Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Lebanon: Israeli Strike Kills 19 In Christian-Majority Village; U.S. Sending 100 Troops, Anti-Missile System To Israel; Harris Makes Direct Appeal To Black Voters; Iran: Ready To Respond To Any "Misstep" By Israel; Taiwan Condemns China War Games As "Unreasonable Provocation". Aired 3-4p ET

Aired October 14, 2024 - 15:00   ET

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

[15:00:43]

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN HOST: It is 8:00 p.m. in London, 10:00 p.m. in Tel Aviv, 3:00 p.m. here in Washington. I'm Jim Sciutto. Thanks so much for joining me today.

On CNN NEWSROOM, and let's get right to the news.

From Gaza to Lebanon, to northern Israel, the wars in the Middle East are intensifying on multiple fronts following a deadly weekend, yet one more in the region.

Earlier today, Israel struck a Christian majority village 62 miles north of Beirut, killing 19 people. The strike destroyed an entire building, housing people who had the bombardment earlier in southern Lebanon.

In Tel Aviv, sirens blared as the IDF intercepted three projectiles fired from Lebanon targeting central Israel. This comes a day after a Hezbollah drone struck and Israeli army base killing four soldiers there.

As Israel fights Hezbollah in the north, it is ramping up its war in Gaza in the south. On Sunday, Israeli airstrikes killed at least 40 people well, 13 of them, children. One strike targeted the Al Asa hospital, setting the courtyard there ablaze, as you can see. The IDF said it was a precise strike on a Hamas command and control center. That is language the IDF has repeatedly used to justify attacks on civilian infrastructure since the war began, often with civilian casualties.

CNN international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson is in Jerusalem.

Nic, there was some reporting that Israel might pause strikes on Beirut amid understandings, quote, unquote, with U.S. Now, Netanyahu says Israel will continue to strike Beirut.

Do we know what the truth is here?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: We don't. What we do is that the United States, several weeks after Israel had asked, agreed to send the THAAD, Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense System. This is important to Israel because Iran launched ballistic missiles more than 180 just about two weeks ago, and if that continues, Israel feels it needs a better defense system and the THAAD will be part of that.

And there was an understanding that seemed to come about because of the way the Prime Minister Netanyahu was getting a lot of criticism because the IDF has been striking in the southern suburbs of Beirut, but now been sort of striking targets, chasing targets into the central Beirut right up until this weekend, a high civilian death toll. And the sense was that maybe there's some kind of quid pro quo here.

But when the prime minister visited that IDF base, where Hezbollah drone killed four soldiers and wounded more than 60 other people. Eight of those soldiers very seriously wounded. The prime minister struck a very, very tough position in a strong response.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: I want to clarify: we will continue to strike Hezbollah without mercy everywhere in Lebanon, including Beirut. Everything is according to operational considerations. We've proven this recently and we will continue to prove it in the coming days as well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON: Yeah, and I think its been pretty well-documented, Bob Woodward being the most recent to do it, the lack of trust there is between President Biden and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Did that trust get did it break breakdown here, was it broken precisely what happened? We don't know, but the Israeli position has been pretty clear wherever it is targeting, it believes if an area like a hospital or a mosque potentially is off limits because of sort of community value and status, then that somewhere that Hezbollah will hide and I think they would take the similar view about Beirut of the central Beirut is off limits. Then for the prime minister here, there's probably little doubt in his mind that that is a place that cannot be off-limits because Hezbollah may just choose to hide out there.

SCIUTTO: Nic Robertson in Jerusalem, thanks so much.

Well, as the war in the region has escalated, as Nic mentioned, the U.S. furthering its commitment to Israel, sending one of its most powerful anti-missile systems known as the THAAD. It's a high altitude missile defense system range up to 200 kilometers, about 125 U.S. miles.

CNN's Oren Liebermann is at the Pentagon.

[15:05:02]

Oren, I wonder, has the Pentagon explained why now, I imagine it's related to the threat from Iran. But is there any discussion of sending that defense while Israel might then limit the scale or scope whatever retaliatory strike it is -- it is now planning against Iran or is anyone making that connection?

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Nobody has made that openly and plainly. But as you point out, it's easy to see. The U.S. has made it clear that it wants to consult with Israel on how it responds to the Iranian ballistic missile launches from the beginning of October and have a sense of how this will all play out. So, this at least the deployment of a THAAD, a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense System to Israel, at least in theory, gives the U.S. some leverage on these discussions and some consideration within Israel's own planning for this.

We've also reported that the Israeli security cabinet hasn't come to an end. Agreement or a final decision on how to respond to that Iranian ballistic missile barrage from earlier this month on October 1st.

Israel had been asking for this system for at least several weeks according to a U.S. defense official and a source familiar with the conversations. The defense official says it goes at least as far back as the Israeli strike that killed Hassan Nasrallah in late September.

So now it has this system there. It will add quality. It is a very capable anti-ballistic missile system, but also quantity, the number of ballistic missiles that Iran is capable of launching can simply overwhelmed Israel's own system to the U.S. adds to that.

As for the timing, we are all very much expecting that at some point, Israel will carry out its own response to the Iranian ballistic missile barrage, but they're clearly taking their time about this. And then Iran itself has vowed to respond on its own it. So, is a critical moment and the U.S. has made its commitment clear, it will stand by Israel's defense as the White House has said, it will do.

And, Jim, it's worth pointing out the U.S. doesn't have many of these systems. So to deploy it to one place, frankly means you don't have it somewhere else. So, this is very much a statement of where the U.S. sees the need and where the U.S. sees its own priorities at the moment no question.

SCIUTTO: No question. Oren Liebermann, thanks so much.

Here to discuss the state of this expanding war, retired Colonel Peter Mansoor, former aide to General David Petraeus during the Iraq war, a senior fellow now at the Mershon Center for International Security Studies.

Good to have you back.

Hezbollah has more military capacity than Hamas, but still both of them significant and you now have Israel fighting Hezbollah in the north, Hamas in the south as it has for more than a year now, it is carrying out strikes against the Houthis all the way in Yemen, more than 1,000 miles away, and now contemplating a large retaliatory strike against Iran.

Can Israel and how long can Israel carry out a war on four fronts? COL. PETER MANSOOR (RET.), FORMER AID TO GENERAL DAVID PETRAEUS:

Israel can, Israel clearly is on a full war footing. And I think what they are doing is sequencing the, these events. So the war in Gaza continues, but it is scaling down to more targeted strikes against identified Hamas positions. The war in southern Lebanon now, it takes precedence against Hezbollah. They've done a lot of decapitation of Hezbollah's leadership. And now they're seeking out arms caches, rank and file members, and so forth, in order to degrade its capacity.

And the war with Iran is one that is probably the most important, but I think Israel is being very cautious in terms of its response. It doesn't want a full blown escalation and two constant interchanges of ballistic missiles back-and-forth. But on the other hand, it can't just allow Iran to target Israeli territory without response.

SCIUTTO: Yeah.

MANSOOR: It's not like this war is limited to just proxy forces. So this is where the calculation comes in and the recent us deployment the THAAD system to Israel, which is part of that calculation.

SCIUTTO: So, sources have told CNN Israel would pause its strikes in Beirut at least amid what were described as understandings with the U.S. And as you know, there's been back-and-forth between Israel -- Israeli and U.S. officials as to how far Israel goes.

I mean, certainly in Gaza and Lebanon, but also against Iran. There's also some speculation and I've heard this even from inside the Pentagon, at the deployment of forces, U.S. forces in the region, in addition to these missile defenses back up Israel to such a degree before -- beyond defending it, that it might give it sort of an umbrella of cover if that's the right phrase or might embolden Israel to push farther in its attacks on Iran than the U.S might prefer.

[15:10:06]

Do you see that dynamic playing out?

MANSOOR: I see it a different way, perhaps. I think United States would rather have Israel not strike Iran's oil refineries and its energy facilities certainly does not want it to target its nuclear facilities but limited to retaliate to Iranian military targets. This would be sort of a tit-for-tat retaliatory strikes since around ballistic missiles targeted Israeli military facilities.

But if Iran retaliates again and hits Israeli civilian targets or broadens its approach. Then U.S. forces in the region can join in actually and coerce Iran to de-escalate.

SCIUTTO: Thirty-nine Iranian lawmakers. They signed a letter addressing the supreme national security pretty counsel there, appealing Iran to strengthen its defense by now, including nuclear weapons. By other words, taking the next step and formalizing its nuclear program. It has the material to do so that would be a strategic decision to move forward. U.S. officials have said there is no evidence Iran right now is

preparing for such a step. But I wonder, is it possible in your view that Iran might be more likely to do so, given the increasing threat from Israel, and Israeli consideration, it seems, striking its nuclear facilities, that unwittingly, in effect, the response could bring about the outcome, the -- certainly Israel, perhaps the region and the U.S. doesn't want, which would be a nuclear Iran?

MANSOOR: Well, I think if Israel targets Iranian nuclear facilities, Iran will go nuclear. But absent that occurrence, this is a card that Iran can only play once. And once it plays it in a different atmosphere, it's in a different universe at that point, and it's in a universe in which it will probably get severe sanctions against it beyond what is already in place. It'll get U.N. condemnation. It may get a military strike, including U.S. forces.

So I think these Iranian leadership would have to think long and hard before going that route. But if their nuclear program is in danger of being hit then they probably would take the step and produce a bomb.

Peter Mansoor, thanks so much. I appreciate you joining.

MANSOOR: Thanks, Jim.

SCIUTTO: Well, Israel's airstrike on the Al Aqsa hospital in Gaza was the seventh time the IDF targeted that same hospital just this year, at least four were killed, more than 40 injured by this strike. The scene simply horrific, people burned alive inside the hospital.

CNN's Nada Bashir reports, we do want to warn you, some of these images. They are disturbing.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): What once was a shelter for the displaced now ablaze, after a deadly airstrike by the Israeli military targeting a hospital complex in central Gaza, desperate attempts to quell the fire seemingly hopeless. Some of the footage from this devastating night is simply too harrowing to show, displaced civilians still alive engulfed in flames.

These smoldering structures are all that remain of the tents which have occupied the grounds of the Al Aqsa martyrs hospital throughout this past year of relentless war, several people were killed and dozens more badly injured.

As dawn breaks, the severity of this latest nightmare becomes clear. Little has been left on touched by the blaze many of those who survived the night were spared only by a matter of meters.

It was extremely difficult. The fire consumed people before it consumed anything else, Abu Yousef says. There were people in the midst of the fire that we couldn't pull out.

Nearby Oma Hamad (ph) gathers whatever belongings were not destroyed in the fire. The shoes of her daughter and granddaughter, both injured overnight, she says.

I quickly woke my daughters up. I kept chatting, wake up, awake up. The fire is above us. She says. We ran to the hospital. I saw people injured with shrapnel wounds people who are completely burned. My neighbors were killed, all burnt alive while they were sleeping.

The Israeli military has acknowledged responsibility for the strike, saying its forces were targeting a Hamas command and control center, they say was embedded within the hospital complex, adding that steps were taken to limit civilian harm.

[15:15:03]

But no evidence has been provided by the Israeli military to support these claims.

It was, however, known to the military that civilians had been sheltering on the grounds of the hospital complex for months, at least 5,000 people according to hospital officials.

Inside the hospital, another gut wrenching scene. These other victims of a different strike which targeted the Al-Mufti school in Nuseirat on Sunday. Among the bodies, little Yeman (ph). His grandmother, overcome with grief as she cradles her grandchild. Yeman is one of at least 22 people who were killed after Israeli forces struck the U.N.- run school, which had become a shelter for many.

Another sanctuary targeted in a war which has shown no mercy for so- called safe zones. Another name added to the growing list of more than 42,000 killed in just over a year, another reminder that it is civilians who continue to pay the highest price in Gaza.

Nada Bashir, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCIUTTO: When safe zones are not safe.

Well, still ahead, Vice President Harris and former President Trump take their fight over the battleground states to Pennsylvania, both campaigning in the Keystone State today. We're going to take you there next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCIUTTO: Welcome back.

The presidential election campaign is in its final weeks, with both candidates today campaigning in perhaps the most important state, Pennsylvania. Vice President Kamala Harris is soon speaking in Erie where she's rolling out new proposals specifically targeting a critical voting group, Black men.

Plus today, she spoke to journalist Roland Martin's about her opponent's rhetoric on race.

[15:20:01]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES & 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: When he was a landlord and would not rent to Black families, sued for it when he took out a full-page ad in "The New York Times" against those five teenagers, Black and Latino who are innocent saying they should be executed, the first Black president United States and he had birther lies. And now you look at Black immigrants, legal immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, and he gets on a debate stage and says they're eating their pets, come on, this man is dangerous.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: CNN White House reporter Priscilla Alvarez is traveling with the Harris campaign today.

She has more specifically on those new proposals.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Vice President Kamala Harris is trying to lock down her coalition and doubling down on Black voter outreach. That includes trying to fill the void when it comes to questions about her proposals especially on the economy since she win in November.

Now today, the vice president here in Pennsylvania will be unveiling her economic proposals, appealing, especially to black voters. That includes, for example, forgivable loans to entrepreneurs have up to $20,000, promoting apprenticeships and also legalizing recreational marijuana, among other measures.

Taken together, it's a sweeping proposal to, again, try to lock in those Black voters. Now, polls show that she has the majority of Black voters behind her. But the erosion of support is the reason that some of her advisers remain concerned, concerned, especially that they'll sit out the election or vote for her Republican rival, Donald Trump.

So in addition to her unveiling of those proposals today here in Pennsylvania, also head to Michigan tomorrow to participate in a radio town hall with Charlamagne Tha God, who has millions of listeners, many of whom are Black and later throughout the week, she will also be making additional stops in Michigan.

Now, of course, the other line of attack that were likely to hear from the voters vice president today and over the course of the week, is that former President Donald Trump is not being transparent by not participating, for example, and a "60 Minutes" interview as she did or releasing his medical records as she did this weekend. So the Vice President expected to also lean in on that over the course of the week.

But the focus certainly in this travel blitz lets over the course of the week to the blue wall states, which the campaign sees as one of the surest ways to victory and to 270 in November is the vice president doubling down with these proposals and again, trying to reach those voters who perhaps still remain unconvinced -- Jim.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCIUTTO: Thanks to Priscilla Alvarez.

Well, while Harris unveiled those new proposals, Trump is doubling down, tripling down quadrupling down on familiar lines, attacking migrants in particular with increasingly violent, though ultimately familiar rhetoric.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT & 2024 PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: She's imported an army of illegal alien gang members and migrant criminals from the dungeons all over the world. And she's resettled them into your communities to prey upon innocent American people. If Kamala gets four more years, the entire country will be turned into a migrant camp.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: Here's how he spoke to a female heckler this weekend at Coachella. That's reminiscent of 2016 rally, where he told a heckler, quote, he'd like to, quote, punch him in the face.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Back home to mommy. She goes back home to mommy. Was that you, darling? And then she gets the hell knocked out of her.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: Get the hell knocked out of her.

Let's go now to Kristen Holmes, who's with Trump in Pennsylvania.

Kristen, we've talked about this a lot. Women clearly a key voting group in this election, group it has moved away according to polls from Trumps in 2016. How does his campaign explain this language from the former president?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jim, I don't think that they actually think that they're going to get an enormous amount of women back voting for the former president. As you can see and Donald Trump has tried to make this plea for women over the last several weeks, saying that he would be their protector, how he doesn't understand why that messaging isn't landing with so many women.

We have seen a number of women turned off by not only Donald Trump, but also by his running mate, J.D. Vance, particularly when it came to those childless cat lady remarks, but he really talked to Donald Trump and his team. They don't seem to be seeking out the women vote as much as they're seeking out a different vote. And that is the low propensity voters. Those are voters in the middle

of the country who don't generally head to the polls. And many of them are going to be men. They believe that those people lean Republican and would vote for Donald Trump if they were to cast a ballot in November.

So a lot of this messaging is actually aimed at them, driving them out to the polls in November. Whether or not it's going to work, this is a very risky strategy. There's a reason that people often don't spend a lot of time focusing on people who don't vote because they are not going to vote.

[15:25:00]

However, the Trump team says this is going to pay off. But if you talk about his messaging, that darker rhetoric when it comes to immigration in particular, Donald Trump believes that that helped him win the election in 2016. And he also believed that it could help him win the election in 2024. So you don't expect him to pull back from that in any way instead, I believe hell be ramping it up in the coming days.

SCIUTTO: I want to talk for a moment about his travel schedule. In Pennsylvania today, it makes sense. It's a swing state. We've seen him a lot there, but a rally over the weekend in Coachella, California, he's going to do an event in Madison Square Garden in two weeks in New York City. Of course, deep in blue zones, a blue states.

Can you talk about how he, his campaign is balancing hitting the swing states and going after areas that might not typically be on his travel agenda?

HOLMES: Well, it really shouldn't be on the travel agenda at this point given the fact that there is almost zero percent chance he would ever win New York or California. But they believe two things. One is Donald Trump still wants to get the popular vote, which if you look at all the numbers, doesn't know if that's possible, but that would mean that he would want to drive out voters in blue states as well.

But the other part of it is the difference between a national media campaign and a localized media campaign. And at the end of the day, talking to his senior advisers, they believe that it doesn't really matter where Donald Trump is, that, that the message will get across. That national media will cover it, that it will be across the airwaves, that it will be cut and put on social media.

And again, to bring this back to those low propensity voters, part of the reason its hard to reach those voters is that they don't engage with politics in a typical way, meaning the Trump team is relying on things like podcasts, like YouTube streamers, like interviews with specific celebrities that are just on social media to try and reach those pockets of people.

So they believe that an event like Coachella, California, once its clipped, once its put out there on social media, could reach just as many people as they an event in Pennsylvania in a swing you say talking to voters. Again, all of this is an incredibly risky strategy. It's not something that hasn't been done before. However, obviously, well see if it pays off in November.

SCIUTTO: Kristen Holmes with the Trump campaign, thanks so much.

So with both candidates in Pennsylvania today, Harris hitting all three of the so-called blue wall states this week, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin.

I want to bring in the man who coined that term, blue wall, Ron Brownstein of "The Atlantic".

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Thanks.

SCIUTTO: And, Ron, good to have you on.

Let's talk first about Harris's particular focus on Black men. You spent a lot of time writing about the politics in this part of the country that those blue wall states, particularly those three. Is her message one that's likely to work in your view?

BROWNSTEIN: I thought what you were saying to Roland, our former CNN colleague, is probably more important than the policy. I mean, the idea of rolling out specific policies aimed at specific demographic groups at this point in the campaign, I think is probably of limiting us in terms of breaking through to them, important as a signal. But, you know, similar as when she talked about home health care, a significant policy idea last week on the new aimed at older women.

I think more important was her reminding those Black voters about everything else that comes with Trump beyond, their assumption that he is better on the economy. I think one of the most ominous trends for Democrats in the final weeks really has been going on for months, Jim, of this campaign is that Trump's retrospective job approval is rising both in swing-state polling like "The Wall Street Journal" poll last week and national polling like the NBC poll.

And what that says to me is that voters are primarily viewing him now through the lens of what they don't like about what's happened the last few years under Biden, principally inflation and the border and everything else, they didn't like about Trump when he was actually president all the other factors that kept his approval rating from ever reaching 50 percent while he was actually an office, those are fading in memory.

Harris has not really put a lot of emphasis on reminding voters about everything else that comes with him. But you saw in an interview with Roland Martin that she was doing a little more of that. And I think ultimately that is a more effective strategy to bring back wavering Black voters than necessarily saying I have a plan to help you start a business.

SCIUTTO: OK. So, let's talk about Trump's side of the ledger now. If polling among Black men is correct, we're witnessing really an unparalleled realignment in the Black vote and not insignificant move in the direction of a Republican candidate.

Do you find that shift credible on that scale? Or do you think the polling might be overstating it?

BROWNSTEIN: Yeah, on that scale is really the keyword. I mean, I think there's no question from the polling that today Trump is on track to run better than he did in 2020 among not only Black men, but also Latino men. And this has enormous consequences.

By the way, he's also running little better among Black and Latino women, although not as dramatically as among the men.

[15:30:00]

And there are a couple of factors in this. I mean, the biggest one is that these voters are extremely discontented over the results they've experienced in the economy under Biden. Biden's had a lot of successes, job market's good, and historic surge of investment in domestic manufacturing, stock market is up.

But for these voters and for many Americans, all of that is overshadowed by the increase in the cost of living. When "The New York Times"/Siena asked voters whether Trumps policies have made them better off, or whether Biden's policies have made them better off. The numbers were pretty daunting for him, even for Biden and Democrats, even among Black and Latino voters.

So I think there's definitely going to be some game there on both fronts. The question is whether it is as much as these are now saying. And I think that were largely depend on whether Harris can introduce into the debate in the final weeks, all the other elements of the Trump presidency, that would give these voters pause.

For example, I mean, Trump is talking about requiring every police department in the country as a condition of getting federal law enforcement dollars to implement stop and frisk, which could mean millions more police stops primarily, Black and Latino men. No Democrat has really told these voters that. And, you know, the question, would that make a difference, given her economic concern. We don't know, but they're not hearing it yet. That's for sure.

SCIUTTO: Yeah. I mean, awareness has to be a factor at this point.

Ron Brownstein, thanks so much. I know we're going to have you back again before election day.

BROWNSTEIN: Yeah. Thanks for having me.

SCIUTTO: Coming up, Iran says it is ready for war and ready for peace as it braces for Israel's response to its barrage of missiles launched two weeks ago. Where the conflict stands right now, we're going to take closer look, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:35:07]

SCIUTTO: Welcome back. The Middle East is bracing for a potential even likely Israeli attack

on Iran, with the Iranian foreign minister now saying indirect talks between his country and the U.S. have been paused.

CNN's Fred Pleitgen joins me now from Tehran.

Fred, I wonder what you're finding there. It's good to have you on the ground.

Is it correct to say that the people in the government are bracing for a significant escalation in this war?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, I think they certainly are bracing for that. At the same time, we do see a significant escalation also on the part of the rhetoric that we're hearing from Iran, me just speaking about there about the foreign minister, he said that while he was in Oman today, he said that those indirect talks that are actually mediated by Oman are currently on hold because the Iranians simply right now believed is not the time for them and they see until the situation here in the Middle East calms down, it won't be the time for them.

At the same time, several government ministers also saying that if Israel strikes Iran, that the Iranians are definitely going to strike back. And the Iranians are also saying that their support of Hezbollah is not up for debate. And in fact is creasing. That's also something we saw on the ground here in Tehran.

Here's what we witnessed.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PLEITGEN (voice-over): He will rise up like a storm, the children's choir sings at a Tehran donation drive for Lebanon and for Iran's ally, Hezbollah.

Nargis Tikya (ph) gave several pieces of jewelry to support what she called an existential battle.

This is the duty of a human being in this critical situation, she says, in the fight of truth versus falsehood. And this is the command of my supreme leader.

"Death to Israel" chants transcending the event named Golden Empathy, aimed at raising funds to help civilians in Lebanon, but also the organizer says to beat Israel.

Women love their gold jewelry, he says, but they are here to donate their necklaces to break the neck of the enemy.

As Israel continues to pound Lebanon with missile strikes, going after Hezbollah fighters and leaders, Iran is vowing not to back down.

The speaker of Iran's parliament, even piloting an Iranian government jet into Beirut before touring areas heavily damaged by Israeli strikes. We carry the message from the supreme leader to the Lebanese people, he said, with the assurances that in these difficult conditions, the Islamic Republic of Iran shall stand with Lebanon's nation, and the resistance in all areas. This as Iran braces for Israel's possible retaliation for Tehran's massive ballistic missile attack on October 1st.

Iran's foreign minister warning the U.S. against deploying missile interceptor systems to Israel and the threat of a major regional war.

We're prepared for any kind of circumstances, he said. We're ready for war, but were also ready for peace. This is the definitive stance of the Islamic Republic.

A stance they want to show that also involves mobilizing resources from Iran's population.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCIUTTO: As you can see, a lot going on here in Tehran, but there was also something else that that speaker of Iran's parliament said in Beirut that really caught our eyes and our ears. He said that he was warning countries here in this region, Jim, not to allow Israel to use their airspace or potential strikes against Iran. He said that the negative consequences for those countries again.

The Iranians right now, very bullish talk and saying that they will definitely hit back Israel if Israel strikes them, Jim.

SCIUTTO: The cycle continues. Fred Pleitgen in Tehran, thank you.

Joining me now is Holly Dagres, senior fellow and IranSource editor with the Atlantic Council.

Good to have you on.

Listen, this cycle is familiar. I mean, it's familiar on every front of this war, you know, re-establishing deterrence, you know, one side strikes, the other has to retaliate.

And listen, I was there for the Iranian missile attack on Israel. It was unnerving to say the least. You understand Israel's desire to strike back.

But where does it stand today? And is there any way that that's cycle is interrupted?

HOLLY DAGRES, SENIOR FELLOW AND IRANSOURCE EDITOR, ATLANTIC COUNCIL: Well, Jim, thanks for having me on the program. I think one of the things is that the optics here is that when Iran fired against Israel on October 1st, was that these strikes were, didn't hit their targets. They were irrelevant.

But Iran doesn't see it this way. The Islamic Republic actually sees it as winning this war because it is the only country in the region that's able to directly fire against Israel. And so, when they're talking about hitting back, I think that they're talking about this rhetoric out loud, but behind scenes, there's bated breath that it will be a retaliation like we saw on April where its in a way can be swept under the rug and that they don't have to feel the need to respond back.

SCIUTTO: Allow both sides to sort of say they came out winders in effect.

[15:40:04]

The IAEA estimates that Iran has sufficient material to produce three nuclear weapons that really they're just a strategic decision away from turning the screw driver as folks will say, that to have a nuclear weapon, and we did notice that 39 lawmakers signed a letter addressing the supreme national security council saying now is the time.

Is it possible the threat to strike Iran's nuclear sites might lead Iran to take the step towards a nuclear weapon, calculating that that is their only way to survive?

DAGRES: Well, that is definitely the thinking in Washington. I think that's why the Biden administration has been telling the Israelis, hey, hands-off the nuclear program because one of the main reasons is that the Israelis don't have the right bombs to actually take out Iran's nuclear facilities and hold in the whole.

The bulletin of atomic scientists actually had put out a report in April that said that the U.S. only has those capabilities, so they wouldn't be able to slow it down. But one of the big threats the Iranians have made is that they will pull out of NPT treaty. And we've also separately been seeing for the past year, Iranian officials actually threatening or even talking about going all the way with their nuclear program, even before all of this was going down.

SCIUTTO: If that were to happen, would -- what other powers in the region would be likely to take the same step. There's -- there's a lot of talk that Saudi Arabia might then calculate, they need to have nuclear weapons. It would that be what we see others follow in effect if Iran were to take that step?

DAGRES: That's definitely the theory that holds, but I think one of the key factors this is how do we deter Iran in this current state?

We have to remember, in 2015, we had a nuclear deal called the joint comprehensive plan of action. And the Trump administration withdrew from that deal without actually having any, sort of -- or place something to replace it. And it's kind of put us in the conundrum we are and now where we don't have any ability to the hold Iran accountable for its nuclear program.

SCIUTTO: Listen, I mean, that's often lost in this conversation, whatever folks think of that deal, while that deal was in place, Iran was perhaps months away from having the material necessary to move on to a nuclear bomb. Now, they're perhaps at best weeks away. I wonder what your view is of

Iran's power right now given that Hezbollah has been struck, so decisively. I think we could say reasonably with the leadership from top to bottom struck many of them eliminated, many of their weapons caches eliminated. Is Iran -- is Iran's ability to strike Israel actually reduced? Has Israel successfully reduced that, that strike capability, not just by weakening Hezbollah, but also by an in each of these Iranian ballistic missile attacks being able to shoot down the vast majority of them before they hit their targets.

DAGRES: Well, it hearkens back to what I was saying earlier. I would say that Iran is winning the propaganda war at the very least -- yes, Israel has been able to I would say name its crown jewel proxy Hezbollah in Lebanon. We've seen what's been happening in the Gaza strip with Hamas and Palestinian Islamic jihad.

But at the end of the day, in the eyes of the Islamic Republic, they think that they're winning. Israel is internationally condemned. There's divisions within Israeli society with protests every day in Tel Aviv. And so when they talk about the destruction of Israel, it isn't necessarily with a bomb that would take out a city, but its actually with the facts that these -- these different fissions in the Israeli society and what's been happening on an international front is actually helping with the destruction of Israel.

And in their mind, when it gets to that point, Israel were replaced with Palestine.

SCIUTTO: Before we go, you talk about divisions within Israel. Is it correct to say that there are divisions inside Iran, not just regarding the leadership because I know that the leadership as we saw through the protests through the last several years, there are a lot of folks who don't like their government there. But when it comes to Israel -- is there a broad public support for striking Israel for standing up to Israel, however, you want to describe it.

DAGRES: Well, as you noted, the Woman Life Freedom uprising was an anti-regime protests. Iranians that were in the streets were demanding that the Islamic Republic be done.

SCIUTTO: With a great risk to themselves.

DAGRES: And that doesn't mean that has gone on a way that sentiment, I know that in Iran, there -- there's 90 million people. I can't speak for all of them, but there's a diverse views. Pro-regime of Iranians obviously support what the governments doing. But on the ground, there's a lot of war -- worry about a bloody war, like the 1980s Iraq.

But then there's also a Iranians that want the Islamic Republic to go at all cost. There was a viral hashtag, (INAUDIBLE), war is very scary, but the Islamic Republic has been at war with its people for more than four decades.

So there's this hope that maybe, just maybe this Islamic Republic will be gone.

SCIUTTO: Collapsed under the weight of this.

[15:45:02]

DAGRES: Yes.

SCIUTTO: Well, we know you'll be watching closely.

Holly Dagres, thanks so much for joining us.

And coming up, overseas as well, how Taiwan is responding to new Chinese military drills involving warships and fighter jets launched all around the self-governing island.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:48:25]

SCIUTTO: Taiwan is condemning the latest round of Chinese military drills around the island, calling them, quote, an unreasonable provocation. Beijing is deploying warships, fighter jets around Taiwan as a warning to what it calls separatist acts.

Our Will Ripley has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WILL RIPLEY, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Here in the Taiwanese capital, there is certainly no palpable sense of panic. Most people just going about their daily lives, even as leaders condemn this latest round of People's Liberation Army drills.

China pointing to last week's speech by Taiwan President Lai Ching-te as the reason for launching these drills. Although experts say they were probably just combing through his speech, looking for any line that they could use as an excuse, frankly, to launch yet another round of military exercises. They did the same thing after Taiwan's presidential inauguration back in May of this year. Those drills by Taiwanese estimates cost China millions of dollars. They say China spent billions of dollars during the whole year of 2023 staging military drills near Taiwan.

So people around here are certainly used to this in the scheme of things. These drills are not as large or intense as of yet as previous drills that we've seen, even though China did dispatch one of their aircraft carriers off the east coast of Taiwan, but analysts say these exercises are still very dangerous and problematic, and a reason for Taiwan and the world to be concerned.

CHEN MING-CHI, CENTER FOR CONTEMPORARY CHINA NATIONAL TSINGHUA UNIVERSITY: I think they want to impose a new normal they are approaching closer and closer. So he's highly dangerous. That will leave us a very short response time.

WEN-TI SUNG, GLOBAL CHINA HUB, ATLANTIC COUNCIL: Beijing definitely wants a show of force, but it doesn't want this show of force to increase so much in intensity or quality (ph) so as to almost forced the hand of American presidential candidates to come up with much more tougher line posture against Beijing.

[15:50:15]

RIPLEY: For its part, the U.S. is warning that these military drills have the potential to ratchet up tensions in this region. China's coast guard also involved they put out a map on Chinese state media showing those red blocks, the different locations around Taiwan where the drills are taking place, also at Taiwan's outlying Matsu islands.

And what experts say is that this is intended to show Taiwan what a blockade could look like. Of course, a blockade analysts say could be a precursor to an invasion. Taiwan relies very heavily on imports of, among others, things, coal to generate energy. So a blockade could very quickly turn the lights off here for a lot of people.

And yet regular folks who are aware of these drills say this, has been happening. They're used to it, and they're going on with their daily lives.

TANG WEI-CHENG, TAIPEI RESIDENT: If they actually attack, we'll just have to deal with it. Hopefully, they won't.

HSU PENG-SHENG, TAIPEI RESIDENT: I think no matter what happens, peace is the most important thing.

RIPLEY: Keeping the peace is certainly a priority of a lot of folks around here. And these drills, while provocative, experts say aren't really moving the needle any closer towards an actual armed confrontation.

Will Ripley, CNN, Taipei.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCIUTTO: Coming up next, an exclusive look at how Washington's newest residents are making their move from China.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCIUTTO: Two giant pandas are now on the move from southwestern China to hear the U.S. Capitol. CNN is the only U.S. media there.

Our David Culver got exclusive firsthand look at the bilateral effort to keep panda diplomacy alive.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID CULVER, CNN SENIOR U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We've traveled here to Sichuan, China, for a rare look at preparing these pandas for their very long journey.

We're in and around the city of Chengdu. It's known for spicy hot pot, its mountainous landscape, and giant pandas.

We're actually going to go meet now with some of the folks from the Smithsonian National Zoo from D.C. who are flown here, and are part of that transition team to bring Bao Li and Qing Bao back to the U.S.

We can't go back there. But that's where Bao Li and Qing Bao are.

[15:55:01]

They're in quarantine. And those you saw there were the zookeepers from the National Zoo, as well as some caretakers from China.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So they both have pretty different personalities. Bao Li has a huge personality, so he's very vocal. He's very energetic when he's always kind of like up doing something. Qing Bao is the polar opposite. She can be almost always found in a tree or sleeping on her climbing structure.

RIPLEY: The panda pair will fill a void at the Smithsonian's National Zoo in Washington, D.C.

For the past 11 months, the panda exhibit has sat empty. Now as part of the terms of this Smithsonian's exchange program with China, late last year, the zoo's three pandas were sent back here to Chengdu.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nothing people realize how (INAUDIBLE).

RIPLEY: When you're here, I mean, in this setting, what stood out to you?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Here, the sheer number of pandas.

RIPLEY: It's crazy, right?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's crazy.

RIPLEY: You turn here and you're like, oh, wait, you can go there. You can go there and nowhere else do we have something like this.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nowhere else in the scenery is obviously beautiful and the commitment.

RIPLEY: Pandas were on the brink of extinction. But in recent years, they've moved from endangered to vulnerable. But there's still more work to go.

The panda exchange, also called panda diplomacy, dates back more than 50 years now, when China gifted two pandas to the U.S. following President Nixon's historic visit.

Today, they're given on loan and they are a strategic diplomatic tool, serving as ambassadors of hope and spreading global goodwill.

Somehow pandas are able to unite nations, something we could use about right now.

David Culver, CNN, Chengdu, China.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SCIUTTO: Thanks so much for joining me today. I'm Jim Sciutto in Washington, where those pandas are headed.

"QUEST MEANS BUSINESS" is up next.