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Iran Promises Revenge On U.S. For Assassination Of General Soleimani; Soleimani Killing Widens Gap Between U.S. And Allies; Iranians Mourn The Death Of Qasem Soleimani; Russian FM: Soleimani Killing A Violation Of International Law; Iraqi Parliament Holds Emergency Session; Trump Threatens Strikes If Iran Retaliates; Devastating Australian Bushfires Turn The Sky Red. Aired 5-6a ET

Aired January 05, 2020 - 05:00   ET

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

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): This is CNN breaking news.

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): Welcome to our viewers in the United States and around the world. You are most welcome. I'm Becky Anderson live in Abu Dhabi.

Grief and anger finding voice in the Iranian city of Mashhad. Thousands of people filling the streets even beyond what you see here. The body of top Iranian general Qasem Soleimani was returned to his homeland. He was killed in a U.S. airstrike on Friday.

A funeral service in Tehran on Monday and burial expected on Tuesday in his hometown.

Meantime, Tehran threatening, quote, "harsh revenge." That prompted a warning from the U.S. president, who said that America has identified 52 Iranian sites it could hit if Iran retaliated for Soleimani's death.

Privately, the U.S. administration is telling Congress it fears a reprisal from Iran could come within weeks.

Well, back in Baghdad, where Friday's strike took place, the Iraqi parliament is expected to convene an emergency session at this hour.

There's a lot to talk about. Our correspondents fanned out around the region standing by with the very latest. Arwa Damon is in Baghdad. Nic Robertson with perspective from Riyadh and Nick Paton Walsh in Beirut. Matthew Chance joining us from Moscow.

And I'll begin in the Iraqi capital, where some are saying in death Soleimani achieving what he was not able to do in life, accelerating an end to American presence in Iraq.

How realistic is that, Arwa?

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A lot more realistic now than it was say a week ago when parliament was already meant to be convening and debating legislation surrounding the U.S. troop presence here after those Sunday airstrikes against Kataib Hezbollah, whose leader was also killed alongside Qasem Soleimani.

We're now hearing multiple bills are being presented with the hardline Shia parties who want to see the Americans leave right now immediately while other parties, mostly the Sunnis and the Kurds, want a more moderate approach.

But all are at this stage agreeing to a certain degree that the agreement between Baghdad and Washington does need to be reassessed. Now there are concerns among some of those groups who don't want to see an immediate hasty U.S. troop withdrawal, that it could result in a reemergence of ISIS.

There is a recognition to a certain degree that this country still does need support from the United States when it comes to managing its own security and its own security forces in their training, not to mention all the assets that America brings to the table.

But this strike has altered the relationship between Baghdad and Washington from the Iraqi government's perspective and there's very little debate on this front. America carried out a strike against a sovereign nation, a nation that was meant to be an ally to the United States, not only killing a top Iranian commander but also killing an individual who, at least from the perspective of the Iraqi government, was a member that fell within the Iraqi security apparatus, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis.

Again, that group that was targeted by the U.S. in those Sunday strikes. He still was the number two in command of the Popular Mobilization Force. This Shia paramilitary unit that does fall under the Iraqi security forces. So this strike has thrown Iraq in turmoil to a certain degree, the likes of which it has not been through before.

ANDERSON: Arwa Damon in Baghdad. Arwa, thank you.

Donald Trump warning Tehran, if it hits Americans or American assets.

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ANDERSON: Quote, "We have targeted 52 Iranian sites."

I want to bring in Nick Paton Walsh.

The Iranian foreign minister just responded to Donald Trump's threats with the following. He says, quite frankly, that "Targeting cultural sites is a war crime."

What do you make of this latest ratcheting up between the U.S. and Iran?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Look, when you see Donald Trump tweet the fact that there are 52 targets under the U.S. crosshairs representing the 52 Americans held during the embassy siege in Tehran all those decades ago and then he throws in the possibility that $2 trillion worth of hardware could be used and Iranian cultural sites may be hit, well, it's possible that Donald Trump misspoke there, that he is not genuinely focusing on Iran Iran's long-held heritage.

And Javad Zarif would be correct to point out that would be a violation of international law. Another thing that the foreign minister points out that this consistent theme that Iran keeps bringing up at a high level. This is the end of the U.S. strategic presence in the region.

Of course, that's an incredibly loaded statement and would require tens of thousands of troops in over a dozen countries to suddenly pack up and leave, many of them based in countries that possibly have invited the U.S. in to defend them against Iran.

But we are possibly seeing that as a reflection of what Iran could think could come from these Iraqi parliamentary sessions. If the U.S. have to leave Iraq in substantial numbers, that really makes their presence in Syria incredibly difficult because it is through the northern part of Iraq, where the Kurds are, that they resupply their troops in Syria.

They could do it like they do it now out of Kuwait but that could be incredibly difficult. It could lead to withdrawal from Syria as well as from Iraq. The U.S. and Donald Trump is already pulling about a third of his troops out of Afghanistan and that would lessen their position in the region.

But this talk from Donald Trump is presumably his sort of foil for the move that they made by killing Qasem Soleimani. This overt-covert warfare has been going on for four decades. And the first time they paid a public price for their activity.

We will see, possibly today, even in Iraq, the Kataib Hezbollah group which is behind the attack on the American contractor near Kirkuk. And they told Iraqi personnel to get a kilometer clear, two-thirds of a mile by today. That may be another flashpoint, too.

I'm just here in Beirut, about two hours away from a major speech by the Hassan Nasrallah, the Hezbollah leader. They allowed military and very politically powerful here a key U.S. ally that is on alert. That could be a place where we see a flashpoint.

I should point out that I think Israel and Lebanese Hezbollah that a conflict between them is long overdue and, if it did occur, it would be catastrophic by both sides. That may not be what we see. We may see tension, flashpoints possibly, reminding the world of what Iran is capable of doing through its proxies if it goes all the way.

Cyber attacks, too, is something that we shouldn't immediately ignore. That is pointed out as something we should be on the lookout for, too. On top of all this, Becky, all of this comes down to long-term nuclear ambitions.

Does Iran make the covert and totally more public decision to speed their way towards a bomb. Becky?

ANDERSON: Nick Paton Walsh in Beirut for you.

Well, with tensions rising across the Middle East, the U.S. military beefing up its presence with about 3,500 additional troops being deployed. The U.S. national security adviser says President Trump gave the order to kill Soleimani after an American civilian contractor died in a rocket attack last month in northern Iraq.

Mr. Trump warning the U.S. will strike Iran again, as we've been discussing, if provoked. More on that from CNN's Jeremy Diamond.

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JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: President Trump on Saturday issuing a serious threat to Iran and a very specific one at that. In a three-part tweet, the president setting his most significant red line of his presidency, at least as far as matters of foreign policies are concerned.

The president tweeting that, "Iran has been nothing but problems for many years.

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DIAMOND: "Let this serve as a warning that if Iran strikes any Americans or American assets, we have targeted 52 Iranian sites representing the 52 American hostages taken by Iran many years ago, some at a very high level and important to Iran and the Iranian culture.

"And those targets and Iran itself will be hit very fast and very hard. The USA wants no more threats."

Now very interesting to see the president issuing such a specific and direct threat to Iran, particularly after nearly two days, during which the president, on teleprompter -- and many of his top advisors have been insisting they're not trying to go on the path to war with Iran.

In fact, the secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, just hours before the president issued that tweet, said the U.S. remains committed to de- escalation. So obviously, now the president is issuing very bellicose rhetoric.

Also on Saturday, the Trump administration formally notified Congress of that strike, that it took out the top Iranian general, Qasem Soleimani. That is required under the War Powers Act.

So very much a pro forma notification. But it is already stirring quite a bit of debate in Congress and discontent from Democrats.

The House Speaker Nancy Pelosi reacting after the Trump administration issued that notification. She writes in a statement, "The classified War Powers Act notification delivered to Congress raises more questions than it answers. "The highly unusual decision to classify this document in its entirety

compounds our many concerns and suggests that the Congress and the American people are being left in the dark about our national security."

Now it seems that Pelosi there is referencing the fact that that notification would traditionally include the legal justification from the administration to take military action.

Given the classified nature of that, we aren't able to confirm at this point whether or not that's in there. But perhaps Pelosi is teams here is alluding to concerns with that legal rationale.

The Trump administration has said it acted because of imminent threats to Americans but has provided few details about the specific nature of those threats or how imminent they really were -- Jeremy Diamond, CNN, traveling with the president in Palm Beach, Florida.

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ANDERSON: Well, my next guest says Donald Trump's, quote, assassination of Qasem Soleimani will come back to haunt him. Mohammad Ali Shabani is a researcher at SOAS University of London focusing on Iran policy. So it's good to have you in.

That quote from an op-ed you wrote following the U.S. strike on Friday.

What do you mean by that?

MOHAMMAD ALI SHABANI, RESEARCHER, SOAS UNIVERSITY OF LONDON: I think the issue with taking out a figure like Qasem Soleimani is not as high up as many outlets have characterized him. The shadow his death will cast on the future. It's not just a question of what is next, how is Iran going to respond and all those kind of things.

The question is, OK, once the response comes, then what?

Are there going to be further strikes against each other or are there going to be talks?

Shaking Trump's hand for a photo-op has just become much more difficult. The people who advocated the assassination were aware of that dynamic and I think they understood that taking him out is not going to significantly disrupt Iran's regional policy.

He was the head of an institution, the Quds Force. That organization has produced leaders like him in the past and his successor was appointed within 12 hours. The point of the people, I think, who pushed for that kind of attack was to say, OK, there may be an Irani retaliation and some limited conflict even.

And then what?

We want to make it as difficult as possible for Trump to negotiate with the Iranians and I think, with this attack, they partly achieved that.

ANDERSON: Ali Vaez, an Iran expert you all know well, tweeting the following. And I want to get your perspective on this.

"Donald Trump is turning the last people in the region, that of the Middle East, who still had some pro American sentiments, into ardent anti-Americans. He is achieving what the Islamic Republic failed to do for 40 years. Truly tragic," Ali Vaez writes.

Do you concur with the conceit of that tweet?

SHABANI: I think what he is generally getting at is that by attacking Soleimani they rallied the people inside of Iran who adhere to that ideology.

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SHABANI: Who are maybe a bit tired and a bit frustrated with the sanctions. And with his most recent tweet about attacking Iran, that has boomeranged, where even opposed to the Islamic Republic, coming out and kind of saying, that's not OK by any means. That is our heritage. That is our history. That is part of our civilization. And we're not going to stand for that.

So in a very strange way, Trump has managed to kind of get these very disparate groups inside Iran, even outside Iran who have little to agree on otherwise suddenly, rallying around the flag. I think you will see to the streets of Iran, as you will see, a lot of people out in the city in southwestern Iran and people coming out and shouting done with the regime and that kind of slogans.

And just look at the streets now. Millions of people out to kind of commend and to mourn a commander of the Revolutionary Guard. The same Revolutionary Guard that cracked down on protesters a few weeks ago. The dynamics at play are unfortunate for Trump, are spinning out of control and in the favor of the Iranian leadership.

ANDERSON: You're insight is extremely valuable, sir. Thank you very much for your time this morning.

SHABANI: Thank you for having me.

ANDERSON: Developing now, Kenya's military says it killed at least four terrorists Sunday morning, repelling an attack on the Manda airstrip near a naval base it shares with the United States. CNN correspondent Farai Sevenzo is with us for the very latest.

What have you got?

FARAI SEVENZO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What we know from the Kenyan defense forces is that this attack happened at Manda airstrip in the region with beautiful, pristine, white beaches. Again, a huge attraction to tourists and also near bases for various military that operate against this Al Qaeda-affiliated terror group Al-Shabaab, including the AFRICOM and including the king of defense forces and many African Union troops trying to fight terrorism there. Now what we know is you might see pictures there of fires, defense

forces say the attack affected fuel tanks near the airstrip. Had it been successful, Becky, it would have been a huge attack of significance because we are in January, December, of course, a huge tourist season. Very popular with many tourists from all around the world.

And, of course, notwithstanding the idea that Americans basically hit al-Shabaab just the other Sunday after they caused a huge truck bomb killing over 85 people. So it's a lucky escape in many respects. But al-Shabaab continues to hit the region and it's not the first time. But of course, it might be seen, of course, as I just said, as a very, very lucky escape, indeed.

ANDERSON: Yes. Farai Sevenzo on the story, thank you.

Thousands mourn the death of Iran's top military commander. Now a number of U.S. allies putting some distance between themselves and the strike that took out Soleimani. How the killing is sparking global concerns and appeals for calm. That is up next.

Plus, Australia facing an unprecedented bush fire crisis. See what residents are facing as they try to evacuate. We are live for you in Australia.

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ANDERSON: Iran is bidding farewell to the military commander killed in a U.S. strike. Huge crowds of supporters turning out for a ceremony for Qasem Soleimani in the city of Mashhad.

He is revered as a hero by many but U.S. holds him responsible for killing hundreds of Americans and said he was taken out to prevent an imminent attack, details of which are sparse.

That has Tehran and Washington trading threats over what comes next. Many U.S. allies calling for restraint. Let's dig in to how some of America's allies and others are reacting.

Nic Robertson is in the Saudi capital of Riyadh while Matthew Chance is in Moscow.

Nic, to you first. "While Soleimani has been killed, we must now de- escalate." That is one of the headlines today in the national newspaper here, a very close ally of the U.S. You are in Riyadh, where I believe you are hearing echoes of a similar call for restraint at this point.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, I mean, what the Saudis are saying in essence is, look, we know Iran was the troublemaker and Soleimani was the spearhead of driving up aggression from Iranian proxies in the region.

There were strikes against Saudi Arabia and direct strikes that the Saudis believe came from Iran on the oil refineries here. So the message to the United States is, look, we're on track with what you're thinking.

But don't escalate this further because that will bring further bloodshed to the region and a real potential for serious economic impact. Nobody wants that. Nobody has the appetite for that at the moment.

So the message, message is clear. Whatever the next steps are, don't ratchet it up. And I think it's interesting if you flip this around and look at it from Iran's perspective. Iran will be looking at isolating the United States from its allies in the region. So how it responds is going to, you know, is going to be sort of concurrent with that sort of thinking.

So in that way, if you're Saudi Arabia, it's also smart to say don't escalate because it makes Iran less likely to target you, knowing that Saudi Arabia has been in Iranian crosshairs before.

ANDERSON: Matthew, let's be very clear, Qasem Soleimani will not be missed by leaders in the Gulf, certainly those in the UAE and Saudi.

How is the Kremlin reading his killing?

They've certainly called it short-sighted. But dig a little deeper for us, if you will.

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. They called it short-sighted and they called it a mistake and a violation of international law. The move is fraught with grave consequences for international security and they have been absolutely negative and critical about this American act.

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CHANCE: And I think they'll be taking some pleasure in all of this if they can, in seeing that America's traditional allies in Europe and in France and Britain and Germany are also being very critical of America's actions as well.

And one of the sort of overarching themes and ambitions for Russia is to drive a wedge between the United States and its allies. And I think it will be standing back and watching that process unfold with that much impact from it.

Now you know, in terms of what Russia feels, this may affect its own interests or how it may affect its interest. It has a long-standing relationship with Iran and is Iran's best friend on the international stage and using its veto at the U.N. Security Council regularly to supply for Iran and fights side by side with Iranian-backed forces to defend its ally, the Syrian president. They've done that quite successfully. They also knew Soleimani really well, that general who was taken out

in that targeted killing because he has come to Russia on a couple occasions and was basically the point person for Iran on the ground for Syria.

So you know, it's understandable that they would issue these statements of condemnation. They will be watching this carefully to see how it unfolds and have been warning of repercussions as everybody else.

What they really are concerned about is whether or not this all spirals into a conflict directly between the United States and Iran that could result in regime change. That have seen that take place, in Iraq and Libya, and intervened militarily to stop in Syria and they definitely don't want to see it happen to their key partner in the region, Iran.

ANDERSON: Nic Robertson in Riyadh. Matthew is in Moscow. To both of you, thank you.

Outrage in Iraq as well as in Iran. We'll get a little bit more perspective from the region for you. Up next, as we continue to follow what is our top story this hour, the fallout from the U.S. strike on Baghdad International Airport Friday, which resulted in the death of Qasem Soleimani and others in Iraq.

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ANDERSON: Welcome back to our viewers in the United States and around the world. Wherever you are watching, you are more than welcome. I'm Becky Anderson and this is CNN NEWSROOM.

The man denounced as a terrorist by the U.S. president being hailed as a hero in his native Iran. Huge crowds have turned out as the body of Qasem Soleimani is now home for burial. He was killed Friday in a U.S. drone strike.

His violent death has stoked deep anger and resentment towards America. Iran is vowing to strike back but President Trump warns any retaliation will be answered with a punishing U.S. military response.

Well, joining me now is my colleague CNN Senior International Correspondent, Sam Kiley.

In Tehran we've seen burning of flags and the burning of flags in Tehran is not an unfamiliar sight, although we have seen less of late. It was anti-government protests that have dominated there.

But the kind of wider picture is that we see this anti-American fervor in Iran, once again. And we are certainly aware of that sort of anti- American fervor around this region.

What does the region want in response to the killing of Qasem Soleimani?

SAM KILEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: At the local level here at the Emirates, Saudi Arabia, countries that are effectively on the front line, they want de-escalation.

The Saudis -- and Nic Robertson was making this point -- grateful that somebody has paid the Iranian back for the attacks on the Aramco oil facility facilities. But at the same time, this is very strongly expressed, they're trying to work in the background de-escalate. For the last six months or so, particularly the energy coming out of here because of the failure of the coalition to deal with the Iranian- backed Houthis in Yemen. Indeed, that coalition fell apart.

Interestingly what are they doing about the death of Soleimani?

Officially the author of their campaign to some degree, certainly their principal point of contact. Silence. No response whatsoever. That was always an uncomfortable alignment. The Iranians didn't really have a great deal of respect for them nor could they control them.

Contrast that with what is coming out of south Lebanon. Again, not a lot of noise coming from Hezbollah in south Lebanon and they have committed to the Iranian agenda but they don't want to get used as proxies.

While there is a lot of potential power bottled up in Iran's proxies, they're really most dangerous in Iraq where there are U.S. targets, U.S. personnel and U.S. businesses and they have access to them through their Iranian-backed militias inside Iraq and to an extent, Syria.

Not as cataclysmic, notwithstanding that Trump has blinded his own allies with killing this key figure, who, the opinion has been over the last 10, 15 years, they wanted to get rid of him because of his role in attacking coalition troops and planning international terrorist attacks. But to do so was a very high risk gamble. He's throwing the dice.

ANDERSON: The state is calling for de-escalation. I mean, Mike Pompeo on the one hand, saying we must de-escalate. On the other, echoing this, you know, come back at us and we will make it so much worse, Tehran line, should you retaliate or seek revenge.

Very difficult to weigh out exactly where that U.S. administration stands when it comes to Iran at the moment.

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ANDERSON: And where, indeed, where it stands when it comes to the Middle East. This is very confusing. This is described as an unreliable partner. In case you haven't noticed Sam and I are in Abu Dhabi in the UAE. So the perspective here, one that is very local. You know, what we do understand, the bottom line is, Donald Trump has

no interest, it seems, in being in the Middle East, full stop.

So you know, where do we go from here?

KILEY: Well, I think the shift has been from unreliable to unpredictable. There's a strategic or certainly an advantage to being highly unpredictable. On the international stage, he has been consistent in saying he wants out of these Middle East involvements.

By pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal, Iranians have certainly, from the perspective of the West, counterattacked, if you like, with pressure points trying to send signals that they could close Hormuz. They pushed it too far and Donald Trump has bitten back.

When they threaten revenge, he bites back, again, saying we have 52 targets. I think it's rhetorical. But the message is absolutely clear. I, Donald Trump, am unpredictable. And that is the one thing you can predict about him.

So he may make good on a threat to attack Tehran. He may walk away from it. That, I suppose, is one of his tactical advantages; where it leaves the Middle East and the U.S. relation with it is open to question. There is no doubt really, though, that it is diminishing and influence has done.

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ANDERSON: Short term, 3,500 extra troops on their way to this Middle East region, despite the fact that Mike Pompeo says, bottom line is, we are looking for de-escalation. Fascinating. Thank you, sir.

Right. Let's just get you to these live pictures and let me just describe what we are seeing here. This is Mashhad in Iran and we continue to witness thousands on the streets, supporters of Qasem Soleimani, Iran's military commander, killed in a U.S. drone strike at Baghdad International Airport on Friday.

Witness the outpouring of grief and anger from his supporters here in Mashhad and other cities around the country. We will be back after this short break.

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ANDERSON: More on our top story now. A massive showing of mourning in Iran in the second largest city of Mashhad for the military commander killed on Friday by a U.S. strike in Iraq. Now I can't give you specific figures but you are witnessing what I am witnessing.

Thousands upon thousands taking part in a funeral procession for Qasem Soleimani. It is the second such gathering of the day in the nation. U.S. president Donald Trump warning Tehran not to retaliate for his death, tweeting that he has already got dozens of targets identified, should Americans or American assets be attacked.

Let me just sit on these pictures for you for a moment. These are quite remarkable. Mashhad often called the holy city of Iran because it is home to the shrine of Islam. Millions of pilgrims from around the world flock to see this shrine, a spiritual and multi-national feel.

Well, today, this is the story. And this is a story in Ahvaz today and it will be the story in Tehran on Monday, as funeral processions for Qasem Soleimani happen there, and then in southeastern Iran on Tuesday.

To my colleague, George Howell, who is in Atlanta now, with more on how this U.S. Attack in Baghdad Friday is affecting politics in the United States -- George.

GEORGE HOWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Becky, thank you so much. Let's now bring in Thomas Gift. Thomas Gift is here to tell us, he has perspective on this. Very good to have you with us. Again, a political science professor.

Good to have your perspective. We saw those images -- and if we could just show them, again. It gives you a sense of the feeling right now in Iran and also in Iraq. People coming together, upset, angry about what happened.

The question here stateside is, as lawmakers debate how this was carried out, is there enough political will to respond as any sort of strike might happen?

THOMAS GIFT, LECTURER OF POLITICAL SCIENCE, UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON: Well, to some extent, George, we are really stepping into unchartered territory because Iran has an almost unlimited number of potential options at its disposal, both directly through its own military and indirectly through proxies.

And Iran's history of asymmetrical warfare suggests any number of possibilities may be on the table. That is the real danger, I think, for Trump and also for the United States more broadly.

But there are basically just so many unknown variables and even more worrisome, it's unclear that the United States has formulated a broader strategy for how to deal with these tensions if they do escalate.

And this is one reason why reportedly past administrations didn't try to kill Soleimani when they had the chance because they feared it would spiral into something looking like a larger crisis. So I think that is very much a question mark at this point.

HOWELL: You will remember the U.S. president famously tweeted this back in 2011, tweeted that his predecessor Barack Obama would start a war with Iran in order to get re-elected. The U.S. president, again, before taking that office even put together a video. Let's watch.

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TRUMP: Our president will start a war with Iran because he has absolutely no ability to negotiate. He's weak and he's ineffective. We have a real problem in the White House. So I believe that he will attack Iran some time prior to the election because he thinks that is the only way he can get elected. Isn't it pathetic?

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HOWELL: Thomas?

GIFT: Well, that is sort of a big irony right now that it looks like, if anyone is going to be leading into a larger conflict with Iran, that it is going to be Donald Trump.

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GIFT: And some individuals have suggested that this does provide some degree of distraction. It takes attention away from some domestic political challenges that Donald Trump is certainly encountering at the moment. But no doubt that we're in a very dicey situation right now.

And at least in the short term, I think it's more likely that the assassination of Soleimani ratchets up tensions with Iran and retaliatory measures against U.S. interests become all but a guarantee.

Trump doesn't want a war. I think that's clear. And I think Iran also has limited incentives to provoke a more extensive conflict. The problem is that Iranian leadership has now clear, political reasons by taking actions against the United States.

Thomas Gift, we appreciate your perspective, lecturer in political science at University College London, thank you for your time.

GIFT: Thank you, George.

HOWELL: Australia's military has called up 3,000 army reserves to help fight the massive bush fires that are engulfing several states there.

Take a look at this. These haunting orange skies and thousands of people have tried to evacuate that region. The fires have claimed 24 lives since September, the latest a 47-year-old man who died while fighting a fire that was threatening his friend's home in New South Wales. That's where we go live now to Anna Coren in the town of Eden.

Anna, tell us what's happening there.

ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's raining, George, which is a lovely surprise for all those firefighters who have been working tirelessly for weeks and weeks, if not months. This is definitely a reprieve. Temperatures have dropped to something like 15 degrees Celsius in Eden.

The fire front that is threatening this town is several kilometers across the bay and the fear certainly yesterday into today was the strong southerly winds blowing that fire closer to the township of Eden. This fire started in Victoria and crossed the border into New South Wales and residents here were told to evacuate.

Now police came this morning. They spoke to the residents, who had gathered here near the harbor down at the wharf in their cars and their caravans and even out on the boats.

There's fishing vessels and tugboats housing families and the police said you should leave. We cannot protect you if that fire comes. These residents said, no, we feel safe here. We are near the water and we want to stay.

Many residents, obviously, hear those warnings right up and down the southeast coast of Australia and got out of those fire zones. As we know, there are more than 200 fires burning across New South Wales and Victoria.

But it's not just those states that have been affected. Queensland, as well as South Australia and even Tasmania. And the reason, George, is because of the extreme heat we're experiencing this summer but also because of this prolonged drought.

This drought has been going on for years. Conditions are so dry. We spoke to some residents earlier who described it for us. They said it's an absolute tinder box out there. The fuel and debris lying around and all it needs is a spark and some wind and off it goes.

That's why we're seeing dozens and dozens of blazes out of control. But George, as I say, the rain, it is definitely a welcome relief. Not just here in Eden but across much of the coast. So those firefighters are going to spend the next couple days there going to consolidate and come up with a new plan because this is not going to put out the blaze.

H.M.S. Adelaide, Australia's largest vessel, has come down to Eden. We can't see it. The smoke here has just been far too thick. Earlier, we had orange and red skies. It was extremely eerie. But that ship with many defense personnel on board is expected to help in evacuations and bring much-needed supplies -- George.

HOWELL: The rain certainly good news. These fires continue to burn and there is a great deal of frustration, as you pointed out in previous reporting, with the prime minister and with government and how they've handled these fires. Anna Coren, we appreciate the reporting. We'll stay in touch with you.

The news continues here after the break. As Iranian crowds come together mourning the death of Qasem Soleimani. Stay with us.

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ANDERSON: Qasem Soleimani is getting a hero's farewell in his native Iran. Huge crowds of his supporters are gathering to mourn the commander, revered by many but not everyone in Iran. The U.S. says killing him was necessary to prevent an imminent attack.

Meanwhile, Iran's foreign minister reacting to U.S. president Trump's suggestion that Iranian cultural sites would be among possible targets should Iran retaliate, tweeting this would become a war crime.

The U.K. foreign minister says it is important to stabilize the situation in the Middle East, going on to say the U.K. was not naive about the role of Soleimani, describing the general as a regional menace but emphasizing that a war, quote, "is in no one's interest."

Well, with proxy militia strewn across this region of the Middle East, what could a response from Iran look like?

Tehran has many options. CNN's Tom Foreman looks at possible scenarios.

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TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Iran has a robust military so security analysts say they very well could use cruise missiles and mines and other means.

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FOREMAN: To attack the Strait of Hormuz here, a great flow point for the world's oil, going after tankers there, may be going after Saudi Arabian oil fields.

In either case, these are things which the United States government says Iran has done in the past year already and even on a limited scale, they have disrupted world trade in that commodity.

But what about more asymmetrical guerrilla tactics? Those could emerge, too. For example, Iran could call on Shia militias that it backs in Iraq and tell them to press their attack against the 5,000 or so U.S. troops remaining there.

They could count on Iran for logistics and for intelligence, weapons and maybe more.

Same thing over in Syria. There, there would be Shia militia and Hezbollah also backed by Iran urged to go harder at the remaining say thousand U.S. troops there, may be fewer.

And then over here in Lebanon and the Gaza Strip. Yes, Iran has allies at a moment's notice, could start firing rockets over into another U.S. ally, Israel.

And then what about down here? The Houthi rebels in Yemen have already been at war with Saudi Arabia, another U.S. ally. They could be urged to step that up even more and at the same time, go after more U.S. targets wherever they could find them.

On top of which, for all of this, they can be exporting terrorism from any of these places to anywhere around the world. That's why Iran may never have to actually engage with all the U.S. forces highlighted in red here, but they could simply say, look, let's have a lot of repeated attacks at many different targets that even give us a degree of deniability and that is how Iran could get what they want. By simply stirring up this hornet's nest and seeing what happens.

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ANDERSON: That's Tom Foreman for you.

That wraps this hour of CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Becky Anderson in Abu Dhabi. "NEW DAY" is just ahead.