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U.S. Strike on Baghdad Kills Top Iranian Commander; Interview with Ambassador Christopher Hill. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired January 03, 2020 - 01:00   ET

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

[01:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Hello, and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm Michael Holmes and we are on top of some breaking news this hour. A potentially serious escalation in the simmering conflict between the U.S. and Iran. The Pentagon confirming President Trump ordered a strike against top Iranian military commander Qassem Soleimani.

A U.S. official tells our Nick Paton Walsh, it was a "target of opportunity." And we will hear from Nick Paton Walsh a little later in the program. Let's talk about Soleimani. He was the leader of the Quds force an elite special operations unit of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard. The Pentagon says he was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of U.S. forces in the region.

U.S. strike on Baghdad's airport also killed a senior member of the Iranian backed Popular Mobilization Forces. The PMF is the same group whose supporters tried to storm the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad earlier this week.

We are covering this with correspondents and analysts all around the world. CNN's Arwa Damon is live in Baghdad, our Alex Marquardt is joining us from Washington, Nic Robertson is in London. We also have Ramin Mostaghim. He's in Tehran and will join us shortly too.

But first, let's go to Baghdad. CNN's Arwa Damon there. It's difficult to overstate how much of an impact this action could take. Give us your thoughts.

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Michael, we're entering uncharted territory. This kind of escalation by the U.S. is most likely only going to be viewed by Iran as an act of war. And it's difficult to imagine a scenario where Iran wouldn't be ready for something like this, given how things have been going recently between Tehran and Washington.

Now, this strike happened just outside of Baghdad International Airport, targeting this convoy that was carrying Qassem Soleimani as well as the leader of Kata'ib Hezbollah, which is also the group that was targeted in those U.S. airstrikes on Sunday. The big question, I think, right now is going to be what are the

unforeseen impacts of all of this. Because when you have an event that is as significant as this one that has the potential to really upend so many different factors of what's happening not just in Iraq, but across the Middle East, given the reach that Iran has both militarily and politically.

When the U.S. came in and took Saddam Hussein out of power, the consequences of that, among many other things, Michael, where the rise of al-Qaeda in Iraq which then eventually down the road led to the rise of ISIS.

So while on the one hand, Soleimani in Iran and among those fighters, whether it's Iranian proxies who were loyal to him, who took orders from him, or fighters within Iran itself, they do view him as being something of a legend. He is very revered. You also have the fact that his hands are incredibly bloody, whether it's what transpired here in Iraq, or in neighboring Syria, or in Yemen, or any number of other areas where Iranian proxies are currently at war.

But at the same time, we have this unfolding in a country, Iraq, that already is very polarized when it comes to Iran. His death most likely at least within Iraq is going to be just as polarizing as well. And let's also remember, today is Friday. It is the beginning of the weekend. Here is also the day where worshipers will be going to the mosques. We can expect much more of reaction once Friday prayers are over.

But this really is an event that has, to a certain degree, the timing of it caught, I think, many by surprise, because even though tensions were rising between Washington and Tehran, this kind of an escalation, this drastic of an escalation at this specific point in time, may not have been entirely expected.

HOLMES: And just briefly, Arwa, I mean, Iran has deep ties in Iraq. That is not going to change with the depth of our Soleimani. But there are Iranian supported politicians where you are in Baghdad who are pushing for the U.S. to leave Iraq altogether. Will they get momentum from this?

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DAMON: It's a very good question, Michael. One can only assume that this is going to strengthen their hand as they have been pushing parliament to begin drafting a bill that would govern the presence of U.S. troops here.

I mean, even the strikes that America carried out this past Sunday against Kata'ib Hezbollah, in sense the Iraqi government, with the Prime Minister calling it a violation of sovereignty. And he had in fact, asked the U.S. to stand down and not carry out those Sunday strikes.

One can only imagine right now how the Iraqi government is trying to navigate exactly how they're going to maneuver this and what their reaction to America is going to be, and what that's going to do to the relationship between Washington and Baghdad.

Look, Iran is very strong here militarily. That PMF force, the Popular Mobilization Force, this is mostly made up of former Shia militias. Many of whom have longstanding historic ties to Iran. Many of whom during the years of the U.S. occupation here were funded, trained, provided with weapons by Iran, and they use those not only in Iraq sectarian civil war but also against U.S. forces.

The PMF right now is extensively a part of the Iraqi security forces apparatus. They are very powerful, and they are also equally powerful in Parliament, because every group that is part of the PMF also has parliamentary representation. So Iran is very entrenched in Iraq on a number of different levels, Michael.

HOLMES: Yes, yes. Great analysis as always. Good to have you there on the spot, Arwa. Arwa Damon reporting there from Baghdad. And CNN's International Diplomatic Editor Nic Robertson joins me now from London. The thing about Iran is their tentacles spread far and wide in the region. I mean, what's your take on what's happened and what could happen as a result?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: You know, I think Iran is obviously going to take this as an existential threat, that if they don't respond, they're standing in the region and the cloud an implicit threat of all their proxies be there Hezbollah in Lebanon, be they the proxies in Syria, who are backing President Bashar Al Assad there and had been now for -- coming on for a decade almost, or whether they're inside Iraq, really sort of underpinning the part of the security of the State of Iraq, or whether they are in Yemen, the -- backing Houthis.

So this is a real moment of choice for the Iranian leadership. But it seems that there really is only one path that they can go down that they have said in the past very recently, that they do not seek a war but they're ready to fight one and this is very likely to be interpreted by them as such, that proxies was put on notice last year during the escalations of tensions with the United States, that they were -- that these proxies would know how to respond to take on U.S. forces, U.S. interest throughout the region, be they -- be they Hezbollah targeting Israel, be they in Syria targeting U.S. forces there, be there in Iraq targeting U.S. forces and interest there, or be they targeting U.S. allies in the Gulf, you know, the who is targeting the Saudis.

The proxies will want to show the leadership in Iran that they are very capable, that they feel this viscerally. Soleimani was a hero to them. He was not only a battlefield inspiration, but was the interlink between them and Tehran, the man bringing the money and the munitions to fight -- to fight their battles. So this is going to be very keenly felt by them.

But I think the real question is, how far does the Iranian leadership want to push this. The tactics we've seen them use in the past six months alone tell you they're willing to go way out on a limb, not just shooting down a U.S. drone, but that sophisticated strike they had on two Saudi oil facilities taken out more than half of Saudis oil production, multiple drones, multiple missiles, hitting multiple targets. I saw it with my own eyes. That was not a simple unsophisticated attack.

So they've shown they're willing to do that without having this sort of existential threat happening, so the possibility of that happening again. We've also seen them capturing vessels in the Straits of Hormuz through which one-fifth of the world's daily oil supply flows. I think we can expect to see them escalate that. They've had war games in the -- in those scenes just recently were both China and Russia.

So Iran is on a forward-leaning footing to execute on throttling back and cutting the world's oil supplies. They've said, if they can't export, then others won't be able to. That's likely to be their go-to position because that's likely to be where they feel that they can exert the maximum international pressure.

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HOLMES: Nic Robertson in London, I appreciate the analysis. Thanks so much. Well, the Pentagon, for its part, released a statement that reads in part, "At the direction of the President, the U.S. military has taken decisive, defensive action to protect U.S. personnel abroad by killing Qassem Soleimani, the head of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, Quds Force, a U.S. designated foreign terrorist organization. The strike was aimed at deterring future Iranian attack plans. The United States will continue to take all necessary action to protect our people and our interest wherever they are around the world."

Members of the U.S. Congress united in their condemnation of Soleimani, but many Democrats are questioning President Trump's timing and motivation for ordering the strike, especially without notifying lawmakers. There has been no official statement, meanwhile, from the White House, only what you see there, a tweet from the president showing the American flag.

Let's head to Washington now and CNN's Alex Marquardt. Perhaps not surprising that we haven't heard from the President directly yet, but we did hear from the Pentagon. Fill us in on that reaction and also the reaction of Congress because there's going to be some who aren't happy that this happened.

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR U.S. CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Michael. As you -- as you note, the President hasn't actually said anything beyond that one tweet with American flag. He is technically still on vacation. He's at his resort in southern Florida at Mar-a-Lago, and they have been pointing to the Pentagon statement.

And what the Pentagon has been saying very clearly, as you mentioned, was that this strike was planned and carried out, not just for what Qassem Soleimani has done in the past over years of killing and maiming hundreds and thousands of American troops, but also more recently in targeting U.S. bases in Iraq. Targeting, they say, that he approved those demonstrations against the U.S. Embassy. And so the Pentagon says that Soleimani was actively developing plans

to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region. It was something that the Secretary of Defense Mark Esper had called earlier in the day, preventive -- preemptive action.

So this was clearly designed to thwart future attacks that they saw Soleimani hand in. As you note, Michael, U.S. lawmakers are united in their condemnation of Soleimani, united in their support of the killing of Soleimani. But what's becoming clear as the night has gone on, is that the senior leadership of Congress was not notified in advance of this killing.

Now, Chuck Schumer the Senate Minority Leader, a Democrat, has said that he didn't know anything about it. A spokesman for his majority counterpart Mitch McConnell declined to answer. And so while you are seeing Republicans and Democrats coming together saying this is a man who deserves to be killed because of everything he has done against American forces, what you're seeing from Republicans is more a celebration of that, of the death, and a congratulations to the Trump administration for carrying it out.

I want to show you a couple of statements that reflect these different reactions. The first is from Senator Jim Risch of Idaho. He's Republican. He's the Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He writes, "Congratulations to President Trump on his decisive action and the successful outcome. Qassem Soleimani was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of Americans and his death presents an opportunity for Iraq to determine its own future free from Iranian control."

And then as you note, Michael, a lot of Democrats not just talking about how reckless they are -- they believe this action against Soleimani was and what it could mean in terms of escalation, but also angry that the Trump administration did not come to them for congressional approval.

The chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee Eliot Engle, Democrat from New York, he writes, "Even if this strike was in self- defense, no current congressional authorization covered it, and the president needs to notify Congress within 48 hours pursuant to the War Powers Resolution. The law requires notification so the president can't plunge the United States into ill-considered wars."

And that, Michael, of course, you know, politics goes well beyond Capitol Hill these days out onto the campaign trail. And the Democrats out there are reflecting that notion, this idea that a war could happen. In fact, the former Vice President, the front runner, Joe Biden, he said that President Trump just tossed a stick of dynamite into a tinderbox. So as always, Michael, in Washington, opinions deeply divided.

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HOLMES: Alex Marquardt, great wrap up there of reaction in Washington for us. I appreciate that. Before we go to Tehran, I just want to sort of give people a sense of what the supreme leader in Iran, the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. He has found revenge. We've just gotten this indoors now. He said, "Harsh revenge awaits the criminals involved in the killing of Soleimani and others." This was in a message to the nation published on his Web site. He also said, the fight would continue. All friends, as well as enemies, know the path of resistance will continue.

So that's the reaction they have from the supreme leader in Iran. So let's go to Tehran and bring in CNN Journalist Ramin Mostaghim. He is live for us there. Ramin, good to have you there. Speak to how Soleimani was viewed there and the reaction from the region.

RAMIN MOSTAGHIM, CNN JOURNALIST: Since early morning in Iran, he is regarded as a live martyr by large walks of the society, even the secular nationalist are regarding him as a martyr, and they are lamenting, I can say. Since the demise of late Khomeini in the late 1980s, I have never seen such a mourning service dedicated to the top officials.

He's regarded by the majority of the Iranian society as a hero. So it's not difficult to predict by the foreshadowing from the Supreme Leader and other officials we can hear now that escalation, a new wave of escalations of this proxy war in the region is going to gain momentum from today onward. And I won't be surprised if anything happens to the American interest bases in the Persian Gulf, and in Bahrain, in Qatar, in Saudi Arabia, in Iraq in every -- everywhere American interests are.

And bear in mind that the Iranian influence in Iraq is well trained for years. And it is not easy, if not impossible to cut the influence of Iran in Iraqi territory. So, we can expect the bad days to come, if confrontations gain momentum, which is very possible and very likely, because he -- I mean, he was recorded as hero and the Iranian society is encouraged to stand firm by the Supreme Leader and also running establishment.

And you know that this is easily -- I mean, felt Iranian society. I talked to several media class people on the way to the studio, they are feeling concerned and they say the wars would come. We are already suffering from hyperinflations and economy -- I mean, ordeal. So this is the last straw for our -- for our shoulders and we are bending under the burden of the economic problems now.

The proxy wars or any direct confrontation between Iran and America can be devastating for Iranian media class and Iranian society by and large, and people are glued to TVs and follow social networks and express their concerns for what would come next in Iran.

HOLMES: Yes. I think the world is worried about what comes next. Ramin Mostaghim there in Tehran, good to have you. Thank you so much. All right, well, the U.S. airstrike in Baghdad had an immediate impact as you might imagine on world oil prices. Crude is always jittery, then something like this happens and you can see the reaction.

The price for both Brent and West Texas Intermediate shot up three percent as soon as news of the airstrike came out. You can see the numbers there just -- they were both about three percent an hour or so ago. So just down below three percent now.

How will the U.S. strikes in Baghdad play out in the region? We'll speak with a Middle East expert about that when we come back.

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DEREK VAN DAM, CNN INTERNATIONAL METEOROLOGIST: We can expect a soggy start to the early weekend if you're located anywhere over the eastern third of the United States. It's all thanks to this low-pressure system and associated cold front tapping into moisture from the Gulf of Mexico, allowing for copious amounts of rainfall from places like Atlanta, and Charlotte, eventually into the Mid-Atlantic and across the New England coastline.

We'd like this of course to be snowfall in this time of year but it just looks like this will stay above freezing for the most part and we'll keep this all the liquid variety. Chances of rain shower is extending from the Ohio River Valley right to the east coast. You can see rainfall accumulations through the next three days.

Generally, one to three inches on top of what's already fallen, so the potential does exist for some flash flooding, especially across the Tennessee River Valley stretching towards the south and west across northern Alabama and to Mississippi and Eastern sections of Louisiana.

When we talk about the west, we have several rounds of weather taking shape from Washington into Oregon. You can see Seattle to Portland, we have a wet weekend for you, low elevation rainfall with high elevation snow. We will be measuring this in feet for the Cascade Mountains stretching across the spine of the Rockies.

Daytime highs today, three degrees for Chicago. There's the wet weather for New York and Atlanta, 12 in Dallas, a balmy 28 for Miami. You can see a few rounds of colder air settling in across the East Coast.

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HOLMES: Welcome back. If you're just tuning in, the U.S. military says it has killed a top Iranian military official in an airstrike at the Baghdad airport. Qassem Soleimani was commander of Iran's elite fighters known as the Quds force. The U.S. says he was responsible for the deaths of hundreds of American and coalition service members and the wounding of thousands more.

The U.S. strike also killed the senior member of the Iranian backed Popular Mobilization Forces. That's the same group of course, whose supporters tried to storm the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad earlier this week. Let's take a look at just who Soleimani was and why his death is seen as such a blow to Iran.

He became head of Tehran's Quds force in 1998. In that role, he was instrumental in spreading Iranian influence throughout the Middle East. Soleimani led the foreign arm of the Revolutionary Guards and has had a key role in fighting in Iraq, and Syria, and elsewhere.

Now that did include fighting ISIS and helping to prop up the government of Bashar Al Assad in Syria. His prominence has made him a high-profile target with Soleimani surviving several assassination attempts against him by Western, Israeli, and Arab forces over the last two decades.

Let's bring in Middle East expert Dalia Dassa Kaye. She's the Director at the Center for Middle East Public Policy, joining us from Los Angeles. And thanks for doing so. Do you see a strategy in this assassination? Do you see a plan?

[01:25:34]

DALIA DASSA KAYE, DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR MIDDLE EAST PUBLIC POLICY: Well, that's unclear. And I think that's what's particularly worrying. Sure, there's plenty of celebration for the loss of a man who was responsible for so much death and destruction in the region, including a loss of American life, but there's the real question of, you know, to what end? Is this going to be able to stop Iranian meddling and proxy development through the region? It's unlikely. Is it going to lead to a better Iranian nuclear deal? Unlikely.

So all of the goals the U.S. set to achieve in terms of trying to create better Iranian behavior or better nuclear agreement, it's just not clear what place this particular step plays in that. So I think that's what's really concerning for a lot of people. It's a high-risk operation with very unclear objectives. And we are entering an uncharted territory right now.

HOLMES: And that's the thing. The U.S. has certainly made it clear they have feelings towards Soleimani and many other nations have as well. He was responsible for many, many deaths. But the thing is the timing and why the United States would hit this figure now and on Iraqi soil with the complications that brings as well. How do you see the repercussions reverberating through the region?

KAYE: Yes. Well, I think they're likely to be serious. Again, it's unknown and I think that's one of the concerns is that this could really spiral into directions we can't even think of at the moment but likely not good. We -- there's potential for serious retaliation against American forces, or diplomats, or American civilians, our partner civilians and military personnel in the region, particularly Iraq, Syria, Lebanon are probably the most likely target countries. But of course, Iranian influence expands to Yemen.

We've seen attacks by Iran in the Arab Gulf over the summer, drone attacks against even, you know, United States interests. So I think all bets are off in terms of where and when this could happen, and where this might lead. And of course, that could then prompt an American retaliation. And that's the concern is we can be at a new spiraling escalation here and we're no longer in a proxy war. This was a direct hit on an Iranian -- one of the most senior Iranian military officials, really the face of the Iranian revolution in many ways other than the supreme leader. So this is a very, very serious development. HOLMES: Yes. And the supreme leader in fact just a short time ago promising revenge for this killing. Dalia Dassa Kaye, thank you so much. I appreciate it.

KAYE: Thank you.

HOLMES: And we're going to take a short break here on the program. When we come back, we will hear from a former U.S. ambassador to Iraq about what kind of response we might see from the region. You're watching breaking news here on CNN. We'll be right back.

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[01:32:59]

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back. Let's update you on the breaking news this hour.

The U.S. military confirming it carried out a strike near Baghdad Airport killing one of the most revered members of Iran's military. The Pentagon says it was a defensive action and that Qasem Soleimani and his Quds Force were responsible for the death of hundreds of American forces.

The U.S. strike on Baghdad's airport also killed a senior member of the Iranian-backed Popular Mobilization Forces.

We are joined now by CNN international security editor, Nick Paton Walsh in London.

Soleimani had been in the crosshairs more than once and opportunities were not taken. This was however, you're being told, a target of opportunity.

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN INTERNATIONAL SECURITY EDITOR: Yes. I mean basically based on a presidential directive it seems that allowing this to occur that kind of high-level strike can never be really put into effect by the U.S. military without the White House command essentially granting it. But this was something, as you say, seized (ph), I'm told, by a target of opportunity.

Now, I'm also told by the same U.S. officials that it is preemptive in nature, possibly a reflection of the fact that the constant U.S. policy towards Iran of maximum pressure, sanctions, virtually everything else they could do non-militarily to pressure Iran's government to perhaps changing its tact to go back to the negotiating table for a deal that Donald Trump wanted to include.

Not only its nuclear program, but also ballistic missiles, virtually everything Iran was doing in the region. That wasn't working and so clearly this quite extraordinary move was undertaken.

I mean, be no mistake about this -- Michael. If Iranians, for example, killed an American defense official of this rank, America would probably consider that to be an act of war. So we've heard from Ayatollah Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of Iran, there will be a harsh revenge for the criminals as a result of this. Three days of morning have been declared in Iran.

[01:34:53] I should point out this comes increasingly at a more complex time in Iran itself where there has been a lot of civil unrest because of economic collapse over the past months. The U.S. has consistently tried to foment that call on the Iranian people to rise up.

They have, inside Iran, it's best to say from the different (ph) grievances is about how their economy is tumbling partly because of sanctions, partly because of mismanagement as well.

We're about to see legislative elections inside Iran in February later on this year. And then President Hassan Rouhani, the moderate, is increasingly towards the end of his second and final term in that particular office.

So bear (ph) no mistake here, the death of a hard liner like General Soleimani, head of the Quds Force, behind so many of Iran's foreign military moves here, and accused by the U.S. of being pretty much behind everything against its assets and its allies in the region over the past year is a game-changer.

It's unclear how Iran will respond. You know, they are tacticians. They could do nothing for a month. They could allow their proxies to move against various targets across the region as quickly as tomorrow. That's unclear.

What is absolutely not unclear at this point is how this is a stark United States tactical move, strategic possibly, if it was authorized for a period of time, I'm sure those around the President have war- gamed out its effectiveness.

Who would replace Soleimani? Would this put the hard liners in check? Do they think there any possible chance for Iranian retribution around the region? Is it necessarily going to be as bad as a positive of taking Soleimani off the battlefield.

So a lot to see in the days ahead -- Michael. But bear no mistake, this decade begins with an absolutely staggering move here by the United States in the Middle East.

HOLMES: Indeed. Nick Paton Walsh in London -- thanks.

Joining me now is Christopher Hill, former U.S. ambassador to South Korea and Iraq, somebody who knows this region all too well.

Do you fear unintended consequences here? Do you see a strategy? What's your take?

CHRISTOPHER HILL, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO SOUTH KOREA AND IRAQ (via telephone): Oh, I think there'll definitely -- there are definitely going to be some unintended consequences. And for starters, I think we better have our embassies pretty well buttoned up because I think it all start there.

But I think the Iranians have a kind of tendency to kind of gauge things and figure out what they want to do. And so I'm not sure they'll see anything immediate from the Iranians.

I think it's important for people to understand that Qasem Soleimani, certainly when I was in Iraq as ambassador there, I mean he was kind of public enemy number one. I mean there was an understanding that he had planned many operations against the U.S.

So I don't think there will be a lot of pushback within the United States about this. But I think in the rest of the world, we will have to see what the reaction is. And I think there will be a great deal of concern as to whether President Trump has thought this one through.

M1: Yes, I mean it's true. I mean -- when I spent a lot of time in Iraq, as you know, and there was this man and the Quds Force who introduced the particularly deadly form of roadside bombs, the EFPs that brought that technology to the insurgency. So there won't be any tears for him in the west, but there probably will be in, certainly parts of Iran.

And Iran -- do you feel that the regime is -- it's a matter of face that they have to respond in some form or rather at some point?

HILL: I think it is a matter of face. But I think it will be very -- yes, Iran simply cannot sit on its hands on this one. I think there will be a reaction. And I'm afraid it could be -- it could get bloody in places.

Iran has a vast network in the Middle East, thanks to Qasem Soleimani. I mean, I think they could really activate some of this network. And I think American citizens are going to have to be very careful.

HOLMES: And Iran has deep ties in Iraq, as well. And that's not going to change with Soleimani's death, is it?

HILL: That's true. I mean they have deep ties in Iraq. They see Iraq as a buffer state to keep them from the Sunni Arab world. It's often talked about how Iran wants to destabilize Iraq. Actually many Iranians would like to see a more stable Iraq so that it will, you know, play that role as a buffer state.

So I think we will see reactions within Iraq. I mean it's deeply humiliating to the Iraqis and I have a feeling this is really going to impact very severely U.S. relations with Iraq.

HOLMES: And the thing is, when it comes to Iran, I mean Iran won't fight in any traditional war that they know they can't win. But their tentacles are many in the region, be it in Lebanon, in Yemen, in Iraq, in Syria. I mean it's a very long list of where they can lash out at U.S. interests.

Where do you see the vulnerabilities?

[01:39:52] HILL: Well, definitely in the region, certainly we'll have to see

what happens to oil prices. But certainly in the key oil areas, this could -- this could have a definite impact.

It will be interesting to see how the Arabs -- Sunni Arab World reacts to this. They have tended to kind of cheer quietly for the Americans against Iran, but when it comes to speaking publicly it's kind of a different story.

I think everyone will kind of fasten their seatbelts in the days and probably more accurately, the weeks ahead.

HOLMES: He's been a target for a long time or certainly there were crosshairs on him in the west but it's a matter -- it's a matter of great strategy to when you do something like this. I mean do you think this is the time, this is the environment to be, you know, provoking something?

HILL: I think this action by the U.S. will be seen in many countries, especially countries in the region as a great provocation by the U.S. It will not be seen as particularly wise leadership by the U.S., nor will it be seen as an effort by the U.S. to understand that things require kind of longer arc and we need to be more involved (INAUDIBLE).

It will be seen as a kind of trigger-happy one-off effort by the U.S. and so I think there'll be -- we'll see a lot of anger and I think a lot of very concerned governments who worry about where they stand.

HOLMES: You know, one other thing too is that when it comes to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps -- this is a disciplined force. One imagines that Iran knew that Soleimani could be killed and had planned for it.

You don't, I imagine, expect disarray among the revolutionary guard, there possibly is a line of succession, we don't know. But it's not going to fall apart because he's dead.

HILL: Oh no. I don't think it will fall apart at all presumably there's a succession plan within the Quds Force. And probably there are some people quite happy to see him go because he was a very, you know, very tough leader. And although many people like him, I'm sure he had his detractors even within the service.

But certainly I think this will really make all Iranians of that guild (ph) very concerned at how they will exact revenge against Americans. So I think we're in for a rough ride ahead.

HOLMES: Ambassador Christopher Hill -- thank you so much. Appreciate your time.

HILL: My pleasure.

HOLMES: And we'll take a short break. We'll have much more on our breaking news ahead. We will have the white House response after President Trump directed that U.S. strike in Baghdad. Stay with us. We'll be right back.

[01:42:49]

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HOLMES: Welcome back. You're watching CNN's breaking news coverage of a U.S. airstrike that has killed Iran's top military commander, General Qasem Soleimani.

He was the leader of the elite special operations unit, the Quds Force, which the U.S. of course, blames for the deaths of hundreds of American troops and maiming of thousands of others.

Days of tension led up to this strike last Friday. An American contractor was killed in a rocket attack on a U.S. base near Kirkuk in Iraq. And then on Sunday U.S. airstrikes hit back, striking five facilities in Syria and Iraq linked to Iranian-backed militia.

On Tuesday pro-Iranian protesters attacked the U.S. embassy in Baghdad. And then early on Friday, the U.S. strikes near the Baghdad airport killing that top commander, Qasem Soleimani and a senior member of the Iranian-backed Popular Mobilization Forces.

Well, President Donald Trump is currently his Mar-A-Lago resort in Florida. His only response so far, a tweeted photo of an American flag.

Kaitlan Collins with the latest from West Palm Beach in Florida.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, the only statement we got from President Trump initially in the wake of this strike was a tweet -- just a photo of an American flag with no words next to it.

And after that the White House said we should not expect a statement from their side and instead they were furthest to the statement from the Pentagon which confirmed, among other things, that this strike was carried out at the direction of President Trump.

He did not have any public appearances on Thursday but CNN cameras did see him briefly on his golf course while he was there for a short period of time about five hours before returning to his Mar-A-Lago club where sources later said he was seen having dinner, seemed to be in high spirits according to people who saw them.

And we should note that the officials who are around the President typically is a pretty small group when he's on a trip like this here away from Washington. But we were told by two people that the national security adviser Robert O'Brien had recently traveled in and was on property at the time that the United States -- the Pentagon confirmed that this strike had happened. Now whether or not the President makes any further remarks on this remains to be seen. He doe shave an event in Miami so he will be seen in public on Friday, but whether or not he says anything is still something that is essentially a question.

Kaitlan Collins, CNN -- traveling with the President in West Palm Beach.

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HOLMES: And we'll have much more of our breaking news coverage just ahead.

We'll be right back.

[01:49:33]

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HOLMES: Welcome back, everyone.

And our breaking news out of Iran now where the foreign minister is warning the U.S. it will bear the consequences for that strike that killed a top Iranian commander.

It happened in neighboring Iraq early on Friday. Qasem Soleimani was the leader of Iran's elite Quds force. The U.S. strike also killing a senior leader of the Iranian-backed Popular Mobilization Forces. That is the same group whose supporters tried to storm the U.S. embassy in Baghdad earlier this week.

The Pentagon says the strike against Soleimani was defensive, intended to prevent future attacks on U.S. targets.

Our Pentagon reporter Ryan Browne with details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RYAN BROWNE, CNN PENTAGON REPORTER: The Pentagon confirming late Thursday that the U.S. military had conducted a strike that killed General Qasem Soleimani, the leader of the Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, an organization that the U.S. has blamed for multiple deaths in Iraq and an increasing number of attacks against the U.S. in recent weeks and months.

The U.S. military taking the strike in Baghdad International Airport. Two vehicles were destroyed in the strike, according to the Iraqi military.

The U.S. saying Soleimani was targeted both because he's being the head of a U.S.-designated foreign terrorist organization, but also because he was actively planning attacks against U.S. personnel in the region and had been behind a recent rocket attack by Iranian-linked proxy group that had killed an American contractor, and recent demonstrations that attempted to breach the outer perimeter of the American embassy in Baghdad. [01:54:59]

BROWNE: The U.S. military very much casting this as a defensive action. Secretary of Defense Mark Esper spoke to reporters prior to news of the strike, telling them that the game had changed with regards to Iran and its proxies, and that the U.S. would act preemptively to defend American lives and interests in the region. This strike very much an example of that.

And that President Trump had already ordered additional U.S. military forces to the region in the wake of the events involving the embassy and the rocket attack.

Some 100 Marines were sent to the embassy. Hundreds of more paratroopers were deployed to Kuwait to respond in the event of a crisis. So those troops could be called in if the situation escalates. Many believe that Iran will likely retaliate for this action given General Soleimani's stature within the Iranian military.

But all will be watching what happens next in this region. But the seriousness of the situation and of this development cannot be understated.

Ryan Browne -- the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Thanks for watching CNN NEWSROOM this hour.

I'm Michael Holmes. Thanks for your company.

The news continues after the break.

[01:56:08]

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