Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

CNN Investigates Israeli Military Actions in Gaza; Transnistria Appeals to Russia for Help; Yulia Navalnaya Addresses EU on Putin Regime; Trump's Legal Battles Continue with Supreme Court Hearing; Iran Elections and Israel-Hamas Conflict Raise Concerns. Aired 12-1a ET

Aired February 29, 2024 - 00:00   ET

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

[00:00:00]

(COMMERICAL BREAK)

JOHN VAUSE, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Coming up here on CNN, the story of Juba Abujiba and the CNN investigation which lays bare the chasm between the IDF says and what it's doing to protect civilians and the brutal reality of what Israeli forces are actually doing in Gaza.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), FMR. U.S. PRESIDENT, 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIATE: There is nothing more important to a presidency than immunity.

VAUSE: Especially when it comes to three of Donald Trump's four trials and inane and fatuous defence which will now be argued before the US Supreme Court.

VOLODYMYR ZELENSKYY, UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT: I think we have to prepare for Putin's next steps.

VAUSE: And there are fears Putin may next send troops into Transnistria, a pro-Russian independent enclave in Moldova, after local officials there made a public call for help from Moscow.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: It is now day 145 of Israel's war with Hamas, and at least 20 people have been killed by Israeli airstrikes in central Gaza, according to Palestinian health officials. Witnesses say Gaza's Nuseirat camp was hit, home to almost 90,000 people before the war. Many residential buildings were reduced to rubble by this latest Israeli attack. And with many believed trapped beneath the debris, there are fears the death toll will rise. CNN cannot independently verify the number of casualties, and we are waiting for comment from the Israel Defence Forces, which has repeatedly said it does not target civilians.

And now to a CNN investigation, which began with an horrific event suffered by one woman in Gaza on just one night. But this one incident, one of thousands of stories from Gaza, reveals in unprecedented detail the use of overwhelming and at times indiscriminate force used by Israeli soldiers in areas which Israel said would be safe for civilians. And with the death toll in Gaza approaching 30,000, this investigation helps explain in part why so many civilians have been killed. Jomana Karadsheh and a team of CNN journalists documented an Israeli attack that killed more than half the members of one family and found a mystery that took weeks to unravel. And a warning now, parts of Jamana's report contain disturbing and graphic images.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Every patient here has a harrowing account of survival. But it is the story of this one young woman that, as you'll see, would become key to uncovering an atrocity that until today had been hidden in the dark. They're all gone. I have no one left, 18-year-old Dhruba Abu-Jabbi (ph) told us. She offered few clues as to what had happened to her and her family. But a week later, a cameraman working for CNN in Gaza was out filming, as he's done every day for months. He was one of the first to arrive in this area just after Israeli forces had withdrawn.

It was on that day, January 14, when he stumbled upon the scene of a horrific incident. At first, we had no idea this was connected to Dhruba, until they start pulling documents from the rubble. It's Gaza's grim routine of trying to identify the dead. Then, the startling discovery. Later that day, CNN producer Abeer Salman screens the footage and sees Dhruba's I.D. This is where she was critically injured, and the bodies are the remains of her family. The images tell of the brutal force that was unleashed here, and people speak of a massacre of civilians.

With the stench of death in the air, they pull body after body, tiny corpses carried on blankets. And in the corner, a woman sits, covered in flies. In her decomposing arms a young man. But we still didn't really know what had happened here. This grisly discovery was the start of a week's long CNN investigation, complicated by Israel's ban on journalists entering Gaza without I.D.F. escort and frequent communication blackouts. We tracked down seven survivors, gathered video, satellite imagery, Israeli military press releases.

We verified social media content and spoke with ballistic and forensic experts, allowing us to piece together the events of a bloody night of death and horror amid intense and indiscriminate Israeli military fire that left civilians dead. We started by asking the IDF about the incident, giving them pictures and exact coordinates.

[00:05:09]

The military said their troops had come under fire from that location on January 4th and responded with a, quote, precise strike to remove an imminent threat and cannot confirm if the bodies are linked to that strike. Our investigation raises serious questions about the IDF's actions that day. This is where it all unfolded, the Zawahidi (ph) area of Salahuddin Street (ph). Before the war, it was an industrial zone, but as Israel designated Salahuddin the evacuation corridor out of northern Gaza, business owners allowed hundreds of displaced people to stay in these warehouses. All of a sudden, in early January, those families could hear war creeping closer.

This was the scene filmed by a journalist in nearby Maghazi. The families decided they would leave when morning came, but it was Israeli forces who arrived first. Eyewitnesses say the warehouses on both sides of the road we recreated in this 3D model were repeatedly struck from the ground and air. Families sheltering in the warehouses on the left broke holes through back walls, escaping into the farmlands. For the warehouse on the right, there was no escape for most. They were surrounded. They say the Israelis shot at anyone who tried to walk out.

SUMAYA ABU JIBBA, SURVIVOR OF ISRAELI ATTACK (through translator): My son, along with other relatives, said, started getting our belongings out the door. A bomb exploded. They struck him in the heart. He bled, ran, fell to the ground, and died. Our relative and another guy were also killed. Everyone was screaming and calling for an ambulance.

KARADSHEH (voice-over): Dhruba mother, Sumaya, helplessly watched as her son Hamdi died in front of her eyes, but nothing could have prepared her for what would come next.

JIBBA: As we were calling for help, another bomb hit. We were all knocked unconscious. When I woke up, I found my children and relatives killed.

KARADSHEH (voice-over): Ruba was hanging between life and death. What knocked them unconscious was likely a massive 2,000-pound bomb, according to three ballistic experts who analyzed images of the crater. The blast's shockwave is so powerful that it can rupture the lungs, leading victims to drown in their own blood. Two forensic experts who examine our video tell us this shockwave is what they believe killed the Abu Jibbas'. Dhruba sister, Diana, survived. She ran out frantically searching for help.

DIANA ABU JIBBA, SURVIVOR OF ISRAELI ATTACK: The Israelis fired a bomb at us. I saw my siblings dying. Hamdi (ph) died in my arms. I went out to get an ambulance. The tank was close to us. We started running. They started shooting at me.

KARADSHEH (voice-over): While the Israeli military says these allegations of shooting at civilians are baseless, Sumaya and three of her children barely made it out. They wanted to get help for the others but couldn't return. Left not knowing if loved ones they'd left alive would survive their injuries. Five of the Abu Jibba children were killed, the youngest among them is Zain. He was 10, and Ali, 13. Their bodies lay rotting in the warehouse. What the family didn't know was that Dhruba was still alive, bleeding for four long days among the dead. After a January 7th interview, we tried to find her again. She was lost in the chaos of overwhelmed hospitals. After weeks of searching, we found her, miles away in Rafah, receiving treatment.

DHRUBA ABU JABBI, SURVIVOR OF ISRAELI ATTACK (through translator): The Israelis were outside shooting and started firing bombs. We were all injured and fell to the ground. The metal roof and wood collapsed on us. My mother and brother came to take me, but I couldn't get up because of the injuries to my arm and eyes. So, she left to get an ambulance.

KARADSHEH (voice-over): With Dhruba desperate for help with her little brother Ali fighting for his life for days, Israeli forces were right outside. Satellite images from January 5th, one day after the attack, show IDF vehicles by the warehouse and freshly bulldozed ground as close as 70 meters from where the siblings lay. My family members who were still alive left. A relative and I stayed. They started bulldozing the place and dumped it on top of the dead people, my siblings.

She and her relative felt they had to get out of this shelter-turned- morgue. They decided to make a daring escape. They were questioned by soldiers about links to Hamas before making it to the relative safety of a local hospital. We cannot confirm the Israeli military's claim that their troops came under fire. And yet survivors we spoke to tell us there were no militants in the warehouses. Some witnesses say they heard what they called resistance fire. journalists that day reported clashes in the area.

[00:10:29]

CNN found that the Israeli military has separately alleged there were Hamas weapons facilities nearby, but never linked them to the warehouse where the Abu Jibbas sheltered, which we've highlighted here on this IDF map. However it began, there's no doubt the Israeli military used ferocious firepower. The size of the bomb was by its nature indiscriminate, and survivors say they were not warned to leave by the military, as it claims it always tries to do.

In response to extensive questions from CNN, the IDF claimed it told civilians to leave in the days before the deadly incident, but provided no evidence when asked. The first time the military publicly said this part of Gaza was no longer a safe evacuation route came in this post on X at 11.28 a.m. on Tuesday. January 4th, hours after the attack.

S. JIBBA: They knew we were civilians. Their drones saw everything. We had big white flags up. They said it's a safe area. The south is safe. We came to the south for nothing. They bombed us and killed our children in the south.

KARADSHEH (voice-over): The events of that January day, only a small window into the vast undocumented suffering that the Israeli military's inflicted on civilians in Gaza, with tens of thousands already killed. Leaving so many, like the Abu Jibba family, grieving, traumatized, with no recourse to justice and accountability.

D. JIBBA: They died in front of me. I couldn't do anything. We would laugh, be silly, and play together. Now those memories are gone.

KARADSHEH (voice-over): Jomana Karadsheh, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: With this note, the U.S. State Department says Israel has until the middle of next month to sign a letter which provides assurance it will abide by international law while using U.S. weapons. Here's spokesperson Matthew Miller.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MATTHEW MILLER, U.S. SPOKESPERSON: It's just describing the national security memorandum that the president issued in early February that outlines a procedure that is not specific to the state of Israel but is specific to all countries that receive military assistance from the United States. That those countries provide us written assurances that recipients, number one, will use the weapons in accordance with the law of war, and number two, will facilitate and not arbitrarily deny or restrict humanitarian assistance.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Some of that humanitarian assistance could soon be coming from U.S. aircraft. Two officials tell CNN the U.S. is considering possible airdrops over Gaza. France, Jordan, and several other countries airdropped assistance into the territory earlier this week.

A huge win for Donald Trump and his efforts to delay his legal trials until after November's election, with the U.S. Supreme Court agreeing to hear arguments over his claim of presidential immunity in the election subversion case. The Supreme Court could have simply refused to hear this appeal and let the circuit court's decision stand. A ruling which was agreed to by all three judges. The Supreme Court now getting the final word would likely push back any proceedings by months, which critics say plays right into the Trump camp strategy of delay, delay, and delay again.

However, Trump claimed legal scholars are now extremely thankful for the court's involvement. He posted on Truth Social, without presidential immunity, a president will not be able to properly function or make decisions in the best interests of the United States. Presidents will always be concerned, even paralyzed by the prospect of wrongful prosecution and retaliation after they leave office. The Supreme Court decision is expected by the end of June, which means the election interference trial may not happen before the general election in November. More now on presidential immunity from CNN's Brian Todd.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Former President Trump's arguments center on the idea that a president should not be sued for an act committed during their time in the White House.

NICK AKERMAN, FORMER ASSISSTANT SPECIAL WATERGATE PROSECUTOR: Philosophically, the heart of the argument on this immunity is that a president has to be able to move forward, make decisions at a pretty rapid pace, and he can't be subject to lawsuits for any act that he takes, whatever act that is, that he can't be tied up in court rather than being acting as president.

TODD (voice-over): The Supreme Court has barred civil lawsuits against a president for official acts while in the White House, but hasn't addressed whether criminal charges can be filed. President Richard Nixon tried to invoke limited presidential immunity over judicial orders in 1974, when he tried to avoid handing over his White House tapes to the special counsel investigating the Watergate scandal. He didn't try to invoke immunity over criminal prosecution.

TIMOTHY NAFTALI, CNN PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN: The Supreme Court in the summer of 1974 swept all these arguments away and said that Richard Nixon had to turn over the tapes.

TODD (voice-over): Nixon did hand over the tapes, which contained evidence that he was involved in the Watergate cover-up. Shortly after that, he was out.

[00:15:19]

RICHARD NIXON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I shall resign the presidency effective at noon tomorrow.

TODD (voice-over): After leaving the presidency, in his iconic 1977 interviews with journalist David Frost, Nixon seemed to indicate he thought he was above the law while serving as president. NIXON: When the president does it, that means that it is not illegal.

TODD (voice-over): But analysts say Nixon was not claiming absolute presidential immunity.

NORM EISEN, FORMER OBAMA WHITE HOUSE ETHICA COUNSEL: He was specifically referencing a band of national security-related decisions that a president can make and the broad sweep of presidential power. Now, the courts have since disagreed with him.

TODD: Responding to the previous appeals court ruling that he's not immune from prosecution, former President Trump at the time called it a, quote, nation-destroying ruling, posting on Truth Social that if it's not overturned, it would injure the presidency and the country. Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: In other Trump legal news, an appellate court has rejected a request to put a massive penalty from his civil fraud trial on hold until his appeal is over. That means Trump must pay $454 million in less than a month. His attorneys claim they couldn't raise the full amount because of a ban on obtaining loans. The judge lifted that ban so Trump can access equity in his assets. Still not clear if he has the money, and the attorney general's office could potentially move to seize property.

And in a surprise move, Illinois has become the third state to remove Trump from the ballot. The judge there, citing the U.S.s' ban on insurrectionists running for office. Colorado and Maine first decided to remove Trump on those same grounds, but their decisions were paused while the U.S. Supreme Court rules on Trump's appeal. The justices are widely expected to rule in Trump's favor.

When we come back here on CNN, European lawmakers get a piece of advice on how to deal with Russia's president from the widow of the late opposition leader Alexei Novani, why she says sanctions and resolutions can only go so far in dealing with a mob boss. That's ahead. Also, Moldova's breakaway region of Transnistria, is requesting help from Russia. What pro-Russian officials there claim is behind the move.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: During an address to the European Parliament, Yulia Navalnaya has called on the West to get creative in how they deal with Russian leader Vladimir Putin, whom she blames for the death of her husband, Alexei Navalny. She also fears Russian security services will target mourners at her husband's funeral, which will be held in Moscow on Friday. The very latest now from CNN's Matthew Chance.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Before Europe's Parliament, the widow of Alexei Navalny is continuing his stand, urging lawmakers to treat the Kremlin as a criminal gang, to investigate its financial dealings and punish the financiers it employs.

YULIA NAVALNAYA, ALEXEI NAVALNY'S WIDOW: You cannot hurt Putin with another resolution or another set of sanctions. That is no different from the previous ones. You cannot defeat him by thinking he is a man of principle who has morals and rules. He is not like that and Alexei realized that a long time ago.

[00:20:19]

CHANCE (voice-over): The Kremlin has yet to comment on the remarks but tonight Russia's president respects but not to Alexei Navalny. This the funeral of a loyal Supreme Court judge who passed away last week. Navalny's team say the burial of the late opposition leader will take place on Friday amid a struggle to find a venue and Putin is unlikely to attend. Nor are his bereaved family. Yulia Navalnaya has already been threatened with jail on pro-Kremlin media and even laying her husband to rest on Friday she told the EU parliament may provoke a crackdown.

NAVALNAYA: The funeral will take place the day after tomorrow and I'm not sure yet whether it will be peaceful or whether police will arrest those who have come to say goodbye to my husband.

CHANCE (voice-over): Already human rights groups say hundreds have been detained across Russia at makeshift memorials set up after Navalny's sudden death in a notorious Arctic penal colony earlier this month. His body was then withheld say Navalny's team. What his widow calls an abuse the prolonged the family's agony.

NAVALNAYA: If he was starved in a tiny stone cell Tschister from the outside world. And denied visits phone calls and then even letters. And then they killed him. Even after that they abused his body and abused his mother.

CHANE (voice-over): The Kremlin denies allegations of wrongdoing and any responsibility for Navalny's death. Near the Kremlin, meanwhile, Western ambassadors have been remembering the loss of another Russian opposition leader. Not Navalny, but Boris Nemtsov, gunned down here back in 2015. The Kremlin denies any involvement in this killing, too. But anyone who takes on Russia's opposition mantle knows they're taking a huge risk. Matthew Chance, CNN Moscow.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: A small pro-Russia autonomous region of Moldova has issued a public call for help from Moscow. Relations between the region, called Transnistria, and Moldova have always been tense and worsened in recent months, after Moldova imposed new customs duties on imports to and exports from Transnistria. On Wednesday, a rare session of the Transnistria Congress appealed to Russia to help protect the region in the face of increased pressure from Moldova. That's according to the task (ph) news agency.

Russia's foreign ministry says protection of those living in the region is a priority, while Moldova described the call for help as a propaganda event. Here's more now from the president of Moldova, speaking at a summit in Albania.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN: Do you fear Transnistria may be dragged into the war?

MAIA SANDI, MOLDOVAN PRESIDENT: Moldova is safe today. Ukraine needs to be supported. Ukraine is keeping us today peaceful and safe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Join me now is Matthew Schmidt, an expert on Russia and Ukraine. He teaches National Security at the University of New Haven. Welcome back. Good to see you.

MATTHEW SCHMIDT, ASSOCIATE PROF. OF NATIONAL SECURITY, UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAVEN: Thanks. Good to be here.

VAUSE: Okay, so it's probably best to start with Transnistria for Dummies 101. It's just 1,600 square miles. It's a small sliver of land squeezed between Moldova and Ukraine. It declared independence in 1990, but it's not recognized internationally. Notably, though, it's home to about 500,000 mostly Russian speakers, as well as 15 000 Russian soldiers. So fast forward to Wednesday, and during a meeting of the Council of Deputies, the Parliament issues this call for help to Russia. So what is this call to help, and why do they do it?

SCHMIDT: This call to help, John, is a classic part of the Russian playbook. It's a situation where you take a Russophone population, and you have them declare that they are afraid of something happening to them, that they are afraid of being discriminated against, in this case by Moldova, and then asking for Mother Russia to come in and help them. It's what happened in the Donbass, it's what happened in Crimea, it's what happened in Georgia. It's an absolutely classic pattern.

VAUSE: So, to your point, defending Russians and Russian speakers, wherever they are, has sort of been policy, if you like, for Putin, as a way of justifying Russian military action, like the one currently underway in Ukraine. Here's Putin back in February 23rd, 2022.

[00:24:59]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT: The People's Republic of Donbass asked Russia for help. In this regard, I decided to conduct a special military operation. It aims to protect people who have been bullied and subjected to genocide by the Kiev regime for eight years.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: It would seem unlikely that a call for Russian help from officials and Transnistria would be made publicly before they get some kind of reassurance from Kremlin ahead of time that there will be help if they need it.

SCHMIDT: I think it's best to think of this as a trial balloon. I'm not sure that it's in Russia's interest to actually engage in operations in Transnistria. And I'm not sure that Transnistrians really want it. But they are playing a part here in establishing the idea and the threat of it out there in the context of Moldova seeking greater integration with Europe and then the general battlefield situation in Ukraine, right? The fear about this region is that Russian, quote-unquote, peacekeeping. troops there could act as a hammer against the anvil of Russian troops further to the east and south in Ukraine.

VAUSE: So the Institute for the Study of War, about a week ago, warned that Transnistria may call for or organize a referendum on Transnistria's annexation to Russia. This was at a recently announced Transnistrian Congress of Deputies, which was planned for February 28th, as in Wednesday. So, it turns out they did not go that far. But, you know, I guess that move is still on. I mean, it's still on the table in some regards, but obviously this goes into your theory that it may be a trial balloon.

SCHMIDT: Right. So, there are a lot of physical reasons why it might not be good for Transnistria to become part of Russia. One is that there is a giant country in between them called Ukraine that is not friendly to Russia. And Transnistria relies on their oil and gas, right, coming in from Russia. And then, you know, they have an electrical generation plant, which is their big leverage because it feeds power into Moldova proper. And if they were to break away, they don't have that market.

So, they don't get money providing that electricity to Moldova. Moldova goes further west to get it from the EU. So, this is why I think this is a lot of posturing in order to create the sense of a threat, in order to sort of just (technical difficulty) create chaos. But I don't think anything's going to happen yet.

VAUSE: Okay, well, Ukrains President Zelenskyy on Wednesday not only described Vladimir Putin as Hitler Act Two, but he also had this warning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENSKYY: All of us, I think we have to prepare. For what? Just to be strong, to prepare for war or peace. It's not about it. To prepare for Putin's next steps.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: And keep in mind, most of those 1,500 Russian soldiers who are based there in Transnistria are there to guard what's been described as the largest illegal arms depot in Eastern Europe. 20,000 tons of mostly obsolete Soviet era munitions. And if for some reason there was an explosion at that military depot. The blast could be compared to a 10 kiloton nuclear bomb which was dropped on the city of Hiroshima in 1945. This does seem to raise the stakes here substantially with regards to whatever Putin decides to do next.

SCHMIDT: Well, first of all, that description, you know, belabours the fact that those munitions are not all stacked on top of each other. And in order to get a 20-kiloton explosion, you've got to light them up all at the same time. That's almost certainly not going to happen. And then, you know, as far as what Zelenskyy is saying, is Zelenskyy I think is engaging in some positioning here too, right? Some floating of trial balloons.

It's in his interest to have Europe worry about Putin moving beyond Ukraine. I, again, am doubtful of that. I don't discount the possibility that that might make sense to Putin, but I don't see it making sense for Putin right now. It would only bring NATO in and increase the threat to his military power, which is what gives him threat in the rest of the world, gives him power in the rest of the world. So, if he loses to NATO coming into the war, he's worse off than if he stays where he's at right now, controlling what it controls in Ukraine.

VAUSE: Matthew Schmid, as always, so good to have you with us.

SCHMIDT: My pleasure.

VAUSE: Well, as Iranians prepared to vote in elections on Friday, fears are rising that Israel-Hamas war could lead to direct confrontation between Tehran and Washington. Iranians are telling CNN that's after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: Welcome back, everyone. I'm John Vause. You're watching CNN NEWSROOM.

[00:31:56]

Ghana is intensifying a crackdown on the rights of the LGBTQ+ community. The country's Parliament has unanimously passed a controversial anti-homosexual bill that not only criminalizes LGBTQ+ relationships, but it could also carry a prison -- a prison sentence for those who support them. The Human Sexual Rights and Family Values Act is one of the harshest

of its kind across Africa. The legislation is drawing international condemnation.

The U.S. State Department urging Ghana to review the constitutionality of the bill.

Voter turnout for Iran's last election in 2021 fell to a record low and once again, ahead of Friday's poll, the question isn't so much who gets elected, but rather how many will turn out to vote.

A struggling economy, growing distrust of a hardline government, which was responsible for the crackdown on protesters after the 2022 death of Mahsa Amini in custody are just some of the reasons, but 15,000 candidates are competing in the parliamentary vote, with five of the 290 seats reserved for certain religious minorities.

One hundred and forty-four are running for the 88 seats of the Assembly of Experts. All the candidates pretty much approved by the elite group of mullahs and scholars in Tehran.

Meantime, many in Iran feel the country could be heading for a direct confrontation with the U.S. as both countries stage a proxy war, which was triggered by Israel's military offensive on Hamas in Gaza.

CNN's Fred Pleitgen has more now, reporting in from Tehran.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): As Israel continues its military campaign against Hamas in Gaza with casualties mounting, Iran warning the Israel-Hamas war risks leading to a direct confrontation between Tehran and Washington, the speaker of the Iranian Parliament's Foreign Policy Committee.

ABUFAZI AMOUEI, IRANIAN PARLIAMENTARIAN: We think that, if there will be no finish for the -- this war, it can go in bigger scale and it's -- it can be harmful for everybody. You'll note that the city is one of the parties who are in support of Israel.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): The U.S. accuses Iran of arming Hamas for years, aiding the groups attack against Israel on October 7th last year, killing more than 1,000 Israelis and taking hundreds hostage, and for supporting the Houthis in Yemen, who are targeting international shipping in the Red Sea, allegedly to force an end to the Israel-Hamas war.

But it was attacks by Iran-backed militias against U.S. bases in the Middle East, including one killing three U.S. service members on January 28, and the U.S.-U.K. military counterstrike in Iraq and Syria, that brought the U.S. and Iranian tension to a new level.

President Biden says the U.S. is not seeking conflict, but when Americans are harmed, he promises a response.

AMOUEI: Everyone has -- its proper to defend itself. But as I know that there will be no place for the United States forces to be -- hide -- hidden in the -- into defending themselves. It will be no place for them to be staying in the Middle East.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): In Tehran, folks hope the calm music ahead of the Persian new year won't give way to the drumbeat of yet more confrontation.

[00:35:03]

PLEITGEN: Of course, when you speak to people on the streets here, they'll tell you the main concerns that they have are about the economy and also about inflation, as well.

But of course, there are also people who really fear that things could spiral out-of-control between the U.S. and Iran, and possibly even lead to an armed conflict.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): Even here, confident tones.

"Not only the U.S. is afraid, but also Israel and neighboring countries," this man says. "The U.S. does not have the courage to get close to Iran because of military concerns." But a fear of what might happen after the upcoming U.S. elections.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Next year, the trauma's (ph) coming. Is everything going to be much, much worse than now?

PLEITGEN: How do you think it will be worse? You think it could be war?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, I don't think the war is coming, but the economy is going to be awful. Yes, it's going to be awful, yes.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Tehran.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Still to come on CNN, in just two days, a massive wildfire in Texas, already the second largest ever in the state, devastating communities. We'll hear from some residents who've lost virtually everything. More in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VAUSE: The state of Texas has executed a death row inmate, Ivan Cantu, deprived of a fair trial, they say, despite claims he was -- that new evidence had been discovered in this trial.

Cant, who denied murdering his cousin and his cousin's fiance in 2000. His supporters have argued for a stay, arguing Cantu did not receive a fair trial. They say a podcaster had found new evidence which needed to be evaluated.

Three members of the jury which convicted him actually joined in that effort. Federal and state courts rejected appeals, and the governor declined to intervene. Collin County district attorney stands by the case, says Cantu had

quote, "finally met with justice."

And the second largest wildfire in Texas is now tearing through the Panhandle, destroying homes, forcing many residents to flee. The Smokehouse Creek Fire has grown immensely in less than three days, still mostly out of control.

Several other wildfires are burning nearby in Oklahoma, together, scorching more than 40 -- 400,000 hectares since Monday. At least one person died as a result of the fire so far.

CNN's Lucy Kafanov has the details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TERRILL BARTLETT, MAYOR, CANADIAN, TEXAS (via phone): About half the town was forced to shelter in place.

LUCY KAFANOV, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The mayor of Canadian, Texas, grateful that no lives were lost as local homes burned in a firestorm raging in the Texas Panhandle, fueled by dry growth and windy conditions the Texas Smokehouse Creek Fire is spreading out of control. On average, around 200 acres per minute, devouring more than three acres per seconds since it began two days ago.

DANNY WILLIAMS, FRITCH, TEXAS, RESIDENT: Our world's on fire.

KAFANOV (voice-over): Danny Williams has spent 30 years in Fritch, Texas. His home survived the inferno that spread through town.

WILLIAMS: It came this way really fast, and the authorities were trying to evacuate everybody. And smoke was everywhere.

[00:40:04]

KAFANOV (voice-over): He had to wake up a neighbor and get him out of his home before it burned.

WILLIAMS: He just barely got out. He only had the shirt on his back and his dogs. He lost everything.

KAFANOV: I want to give you a sense of just how damaging these fires were. This was a two-story structure. It got destroyed in 30 minutes. Neighbors watched it burn. The residents have nothing left.

KAFANOV (voice-over): The fire, which began Monday in the Texas panhandle near Amarillo, has now crossed state lines into neighboring Oklahoma.

In Amarillo, officials saying flames have not reached the Pantex nuclear weapons plant, and firefighters have made some progress in the area.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The last containment numbers I had: 90,000 acres burned; 25 percent contained. KAFANOV (voice-over): But officials say the fire is expected to

continue its path of destruction.

KAFANOV: Is the fire danger over?

ADAM TURNER, TEXAS A&M FOREST SERVICE: The danger is not over so the winds have died down. They will be back this weekend. It will be high winds and dry conditions again.

KAFANOV (voice-over): Now a race to herd livestock and horses from the fire as churches set up shelters for those who've been evacuated.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Most of the people that have come in, they have lost everything.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: As we were leaving, we could turn around, and it did. It looked like Armageddon.

KAFANOV (voice-over): Parts of at least five Texas counties are still under evacuation orders, and all the residents evacuated from the town of Fritch are being told some homes are still on fire. And they can't yet return. Firefighters in some areas overwhelmed by the blaze.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We got too many spots. Pulling out. Pull out. Everybody pull out.

KAFANOV (voice-over): High winds are the greatest threat now. On Tuesday, wind gusts exceeding 60 miles per hour fueled the greatest destruction.

Lucy Kafanov, CNN, Fritch, Texas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

VAUSE: Well, comedian, actor and star of "Curb Your Enthusiasm," Richard Lewis, died Tuesday at age 76.

Lewis was known as a comic's comic, turning his personal neuroses and struggles into material for his standup routine and acting roles for five decades.

His publicist says Lewis died peacefully at home in Los Angeles after a heart attack. Last April, Lewis revealed he'd been diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease.

Larry David had this tribute for his friend, quote: "For most of my life, he's been like a brother to me. He had that rare combination of being the funniest person and also the sweetest. But today he made me sob, and for that, I'll never forgive him."

Larry David, of course, responsible for "Curb Your Enthusiasm" and one of the main stars.

John Vause back at the top of the hour with more CNN NEWSROOM. But first, WORLD SPORT starts after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:45:23]

(WORLD SPORT)

[00:57:50]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:00:00]