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CNN International: IDF: Israel On "Peak Alert" Amid Threat From Iran; Israel Launches Ground War Against Hezbollah In Lebanon; Lebanon: At Least 95 Killed In Israeli Strikes On Monday; Israel Ground Incursion Follows Biden's Call For Ceasefire; North Carolina Faces Struggle To Recover After Hurricane Helene; Asheville Mayor "Our Neighborhood Looks Like A Warzone"; Tonight: Vance & Walz Face Off On VP Debate Stage; Trump Calls Walz "A Total Moron" Ahead of VP Debate; IDF Gives Update on Military Operation in Lebanon. Aired 11a-12p ET
Aired October 01, 2024 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[11:00:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.
RAHEL SOLOMON, HOST, "CNN NEWSROOM": Hello, and welcome to our viewers from around the world. I'm Rahel Solomon live in New York. I want to get straight to our breaking news this hour.
The crisis in the Middle East is escalating fast with a senior White House official now warning that Iran is preparing an imminent ballistic missile attack against Israel. The official says that the U.S. is ready to defend Israel against any attack. Israeli military says that it is on peak alert. And a short time ago, an IDF spokesman said that Israel has not yet seen any aerial threat from Iran, but it's warning that any attack would have consequences.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DANIEL HAGARI, IDF SPOKESMAN: -- of the air force are scanning the skies, but this is not an absolute defense, therefore, you must keep adhering to the homeward command. We are in peak alert both on the offensive and the defensive together with our allies, the U.S. We follow together on developments from Iran. I will be --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOLOMON: All right. Now this is all happening as Israel presses ahead with a ground war against Hezbollah. It's ordering people in Southern Lebanon to get out of their homes and move dozens of kilometers away from the Israeli border.
The IDF releasing this video of troops conducting what it calls limited and localized raids inside Lebanon. It says that it's been carrying out these raids for months to try to dismantle Hezbollah's weapons capabilities.
An Israeli military spokesman says that the operation uncovered plans by Hezbollah to launch an October 7th style attack on Israel. The IDF says that it is calling up 4 more reserve brigades to join the fight. Hezbollah, meantime, denies that Israeli troops are in Lebanon at all.
CNN has a team of reporters and analysts across all of these developments. But first, let's begin with CNN's Arlette Saenz. She joins us live from the White House. Arlette, what are we hearing from the White House? What are they saying?
ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rahel, the White House issuing a pretty stunning warning today saying from a senior White House official that the U.S. believes Iran is planning to imminently launch a ballistic missile attack against Israel. If that does happen, it could mark a significant escalation in the region where tensions have already been high.
Now the senior White House official said that the U.S. stands ready to help Israel defend itself in, the wake of such an attack, and they also added, quote, "A direct military attack from Iran against Israel will carry severe consequences for Iran."
It comes at a time when U.S. officials have been watching the situation in the Middle East with great concern, specifically the potential for Iran to launch some type of attack, perhaps in retaliation for the recent killing by Israel of Hezbollah leader, Hassan Nasrallah.
Now, the U.S. has been working, with Israel, on joint defense efforts in the hopes that they could potentially deter such an attack from Iran. Now today, a US official tells us that, they anticipate that this potential attack could be in the same scale and scope of what Iran launched against Israel back in April when the U.S. and other countries helped intercept, around 300 missiles and drones, and the U.S. stands ready to support Israel in this process if Iran does launch this attack.
SOLOMON: All right. Arlette stand by. Let me bring in Nic Robertson now who's on the ground there. Nic, talk to me a little bit about the Israeli point of view. And we're also getting this reporting from an Israeli source that there is intense diplomacy happening behind the scenes. I mean, is there, any chance that diplomacy could help avoid what everyone seems to be watching now and concerned about?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: I don't think, Israel is depending on diplomacy at the moment. I think they're dependent -- depending on the abilities of the IDF and Israel's allies to defend itself against what appears to be an escalating threat from Iran.
The Prime Minister has said, and I'll quote him here, "The citizens of Israel," this was his message to them a little time ago. "Citizens of Israel were in the midst of a campaign against Iran's access of evil." And the Prime Minister said he asked the country for two things.
He asked for people to listen to the home front command. These are the instructions about what people are to do, that they should either stay near shelters, be near shelters, that they shouldn't gather in big numbers outside. And we know that the government has issued new instructions to people in the center of Israel. Gatherings of less than 30 outside, that's the maximum of gatherings of less than 300 indoors.
The Prime Minister is also saying that he wants the country to stand steadfast in the face of this threat, stand together, and stand united. Here along the border it's a different feel. These operations, they are targeted. They're localized according to the IDF spokesman.
[11:05:00]
What we've witnessed along the border today is a heightened sense of readiness. Areas mostly quiet, occasional artillery shots heard, occasional explosions in the distance, but it very much appears as -- as if the IDF's operation is, as they are saying, in a localized effect. It's not everywhere along the border. The troops aren't pouring across the border.
But when I spoke to one military person a little while ago about the threat from Iran, I had a response that perhaps might be typical for forces in any country and the response was really simple, bring it on.
The troops here, the Israeli Air Force, believe that they are prepared. They sent a strong message, they believe to Iran over the weekend when they had that long range combat mission targeting the Houthis in Hudaydah.
On that mission, part of the operation was to degrade Houthi infrastructure. The other part was to send a message to Iran. The question now will be if Israel -- if Iran fires at Israel, how long does Israel wait before it responds to Iran?
SOLOMON: Yeah. That is the question. Nic, I want to let you go. Thank you for the reporting. Be safe. You are obviously in Northern Israel there. There are some security concerns on the ground, so I want to let you go. Nic Robertson, thank you.
Let me bring in Ben Wedeman who is reporting now from Beirut. Ben, you know, I think the question for months, at least since late July, is what would Iran do? I mean, you think about the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, you think about Hassan Nasrallah as of more recently. What now?
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, certainly, if it's a repeat of what we saw in April, it will be long on symbolism but short on effect. Most of the ballistic missiles and drones that the Iranians fired at Israel were either intercepted or hit open ground.
And, certainly, it may be Iran's way of showing Hezbollah, for instance, that they're still in the game, that they do support them. But in reality, what we're seeing, in Southern Lebanon and here in Beirut is that Israel continues to strike with impunity. Hezbollah doesn't seem to be able to do anything about the airstrikes, for instance, one that took place just over an hour ago. Rather, three airstrikes that took place just an hour ago, and these Israeli raids into Lebanese territory.
And, of course, I'm not even going to waste much breath on the Lebanese government, which is utterly helpless, in dealing with this situation. But beyond that, certainly, if we look at the region, I think there is mounting exasperation with an American administration, which as we just heard, is watching with great concern the situation. But, it acts like a passive bystander that can't really do anything.
Here we are a year into this war in Gaza, and the United States issues these statements of great concern and whatnot. But at the end of the day it's managed to do nothing to stop the war from -- it started in Gaza, it spread to Lebanon, and then now we're -- there's this threat of an Iranian attack. The war has, as many predicted, expanded into a situation where we are on the verge of perhaps a regional war, and all the United States is -- does is express concern. Rahel?
SOLOMON: Yeah. Ben, stand by for a moment. I actually want to toss that question to Arlette Saenz, just sort of picking up on where Ben left off there, this sort of exacerbation. This has to come as, I would imagine, more than just frustrating to the administration who has, you know, as Ben sort of pointed out there, been back and forth to the region countless times since October 7th to avoid the very thing that it appears that we are now on the brink of a direct sort of escalation, a direct conflict between Iran and Israel.
SAENZ: Yeah. And this fear of this conflict spreading into a wider regional war is something that the Biden Administration has worried about for quite some time and trying to work to prevent since the start of the October 7th attack by Hamas against Israel.
You heard president Biden just yesterday, saying that it would be his preference that a diplomatic solution is reached. But so far, we have really seen the limits of the United States influence in relation to getting a diplomatic solution across the finish line.
You saw, just last week, the U.S. officials come out with France and other countries, saying that they had developed these plans for a 21 day ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah, only to just have Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu just within a day pour cold water on that. So it really, shows some of the challenges that the White House has had in influencing, so many of these operations.
[11:10:00]
But for the moment, what the White House is saying is that they stand ready to help Israel defend themselves if Iran does in fact move forward with a missile attack against Israel. The officials haven't said exactly when they believe this will be or what intelligence they've seen, to indicate that, but they have said it will be imminent and that the U.S. is working to defend Israel in a similar manner to the way they did back in April.
During that time period, Iran had launched 300 missiles and drones towards Israel. The U.S. led this multinational coalition to help Israel shoot down those projectiles. We'll see whether the US is already working behind the scenes with any international partners in anticipation of a potential Iranian attack.
But it also comes at a time when the U.S. has been working to highlight some of the military capabilities that they have in the region. They've noted that they have a carrier strike group there, that they have forces, who would be ready to deploy in the region, if necessary, all in the hopes by telegraphing some of this is that they would deter Iran from launching some type of attack.
But so far as officials are bluntly warning that they do believe an attack could happen soon, it does not appear that those deterrents efforts have done much to help. And we will see how this all plays out in the coming hours, though.
SAENZ: Yeah. Arlette, thank you. Let me bring back in Ben Wedeman. Ben, talk to me a little bit about the likelihood or the possibility of a scenario of Iran directly becoming involved in this, but also sort of in a coordinated way with some of its proxies in the region?
WEDEMAN: Well, then you have what has long been feared, this massive regional war that, of course, the United States will become an active participant in. All this American hardware in the region is something that inevitably will become involved, either in defending Israel or retaliating against Iran.
So the nightmare scenario could come to pass, because of what I said before. The United States sitting on the sidelines, sending its diplomats back and forth to the Middle East, but not using the real pressure it does have, to make the war in Gaza stop, which is where it all started, which would obviously have a calming effect throughout the region.
But instead, it seems to have discarded its leverage over Israel and simply is letting this situation deteriorate. Keep in mind that there are permanently based U.S. forces in the Gulf, in Qatar, in Bahrain, within easy range of the Iranian coast, and the Iranians have long worked on developing their capabilities in the Gulf that would target exactly those U.S. assets.
And, of course, much -- a lot of the oil of the world passes through the Strait of Hormuz, which is the main pass -- is the way into the Persian Gulf. You have U.S. troops in Iraq. You have US troops in Syria, sitting ducks in the event things really go out of control.
And therefore, you know, the danger is sort of staring everyone in the face, but the United States, as I said, sits on its hands, puts out these weak statements from the White House, but doesn't really sort of grab the problem by the throat and solve it. It just isn't working, and the danger is absolutely massive. Rahel?
SOLOMON: Danger at every turn as we sort of wait to see if this threat materializes. Ben Wedeman, thank you. Arlette Saenz at the White House, thank you. And, again, Nic Robertson, thank you as well.
And our live coverage of the escalating hostilities in the Middle East continues in just a moment.
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[11:15:00]
SOLOMON: Welcome back. Let's get back to our breaking news coverage of the crisis in the Middle East. A senior White House official says that the U.S. believes Iran is preparing for an imminent ballistic missile attack on Israel.
The warning comes amid the beginnings of a ground defensive by Israel against Hezbollah in Southern Lebanon, and it marks what Israel's security cabinet calls the next phase of its war with the Iran backed militant group. Israeli officials have said that it will be a limited ground operation and that they are not aiming for a long term occupation of Lebanese territory.
Joining me now with perspective and insights is CNN Global Affairs Analyst, Kimberly Dozier. Kim, always good to see you, certainly on a day like today. Walk me through just your top line reaction to this. I mean, is there a bit of this could have been expected or this should have been expected?
And the reason why I ask is because for months now, we have talked about on this very network, perhaps you and I have even talked about, what was Iran going to do? What was the likely response? And so I wonder now that we are in this moment with the very threat upon us was this expected?
KIMBERLY DOZIER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Well, Iran has held fire for a long time after the killing of the top Hamas leader inside Iran, which was seen as an insult to Tehran, and really shamed their intelligence services. But this time, Israel has also taken out Hassan Nasrallah of Hezbollah, a key proxy fighter network for Iran to show that its will in the Middle East.
And Israel is also honing in on the tunnel network where it's believed that much of the some 150,000 missiles and rockets are stored by Hezbollah to be used in the event that Israel attacks Iran. The ballistic missiles that Iran has provided to Hezbollah can reach just about any major populated Israeli city, and Israel has known about them for quite some time and briefed reporters like me about them. And we always anticipated that at some point Israel would feel the need to go in and clean this area up.
Here's the problem. Last time Iran responded, the fire just came from Iran towards Israel, and it was aimed at military facilities, government buildings. There was also enough time with, the launches to give at least 10 minutes, if not an several hours of warning for Israel and the various allies supporting it to clock where the munitions were coming from and plot how to take them out of the sky.
This time, what could be different is if Hezbollah also fires some of its missiles much closer, much shorter amount of time to reach Israeli populated areas, so that's what I'm watching and I'm worried about right now..
SOLOMON: And unlike the last time, unlike April, talk to me about the possibility that some of these -- if in fact we do see these missiles targeted to toward Israel, that some of these could hit, civilian, populations, not necessarily just military targets.
DOZIER: Yeah. Well, from Hezbollah's perspective and Iran's perspective, they've spent years since, Israel's incursion in 2006, digging these hundreds of miles of tunnels in that Southern Lebanon area and storing all of these munitions.
[11:20:00]
And now if Israel gets to them and destroys them, Iran loses its strategic weapon. Hezbollah loses a way to respond. So there is a possibility that they might decide now is the time to use some of them and fire them at, even if you try to hit government areas like, Israel's Pentagon, it's in the center of Tel Aviv, and it's surrounded not close, but near enough there are high Tel Aviv apartment buildings that could be hit in the crossfire.
They could aim at some place like Dimona, where Israel's nuclear reactor is. They could also choose to hit, say, in the heart of Haifa, which is a northern city, that's a major trade and shipping area for Israel and a manufacturing city for Israel. It could damage Israel economically by both damaging the port and damaging that industry.
SOLOMON: And, Kim, what about also just sort of the U.S. assets both in terms of troops on the ground and personnel who were in the region, but also physical assets and hardware that have been stationed there, meant to be a deterrence?
DOZIER: Yeah. Well, the U.S. at this point has brought a lot of weaponry into the region, into the gulf, air power, some large naval assets from which jets could be launched, so that, will help defend both US assets and Israel. But they've also got a number of troops in areas of vulnerability.
In Syria, you have small numbers of troops still trying to prosecute the fight against ISIS, and any base inside Iraq, for instance, could be threatened and has in the past been threatened by attacks from pro- Iranian militants who are part of the, quote, unquote, "axis of resistance" and have already demonstrated over the killing of Hassan Nasrallah and are just waiting to be told what to fire their weapons at.
SOLOMON: Kimberly, I want to read for you something. This is, CNN reporting according to an Israeli source that intense diplomacy is happening behind the scenes. What is the best that intense diplomacy could bring about at this very moment? As I talked to Nic Robertson who is on the ground there in Northern Israel, Israel is not banking on intense diplomacy at this moment. So what is sort of the best outcome in this moment?
DOZIER: I think intense diplomacy could possibly convince Iran to redo its spring attack and not aim for major populated or industrial areas and not ask Hezbollah to also fire weapons. So to not make it a two front attack. So if they still do -- if choose to do another sort of symbolic attack, which gives Israel and allies a chance to respond, before anything major gets hit, destroyed, or there are any major casualties, that would be a win-win.
But you're not going to see, some sort of ceasefire by Israel at the border because they were just starting in this operation of rooting out what they see as basically, a knife held at their throat in terms of all this dug in weaponry and manpower, I think it's going to be weeks or months before they can be convinced to stop that operation, if they can be convinced at all. Because now that they've gotten a chance to get in and map out that network and dismantle it. That they didn't stop in Gaza, I really don't see what's going to stop them in Southern Lebanon.
SOLOMON: Yeah. Certainly a lot of questions. Kimberly Dozier in Washington. Thank you.
And still ahead, we are tracking what Israeli leaders refer to as the next phase of war with Hezbollah. Details ahead on the ground operation in Southern Lebanon and how the U.S. is responding.
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[11:25:00]
SOLOMON: Welcome back. You're watching CNN Newsroom. I'm Rahel Salomon live in New York. We want to get back to our breaking news this hour. The White House says that it has indications Iran is preparing to imminently launch a ballistic missile attack on Israel and that it is supporting Israel's preparations to defend itself.
Israeli military said that it has not yet identified any aerial threat from Iran, but this comes after Israel launched military operations on the ground in Southern Lebanon. This is what Israel's security cabinet has spoken about as the next phase of its war with Hezbollah.
Officials say that it will be a limited ground operation, and they have no plans to occupy Lebanese territory in the long term. In recent days, Israel has been laying the groundwork. Airstrikes have ramped up, one of them on Friday, killing the leader of Hezbollah. Civilians meantime in Lebanon feeling the force of these attacks.
Authorities say that more than a thousand people have been killed, countless homes have been destroyed, and around 1 million people are now displaced. Israel's attacks are in defiance of pressure from the U.S. to reach a ceasefire deal with Hezbollah.
Jim Sciutto, CNN's Chief U.S. Security analyst with us now, as well as Alex Marquardt, CNN's Chief National Security Correspondent. Jim, let me start with you on the ground there. I just want to pick up sort of where we left off there. That this is sort of in defiance of what the U.S. had sort of hoped all along, but even more recently, of a ceasefire. That this is the very thing that U.S. officials have worked, you could say, since October 7th to try to avoid.
JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF U.S. SECURITY ANALYST: That's true. Let me begin with the situation here now in Tel Aviv. We just heard a boom above our heads, sounded more like a sonic boom, which would be a passing Israeli jet more than an intercept. We haven't seen intercepts yet, but I just raised that because, the city, the country is certainly on a footing now, where it expects, if Iran does indeed fire these missiles, which U.S. intelligence indicates they're preparing to do, that they would do so imminently perhaps in the next several hours. So the city, the country very much on alert for exactly that.
We should always caution when discussing that that Israel has significant missile defenses at multiple altitudes, and it also has the aid of U.S. forces in the region, which have missile defense via ships, surface ships, as well as aircraft in the air and other partners in the region such as Jordan that have anti-missile capability.
So you have those capabilities. But you have to keep in mind, Rahel, that the warning time with ballistic missiles is just a matter of minutes in terms of travel time from Iran to here in Israel. So there's not a lot of time to prepare, and to shoot them down. That said, the missile defenses are designed to do exactly that. That that's the situation on the ground here.
To your point, absolutely, the U.S. has been trying to avoid this very moment for months. It does not want a direct confrontation between Iran and Israel. It's not the first time. In April, of course, Iran fired dozens of missiles and drones at Israel. The vast majority of them shot down, but it's been working diplomatically and via other means to prevent that from happening again, and here we are.
And, of course, the concern is in situations like this, it's not just how Iran attacks, but then how Israel potentially retaliates, and then how Iran retaliates to that. Right? I mean, you're caught in a cycle of retaliation, which is exactly the outcome the U.S. had been seeking to avoid.
SOLOMON: Yeah. Stand by for just a moment, Jim. Let me bring in Alex to this conversation. Alex, what do we know about the U.S.' warnings to Israel about this very, potential attack?
[11:30:00]
ALEX MARQUARDT, CNN CHIEF U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, what we're learning, Rahel, is that it was the U.S. that warned Israel that this attack was coming imminently. This took place early this morning, Eastern Time, so about midday in Israel. And so it's clear that the U.S., national security teams and intelligence community believe that this is imminent and that Iran has made up its mind about how to respond to the killing of Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut last week.
So the major questions now are, of course, what is the scope of this, strike by, Iran? Does it look like it did last time with hundreds of drones, cruise, and ballistic missiles? Do they go after civilian or just military targets, or is it much smaller? Do they -- are they just doing it in order to save face? Because, of course, we saw last time on April 13th, that that strike was largely ineffective and did not cause much damage. And then there's the question of the defense of Israel. Has the U.S., stitched together the same coalition that they did last time with other countries to try to help defend Israel from this, what we believe to be an imminent attack by Iran? Certainly, with the U.S. will do all it can to make sure that, it protects Israel as best as possible and, that the destruction is as low as possible, not least because they hope that the Israeli retaliation after that, that Jim was just referencing, is not severe.
But there is no question, Rahel, that there is profound frustration, here in Washington within the administration with what Israel has been doing over the course of the past few weeks, rejecting that ceasefire for Lebanon last week, going in on the ground into Southern Lebanon, which is something that we heard the President say yesterday, he did not want to see. But for now, this is essentially a waiting game to see what Iran decides to do.
And then, from there, the that escalation ladder is very is very dangerous and we could see a situation in which, the U.S. may feel compelled to get more involved, but, of course, they're trying to avoid that situation as much as possible, Rahel.
SOLOMON: Yeah. Absolutely. Jim, let me bring you back into the conversation. Now talk to me a little bit about -- everything OK there on the ground, Jim?
SCIUTTO: Yeah. No. We're just to -- we're trying to keep situational awareness here. We're hearing a lot of activity in the air over Tel Aviv. Helicopters -- that's not unusual. Black Hawk helicopters transporting troops, forces, et cetera. I hear a jet over my head. Several minutes ago, we heard what we think was a sonic boom, likely from an Israeli jet flying that happens when they break the speed of sound.
We haven't seen -- it's not clear to us that we've seen any missile intercepts to date, and there are no reports of it. I just want to be clear. But, again, it's just a measure of the level of concern and alert right now as they await for the possibility that Iran follows through on this threat.
Again, as I noted earlier, we should always note that Israel has tremendous air defenses and has its allies as partners in those air and missile defenses, and you could be certain that they are on high alert right now as well.
SOLOMON: Right. Jim Sciutto, we thank you. I'm going to let you go, and continue reporting. Alex, let me bring you back into the conversation. I just want to pick up on something, you finished off with there that the U.S. is obviously trying to avoid, certainly, you know, U.S. troops being pulled into this further.
Just talk to me a little bit about what we know in terms of the capabilities on the ground and the physical assets on the ground, U.S. assets, both in terms of hardware, in terms of, you know, these ships that have been sent out meant to be deterrents, but also in terms of, boots on the ground right now. MARQUARDT: Yeah. There's -- it's a significant presence, and it's a growing presence. I mean, the U.S. already has tens of thousands of troops all across the Middle East. We know that there are significant naval assets that were already in the region, a carrier strike group, what we're being told now, is that thousands more troops are being deployed to the region largely to support, what is expected to be an aerial operation, aerial defense.
Last time, we saw, jets in the sky knocking down drones and missiles that were heading towards Israel. We're told that thousands more American troops have been deployed to the region to support the F-16s, F-15s, A-10s and F-22 fighter aircraft. Of course, those jets require significant amount of personnel for maintenance and for operations.
We'd already been told prior to that, Rahel, that more troops have been put into position, particularly in in Cyprus, to help out with potential evacuation operations. Those -- there are always plans for what are called NEOS, which are evacuation orders for both Lebanon and Israel to get American citizens out of there, if needed. Those NEOS have not been activated. Certainly, there are going to be a number of Americans in both countries trying to get out, but we are not at that level yet.
[11:35:00]
But we should note one more thing, Rahel, the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem just put out an alert for its staff, calling on all embassy employees and their family members to shelter in place. So that is yet another indication, another warning, that the United States is poised for this Iranian strike against Israel. Rahel.
SOLOMON: OK. We'll leave it there. Alex Marquardt, thank you.
We'll take a short break, but our live coverage of the escalating hostilities in the Middle East continues in just a moment.
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SOLOMON: All right. Let's get back to our breaking news coverage of the crisis in the Middle East. A senior White House official says that the U.S. believes Iran is preparing for an imminent ballistic missile attack on Israel.
The warning comes amid the beginnings of a ground offensive by Israel against Hezbollah in Southern Lebanon, and it marks what Israeli's security cabinet calls the next phase of its war with the Iran backed militant group. Israeli officials have said that it will be a limited ground operation and that they are not aiming for a long term occupation of Lebanese territory.
Let's bring in retired U.S. Air Force Colonel and CNN Military Analyst, Cedric Leighton. He joins us from Washington, DC. Colonel, always good to have you. Thank you for being here today.
Let me just first ask, the likelihood or the possibility that we could see an attack in which not only does Iran directly respond and retaliate, but it does so in coordination with its proxies in the region.
COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Rahel, I think that's actually a really good question. I think that is a definite possibility because, you know, what the proxies have basically done on Iran's behalf is encircle Israel almost, you know, at least on three sides. And that is something that the Israelis are trying to break out of.
And when you look at, the map and you see -- you know, you look at Lebanon and you have Hezbollah there, you look at Gaza, you had Hamas there and, of course, you had the various happenings in the West Bank with the PLO and other elements there. Plus, you have the militias in Syria and Iraq. It's very likely that any one of those actors -- and I guess we shouldn't forget that which is in Yemen either-- any one of those actors can work in coordination with Tehran to attack Israel at a similar or at the same time.
So if that happens, the idea there would possibly be to try to overwhelm, the Israeli missile defense systems. And if that were to happen, that, of course, would pose a grave danger for the Israelis. They'd have multiple targets to go after, and they would have to, of course, be very careful which ones they, they hit first. And, of course, the defense of their country would be more -- made more difficult by that kind of a situation. But that is absolutely a possible scenario in this case.
SOLOMON: Yeah. And it's interesting. Ben Wedeman who was on the ground there in Beirut made the point earlier that, not only do we wait to see if and how Iran responds, but then we wait to see how Israel responds to Iran.
[11:40:00]
And to that point, we just got this new reporting, colonel, from Jeremy Diamond that Israel assesses Iran could attack three Israeli air bases and an intelligence base. If in fact that is the case, in terms of the level of proportionate escalation from Israel, I mean, where does that fall on the level if in fact that is what we see?
LEIGHTON: So if that happens that indicate that, the Iranians are going after military and intelligence targets. Those are legitimate targets under the rules of warfare, the law of armed conflict. That would allow basically for some degree of response. Now if the attacks are successful that of course would cause the Israelis to respond probably in kind and go after similar Iranian installations.
They did that to a very limited extent back in April when they attacked the facility near Isfahan. And that is something that, you know, the Iranians do have the capability to go after air bases. They did that, during the attack in April as well. They hit one of the runways of, the base that Israel uses -- that houses its F-35s. And that is, I think, one area where we could see some degree of escalation.
If there is any good news in that, it means that it's confined to military targets. But, the problem with that is that could very quickly get out of hand. And if something is not targeted correctly or where it falls by accident in a civilian area, that could also trigger escalatory events.
SOLOMON: And what about, a U.S. response? I want to read for you something we got -- a statement we got from a senior White House official who said, in part, a direct military attack from Iran against Israel will carry severe consequences for Iran. What do you hear when you see that or when you hear that, colonel?
LEIGHTON: Well, it certainly opens the door to a possible direct U.S. response to an Iranian, attack of that type. And what it could mean is that, we would in the more benign form of this, we could intercept or try to intercept, an attacking missile. A more direct attack would be that the U.S. actually goes after the launch site from -- you know, that was where that missile was launched.
So those, that would be a more severe escalation. And then an even further escalation of that would be if we joined the Israelis in some kind of an attack on Iran. I don't see that happening. I don't think that is going to happen at this particular moment in time. But in a situation like this, you cannot, discount any of those possibilities.
SOLOMON: Yeah. Colonel Cedric Leighton, thank you.
All right. And still to come for us, in just hours, the vice presidential nominees face off for the first time ever on the debate stage. We'll take a look at how both candidates are preparing just ahead.
Plus this. If you think too much about the beautiful Chimney Rock village that that I remember from last week, it's hard to handle.
Amid heartbreak, people in towns just destroyed by the storm vow to rebuild. We'll be back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[11:45:00]
SOLOMON: Well, the mayor of a small town in North Carolina says people there are trying to come to terms today with total devastation left behind by Hurricane Helene. Chimney Rock is just one of many towns and cities reeling from the battering inflicted by the storm. Homes have been destroyed, so are businesses, supplies of food and water are so scarce. Hundreds of roads have been submerged or washed out, making it difficult to deliver much needed supplies.
So mules, as you can see here, yes, mules are actually pitching in. The animals along with ranchers from North Carolina's Mountain Mule Packer Ranch are taking food, water, and diapers to hard to reach mountain areas. 56 people in the state were killed in the storm out of at least 137 across the U.S. southeast, making this one of the deadliest hurricanes in U.S. history.
The mayor of Asheville says that reaching hundreds more people who are still unaccounted for is their top priority. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ESTHER MANHEIMER, ASHEVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA MAYOR: As we watch these rivers recede, we are seeing just piles of people's houses that were destroyed, buildings that were destroyed, cars overturned, trash and debris. I mean, it reminds me of a Katrina where they had to go door to door and look in each vehicle and mark whether or not anyone was in it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOLOMON: OK. On the phone now is Cory Vaillancourt. He is the Politics Editor for the Smoky Mountain News, and he joins us to talk about some of the struggles that he and many of his neighbors are facing in the storm's aftermath. Cory, do I have you?
CORY VAILLANCOURT, SMOKY MOUNTAIN NEWS (via telephone): Yes, Rahel. How are you?
SOLOMON: I'm good. Thank you. I wish we were talking under better circumstances. What seems to be the biggest concern right now with so much need clearly being an issue?
VAILLANCOURT (via telephone): Well, we have two major concerns right now. Number one, at the height of the storm, our cellular and Internet infrastructure failed. That's made basic communications very difficult for folks, although things are coming back. The other issue as we're seeing floodwaters recede is landslides.
We received such a massive amount of rain in such a short period of time that landslides, rocks, debris in the roads have cut off some communities like Mayor Manheimer just told you.
SOLOMON: What about the state of supplies? I mean, from what you can tell, are some of these isolated communities -- I mean, how much are supplies starting to trickle in? I mean, we just saw sort of the mules. You know, any other time, it might be a laughing matter, certainly not in this event. What's the state of supplies?
VAILLANCOURT (via telephone): Well, things are starting to flow into Western North Carolina now. We've had a few roads opened up. It's great. You know, we've got these good old boys up here who are just dragging their own equipment out and clearing out landslides, reopening roads so that those supplies can come.
They're not doing this for pay. They're doing this because in Haywood County, neighbors are helping neighbors. That's what we do here in Southern Appalachia. The only way these folks have been able to survive for centuries being in such a rugged isolated area. So we do have some reasons for optimism. We're seeing more and more supplies come in. Haywood County government has set up some distribution sites. We've got a few water tankers coming in, and so the basic needs of public health are being met slowly but surely.
SOLOMON: Yeah. And I don't even know if it's too early to even ask this question, Cory, but is there any sense of sort of how long the road to recovery might be here? I mean, is this -- are we talking about months, are we talking about years? I mean, what are you hearing?
VAILLANCOURT (via telephone): I talked to Tony McEwen who's with an organization called the American Flood Coalition. He told me that it takes small cities 3, 4, 5 years to recover from extreme weather events of this magnitude.
Large cities tend to cope a little bit better, but looking down the road and with the experience we had in 2021 when we had deadly flooding here, it takes several years for the FEMA processes to work through. County governments and local governments are already spending money expecting reimbursement, but that will take 3 years, if we're lucky.
SOLOMON: Yeah. Just incredible. And as we watch these, just really horrific photos of the damage there. Cory Vaillancourt, we appreciate your time today. Thank you. Please stay safe.
VAILLANCOURT (via telephone): Thank you, Rahel.
SOLOMON: And for more information about how you can help Hurricane Helene victims, go to cnn.com/impact.
All right. Well, 35 days until America picks its next President, and in just hours from now, it is the running mate's turn in the spotlight. Democrat Tim Walz and Republican J.D. Vance will face off on stage in their first and only scheduled vice presidential debate. In fact, this could potentially be the last debate of the entire election season.
Walz prepared in Michigan, seen only briefly at a few public appearances in recent days around town. Meanwhile, Vance is now in New York ahead of the debate. He arrived on Monday and has not talked publicly about today's showdown. Not much at least in recent appearances, but Trump did have plenty to share. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT AND 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He's going up against a moron, a total moron. How she picked him is unbelievable. And I think it's a big factor. There's something wrong with that guy. He's sick. He went into the Michigan game the other day. He got booed out. I went into the Alabama game. The 120,000 people went crazy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[11:50:00]
SOLOMON: All right. Let's get to CNN's Priscilla Alvarez who was at the debate site in New York. Priscilla, talk to us a little bit more about how both sides are preparing for tonight.
PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rahel, as you were laying out there, the stakes of this vice presidential debate are uncharacteristically high because it is likely the last debate of this election and also because the race still remains so close.
Now what we do know about the preparations for each of these candidates is that governor Tim Walz was in Michigan over the last few days. He set up a debate camp there where they watched videos of Vance's previous debates as well as did mock sessions with transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg as Vance in those sessions.
Now, of course, aides say that the task for him is going to be to cast Vance as just as much as a risk or a threat as former President Donald Trump, but also, as a means to getting to know the Vice President better as voters still have questions about her.
Now Vance, similarly, also, a hunker down with his sessions. Now House Majority, Tom Emmer was the one who was helping him with being the stand in for Walz during those sessions. Now Vance is a more practiced debater. He is better debater, and that's something that Harris aides are well aware of.
Of course, it was actually one of those debates, the Republican primary for U.S. Senate seat that caught former president Donald Trump's attention and that he was impressed by. So, Harris' campaign is going into this knowing that to be the case, but hoping that Walz's every man appeal, they say, will be what resonates with voters.
Now we also know some of the rules for this debate that includes no live audience standing behind podiums and also, those 2 minute closing arguments, of course, they're going to talk about a range of issues, the economy, Israel. We can imagine that the hurricane may be among one of those questions, as well as immigration and health care.
So certainly, going to be a debate that hits multiple issues at a critical juncture just over a month from election day. And also a pretty remarkable example of how much, again, this presidential election has changed only a few months ago with the vice president, Vice President Kamala Harris, who was preparing to go up against Vance, during this exact debate. So this has been something front of mind for the campaign now for several weeks and months. Rahel.
SOLOMON: And, Priscilla, just talk to us a little bit about the goal for both men tonight. I mean, is it to sort of wipe the floor with the other and, you know, just have a really strong performance, or is it to sort of score some points with Americans and maybe even appear likable?
ALVAREZ: Well, both of the candidates will be speaking for the top of the ticket. So Walz will be talking about the Vice President's policies, the ticket's policies, and the same goes for Vance. Remember, one of the criticisms of the Trump-Vance campaign has been that the Vice President is too liberal, and the same goes for her vice presidential nominee, Tim Walz. So expect that to be, an attack there.
Now Harris aides want to keep the focus on the policies, so they want to be able to do what the Vice President did over the course of her presidential debate against former President Donald Trump by pivoting back to issues and making their ticket about the one that cares about the American people. Of course, how this actually unfolds on the debate stage still very much remains to be seen.
But what is, notable about this debate is that it is the likely the last time that these two campaigns can present their arguments in front of a large audience, a TV audience that is, at a time where voters still have questions about both candidates and at a time when polling shows that there is no clear leader in this race.
Any sort of edge is always within the margin of error. So this is a pivotal moment for both of the campaigns, and it rides on the shoulders of these vice presidential nominees, Rahel.
SOLOMON: Five weeks until Election Day. Priscilla Alvarez live for us in New York. Priscilla, thank you.
And CNN will have special coverage of the vice presidential debate starting tonight at 7:00 P.M. in New York. That is midnight in London.
OK. Let's get back to our breaking news that we've been following all hour for you. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has just released a video message asking Israelis to, quote, "Stand together" amid the threat from Iran. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (via translator): Citizens of Israel, we are in the midst of a campaign against Iran's axis of evil. I said yesterday that these are days of great achievements and great challenges. What I ask of you is two things. One, to strictly obey the directives of the frontline command. It saves lives. And second, to stand together.
We will stand firm together in the testing days ahead. Together, we will stand, together we will fight and together, we will win.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOLOMON: OK. So clearly, we're going to be continuing to follow this breaking news story throughout the day. But for now, I want to thank you for spending your hour with me.
I'm Rahel Solomon live in New York. Stick with CNN, "One World" is coming up next.
[11:55:00]
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DANIEL HAGARI, IDF SPOKESMAN: (inaudible) is not absolute. Please be clam, listen to the instructions, be responsible and responsibly. I'm going to keep updating you all day and all night.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BIANNA GOLODRYGA, CNN ANCHOR: We were just listening to the IDF Spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, giving an update now not only on the ongoing military operation in Lebanon, but obviously the news that we are bringing you and have been covering the last few hours.
Israel on alert now per United States intelligence warning that Iran may retaliate imminently with a ballistic missile strike on the country. So these warnings and these updates from Israeli officials have been coming in.
We've also heard from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a short time ago, also speaking to the Israeli public about this threat, advising them to follow local instructions and guidelines for their own safety, saying that together, they will win, and they are obviously, setting upon very trying days and hours ahead.
Good afternoon, everybody. I'm Bianna Golodryga. Zain is off today. You are watching One World, and we begin with that threat of the most dangerous escalation yet, perhaps in the Middle East, and one that could potentially drag the region into a full blown war.
The White House believes that Iran is preparing to imminently launch a ballistic missile strike against Israel. Senior officials say the US s actively supporting Israel's defense preparations, and warned that a direct military attack from Tehran will carry, quote, severe consequences.
The Israeli military says that it is on peak alert and is prepared both offensively and defensively.
(VIDEO PLAYING)
SOLOMON: Now this comes less than 24 hours after the IDF launched what it's called a limited, localized, and targeted ground offensive into Southern Lebanon. Israel says the goal is to dismantle Hezbollah infrastructure and restore security along its northern border.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HAGARI: We'll do it as fast as we can, and we will take down the threat to threat next to a border. Any other sovereign --
