkinshaw, thank you so much for coming in -- John.

BERMAN: So what Kate was just talking about there -- this video that Graham Platner put out overnight. Let's play a little bit of that now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GRAHAM PLATNER, (D) FORMER MAINE SENATE CANDIDATE: I'm not trying to dictate to anyone who it should be or how we get there, but I will say this. It needs to be open, transparent, and democratic.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: All right. With us now, CNN political analyst Zolan Kanno- Youngs of The New York Times. Great to see you this morning.

ZOLAN KANNO-YOUNGS, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, THE NEW YORK TIMES: Good to see you.

BERMAN: It's interesting, Graham Platner saying I'm not saying who it should be, but I am saying this is the way it should be done. Maybe trying to put some English or, you know, body English into who gets chosen here.

How much influence do you think he'll have?

KANNO-YOUNGS: It's, in a way, extraordinary -- even that. This was sort of the initial response we saw come from his campaign -- the Platner, sort of, camp -- was that as these new reports came out and as this accusation was made public, they responded by -- with the denial but also with demands of saying OK, if we're going to step out of the race -- and right now the campaign is suspended -- that they would want to have some say over who the replacement would be.

That's obviously frustrating and not being received well by Maine Democrats and the Democratic Party in general that's now racing and really has -- there is a ticking clock to find a replacement that can defeat Susan Collins in a race that you just can emphasize the stakes enough for the overall look of Congress.

BERMAN: Democrats need to win four seats to retake control of the Senate. Almost impossible to get there --

KANNO-YOUNGS: Right.

BERMAN: -- without flipping the seat in Maine. That's why it's so important.

We're getting some details -- piecing together some details of how Democrats say they're going to choose this nominee.

KANNO-YOUNGS: Yeah.

BERMAN: A state convention -- some 600 people, including 500 county Democrats, and then 100 state committee people -- but a convention.

KANNO-YOUNGS: Yes.

BERMAN: What does it tell you about what lessons maybe were learned --

KANNO-YOUNGS: Hmm.

BERMAN: -- after President Biden dropped out. It was basically Kamala Harris was anointed.

KANNO-YOUNGS: Let's just emphasize that fact for one. It tells you that there are lessons learned and that 2024 is hanging over the Democratic Party, right? I know from reporting during that campaign, I would hear from voters that felt that their vote was being taken for granted and that they really didn't have enough say in who their political leaders were.

We know now since that campaign that there was frustration among the Democratic base that there was an anointment, in a way. That the decision-making over who would replace Joe Biden -- there was a perception that it happened in a room they didn't have access to where their voice wasn't heard.

And now you have a convention, which would seemingly -- we don't know how it's going to play out, right, but would be a response to that. Five-600 hundred people, 500 of them selected by Democratic county committees -- that would seem to be the jolt of energy that you might need, especially with this tight schedule now.

BERMAN: The Democrat primary there was sort of progressive Graham Platner --

KANNO-YOUNGS: Yeah.

BERMAN: -- against establishment Janet Mills.

KANNO-YOUNGS: Yeah.

BERMAN: How much do you think that dynamic is still in play here?

KANNO-YOUNGS: Yeah. It definitely it is play. We have a jockeying right now amongst the progressive wing and sort of the moderate wing about who this replacement will be.

Look, there were progressives that were saying when you have Janet Mills, somebody that is a seasoned, well-known politician but also does represent in a way status quo, the Democratic Party that has been there before, and then you have Graham Platner, an outsider who is advocating for many of the views that we are seeing is generating excitement.

[07:45:08]

But you also have some give and take there. Now you have maybe some moderates that are saying look, wouldn't it make sense after this fiasco to go with somebody, yes, who may be known, who may be a veteran, who may be status quo, but at least we know their record, right? And you may be able to get a clean record.

At the same time, Graham Platner did galvanize a broad base of voters and a lot of energy. And there is going to be movement to try to find, yes, a replacement but somebody that exemplifies the views he was advocating for.

This is going to be a clash that we're going to see come to a head in the days to come.

BERMAN: I will note -- if we could put the perspective candidates up on the screen here -- backstage you noted to me that one thing --

KANNO-YOUNGS: Yeah.

BERMAN: -- all the people who are positioning to be the Democratic nominee sort of have in common.

KANNO-YOUNGS: Yeah, yeah. Look, a lot of them lost, right? I mean, they may be well-known names -- Troy Jackson, right --

BERMAN: Shenna Bellows.

KANNO-YOUNGS: And Shah as well, lead health official in Maine. These are people that have run recently, yes, in the governor race in Maine and they lost, right? But that also means that they went through the process that a lot of people say were missing when it came to Platner's vetting as well.

So we'll have to see if they can generate that same sort of excitement, but they did try recently and it didn't work out.

BERMAN: I will say this is one of those rare times where there's nerves both inside the Democratic Party for obvious reasons -- this kind of upheaval.

KANNO-YOUNGS: Yeah.

BERMAN: But also Republicans. If you get them to be honest -- if you scratch underneath the surface they would have rather run against Platner than --

KANNO-YOUNGS: Oh, I have talked to some Republicans who were saying the Platner pick they thought gave Susan Collins a good chance. Now they're also a little bit anxious.

BERMAN: All right, so watch this space to be sure.

Zolan Kanno-Youngs, great to see you.

KANNO-YOUNGS: Thank you.

BERMAN: Thank you very much.

All right. Can humans control the weather, even a Super El Nino? Why some researchers are concerned about possible disastrous, unintended consequences.

And a police chase for an attempted murder suspect winds through a golf course.

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[07:51:25]

BOLDUAN: So after a horrible day yesterday, which was the first day in a long time of no World Cup games, the sun is shining again as the World Cup quarterfinals start today. Just hours from now it's France versus Morocco. The big question is can anyone stop Mbappe?

CNN's Andy Scholes is back with us. Oh, phew. It was a really long day yesterday, Andy.

ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS ANCHOR: Thank goodness, Kate, we're back in action, right? We've got another game on tap and it's a good one.

You know, four years ago Morocco and France -- they faced off in the semifinals and Morocco making that semifinals against France. It was one of the biggest stories of the tournament. They were the first African nation to make a semi. So, you know, they had that happy to be there feeling, but not this time around.

Morocco -- they easily took care of Canada in the Round of 16. They now find themselves back in the quarterfinals. The big question is though can they stop France's incredible attack led by Kylian Mbappe? Well, Morocco fans believe they can today. They showed up big time in Boston ahead of this match.

Now despite the fact most think this is now France's World Cup to lose, Morocco not going to be satisfied with anything other than a win.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MOHAMED OUAHBI, MOROCCO COACH (through translator): I will never be satisfied with something when I think we could have achieved more. We aren't going to listen to the people telling us you've already done brilliantly, it's no big deal if we lose, France are the favorites, or anything like that. We want to win and we're going to do everything we can to win, and that's that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCHOLES: Yeah. France and Morocco is today at 4:00 Eastern.

In today's "What A Shot" we see Erling Haaland having some fun training with his Norway teammates in Miami ahead of their clash with England on Saturday. Haaland has seven goals in this World Cup, tied with Mbappe and one from Messi in that race for the Golden Boot.

Big news for Beliebers yesterday. Justin Bieber is joining the World Cup final halftime show. He's going to be performing with Madonna, Shakira, and BTS. It's going to be an 11-minute performance curated by Cold Play's Chris Martin. That's July 19 in the final.

All right. Meanwhile at Wimbledon, the fairytale run for Arthur Fery -- it continues. The 23-year-old who was a wildcard in this tournament, beating ninth-seed Flavio Cobolli to advance to the semifinals. And the British fans -- they are just loving this run. Fery is French-born but he grew up about a mile away from the All England Club. He played college tennis at Stanford where he was a two- time All-American. But Fery is just the fourth men's wildcard to reach the semis at a major. He's going to face Alexander Zverev tomorrow.

Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner -- they face off in the other semifinal.

But, you know, Kate, Fery definitely has that home crowd behind him. He's trying to join Andy Murray and become one of the second Brit in the last 90 years to win there at Wimbledon. We'll see if he can get it done.

BOLDUAN: We'll see if he can get it done. Until then, back to World Cup soccer. I mean, we are -- I don't know if you knew this Andy, but John Berman is Moroccan.

BERMAN: I have -- I have Moroccan heritage -- so, go Morocco.

BOLDUAN: And I -- as I was -- I was saying to John, and I would like to pretend I live in Paris, so I'm just going to say we've got an issue on set.

BERMAN: A fight to the death.

SCHOLES: Ok, yeah.

BOLDUAN: Yes.

BERMAN: On the pitch.

BOLDUAN: I'm wearing stilettos and I will win.

BERMAN: Yeah. You'll win anyway.

All right. Near Canton, Ohio, an attempted murder suspect in a carjacked minivan led police on a wild chase spanning two counties and a golf course.

[07:55:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

Police chase through golf course.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh my God, he's going right at him. Holy (bleep). Oh my God.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: The suspect crashed the stolen van into a police cruiser, flipping it. An officer inside the cruiser got out moments before impact.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

Police officer exiting vehicle.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You alright?

POLICE OFFICER: I got out maybe five to 10 seconds before.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: All right. This morning the suspect is facing several felony charges. Outside Phoenix an 18-month-old boy was declared dead only to be found breathing in a hospital morgue nearly five hours later. And this happened a few months ago, but police are just releasing video now. The toddler was pulled from a backyard pool on Super Bowl Sunday and rushed to the hospital.

Doctors at Mercy Gilbert Medical Center stopped CPR and pronounced him dead. Now, according to the police report, when an officer told the doctor the child still had a pulse, the doctor responded, "Please, do your thing and let me do my thing."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DOCTOR: I went to medical school for a reason.

POLICE OFFICER: I'm not trying to -- OK, let me just clarify.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: The doctor's lawyer says there is more to the case than has been reported so far. The hospital calls it a heartbreaking situation and says it immediately launched a review. Now Gilbert police are recommending negligence charges against the parents, and the toddler will reportedly need extensive therapy.

In Monmouth County, New Jersey, a vacant motel collapsed after torrential rain and flooding earlier this week.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

Empire Hotel collapsing after severe weather.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: So police were actually on hand recording after responding to reports of some damage. No one there was hurt.

And we do have sad news this morning. The brilliant singer, Bonnie Tyler, known for hits "Holding Out for a Hero" and "Total Eclipse of the Heart," has died at the age of 75.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BONNIE TYLER, WELSH SINGER-SONGWRITER: Singing "Holding Out for a Hero."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: A statement on her website says she unexpectedly passed away last night in a hospital in Portugal as a result of the illness that she was being treated for.

Now I had a chance to interview her back in the summer of 2017 when she was performing onboard a cruise ship, singing "Total Eclipse of the Heart" during a total eclipse.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: What's your favorite line? Can you give us your favorite verse from the song?

TYLER: Um, (singing) I need you more than ever. And if you only hold me tight, we'll be holding on forever. (Laughing)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Oh, she was wonderful.

Tyler was planning to return to the stage later this year. She really was lovely to speak with and so talented. May her memory be a blessing -- Kate.

BOLDUAN: You often talked about that moment more than once. Every time there is actually any sort of an eclipse -- solar, moon, lunar, anything -- you always have talked about your -- the opportunity you had to talk to Bonnie Tyler. It was really special.

BERMAN: I'm such a wise ass some of the time and she was so nice about it. I just give her huge credit for that.

BOLDUAN: No comment.

BERMAN: Yes.

BOLDUAN: What a wonderful woman. Thanks, J.B.

All right, let's turn to this right now. Scientists are looking into temporarily dimming the sun to try and stop the devastating impacts of a Super El Nino. A new study looked into this -- I'm going to call it a wild approach. Some researchers though also warning of the possible disastrous, unintended consequences of it.

CNN's chief climate correspondent Bill Weir has the reporting on this. Bill, what is going on with this?

BILL WEIR, CNN CHIEF CLIMATE CORRESPONDENT (via Webex by Cisco): This actually starts a few generations back, Kate, actually after Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines, a volcano, erupted in '91. That could -- that ash of clouds actually dimmed enough of the Earth. It cooled off the surface of the Earth by a full degree Fahrenheit for a year and a half. And the more recently the big Australian wildfires of a few years ago. We're seeing a similar effect.

So this is research out of Scripps Institute, and they are saying if this sort of idea -- if solar radiation management or geoengineering, as it's known broadly, was employed during a Super El Nino summer like we're having now, it could eliminate a lot of the damage. There could be a trillion dollars' worth of damage from this heat event when it comes to storms and droughts.

And so the idea is you spray enough mist to create sort of marine clouds -- cloud seeding, which is done for farms around the world these days. And then those bright light clouds would reflect sunlight sort of a like a windshield reflector in your car just temporarily.

This has been talked about as way to slow down climate change in which sorties of jets would fly really high in the stratosphere and putting out this natural -- not smoke or anything dangerous, but something just to create clouds enough to control the temperature while humanity gets its act together to fix global warming.

This is hugely controversial. A few years ago, the University of Washington wanted to just see how saltwater moves through the air and used an old jet engine to spray saltwater off a retired aircraft carrier in the bay area.