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Iran Retaliates IRGC Statement; Hard Revenge For Soleimani's Killing; Australia's Bushfire Crisis; Ukrainian Plane Crash In Tehran; Police Charge 24 People Over Deliberately Lighting Fires; Pentagon Update On Iran's Missile Strikes; Iran Targeted Two U.S. Bases in Iraq; President Trump Will Give His Reaction to Iran's Response; World Awaits on What's Next Between U.S. and Iran's Tension; Ukraine Points to a Terror Attack that Claimed 176 Lives. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired January 08, 2020 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN breaking news.

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back to our viewers here in the United States, and of course all around the world. You are watching breaking news on CNN. And I'm Rosemary Church.

It is now Washington's move after Iran retaliated for the killing of its top commander. Tehran launched more than a dozen missiles at two bases housing U.S. forces in Iraq. There are no reports of casualties just yet.

Well, after a White House briefing, U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted all is well. He said he would have a statement Wednesday.

Iran's Foreign Minister Javad Zarif tweeted the response was proportionate. He said Iran doesn't seek escalation or war, but will defend against any aggression.

Now moments ago, supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei spoke in a televised address saying the region does not accept the U.S. presence. He said Soleimani's death means a revolution is alive.

The events unfolded as Qasem Soleimani was buried in his hometown. The funeral was delayed for several hours after a stampede in the massive crowd reportedly killed at least 56 people.

CNN has this story covered from Washington to the Middle East. This hour, we will hear from correspondent Jomana Karadsheh in Baghdad, White House correspondent Jeremy Diamond from Washington, journalist Ramin Mostaghim is in Tehran, CNN's international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson joins us from Riyadh. And CNN's international security editor Nick Paton Walsh is in Beirut. CNN correspondent Oren Liebermann joins us from Haifa in Israel. Good to see you all.

So, first, we do want to go to Jomana Karadsheh who joins us live from Baghdad. So, Jomana, what is the latest information that you have on the Iran missile strike that targeted these two Iraqi bases? And what are authorities there are saying about it?

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, just a short time ago, Rosemary, the Iraqi military command here released a statement saying that between 1.45 and 2.15 a.m. local time, Iraq, they say came under a missile attack. A total of 22 missiles targeting coalition bases.

They say 17 of those missiles struck Al Asad Air Base. That is in the western Al Anbar province. They say two of those missiles did not explode. Five other missiles they say targeted Erbil province in the semiautonomous Kurdish region.

Now we had heard from security officials in Erbil earlier saying that it was two missiles, one impacted the airport, and another impacted one to the west of the city.

And so far, the Iraqi military says that there are no casualties in missile strike. We have not heard from the Iraqi political leadership here. The prime minister, the government so far, no official reaction. We have not been able to reach Iraqi officials.

But of course, Rosemary, this is what they have been really concerned about. We have heard them express their concerns over the past few days. The Iraqi prime minister making the argument for why U.S. forces should leave his country, saying they are concerned that Iraq is turning into a battlefield for Iran and the United States.

Also, something very interesting to point out, some people are questioning why that choice of target, why Erbil, the capital of the semiautonomous Kurdish region was hit just a few days after that parliamentary session where you have that vote calling on the government to push U.S. and coalition out of the country.

That session was boycotted by the Kurds. So, some are questioning whether there was perhaps some sort of a message to the Kurds and the Kurdish leadership in this country, Rosemary.

CHURCH: Al right. Many thanks to our Jomana Karadsheh joining us live from Baghdad with those details. I appreciate it. Let's cross over now to the Saudi capital Riyadh, and CNN's international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson.

So, Nick, the much-anticipated retaliatory strikes from Iran have now taken place, and now we are seeing possible signs of de-escalation. We'll know more in a few hours once President Trump makes his statement. But what is the reading on this from your vantage point there?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Well, there's two messages here from Iran, one is external and one is internal.

[03:05:02]

The message externally from the foreign minister is that this was a proportional response. That is to say this should draw a line under any further attacks. Of course, they are warning that if the United States responds, and there will be an escalation. You would expect them to say that.

But the message the international community, specifically the United States and its allies is, this was a proportionate response for what you did to us. The message internally is something different. They are calling it a hard strike.

Leadership is saying that it was, this was a crushing response to the United States killing Qasem Soleimani.

So, on the one hand, they are sort of wanting to in the home audience make this -- make this a success, but internationally they are giving the impression that they don't want to escalate the situation further.

And I think, you know, when we look at the target that was chosen and what happened here, specifically the Al Asad Air Base. I've been there, it's at a remote location, it is a massive sprawling base. Iran has fired multiple ballistic missiles into it. But by the U.S. accounts not caused any casualties.

If the Iranians had wanted to cause casualties, they could have targeted the U.S. embassy in Baghdad. They said they wanted military targets. They could've targeted more densely packed military -- U.S. military posts inside Iraq, and cause potentially greater casualties than they have done.

So, they have chosen what is essentially a soft military target, where they could apparently avoid causing any U.S. casualties, and themselves avoid creating an escalation in the tensions here.

So, I think the message here is that they are creating the possibility for an off ramp, but of course, they've never fired these ballistic missiles in this way before. They're domestically made. They've been made under sanctions.

So, there is a huge message to U.S. allies in the region here as well, that Iran will use these missiles in its own name, from its own country to target places in the region. It is capable of doing that. And certainly, these are the same missiles that the Iranians have given to the Houthis in Yemen, that the Houthis in Yemen have fired at the capital here, Riyadh, in the past.

I've seen those missiles. Saudis have shown them to us. They are a quite large in size, and potentially hugely deadly. So, you know, in Riyadh here, they are aware that these missiles can also be fired at them. But it does seem the Iranians are aiming to create the space, perhaps politics to pick up if this is the end of the military track right now.

CHURCH: Yes. Certainly, a day filled with many messages. Nic Robertson bringing us that live report from Riyadh, many thanks to you.

We turn to Washington and CNN White House correspondent Jeremy Diamond is with us. So, Jeremy, we now await word from President Trump in just a few hours from now in fact, to find out what his likely next move might be. But a tweet he posted earlier may offer some indication of where he is going with this. What are you hearing?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Rosemary. Well, it took us five days to see what the Iranian response to President Trump's killing of the general Qasem Soleimani, that drone strike that he ordered.

And now that we know what the Iranian response is, we are also seeing how the president is responding to that. And it is not quite the military threats that he had been issuing during many of those five days.

Instead, what we are seeing from the president so far at least appears to be an optimistic note. The president saying all as well. So far so good. Those are the words that he posted in that tweet last night.

He also teed up the fact that he will be giving a statement later this morning. But, for now, at least it does appear that the president is perhaps trying to step back from the brink a little bit here. Despite the fact that he had set that red line, saying that if Iran targeted any Americans or any American interests in the region -- the president seems very focused on this notion of casualties, pointing to that in that tweet.

Of course, as I just noted, the president had talked about American interests as well, suggesting that they didn't necessarily have to be casualties in order to prompt the massive American military response that he had teed up, 52 targets you'll remember he had mentioned.

Instead, it appears that the president is stepping back here, but we will have to wait and see what his statement is later this morning.

CHURCH: Yes, absolutely. Jeremy Diamond, bringing us the very latest from that from Washington. Many thanks.

So, let's get the latest from Tehran. And journalist Ramin Mostaghim is in the Iranian capital, he joins us now live. So, Ramin, Iran has hit back with these strikes on two bases in Iraq, but it appears some effort was made to avoid U.S. casualties. How likely is it that that was a deliberate act on the part of Iran? So, they have the capability to do that?

RAMIN MOSTAGHIM, CNN JOURNALIST: Rosemary, in fact, Iranian officials say that they don't want to go into the details of the strike or what they call it harsh response to American forces.

[03:10:05]

Analysts close to the IRGC and high-ranking officials tried to say that the huge human casualties have been inflicted on American forces in Al Anbar and Erbil. The Americans, they say, are hiding the number of casualties and tried to show that OK, everything is normal. But actually, Iranian authorities say that the human casualties have been huge on the side of American forces. Rosemary?

CHURCH: All right. Ramin, many thanks to you joining us there live from Tehran.

And another story we are watching very closely. The Ukrainian embassy in Iran is ruling out a terror attack is the cause of a deadly plane crash. All 176 passengers and crew aboard the Ukraine Airlines flight were killed when the Boeing 737 went down minutes after it took off from Tehran's International Airport early Wednesday.

Emergency crews are at the crash site with charred pieces of the plane are strewn across the ground. As we see in those pictures there.

Well, CNN aviation correspondent Richard Quest joins me now from Beirut in Lebanon. And senior international correspondent Matthew Chance is with us from Moscow. So, Richard, I do want to start with you. What is the latest information you have on this plane crash? And what do you think are the possible causes behind it?

RICHARD QUEST, CNN AVIATION CORRESPONDENT: Well, so far, all we know is what the eye witnesses some say, that the pilot is believed to have not managed to get a mayday out, but air traffic controller partly said that there were technical difficulties.

The plane was about two to three minutes into the flight. It got about 7,800 or so feet, when for some reason unknown it fell out of the sky. And the sort of pictures that you are seeing this morning, those of extreme debris violent fire, that's exactly what you would expect for a plane that had lots of fuel on it, that was going on a medium flight from Tehran to Ukraine.

Now, as to any suggestions that somehow the plane was downed by military activity, well, so far, none of the authorities have said that, in fact, quite the opposite.

The Ukrainian authorities have actually suggested that that is most definitely not the case. And there is no reason to believe that it is other than a sad coincidence that it is a Ukrainian plane out of Tehran airport on a day when Iran struck back at the Iraqi base.

CHURCH: Yes. It is a tragic coincidence. Richard Quest joining us there live from Beirut. Let's go to Matthew Chance now in Moscow. Matthew, what are you hearing from there about this crash?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Well, to what Richard was just saying the Ukrainian embassy in Tehran has issued a statement within the last hour, basically saying that a terrorist attack or a rocket attack has been excluded at this stage in terms of, you know, trying to find a reason as to why this relatively new Ukrainian international airlines Boeing 737 dropped out of the sky so suddenly after takeoff.

The embassy says that according to their initial information, the plane crashed due to an engine accident, due to technical reasons, not going into any further than that.

Obviously, they don't know any further any detail apart from that. It will be the subject of sort of, I expect a long-running investigation as the recovery effort continues obviously to retrieve the various flight recorders from those fiery scenes that we're seeing there on television of the crash site shortly after the plane take off bound for the Ukrainian capital Kiev from the Ukrainian capital Tehran.

There have been some other reports that we are looking into. Not confirmed yet. Ukraine Airlines saying that they are suspending flights to Tehran indefinitely. That's according to a statement being reported by Reuters from the airline itself as that investigation continues.

There have also been messages of condolences issued by senior, not just Iranian officials, but Ukrainian officials as well. The Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky has returned early from his vacation in the Mideast, he was in Oman on holiday. Apparently, he's come back to -- he's going back to Ukraine early. He issues his condolences to the family.

The Ukrainian prime minister as well has called this a tragedy, taking place in the Iranian capital. So, those condolences coming in now from various Ukrainian officials, Rosemary.

CHURCH: All right. Many thanks to our Matthew Chance with all of those details from his vantage point there in Moscow. I appreciate it.

We'll take a short break here. Still to come, CNN's extensive coverage of the Iranian strike continuing after this break. We will have a report from the Pentagon and our CNN military analyst will weigh in.

[03:15:04]

We also have Oren Liebermann standing by in Haifa, Israel. And CNN international security editor Nick Paton Walsh will join us from Beirut. Do stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: Well back to our breaking news on the Iran crisis.

President Trump has tweeted he will make a statement on the Iranian missile attacks on Wednesday. That's in just a few hours from now.

Tehran retaliated for the U.S. strike that killed their general, Qasem Soleimani last week by firing missiles at two bases in Iraq where U.S. troops are stationed.

Now so far, there are no reports of casualties but the assessment is ongoing. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps calls the attacks hard revenge for Soleimani's death. They warned they will attack inside the United States if America retaliates, and even strike Dubai and Haifa in Israel if Iran is bombed.

[03:20:06]

Joining me now retired Rear Admiral John Kirby. He is a CNN military and diplomatic analyst. Always an honor to have you on the show.

JOHN KIRBY, CNN MILITARY AND DIPLOMATIC ANALYST: Thank you. My pleasure.

CHURCH: So, Iran's retaliatory strikes on the two bases in Iraq crossed President Trump's red line. But we have since learned that Iran's strike area was not populated by Americans, either deliberately or by miscalculation.

In addition, Iran's foreign minister tweeted this. "We do not seek escalation or war." And then President Trump sent out this tweet. "All is well. Missiles launched from Iran at two military bases located in Iraq. Assessment of casualties and damage is taking place now. So far so good."

So, could all of this possibly indicate that both sides are trying to de-escalate the situation? Or is there still reason for great concern? And do you believe that was a deliberate effort on the part of Iran to avoid U.S. casualties?

KIRBY: Well, as to your first question, I don't know if we can all, you know, take a deep breath now and just, and relax and think that it's over. It certainly from those communications over Twitter it seems to indicate that both sides want to ratchet down the tensions.

And that's a hopeful sign, and I think that's encouraging, as well as the president's tweet that there is at least some interest in de- escalating. But I don't know that we know enough right now to be able to completely relax. So, we'll have to wait and see what happens over the next hours, and weeks.

And as for the intent of the Iranians not to hit U.S. troops and cause casualties, I think again, we need to know a lot more information before we can be sure about that.

It certainly seems to be the case that they hit parts of the Al Asad base that were not populated by American troops, and it is a sprawling complex, almost like a small city. And there is about 1,500 or so Americans on that base.

So quite a good number nothing near like it was at the height of the war -- of the Iraq war, but we just don't know. And they used ballistic missiles, they have a guided system in these ballistic missiles. They can be somewhat precise, but the Iranian systems are not as precise as ours. So, there was a risk in using that kind of, missile if your goal was not to hurt or kill.

So, I guess, we just have to wait and see. It would be encouraging if that was their intent to strike targets that were not populated, but we just don't know right now.

CHURCH: But the Iranian missiles have become a little more precise, haven't they?

KIRBY: Yes.

CHURCH: I mean, talk to us about that. And whether those missile strikes were for the benefit of a domestic audience and therefore has satisfied, perhaps Iranians, for that retaliatory action? And I do want to talk to you more widely on the weapons capability of Iran.

KIRBY: So, on their ballistic missile program has gotten much more sophisticated. There is no question about that. They have put a lot of money and research and time into improving their ballistic missile capability. That was one of the sticking points as you might recall over the debate over the Iran deal, that the Iran deal negotiated by President Obama did not deal with the ballistic missile program and allowed them to continue to improve it. And they have.

That said, they aren't even their most advanced ballistic missile systems is not as advanced as say, you know, ours or common western standards. And do, there is a level of precision. I don't want to -- I don't want to denigrate that, but it's not -- they're not perfectly precise. They're not as good as other nations have, western nations have.

So, again, we have to, again, have to see exactly what systems were used here and to what effect. But they have not advanced their program as far as some other nations have.

CHURCH: Retired Rear Admiral John Kirby, many thanks as always. Of course, we will await to hear that statement from the U.S. president, because it's critical and it will determine where all of this goes from here. Many thanks to you as always.

KIRBY: My pleasure.

CHURCH: Well countries across the Middle East are on high alert as tensions between the United States and Iran worsen after Iran launches missiles at a base where U.S. troops are stationed in Iran. We'll have more reaction from the region. That is next.

[03:25:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN breaking news.

CHURCH: Updating our top story now.

Iran retaliated for the U.S. killing of its top commander by launching missiles at bases housing U.S. troops in Iraq. There are no reports of casualties so far. There are 5,000 U.S. troops and other foreign forces in Iraq, and they have been advising Iraqi forces in the battle against Islamic state militants.

Now the Federal Aviation Administration restricted nonmilitary U.S. aircraft from flying in airspace over Iraq, Iran, the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman.

Well, Iran's supreme leader says the U.S. has gotten a slap in the face. Speaking before a crowd he said the attack was a crushing response, and he called for an end to American presence in the Middle East.

Earlier, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps released a statement explaining its motives and warning the U.S. not to retaliate further. The group called the attack hard revenge for the killing of Qasem Soleimani.

[03:30:00]

It warned of more painful responses if the U.S. repeats its quote, wickedness, or takes additional action. It also threaten countries that host American troops on their bases, and it urged the American public to call on U.S. troops to prevent further casualties.

Iranians have turned that hard revenge message into a hashtag, with one government minister tweeting get the hell out of our region. The foreign minister was more diplomatic, defending the attacks as a proportionate response, while adding, we do not seek escalation or war, but will defend ourselves against any aggression.

Then there was this tweet of an Iranian flag by the country's top nuclear negotiator, an apparent troll of the U.S. president who tweeted an American flag soon after the strike that killed Qasem Soleimani.

Meanwhile, President Trump says he will make a statement on the attacks on Wednesday. That is in just a few hours, and he downplayed the situation on Twitter, saying this. All is well. Missiles launched from Iran at two military bases located in Iraq. Assessment of casualties and damages taking place now. So far, so good.

U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham had a different take on the attacks. Here's his reaction on Fox News.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): This was an act of war. The missiles were launched from Iran had targets inside of Iraq housing U.S. military personnel. The president has all the authority he needs under article two to respond. The price to be paid by the Iranians has to go up before they will change. And the president is not looking for regime change, but he is looking for behavior changes.

Now the targets, are they going to be military targets? Are they going to be the oil refineries? Let me say tonight, if you are watching television in Iran. I just got off the phone with the president. Your fate is in your own hands in terms of the regime's economic viability. If you continue this crap, you are going to wake up one day out of the oil business.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: All right. Let's turn now to Beirut, and CNN's international security editor, Nick Paton Walsh. So, Nick, there are possible signs the U.S. and Iran may be stepping back from the brink. We will know more about that in a few hours from now. But what is the view on that from the region? And of course, on these retaliatory strikes launched by Iran?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, this all really hinges on Donald Trump frankly. He did in that tweet you showed, he seemed to try and downplay this retaliation by Iran because there were no U.S. casualties. They were aware of at this point. And the signals we are hearing from Khamenei seem to also suggest that Iran believes this was significantly more effective and damaging to the United States and it appears it actually was.

Now, that may be purely for domestic consumption, there are some suggestions Iranian media is saying that there were in fact casualties when all other sources are appeared to be suggesting that there were not. And so we are left with this confusing idea really. If this is the entirety of the Iranian response so far, why was this launched at a time of night where there would be very minimal U.S. troop's presence moving around the base? That's 1:00 or 2:00 in the morning. Predominantly troops would be sleeping their quarters, those are often protected behind concrete barriers. This base has been for quite some time. So, no reason to think that unless they had a direct hit near or on places where U.S. troops were actually sleeping that they would have killed that many of them.

And U.S. missiles -- sorry, Iranian missiles are not particularly pinpoint accurate, and would know they would be going through a variety of early warning and missile defense system. The early warnings seems to kick in here and being effective. So, it does seems that the strike wasn't necessarily planned or calculated to cause maximum U.S. casualties. I'll just say, it is still early days at this point.

Leading to the question in that case, why was it launched in the first place in part to show perhaps Iran isn't that militarily strong? We always known that the U.S. and Iran, in a head to head military confrontation would find the Pentagon in the ascendant. But the supreme leader Ali Khamenei he used, you saw there, it does appear according to reports to have said, he wanted to see a military to military open response. Well, this is that.

Is it possibly being used to (inaudible) him, was it a miscalculated show of Iranian military weakness? Does Iran want an off ramp? Is their way of saying right now is our response to killing Soleimani, let's all calm down for a bit, or is it possibly, if you view the Iranian long game here, a move to make Americans think that the retaliation is done, and then as we would normally expect from Iran, incremental asymmetrical moves against U.S. assets or allies slowly in the weeks and months ahead.

[03:35:06]

Perhaps Iran distance itself from it. It doesn't seem frankly like this is the kind of hashtag hard revenge, as you've seen around saying this morning that really they were talking about in the previous days. So, a very interesting moment that that still depends upon Donald Trump frankly and his volatile reaction to things. It depends what he hears when he wakes up, frankly, as to what he might say in the hours ahead. But it does seem this may be an off ramp, particularly given the signals we are hearing from Iran.

CHURCH: Let's hope. And we shall see in just a few hours as you mentioned. Nick Paton Walsh, bringing us that live report from Beirut. Many thanks.

And we have this reaction just in from the Iranian foreign minister Mohamad Javad Zarif. He spoke with reporters in Tehran, just moments ago. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MOHAMMAD JAVAD ZARIF, FOREIGN MINISTER OF IRAN: We did not start this process of escalation. The United States breach and economic war against Iran. The United States has to come to its senses. The presence of Iranian people in the streets of many cities, unprecedented in the history. A sea of humanity has to bring the United States to its senses. That if it wants to deal with this people, it has to deal with this people based on respect. Not based on threat and not based on sanctions.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Inaudible) Europe?

JAVAD ZARIF: Europe can play a useful role by informing the United States of the serious error in their analysis, that they should stop listening to clowns. That they should base their policy based on realities and not some illusions of some clowns that have ambitions elsewhere.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Iran's foreign minister speaking with reporters, just moments ago. We would take a very short break here.

Still to come, after its hottest December on record, Australia's deadly wildfires, showing no signs of slowing down. And the death toll is inching higher. We are live in New South Wales in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: Well, some new information just into CNN on the Ukrainian plane crash in Iran. Ukraine's foreign minister says most of the 167 passengers killed were from Iran or Canada. There were also some from Sweden, Afghanistan, Germany and the United Kingdom. Nine Ukrainian crew members died, as well. Now the cause of the crash is still under investigation. Ukraine International Airlines is now suspending flights to Tehran until further notice.

Now we do want to turn now to another big story we've been watching very closely. At least 24 people have been charged in New South Wales over deliberately lighting some of the fires that have devastated vast parts of Australia. At least 25 people have died and more than 2,000 homes have been destroyed since the bush fire season began.

And as we have seen, this year's bush fire season has been one of the worst in Australia's history, in fact. And here's a look at how bad the blazes have been, at last count. About 2,700 firefighters were battling the blazes across the country. And in New South Wales, there are about 136 active fires.

The University of Sydney estimates almost half a billion animals have died across New South Wales, including close to one-third of the koala population. In total, more than 14 million acres have burned across Australia's six states. The fires are so bad, the smoke is visible from space and it's managed to migrate to the other side of the world from Australia. The U.N. says the skies as far away as Chile and South America have gone gray. And the sunset in Argentina's capital Buenos Aires had turned grey.

Well, CNN's Anna Coren is live for us in the coastal town of Merimbula, in New South Wales. So, Anna, as if the Australian bush fires aren't heartbreaking enough. Now, we learn that arsonists have been charged for deliberately lighting some of these fires. What more do you know about that and of course, what is the current situation with these bush fires?

ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Look, Rosemary, we knew that people had deliberately lit fires. Unfortunately, this happens every single summer. But the number is quite staggering. And when we see the pictures, when we see the devastation, the lost lives, the homes, the livelihoods destroyed, it just begs belief.

When I spoke to the fire captain of Cobargo yesterday, in which dozens of homes were destroyed, three lives lost. When is said to him, how do feel knowing that people light fires? He said, clearly these are people who need help. They are mentally unwell. Why else would anyone do such a heinous act?

So, I think, you have to say that Australians are reviled by this act. Obviously throwing a cigarette butt out a car window, that enough can -- that alone I should say can ignite a raging inferno. And we have seen this happen time and time again. Which is why you have these fire bans in place across the state.

And Rosemary, we are approaching, you know, bad conditions come Friday. It is cool. Conditions have eased. There's a great deal of humidity in the air. So, really, it's a little bit misleading, but we know come Friday, those dry hot windy conditions will return and it will take nothing to put out the fires.

[03:45:16]

We went up with the rural fire service air attack supervisor. He had not been in the air since the fires roared through this area, the vast of South Coast over the weekend. And it was absolutely staggering to see how much bushland has been wiped out. How close it's got to the township of Eden. And how is wipeout some of the surrounding towns. So, this is a fire that is out of control. And it would take next to nothing to whip it up and pose a threat once again, Rosemary.

CHURCH: It is just tragic on so many different levels. Anna Coren, joining us there from Merimbula in New South Wales. I appreciate that.

Well, back to our top story, next, with an update from the Pentagon on the Iranian missile strikes against U.S. targets in Iraq.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:50:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GENERAL RAMEZAN SHARIF, IRGC SPOKESMAN (through translator): At 1:30 in the morning today, it was hit by several missiles.

(CROWD CHEERING)

SHARIF (through translator): Their second base near Irbil, was also hit at the same time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: That was Iran confirming the missile strike on Iraqi bases housing U.S. troops. Tehran says its retaliation for the U.S. strike that killed its general, Qasem Soleimani. But so far, there are no reports of U.S. or Iraqi casualties. Iran's Foreign Minister is calling this proportionate measures in self-defense and his is warning, if the U.S. retaliates, Tehran will attack inside the United States and target cities in the United Arab Emirates and Israel.

Meanwhile, President Trump says he will make a statement on the situation on Wednesday. And that is just in a few hours from now. Well, as the U.S. awaits that statement, the Defense Department is saying they will take all necessary measures to protect and defend U.S. personnel and allies in the region. CNN's Ryan Browne has more now from the Pentagon.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RYAN BROWNE, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY: Still no official word from the Pentagon yet as to whether or not there were any U.S. casualties in this attack. But U.S. military sources telling us that there were, at this stage, believed to be no casualties in the strike. Maybe because the missiles actually struck a part of the base that was not populated by U.S. forces, as we are being told.

Now, the other issues are still being looked at, including what exactly types of missiles were used and whether or not they were accurate when they were fired into the parts of the bases, or if they were a mistake or perhaps even intercepted by some of the military defenses. We hope to learn more in the coming hours.

But at this point, it appears no significant damage cause by the attacks that the U.S. military had been building up in Iraq and the wider region over the last few weeks and months. Some 14,000 troops added because the U.S. military said there was an increased threat from Iran. Those forces it appears have not yet been called into action, to respond. But they remain postured to do so if the commander in chief, President Trump decides to make that decision.

We have every little information at this stage, but as of now, it appears, that these missiles, while making a lot of noise, did not have any deadly effects. Ryan Browne, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE) CHURCH: Thanks for that, Ryan. So, as we mentioned, Iranian forces

have threatened to attack U.S. allies if their country is bombed. They said they would launch a third wave of operations targeting Dubai in the UAE and the city of Haifa in Israel.

So, CNN's Oren Liebermann is in Haifa. He joins us now live. So, Oren, what is the feeling across Israel given this looming threats from Iran? And is there any sense that the U.S. and Iran may be stepping back from the brink?

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN CORESPONDENT: Rosemary, these are threats we heard before from Iran and their threats we had heard before from Hezbollah, Iran's most powerful proxy in the region which is in Lebanon, not too far from where we are standing right now. In fact, if this day were a bit clearer, we would see southern Lebanon, which is Hezbollah's stronghold.

This right now is what you see is the Port City of Haifa. It's the largest city in northern Israel. The third largest in the country. And it is often a target of rhetoric. But right now, it seems Israel sees those threats as only rhetoric. There are no restrictions or civilian limitations on northern Israel. And as of now, it appears it remain -- will remain that way as it has been over the course of the past few days.

But there is no doubt that Israel views this seriously. There's a security assessment here at 2:00 p.m. Local Time. Worth noting that was scheduled two days ago ahead of the Iranian response against these U.S. air bases. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is schedule to speak any minute now. We will be watching what he says very closely.

Because for the most part, Israel has been very quiet here. Seeing this as a fight between U.S. and Iran. And Israel has been happy to step back. In the past, months ago, Israel has threatened Qasem Soleimani in particular. Netanyahu has named check in, the IDF has put social media posts about him, but not right now.

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Right now, Israel is being much quieter. We'll see what Netanyahu has to say. No surprise he has backed U.S. actions over the course of the past few days. As well as saying the U.S. has the right to defend itself. That's the message we expect to hear again. Does he go beyond that? We will certainly look to see if he does. In addition, as Netanyahu speaks at that policy forum, The Defense Minister and Foreign Minister are also scheduled to speak. We will see if they have anything to say and what direction that points Israel's policy right now. Rosemary?

CHURCH: Closely as with you, Oren Liebermann, bringing us that live report from Haifa in Israel. Many thanks.

And thank you for joining us. I'm Rosemary Church. CNN's Special Coverage of the Iranian missiles strikes continues on Early Start, coming up in just a moment.

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