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U.S. and U.K. Strikes Houthi Target in Yemen; Democrats Criticize Biden for Bypassing Congress on Yemen Strike; South Africa Accuses Israel of Genocide at the U.N. U.S. And UK Strike Iran-Backed Houthi Fighters In Yemen; Report: Pentagon Didn't Fully Track $1B In Arms For Ukraine; Closing Arguments Conclude In New York Civil Fraud Case; Republican Candidates Make Final Push Ahead Of Iowa Caucuses. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired January 12, 2024 - 02:00   ET

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

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[02:00:00]

KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN HOST: Thank you for joining us here on CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Kim Brunhuber. We're following breaking news, the first known strikes by the U.S. and U.K. against Houthi fighters in Yemen. The coalition strikes are a direct response to the surge of attacks by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels on commercial vessels in the Red Sea.

Now, we're hearing coalition forces hit more than 60 targets at 16 Houthi locations across Yemen. A senior U.S. military official says it's not clear what percentage of Houthi assets have been destroyed, but he says the amount was significant.

Now, these new images show smoke hanging over the skyline in a western Yemeni port city as the sun starts to rise. The Pentagon press secretary says the surgical strikes were meant to degrade and disrupt Houthi capabilities. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PATRICK RYDER, U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT PRESS SECRETARY: We've conducted this significant multi-nation operation in order to send a clear message to the Houthis that the kinds of attacks that they've been conducting since November 19th, 27 as of today, will not be tolerated.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: And here are some of the locations that were hit. We're told the coalition strikes targeted militant's radar systems as well as storage and launch sites for ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones. Now, this is a clear sign of the growing alarm over the threat to international shipping in one of the world's most critical waterways.

Let's get straight to CNN's Paula Hancocks, who's live in Abu Dhabi. So, Paula, the Biden administration says these strikes may well not be the last word. What could the next word be? PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kim, the U.S. military and

through senior administration officials have really left the door wide open for being able to continue strikes against targets, Houthi targets in Yemen. What we've heard from one senior official is, quote, "This may well not be the last word on the topic. And when we have more to say and more to do, you will hear from us."

So, making it very clear that this may not be the end of it. Now, as they have said overnight, Middle East time, they did target some 60 targets. They said they're trying to degrade the ability of these rebels to be able to target commercial vessels in the Red Sea and also to try and target U.S. and U.K. assets that are patrolling the Red Sea at this point.

Now, we have heard from the Houthi side as well. They have said that there will be repercussions. We heard on Thursday the leader saying that if these U.S. attacks took place, then there would be repercussions. A spokesperson since the attacks happening saying they were wrong if they thought that they would deter Yemen from supporting Palestine and Gaza. So, they have already said that there will be some kind of retaliation.

We don't know what form that could come in though, because at this point, we've heard from the U.S. side that they believe that they have significantly degraded the abilities of the Houthi rebels to strike back, but they don't have exact details as the sun comes up in Yemen as to what that looks like. Kim?

BRUNHUBER: And Paula, as we mentioned. it wasn't just a U.S. strike. The U.K. was a partner as well as several other countries. How important is that?

HANCOCKS: It certainly lends more legitimacy to the United States doing this. It is what U.S. officials wanted. There were plans that had been drawn up for this exact reason in the past and in recent days, we understand. But there was a reticence as to whether this was going to expand the conflict in the region and increase tensions to an unacceptable degree. But really what happened on Tuesday when rebels fired some 21 drones and missiles which were shot down by U.K. and U.S. navies, that's according to a U.S. official was actually targeting a U.S. asset in the region.

And so that was really the tipping point from the U.S. point of view. And then on Wednesday you had the United Nations Security Council resolution condemning what the Houthis were doing in the Red Sea and also calling on them to immediately stop their operations. Now, that had 11 votes in favor, it had four abstentions, including Russia and China, but that's really the best that the U.S. could have hoped for from the U.S. and China.

So, it shows that there was strong support for this U.N. Security Council resolution, again adding more legitimacy in the eyes of the United States for what they were going to do. But there has been hesitancy at striking Houthi targets inside Yemen.

[02:04:56] They have certainly in recent days and weeks been carrying out operations, they say, in self-defense, protecting commercial vessels in the Red Sea and trying to shoot down any drone and missile attacks. But this is the first time during these recent months that we have seen the U.S. directly targeting inside Yemen. Kim?

BRUNHUBER: Yes, significant. All right, thanks so much. Paula Hancocks in Abu Dhabi. Appreciate that.

Now, Houthi militants are lashing out against the U.S. and U.K. strikes. One senior leader issued a statement saying, quote, "We will confront America, make it kneel down and burn its battleships and all its bases and everyone who cooperated with it no matter the cost." Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia is calling for restraint, urging all parties to avoid escalation.

Joining me now from Canberra, Australia is Malcolm Davis, who's a senior analyst of defense capability and strategic capability at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute. Thanks so much for being here with us again. So first, still early for a full assessment, of course, but what impact do you think these U.S. led strikes might have had? You know, how successful were they, do you think?

MALCOLM DAVIS, MILITARY ANALYST: Look, I have no doubt they were probably reasonably successful. The goal here was to degrade Houthi capabilities to carry on attacking commercial shipping in the Red Sea. And I think that given the nature of the capabilities that was available to the U.S. and the U.K. in terms of air delivered precision guided weapons and also long-range land attack strike missiles such as Tomahawk.

You know, I think that probably we did a great deal of damage to the Houthis. Although I have to say there probably was some concern about the tactical warning given by statements of U.S. political leaders and UK political leaders about the imminence of the strikes. It would have given the Houthis maybe some time to relocate assets, but we'll know in about probably 24 hours just how successful the strike was.

BRUNHUBER: And the timing on this, why now?

DAVIS: Well, I think that when you look at the number of attacks that the Houthis have carried out, there's 27 attacks since the beginning of the war between Israel and Hamas on October the 7th. Twenty-seven attacks against international shipping, and increasingly over recent weeks, those attacks have not been focused on Israeli related targets, thus just general shipping, including U.S. related vessels.

So, this was more an attempt by the Houthis that was sponsored by Iran to interrupt and disrupt international shipping in a key waterway. And that had to be responded to, particularly when the Houthis and Iran refused to respond to the U.S. delivered diplomatic warning that was delivered some days back. They can carry it on the attack. So, I think that the U.S. and the U.K. and the nations that supported U.S. and the U.K. in these strikes did the right thing.

BRUNHUBER: So, the Houthis have promised to respond. In terms of their capability, what is it, what form do you expect that retaliation to take?

DAVIS: Well, it does depend on just how much capability has survived this initial strike. I suspect some will have survived these attacks and so therefore you could see additional launches of anti-ship missiles, anti-ship cruise missiles and drones against not only commercial shipping, but also the naval vessels supporting Operation Prosperity Guardian.

But it's also possible that the Houthis and Iran, through its proxies in the region, in Iraq and Syria and through Hezbollah, could also launch asymmetric attacks, indirect attacks across the region in a manner that's not necessarily about launching missile strikes. This could be about terrorism or it could be about cyber-attacks or it could be about other forms of use of force. So, it could be a range of capabilities that both the Houthis and Iran can bring to bear.

BRUNHUBER: Interesting. In terms of Israel's war on Hamas, will this be seen as the U.S. sort of putting their thumb on the scale in favor of Israel and make regional peace or hostage negotiation efforts more difficult?

DAVIS: No, I think this needs to be distinguished from the Israel- Gaza war in the sense that these Houthi attacks have been occurring, as I said, against a broader range of targets over recent weeks. And I think that what you need to do is see this as an Iranian-sponsored effort to disrupt international shipping. And so, the U.S., I think, quite rightly struck back when it became clear that Iran and the Houthis were not going to back down. I think the war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas is a separate thing altogether.

[02:09:59]

BRUNHUBER: All right, we'll have to leave it there. Malcolm Davis in Canberra, Australia. Thank you so much.

DAVIS: Thank you.

BRUNHUBER: Now the strikes came after U.S. officials had warned the Houthis to cease their attacks for weeks. CNN's MJ Lee has more from the White House.

MJ LEE, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: President Biden saying Thursday night that the U.S. is sending a clear message to the Houthis that their ongoing attacks in the Red Sea will no longer be tolerated. He said in a statement that he will also not hesitate to direct further measures to protect U.S. personnel and the freedom of navigation in the Red Sea.

U.S. officials, of course, have been warning for weeks that the Houthis must stop its attacks on shipping vessels in the Red Sea, and last week we saw U.S. officials give what they said was a final warning. And what we are learning tonight is that the attacks that we saw from the Houthis on Tuesday, this was just two days ago, had targeted some U.S. vessels.

And what we are told by sources is that, had it not been for this defensive coalition called Operation Prosperity Guardian that was already set up by the U.S. and a number of its allies in the Red Sea, that we may have seen situations where ships were sunk by these attacks, and that there was even an instance within the last month where a commercial vessel that carrying jet fuel may have been hit. The senior official saying that some of these were basically close calls.

Now, it was after these Tuesday's attacks that President Biden we're told, convened his national security team and asked them to draw up a number of possible plans for retaliation. And that is what ultimately culminated in these airstrikes conducted by the U.S. and the U.K. with the support of a number of other nations.

And what one senior military official said Thursday night was that while it's not possible to say exactly what the damage was, that the damage to the Houthi rebels and Houthi assets for the time being could be described as significant. MJ Lee, CNN, the White House.

BRUNHUBER: Now we're getting mixed reaction from congressional leaders to the U.S. strikes against the Houthi rebels. Some Democrats are criticizing President Biden for not getting congressional approval, which is required by the Constitution. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. RO KHANNA (D-CA): He should have come as the Constitution requires to Congress. And that was echoed in a bipartisan way by Senator Mike Lee, Representative Jonathan Jackson, and many other senators and congress people. The Constitution requires that if there is not an imminent threat, of self-defense, that he has to come to Congress. And here we know, by your own reporting, that this has been going on since December.

He's assembled an entire international coalition. He certainly should have come to Congress, so that we can discuss whether this actually could put more American troops at risk, and concern about retaliation in Iraq, and whether it could draw us into a Middle East war. And I believe that he did not follow the Constitution.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Senator Mitch McConnell and other Republican leaders welcome the strikes, but they blame Biden for not acting sooner. Here's what a former defense secretary in the Trump administration had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK ESPER, FORMER U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: Look, I think it's a bold action by President Biden. I think it's overdue, and based on what we've seen so far, I think it's fairly comprehensive and should go a long way to deterring the task of degrading their capability to continue conducting these attacks against commercial shipping in the Red Sea.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BRUNHUBER: According to a congressional source, leaders in Congress were breached by senior Biden administration officials earlier on Thursday. All right, we'll have much more on our breaking news after a break.

Also ahead, Israel accused of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. The first day of arguments at the top U.N. court next. Stay with us.

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[02:15:00]

BRUNHUBER: We're following breaking news out of the Middle East where the U.S. Air Force says the U.S. and the U.K. have struck more than 60 Houthi targets in Yemen. Now, it comes in response to dozens of attacks by the pro-Iranian military group on commercial shipping in the Red Sea. A senior Biden administration official says these strikes may not be the final action against Houthi targets. We have more on the military campaign from CNN's Alex Marquardt.

ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN SENIOR U.S. NATIONAL SECURIITY DEPARTMENT: The United States and the United Kingdom have announced that they have carried out what they call precision strikes against Houthi targets in Yemen, more than a dozen of them because of the attacks by Houthi forces since late November against commercial shipping in the Red Sea.

This is the Red Sea right here. It is a critical waterway that sees some 15 percent of the global shipping trade pass through it. So, there were more than a dozen strikes, mostly in the western part of Houthi controlled Yemen, in and around the capital Sana'a, over here on the coast. And then up here in Saada, we saw this video of the night sky glowing after these strikes. In just a moment, you'll see another strike right there.

In terms of the targets that were hit, this is both according to the Pentagon as well as the Houthis, air bases and airports, camps, radar systems, drone storage and launch sites. Drones have been central to those Houthi attacks. You have ballistic and cruise missile storage and launch sites that were hit, as well as coastal radar and air surveillance capabilities.

Now, in terms of what was used in these strikes, you have fighter jets from both the U.S. and the United Kingdom. This is one of the British fighter jets that was taking off in order to carry out an air strike. You also have ships and submarine platforms that were used, according to the Pentagon. One of the submarines that was named was the USS Florida. It's a guided missile submarine.

The ships and submarines are able to fire Tomahawk missiles against those targets on Yemeni soil. Now, to what extent the USS Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group was used, we don't know, but it has been in the region to try to deter any regional actors, including the Houthis and Iran, from expanding the conflict that we are seeing currently between Israel and Hamas.

[02:20:00] The Houthis warning that they would retaliate against any international strikes and the U.S. saying that they and their partners are prepared for that in the wake of their strikes saying this may not be the last word in terms of military action against the Houthis. Alex Marquardt, CNN, Washington.

BRUNHUBER: The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza says Israeli attacks in the enclave killed at least 112 people and wounded nearly 200 more over the past 24 hours. I just want to warn you, some of the images you're about to see are graphic.

A number of victims are reportedly still under the rubble and on the roads. Palestinian authorities say at least 32 people were killed in Israeli airstrikes in Khan Younis on Wednesday. Israel Defense Forces said on Thursday, quote, "It thwarted what it called a terrorist cell."

Meanwhile, the Palestine Red Crescent said a paramedic who photographed the devastation in Gaza was among the six people killed Wednesday in an Israeli airstrike. The group accused Israel of targeting an ambulance in the Deir al-Balah area. The paramedic was well known for sharing images of the war in Gaza with his more than 130,000 followers on Instagram. The IDF didn't immediately respond to CNN about the strike.

South Africa accused Israel of genocide in Gaza in a historic case at the U.N.'s top court on Thursday. In the first of two days of hearings at the International Court of Justice, South Africa is calling on the court to order a halt to Israel's military campaign in Gaza, arguing that Israel's attacks are intended to, quote, "bring about the destruction of the enclave's Palestinian population." Lawyer for South Africa says the world has failed the people of Gaza.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BLINNE NI GHRALAIGH, LAWYER REPRESENTING SOUTH AFRICA: Despite the horror of the genocide against the Palestinian people being live streamed from Gaza to our mobile phones, computers and television screens, the first genocide in history where its victims are broadcasting their own destruction in real time in the desperate, so far vain hope that the world might do something. Gaza represents nothing short of a moral failure.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: With emotions running high, both pro-Palestinian and pro- Israel demonstrators gathered outside the court in The Hague. Israel will deliver its response in court in the coming hours. It strongly denies the allegations, calling the case atrocious and preposterous.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, PRIME MINISTER OF ISRAEL (through translation): South Africa's hypocrisy screams to the high heavens. Where was South Africa when millions of people were being murdered and uprooted from their homes in Syria and Yemen? By whom? By Hamas's partners. The world is upside down. Where were you? We know where we are.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Now, once the hearing concludes on Friday, it could be days or weeks before the judges issue a decision on ordering a halt to Israel's military campaign. Experts say it could take years before a final ruling on the question of genocide. CNN's Melissa Bell has more from the Hague.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNKNOWN: Free, free Palestine!

MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Passionate protests on the streets outside of court --

UNKNOWN: Free, free Palestine!

BELL (voice-over): -- as inside South Africa laid out the details of their case.

RONALD LAMOLA, SOUTH AFRICAN JUSTICE MINISTER: Even an attack involving atrocity crimes can provide any justification for or defense to breaches to the convention.

BELL (voice-over): Israel has denied all accusations calling the case a quote "blood libel." South Africa is accusing Israel of breaching the 1948 Genocide Convention through its military response to the Hamas attack, which it says has killed more than 23,000 people.

ADILA HASSIM, SENIOR COUNCIL, SOUTH AFRICA: At least 200 times it has deployed 2,000-pound bombs in southern areas of Palestine designated as safe.

BELL (voice-over): But South Africa is also accusing Israeli leaders of making no distinction between Hamas and the civilians of Gaza.

TEMBEKA NGCUKAITOBI, SENIOR COUNCIL, SOUTH AFRICA: The genocidal intent behind these statements is not ambiguous to the Israeli soldiers on the ground. Indeed, it is directing their actions and objectives. These are the soldiers reputing the inciting words of their prime minister.

BELL (voice-over): The moment welcomed by international groups in support of the Palestinian people, with many noting the importance of Israel's presence too, there to defend its response to the Hamas attacks on October 7 that killed at least 1,200 people.

BALKES JARRAH, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR, HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH: The fact that they're here, that they're represented and that they're presenting their formal response to South Africa's case is significant and suggests that they attach legitimacy to the court.

[02:25:06]

BELL (on camera): Israel will be making its case here on Friday. But just after the South African delegation had finished, a spokesman for Israel's foreign ministry dismissed their claims as groundless and false, accusing them of being the representatives of Hamas in court.

(Voice-over): But South Africa's goal, a call for the world court to order Israel to stop the war.

VUSIMUZI MADONSELA, SOUTH AFRICAN AMBASSADOR TO THE NETHJERLANDS: The consequences of not indicating clear and particularized specific provisional measures would, we fear, be very grave indeed for the Palestinians in Gaza who remain at real risk of further genocidal acts.

BELL (voice-over): Melissa Bell, CNN, The Hague.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: All right. We'll get back to our breaking news after a short break.

The U.S. and U.K. launching air and sea-based strikes against Iran- backed Houthi targets in Yemen.

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[02:30:52]

BRUNHUBER: President Biden says he won't hesitate to take further action if Iran-backed Houthi rebels don't stop their attacks on shipping lanes in the Red Sea. The U.S. and U.K. launched a series of missile and airstrikes on Houthi targets in Yemen early Friday, military response included British Typhoon fighter jets and U.S. Tomahawk cruise missiles. The U.S. Air Force says more than 60 targets were hit, including the drone at mission launch site, as well as radar and surveillance stations.

The Houthi deputy foreign minister is warning the U.S. and U.K. to prepare for severe repercussions. Another senior latest of the militant group has already launched a retaliatory attacks.

CNN's Nic Robertson has more.

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NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: So those targets in the town in the southwest of Tayyis (ph), and the western port city of Hudaydah, along the border are close to the border with Saudi Arabia, the town Saada, and also around some of the capital, those targets there and radar sites and ballistic missile launch and storage sites, cruise missile launch and storage sites, drone launch and storage sites, those are intended as the coalition says, as the United States says to send a message. But they are intended to degrade the Houthis' ability to target shipping in the Red Sea.

But already, the Houthis are saying they are going to respond against U.S. and U.K. interest. It was U.K. Typhoon fighter jets that targeted two different sites. It was the United States missiles, and fighter aircraft that targeted other sites. So, Houthis says it is not quite clear how they'll respond to the U.K., U.S. interest in the region. How will they respond?

The potential here for escalation is a very real. It could be that the Houthis continue to try to target shipping in the Red Sea to send a message. Remembering, of course, after October 7th, they began to try and target cruise missiles to Israel, and that some of those were intercepted by the United States, by the U.K., and also by Saudi Arabia. So there are a number of different ways and places that the Houthis can target. We have had a long running war against Saudi Arabia that only just ended, and not so long ago, where they were sending long range cruise missiles to the capital Riyadh. They have sent drones into the United Arab Emirates.

So there is a number of ways that they can destabilized in their own view, U.K. and U.S. interest in the region by doing it not just in the Red Sea but more broadly across the region. So, the concerns of the Saudis about at the potential for escalation a very real, they have been worrying about the October 7th attacks on the response for that escalating tension, for the northern border in Israel with Lebanon and Hezbollah.

All these Iranian-backed proxies trying to stoke tensions in the region, and the Houthis are the ones that seem to parted precipitated this particular escalation. The Saudis, of course, are saying the freedom of navigation in the Red Sea is of vital importance for the region. So, while they are not part of that military coalition in the Red Sea, they are clearly giving it a green light to go ahead.

But this potential right now depending on the Houthi response, this is a very, very volatile time right now.

Nic Robertson, CNN, Tel Aviv, Israel.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: The U.S. says more than 50 countries have been affected by dozens of Houthi attacks in recent months. A number of companies including Danish shipping giant Maersk have been diverting their vessels away from the Red Sea in the southern tip of Africa. It now adds thousands of more nautical miles, and delays in shipping times.

We spoke earlier with Jorgen Lian, the head of shipping equity research at DNB Markets, and asked him about the potential damage to the global economy. Here he is.

[02:35:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JORGEN LIAN, HEAD OF SHIPPING EQUITY RESEARCH, DNB MARKETS: That's the big question. How long this will last, how long this will go on. And so, so far, I would say the ramifications of these disruptions have not been too impactful on the local economy, yet. It will be much more extreme had this is now close off completely, and also affected other types of shipping like energy shipping into Europe for instance, seeing less rerouting so far.

But again, the U.S.-led the coalition Operation Prosperity Guardians proven that it can effectively can intercept wide scale attacks, and provide some comfort for the merchant fleet. Up until now we have seen these effects and attacks being announced. But it truly does show how fragile supply chains are. It's not the first time, there have been closures before, so from 1967, the Suez Canal was close for eight years, causing high energy prices and into '70s, and it was also a short hiccup with Ever Given in the 2021.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Media in Iran report its navy has seized an oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman, itself being diverted to an Iranian port. U.K. authorities say the vessel was boarded by at least four armed people early Thursday, and, of course, for Iranian waters. Iran says a court ordered the seizure in retaliation for the U.S. confiscating the same ship and its oil last year. The U.S. State Department condemned the move. A maritime monitoring website Tanker Trackers says the vessel is a Marshall Islands flagged crude oil tanker named St. Nicholas.

The U.S. has sent tens of billions of dollars in military aid to Ukraine, but now were learning some of the most sophisticated weapons supplied to Kyiv weren't properly tracked. That's ahead.

Stay with us.

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[02:40:51]

BRUNHUBER: All right. Here's the latest on the breaking developments in Yemen. We're being told of new explosions in the western part of the country, resident of a major port city provided this video to CNN showing smoke from the direction of a nearby airport. We've reached out to the Pentagon for confirmation if these its are indeed new strikes.

It comes hours after the U.S. and Britain hit at least 60 other targets belonging to Houthi rebels who are allied with Iran. Those targets include radar, drone, and missile strikes.

U.S. officials say those weapons and equipment were used in Houthi attacks on commercial shipping, which have been going on for weeks.

Oren Liebermann has details from the Pentagon.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: After repeated warnings to the Houthis in Yemen to stop attacking international shipping lanes in the Red Sea, one of the worlds most critical waterways, the U.S. and the U.K. got to the point where they felt compelled to act. Early Friday morning, Yemen time, at about 02:30, according to U.S. Central Command, the U.S. and the U.K., backed by several partners, carried out a series of more than a dozen strikes against sites in Yemen used by the Houthis, radar systems, storage and launch sites for UAVs, ballistic missiles, and cruise missiles.

These are significant. The U.S. not trying to start a war or escalate with the Houthis, but these are the systems they have used repeatedly to attack international shipping lanes. According to U.S. Central Command, they have launched at least 27 attacks against commercial vessels in the Red Sea, again, an absolutely critical waterway, and those attacks have forced some of the world's largest shipping companies to avoid the Red Sea, forcing them to add thousands of miles.

The U.S. setup Operation Prosperity Guardian with more than 20 other countries to defend those shipping lanes. But that was purely a defensive operation. When those attacks continued in certainly after Tuesday when we saw the largest such barrage launched from the Houthis, the U.S. stepped in, prepare its plans and finalize those plans, and then acted, carrying out those series of strikes intended to degrade the ability of the Houthis on Iranian-backed proxy in Yemen to target international shipping here.

The U.S. trying to contain this, so it doesn't escalate too much, but fully aware of the risk of escalation here, knowing the Houthis had promised to respond to any American action. It's worth noting that even with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin in the hospital following complications from surgery for prostate cancer, he tracked this very closely. It was intimately involved in the planning over the course of the past 72 hours, holding two calls with President Joe Biden and multiple daily calls with the NSC, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs and the commander of U.S. Central Command, General Kurilla.

Earlier on Thursday, he gave the order to execute those strikes and we saw those play out late in the evening. The U.S. essentially carry out the warning that we have seen them threatened repeatedly that if the Houthi attacks on international shipping continue, the U.S. and the U.K. will be forced to act.

And that is what we've seen. Of course, the question, where does this go from here as the Houthis promise a response and do the Iranians essentially get into this and respond in their own fashion? Those are questions the U.S. has asked and to find out the answer, they will watch the region very closely.

Oren Liebermann, CNN in the Pentagon

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: The U.S. military hasn't properly tracked more than $1 billion worth of weapons for Ukraine. That's according to a new report by the Pentagon's inspector general. The weapons belong to a category that requires enhanced monitoring after their exports like Javelin missiles and night vision equipment. Watchdog says its outside the scope of its investigation to find out what happened to them with Pentagon suggests there's no reason to believe foul play was involved.

Now, the report came as congressional Republicans are stalling more than $60 billion in U.S. military aid for Ukraine. The findings could bolster their argument against sending more aid. Donald Trump delivered campaign style speeches both inside and outside the courtroom on Thursday, as closing arguments wrapped up in as $370 million civil fraud trial. He repeated a litany of familiar false claims. At one point delivered a five-minute monologue from the defense table.

CNN correspondent Paula Reid has more.

[02:45:03]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA REID, CNN CHIEF LEGAL AFFAIRS CORRESPODENT: The former President Trump getting the last word in at closing arguments, usually closing arguments are an opportunity for lawyers to summarize their theory of the case. And the day kicked off with Trumps lawyer, Chris Kise, laying out their theory the case, arguing that this is political persecution and that his client, Trump, had no intention of defrauding banks and that the banks were never harmed.

But after Kise wrapped his remarks, he then asked if his client could have a few minutes to address the court.

And, look, the judge granted it, saying I'll give you five minutes, and the judge had previously set a restriction on Trump saying, you can participate in closing arguments, but you can't give a campaign speech and that's exactly what Trump did, attacking the judge, attacking the attorney generals office, and insisting that he is a, quote, innocent man.

Now, Trump addressed the public on his way to court on his way out of court, those remarks in court and then had a press conference.

So, it appears he got a real return on investment here in terms of amplifying his argument that he is being targeted because of a desire by his political opponents to try to quote, interfere in this election.

But I want to note something that the attorney generals office said in their closing arguments. They noticed that even though Chris Kise talked for two hours, other attorneys got up and laid out their closing arguments, not one person address the false financial statements that Trump submitted that misrepresented his assets by billions, and those are really the key this case.

Paula Reid, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: All right. We'll have more on our breaking news out of Yemen when we come back. Stay with us.

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[02:51:17] BRUNHUBER: The latest on the military strikes by the U.S. and Britain in Yemen. Look here, this video shows smoke near a major ports in the western part of the country. A resident who gave us the footage is reporting new explosions there, but were still waiting for an official confirmation that the area so struck again. That comes hours after the U.S. and Britain hit at least 60 other targets belong to Houthi rebels who are allied with Iran. Those targets included radar, drone, and missile sites.

The military response followed weeks of Houthi attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea, one of the world key commercial waterways.

Well, it seems Boeings problems with its 737 MAX 9 jets are far from over. A class action lawsuit has been filed in the state of Washington against the aerospace giant, on behalf of passengers aboard last Fridays Alaska Airlines Flight 1282. It alleges passengers were physically injured and emotionally traumatized after a piece of the plane, the door plug, flew off in midair.

U.S. Federal Aviation administration says, it's opening an investigation into Boeing's quality control. Boeing said it will cooperate fully and transparently with the investigations.

After months of campaigning and speculation, the 2024 presidential election seasons get underway in earnest on Monday when Iowa Republicans hold caucuses to select their nominee. Candidates will spend the weekend making last ditch appeal to voters.

CNN correspondent Jessica Dean has looked ahead at what to expect.

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JESSICA DEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Tonight in Iowa, Republican presidential candidates continuing their final push for votes ahead of Monday's critical caucuses.

NIKKI HALEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: So get excited four days until caucus.

GOV. RON DESANTIS (R-FL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You know, I'm a guy. I'm running on your issues and your family's issues, and this country's issues. You know, I'm not running for the other reason.

HALEY: Ron doesn't defeat Biden. Trump is head-to-head with Biden. On a good day, he might be up by two

DEAN: Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley clashing on the CNN debate stage Wednesday night, attacking one another on competency, character, and conservative convictions.

HALEY: Leadership is about getting things done, how did you blow through $150 million in your campaign? We went and saved our money. We made sure we spent it right because you have to understand it's not your money, it's other peoples money and you have to know how to handle it. If he can't handle the financial parts of a campaign, how's he going to handle the economy when it comes to the White House?

DESANTIS: I think here's the problem. You can take the ambassador out of the United Nations, but you can't take the United Nations at the ambassador.

We don't need another mealy-mouthed politician who just tells you what she thinks you want to hear, just to try to get your vote, then to get an office and to do her donors bidding.

DEAN: While other candidates continued to pitch there closing arguments to voters, former President Donald Trump attending closing arguments of his civil fraud trial in New York, a day after, again, refusing to debate the other candidates and instead taking the stage alone on Fox News.

TRUMP: I'm not going to have time for retribution. We're going to make this country so successful again, I'm not going to have time for retribution.

DEAN: DeSantis and Haley largely avoided sustained attacks on the former president.

HALEY: I think he was the right president at the right time. I agree with a lot of his policies, but his way is not my way.

DESANTIS: If Trump is the nominee, its going to be about January 6, legal issues, criminal trials, the Democrats in the media would love to run with that.

All of this its unfolding just hours after former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie dropped out of the race, criticizing rivals who've refused to call out Trump.

CHRIS CHRISTIE (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Anyone who is unwilling to say but he is unfit to be president of the United States is unfit themselves to be president of the United States.

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[02:55:05]

DEAN (voice-over): And one factor that everyone has their eye on here is the weather. There's a massive winter storm that is headed to Iowa overnight into Friday, that could affect candidates' events all day Friday. And then also looking ahead to caucus tonight on Monday, it's expected to be the coldest caucus is night ever in Iowa, with wind gusts of negative 40.

And there's going to be a lot of pressure to make sure that all of these candidates, supporters actually make it to their caucus sites on Monday tonight.

Jessica Dean, CNN, Ames, Iowa

BRUNHUBER: So as Jessica mentioned, Iowa and much of the Central United States could experience record breaking bone chilling temperatures in the coming days, more than 240 daily cold temperature records could be tied or broken across the country through Tuesday, courtesy of a massive storm system impacting in much of the nation. More than 20 million people across the U.S. are under wind chill alerts right now.

All right. Thanks so much for joining us. I'm Kim Brunhuber.

More CNN NEWSROOM coming up. Please do stay with us.