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Israel Targets Nuclear Sites, Top Commanders In Iran; Iran Launches More Than 100 Drones At Israel. Israel Strikes Iran's Nuclear Facilities, Military Leaders; Crews Scour Wreckage, Investigate Cause of Air India Crash; L.A. Mayor Says Downtown Los Angeles Curfew Will Continue. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired June 13, 2025 - 01:00   ET

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

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN Breaking News.

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all over the world. I'm Jim Sciutto in New York. Iran is making clear, making it clear retaliation will be coming following a barrage of Israeli airstrikes that it continue. Iran's supreme leader is pledging severe punishment after a wave of Israeli attacks across the country.

Israel says it went after dozens of targets related to Iran's nuclear program, its ballistic missile program, as well as its main nuclear enrichment facility engulfed in smoke and flames after these attacks. Some of Iran's top military leaders also in the crosshairs of these strikes.

A short time ago, Iranian state television said the chief of staff of Iran's armed forces was killed along with the commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps. Washington is making it clear that Israel acted on its own and that the U.S. was not involved in these strikes.

In Israel, people are now rushing to stock up on food amid fears Iranian retaliation could come at any time. The country is now under a state of emergency and the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu says the strikes on Iran are by no means over.

The prime minister spoke just after the strike, saying that Iran has made major strides in its nuclear program and that according to Netanyahu, that became a threat to Israel's very existence.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: In recent years, Iran has produced enough highly enriched uranium for nine atom bombs, nine. In recent months, Iran has taken steps to that it has never taken before, steps to weaponize this enriched uranium. And if not stopped, Iran could produce a nuclear weapon in a very short time. It could be a year. It could be within a few months, less than a year. This is a clear and present danger to Israel's very survival.

Eighty years ago, the Jewish people were the victims of a holocaust perpetrated by the Nazi regiment. Today, the Jewish state refuses to be a victim of a nuclear holocaust perpetrated by the Iranian regime. Now, as prime minister, I've made it clear time and Israel will never allow those who call for our annihilation to develop the means to achieve that goal. Tonight, Israel backs those words with action. We struck at the heart of Iran's nuclear enrichment program.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: Paula Hancocks joins us now from Abu Dhabi. And I wonder, Paula's morning breaks in the region, what the reaction is to these attacks and what the concerns are there about the war expanding.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jim, there are great concerns that this could lead to a wider escalation of in the region itself. We've heard very little response so far. Jordan is one of them who has made it clear it doesn't want its airspace being used for any of what is has happened or what potentially will happen in any Iranian retaliation.

Now, Iran, through its supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has made very clear that there will be retaliation. He's warned that there will be severe punishment for the attacks. And we've heard from the Foreign Ministry in Tehran that they hold the U.S. responsible for this as well, saying that it is difficult to believe that Israel could have carried this out without the coordination and authorization from the United states.

Now, the U.S. for its part, has made clear that this was a unilateral action from Israel. We heard from the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, saying that this was a unilateral action with no U.S. involvement, no U.S. assistance. But clearly that's not the way that Tehran is going to see it.

So at this point, airspace in a number of countries is closed. As we heard from the Israeli prime minister, he's made it very clear that this isn't over, that this is an action, an operation, as he calls it, that will last a number of days.

[01:05:03]

We've heard from the Israeli military that they've called up tens of thousands of soldiers to prepare for what's next. Israel is in a state of emergency. Its people have been told to take shelter in the best way possible. So certainly this is expected to last some time. But of course the concern is that this will bring other countries in the region into what has happened so far.

Now it's not just the nuclear facilities that Iran -- that Israel has targeted at this point. It's also the long range missile capabilities, clearly believing that it can do some damage or at least prevent some of that retaliation coming back to Israel. Remember in October of last year we saw Tehran firing almost 200 missiles and drones at Israel. The large majority of them were intercepted, but some of them did get

through. So of course the question now is what will that retaliation look like? We've heard from Tehran that it will be severe punishment. We know that part of the military leadership in Tehran has been decapitated. We know that there has been the Mohammad Bagheri, for example, he's the top military official within Iran itself, the chief of staff of the armed forces. He has been assassinated, according to officials and also the head of the, the IRGC.

So, clearly Israel is trying to prevent the ability of Tehran to be able to retaliate. But they certainly have far more capability than Israel is able to take out in just these short strikes. But as Israel has said, they will be going for some days.

SCIUTTO: Well, I was in Tel Aviv when Iran last struck Israel in October. And while most of those missiles and drones were intercepted, some did get through Israeli air and missile defenses. Paula Hancocks in Abu Dhabi, thanks so much.

Joining us now for more perspective from the region, Mehran Kamrava. He's professor of government at Georgetown University, Qatar. Thanks so much for joining us, Mehran.

MEHRAN KAMRAVA, PROFESSOR OF GOVERNMENT, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY, QATAR: Thank you. Thank you.

SCIUTTO: First, this is an attack that many have been expecting, perhaps dreading for some time. Would Israel take the step of attacking Iran's nuclear program? What appears to be happening is an even broader attack because attacks on nuclear facilities, missile installations, military installations, but also leaders, military leaders. What is your read as to the ultimate objective of this air campaign?

KAMRAVA: The ultimate objective appears to have been to hit Iran's military leadership as well as a good number of Iranian nuclear scientists. And that's why what we're seeing is attacks, unprecedented attacks in residential neighborhoods. A number of Iranian buildings, residential buildings and residential compounds and towers have been hit in densely populated areas of Tehran. And this is unprecedented.

It is a major escalation. And the Iranians are saying this is an open declaration of war on the Iranian people, not just on the Iranian state and the Iranian leadership. So the scale of this attack is unprecedented and, frankly, quite surprising.

SCIUTTO: When you speak to Israeli leaders, and I spoke to the Israeli ambassador to the U.N., I spoke to the former head of Israeli military intelligence, and you see the public comments from the Israeli prime minister. They are expressing confidence in their capability to do lasting damage to Iran's nuclear program.

And as you know, the thinking had been that Israel could do only limited damage without significant assistance from the U.S. which the U.S. says it is not giving. Israeli leaders seem to be saying we had capabilities you weren't aware of. Do you find that confidence credible?

KAMRAVA: Well, if they weren't confident of a measure of success, I don't think they would have undertaken an attack of this scale. So there appears to be a fair amount of confidence among Israeli military leaderships in their capabilities, in their intelligence on the ground intelligence and knowledge of Iranian nuclear facilities where scientists and military commanders live.

[01:10:03]

But I think the flip side of that is also true because I think there is also a fair amount of confidence among Iranian military leaders of their ability to inflict meaningful damage, if not on equal par, but inflict some damage to Israel that would be painful for the Israeli leadership to bear.

SCIUTTO: Can this war, if it's right to use that word already, can this conflict and this campaign and the effects of it be contained? Is it containable?

KAMRAVA: You know, I don't think anyone other than Netanyahu wants an escalation of this conflict. Certainly we've seen from Iranian behavior in the past that they have said they'll engage in proportionate response the way they see it. So I don't think they want, and they had wanted an escalation up until this point.

How they will react and whether they will indeed begin to hit American military targets that are spread throughout the region, including in Qatar, where I live, is to be seen. I think we have to wait and see how this situation evolves over the next couple of days.

SCIUTTO: We do. It's a dangerous time, no question. Mehran Kamrava, we do appreciate you joining.

KAMRAVA: Thank you very much.

SCIUTTO: And we will have more on our breaking news just ahead. Iran's supreme leader says his country will strike back after Israel's ongoing attacks. We're going to get some analysis of Iran's military capabilities next.

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SCIUTTO: The U.N. Nuclear watchdog says it is closely monitoring the situation in Iran after Israel launched ongoing attacks against several key Iranian targets, including the Natanz nuclear enrichment facility. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Operation Rising Lion, as it's been named, is aimed at, quote, rolling back the Iranian threat to Israel's very survival.

Iranian media reports the strikes killed the leader of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps seen there, along with the chief of staff of its armed forces and several top Iranian nuclear scientists. Analysts warn that Israel's attacks on Iran will likely trigger a massive retaliation by Iranian forces, which has the danger of escalating into a regional war. CNN's Jeremy Diamond joins us now from New York. And this is an outcome that had been feared for some time. And here we are.

Israel has launched quite extensive, ambitious attacks on a number of targets across Iran and not just nuclear facilities, but the leaders of its key military organizations. And I just wonder, you know, given your time in the region, how the region is reacting now and how far they fear this might go.

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Yes. I mean, any one of these, you know, targeted killings would be major headlines in and of themselves. Right. I mean, you're talking about the chief of staff of the Iranian armed forces, the head of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps. I mean, either one of those would be a major moment and would also probably prompt Iranian retaliation.

And we are already starting to get now some insight, actually, Jim, into what that retaliation will look like. The Israeli military spokesman, General Effie Dufrin, just spoke not long ago, and he said that there are over 100 drones that Iran has fired from its territory towards Israeli territory and that Israeli air defenses are readying to try and intercept those threats. We know from the other times that Iran has used drones against Israel that will likely take several hours before they actually reach Israeli airspace.

And the key question now is, what are the efforts being made, not just by Israel, but by the United States and also by other countries in the region, both countries that have formal relations with Israel and those that do not. What efforts will they make to help Israel intercept those drones that are now headed for Israel?

We know in the past Israel has gotten a lot of support from a regional coalition to not only intercept, you know, the actual interception of those drones and missiles, but also the intelligence, the radar signals that have been provided by other countries in the region as well. But we are now getting, you know, a first sense of the Iranian retaliation for this.

And again, as the Israelis are saying, that this will not just be a one day operation, that there will be, you know, likely several more days of airstrikes ahead that also could likely mean days of Iranian retaliation and a very, very dangerous tit for tat in a region that is already a tinderbox.

SCIUTTO: Yes, we're now hearing more than 100 drones launched. And to your point, those are far slower than ballistic missiles. And when is when Iran has struck Israel in the past, they've also used a large number of ballistic missiles and much less warning time in those cases.

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Can you describe, given your own experience of being in Israel when those barrages come, what the people of Israel are doing right now to prepare for that expected and continuing retaliation? DIAMOND: Well, already the way in which Israel is preparing the public

for this moment is different from the previous rounds of Iranian attacks against Israel. The first sign was that shortly after Israel carried out these strikes in Iran, sirens actually sounded across Israel. And these were not sirens warning of any incoming in that moment, but they were sirens to awaken the Israeli public, you know, at about three in the morning so that they would get on their phones and see what was going on and then be aware of this potential for some kind of Iranian retaliation.

And so make no doubt about it, some Israelis are very much staying in their bomb shelters, probably stayed there overnight, may stay there today, and may stay there for days on end. Something that the Israeli Prime Minister also sought to prepare the public for, to prepare to hunker down effectively for days on end, and that this would be a very difficult days ahead.

But also, you know, expressing confidence that this was a necessary step. And already we are seeing that these -- this first round of airstrikes does seem to have been very successful from the Israeli point of view. Not only given that list of high profile senior Iranian officials who've been killed, but also, of course, the strikes on some of these nuclear facilities. The fact that the Mossad, Israel's intelligence service, also carried out operations inside Iran against Iranian missile and air defense assets. The Israelis are bringing a lot to bear here. And the question now is how far will they go? How far can they go?

You know, as Israeli sources are telling me, that the goal here is to continue these strikes until the threat of Iran's new nuclear program has been eliminated. There are also major questions about whether that is something the Israelis can accomplish on their own, particularly given, you know, Iranian nuclear sites that are deep, deep underground and which many analysts don't believe the Israelis can reach without the assistance of these massive American bunker busting bombs which the U.S. has not yet provided to Israel.

SCIUTTO: Yes, the question has been delay rather than destroy, right? I mean, is that as far as military strikes can go. I wonder, given that this -- the possibility of Israeli strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities has been out there for some time. Is there large public support in Israel for such attacks?

DIAMOND: There certainly is a recognition within Israel that Iran is kind of the number one threat, that it is, as many Israeli officials tonight have been describing to us, an existential threat to Israel. You know, the public has been mixed on this notion of any preemptive strikes against Iran. And it is important to note that as tens of thousands of Israeli reservists are now being called up to prepare for a range of scenarios here, this is also a country that is increasingly fatigued by the multi front war that it is already in. And now the Israeli government led by Prime Minister Netanyahu very much opening the biggest front of them all with a lot of uncertainty about where things will go.

But it is important to remember, Jim, that Prime Minister Netanyahu has always made clear in private and in public that the Iranian nuclear threat was his number one concern and also the number one item that he wants on his legacy, that he will have been the prime minister to eradicate that threat. And tonight he seems to have taken the biggest, his biggest move yet towards achieving that end.

SCIUTTO: Indeed, though we certainly don't know yet the extent of the damage to the program. CNN's Jeremy Diamond in New York, thanks so much.

Well, Israel strikes on Iran, plunging the Middle East into yet more uncertainty. We're going to speak live next with an expert about the potential for escalation in the region. Please do stay with us.

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SCIUTTO: Let's get to the latest on our breaking news this hour. Israel's military says Iran has now launched more than 100 drones at Israel. This in retaliation for ongoing Israeli strikes on Iran. Israel has attacked Iran's nuclear and military facilities. It's also targeted key military personnel, killing several of them.

Iran's main uranium enrichment site in Natanz was seen engulfed in flames, thick plumes of smoke rising as you see there. An Israeli security source said top military leaders and nuclear scientists were targeted in the strikes.

Iranian state media said the commander in chief of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard and the chief of staff of its armed forces were both killed. Israel targeted dozens of sites across the country, focusing not just on nuclear facilities, but also long range weapons, missile installations as well.

[01:30:00]

The attacks come just a few days before Iran was scheduled to resume talks with the U.S. on a potential nuclear deal. It's not clear now and would be quite understandable if they didn't -- if the talks will go ahead, Israel is bracing for retaliation, its military calling up tens of thousands of soldiers.

Iran's Supreme Leader says the country will strike back. In a statement released by Iranian state media, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei says Israel will face severe punishment. Khamenei said, quote, "With this crime, the Zionist regime has prepared bitter and painful fate for itself and it will certainly receive it."

Fred Pleitgen joins us now live from Berlin.

And I wonder, Fred, if you could put into context the significance of these killings that are part of these strikes? The head of the Revolutionary Guard Corps, the -- basically the Iranian equivalent of the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff.

I mean, I remember when in his first administration, President Trump ordered a strike that took out a senior Iranian general. That strike alone was quite significant. Now we're seeing a series of them all in the span of hours.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Jim. And the Iranians acknowledging that several of their top military commanders were killed, also saying that several nuclear scientists were also killed as well. And saying that there was damage to residential areas and, of course, military areas as well. So certainly significant round of strikes.

But you're absolutely right. The killings, especially of these senior officers, these senior military commanders, certainly a blow for the Iranians.

Hossein Salami, of course, one of the most powerful people, by all accounts, in the entire Middle East. The Revolutionary Guard, the elite wing of Iran's military, but then also not only for defense of Iran, but then also for foreign military operations as well.

If you look at, for instance, the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Quds force which conducts those foreign military operations by the Iranians. So that alone certainly a blow to the Iranians.

Mohammad Bagheri also, he's the chief of the of the Iranian general staff, as you noted, and also a senior commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. So that alone is certainly very difficult for the Iranians.

But at the same time, one of the things that we have seen in the past and one of the things that the Iranians, if you will, pride themselves on, is that they do have successions in place. They do have the capability to replenish those ranks. And certainly they say have the retaliatory operations still fairly with a chain of command, if you will, that is still in place that is not damaged by the fact that people at the top are taken out.

And one of the things that the Iranians have also acknowledged just over the past couple of minutes, Jim, is that Ali Shamkhani, who was one of the senior advisors to Iran's Supreme Leader, has also been killed in the strike. So this is definitely very broad round of strikes on military targets, but also really targeting the senior leadership, not just of the military but nuclear scientists as well.

And that definitely is something that the Iranians acknowledge is a blow to them, but also where they say that retaliation is going to take place. You mentioned some of the things that the Supreme Leader has said.

Of course, we've been speaking to senior Iranian officials over the past couple of days who have been telling us that the Iranians have already put in place a list, as they put it, of possible Israeli targets. If strikes took place on Iranian territory, that they were then going to work off, including the Iranians had said Israeli nuclear facilities, clandestine, as they put it, nuclear facilities of the Israelis. So certainly the Iranians are saying those strikes will take place.

And in the last couple of minutes, of course, we have heard that the Israelis also saying that they believe Iranian retaliation is already underway with more than 100 drones apparently launched by the Iranians, even though it's unclear where exactly those drones are, how long exactly those drones would take to actually reach Israeli territory, Jim.

SCIUTTO: Fred, Ali Shamkhani, was he involved in the nuclear talks, to your knowledge, with the U.S.?

PLEITGEN: Yes. Yes, I think he was -- obviously not directly involved in the nuclear talks, but he was certainly someone who was a senior and very important figure in those nuclear talks, and definitely someone who was also set out for the communication on the Iranian side.

It was Ali Shamkhani who over the past, really over the past couple of weeks, time and again spoke on the Iranian side of what exactly the Iranians want out of these nuclear talks. What exactly the Iranians were -- able were willing to give in these nuclear talks? He was, for instance, one of the people who said, look, if this is about Iran not having a nuclear weapon, the Iranians are saying that's perfectly fine with them because they don't seek a nuclear weapon. He's also someone who said that, of course, inspections is something that would have been possible.

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PLEITGEN: But the Iranians, of course, from the get go, had been saying that they wanted to hang on to nuclear enrichment. That that was a right that they feel that they have. He's certainly someone who was very important and very senior in that process.

But again, also, if you look in the surroundings, if you will, of Iran's leadership, not just the military leadership, but also the leadership around Iran's Supreme Leader and the ministries, all of them also have successions in place as well.

The Supreme Leader, of course, has many advisers whom he speaks to. Many people also who are in that inner circle. And Ali Shamkhani is someone who really, over the past years, I've actually met him a couple of times, in the past years, has been very important in the Iranian leadership, has been very important at mapping out policies as well.

But again, also someone who, of course will be replaced at some point in time in the not-too-distant future. But yes, he was definitely also involved in that process as far as the Supreme Leader is concerned, because one of the things that we have to keep in mind is that nothing in Iran happens without the Supreme Leader giving his blessing.

So the talks that are going on right now between the U.S. and Iran, which of course, are led by Iran's foreign ministry. Nevertheless, anything the Iranians sign off to there will have to be will have to get the blessing of the Supreme Leader, who then, of course, talks to those around him who advise him on which way possibly to go and what Iran is willing to give and, of course, also what Iran wants in return as well, Jim.

SCIUTTO: Indeed. Fred Pleitgen in Berlin, thanks so much for joining.

Well, the Israeli prime minister has made clear this is just the beginning of Israel's strikes on Iran. He had no choice but to launch the attack.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: I want to assure the civilized world we will not let the world's most dangerous regime get the world's most dangerous weapons. And Iran plans to give those weapons, nuclear weapons, to its terrorist proxies. That would make the nightmare of nuclear terrorism all too real.

The increasing range of Iran's ballistic missiles would bring that nuclear nightmare to the cities of Europe, and eventually to America.

Remember, Iran calls Israel the Small Satan. It calls America the Great Satan. And this is why for decades, it's led millions in the chants of "Death to Israel" and "Death to America".

Today, Israel is responding to those genocidal calls with action and with a call of our own. Long live Israel and long live America. Our action will help make the world a much safer place.

I want to thank President Trump for his leadership in confronting Iran's nuclear weapons program. He has made clear time and again that Iran cannot have a nuclear enrichment program.

Today, it is clear that Iran is just buying for time. It refuses to agree to this basic requirement of peaceful nations. That is why we have no choice but to act and act now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: Joining me now is historian, author and contributing writer for "The Atlantic", Arash Azizi, joining us from Boston. Thanks so much for taking the time tonight.

ARASH AZIZI, CONTRIBUTING WRITER, THE ATLANTIC: Thank you. It's great to be with you.

SCIUTTO: Tell us first your reaction to these strikes, the scale of the strikes, and the objective of the strikes as far as you can tell.

AZIZI: These are really scary times in many ways. These are the most important attacks on Iranian territory since the 1980s. The extent of them are unclear yet. It's very clear that Israel is not going to finish just here.

Iran is already retaliating Of course. Israel is going to continue. It's not clear what's the Extent of its designs. I should say that I give it, you know, not a huge chance, but at least a possibility that Israel actually is serious about wanting to achieve some sort of a political Change in Iran.

It could be, for example, that it hopes by killing these high-ranking military leaders, that it would be an important reshuffle at the top, that there would be some important strategic shift In Iran's policy.

It might also be that, given that Israel has such a really intelligence command in Iran, it might be that its preparing some sort of a covert action at top.

But I mean that's a bit of a speculation. But it's very clear that it has damaged the Iranian nuclear program very extensively. It also went after key nuclear and military figures in the regime.

It's also clear that it's still -- it still hasn't gone after, let's say, civilian infrastructure. Of course, many civilians have been killed and hurt, you know, by going after these targeted assassinations in Tehran. They're killing people in their residences.

But what I mean is that it hasn't gone after let's say, you know, the energy installations or refineries and all that, which could be next targets. But certainly these are very unprecedented, dangerous times.

[01:39:51]

SCIUTTO: Will people in the region believe that the U.S. was not involved? The U.S. is being quite public. You saw the statement from Marco Rubio saying Israel acted alone. The U.S. did not support this attack. Didn't say it opposed it, but did not say that U.S. provided support for this.

Is that a position that Iran will accept and that others in the region will accept?

AZIZI: Well, I'll say number one on that, that first of all, the U.S. also made it clear that they were aware that the attack was happening. And you expect that given the close relationship that the United States has with Israel, and given the fact that the United States had a scheduled nuclear talks on Sunday. So if you invite someone to talks on Sunday and you don't tell them that an attack is coming, that an attack you know about, you know, naturally you not being entirely involved will be questioned.

But of course, it would also be in the self-interest of Iran to not consider America part of the attack. In fact, attacks by Israel without help from United States are much more limited. That's just a fact.

So if you look at actually, it's interesting in the statement of some of the Iranian authorities did attack the United States. But in the statement by Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of Iran, the United States was not named as it is often named.

So I think Iran might actually take that seriously. And, you know, not -- it doesn't want to pick up a war with the United States if it can help it.

So I think Iran might take that seriously and consider this Israel -- Israel's attack alone and hope perhaps the United States can even restrain Israel at some point.

But certainly the United States is involved. And, you know, the peoples of the region. Yes. I mean, they will -- they will see the U.S. as a close ally, and President Trump a close ally of Prime Minister Netanyahu.

So effectively, there is no way to deny the fact that the U.S. is involved in some indirect way.

SCIUTTO: Is this conflict containable? Is there a way to attempt to engineer proportional retaliation to the point where both sides again reestablish deterrence? I mean, you know the language of this. Or does this have the potential, in your view, of spinning out of control?

AZIZI: I mean, there's no way Iran can proportionally retaliate. You have to be serious about it. This, by the way, this -- the degree to which this shows how much you know egg they have and regime has on its face, the Iranian regime prides itself on its security.

It arrests, you know, thousands of its own people. If a woman in Iran, you know, her headscarf goes back this much, you know, they send her a text message and they arrest her.

But the entire military leadership of the country was just killed in a few hours in Tehran. It's not the first time. Every time Israel has wanted to do anything on Iran, it has been able to. There's not -- I don't recall a single time when Israel wanted to do something on Iranian territory and hasn't done it. They do everything they want.

And of course, Iran cannot do, you know, a retaliation. In fact, we saw, for example, in 2018, Israel stole Iran's nuclear archives in a daring operation. Last week, Iran said that it had sort of retaliated.

And of course, they made a joke out of themselves because the nuclear documents that they published out of Israel, you know, was a joke. It was clear that these are not some critical documents that they had been able to access. So there is no equality in there.

But there is a way, of course, to find an off ramp, and there is a way to find a way out of conflict. There always is. And there are different ways that this could happen, but ultimately it would need some sort of, you know, military leadership in Iran that is able to set some terms with Israel that says that we're going to stop this sort of brinksmanship and attacking each other, and you know, set some baselines.

And the United States can play a very important role in restraining both sides. And you know, trying to put together again, some red lines for both sides. But we'll have to see if the United States wants to be involved in that level or not.

SCIUTTO: Arash Azizi in Boston, thanks so much for joining us tonight. AZIZI: Of course. Thank you.

SCIUTTO: Well, another breaking story we've been following today. A deadly passenger jet crash in India, it killed hundreds of people. We're going to have the latest on the investigation, including the search for the black boxes. A tremendous human tragedy.

[01:44:21]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCIUTTO: We are following breaking news in the Middle East. Israel's military says Iran has now launched more than 100 drones towards Israel in retaliation for ongoing Israeli strikes on Iran.

It says those drones are expecting -- it says Israelis are expecting difficult hours ahead. The prime minister says his country targeted Iranian military and nuclear sites, as well as top military leaders, that includes General Hossein Salami, the commander in chief of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard.

The U.S. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, says the U.S. was not involved in the strikes.

[01:49:47]

SCIUTTO: Another story we're following, crews in western India now combing through the wreckage of Air India flight 171 as the world waits to learn the cause of the tragedy that has claimed hundreds of lives.

The Indian prime minister arrived at the crash site. You see him there just a short while ago. It is unclear if the black boxes or flight recorders have been recovered.

The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner went down in Ahmedabad on Thursday, losing its transponder signal less than a minute after takeoff. All but one of the 242 people on board were killed. One man remarkably survived.

The plane was headed for London's Gatwick Airport carrying Indian, British, Canadian and Portuguese nationals.

Dozens of others died on the ground when the plane hit a hostel housing doctors and medical students. We're told the overall death toll has reached at least 290 people and could still rise.

The only passenger to survive seen here, remarkably walking away from the wreckage under his own power. The "Hindustan Times" reports he's a British national who'd been assigned seat 11-a.

Investigators will focus their investigation on whether human error, mechanical failure, poor maintenance or a combination of those factors caused the crash.

Journalist Vedika Sud traveled at the scene of the tragedy and sent in this report earlier. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

VEDIKA SUD, CNN JOURNALIST: We're about 20 meters away from the crash site. I'm going to show you that crash site now.

It's about 2:40 in the morning, dead of night. And what you see are a row of buildings charred completely, if you can see that on camera, absolutely charred after being hit by the plane, the Air India 171.

Now what I'm going to show you to the right are some charred trees. They've been moved away. They were damaged, of course, they caught fire.

You see a lot of people standing around. I believe more than 300 officials are inside that building as of now, according to the local police here.

And here is a stunning and shocking image that I want to bring to you before I bring you more details of the wing of the plane, just about 20 meters away from the crash site.

This is what they've pulled out, and this area has not really been guarded by police officials.

Only the media is allowed. Of course, we're not touching anything, but just continue to show you the wing of the plane here. Absolutely charred.

And what's worse is, while you stand here, you can smell the fuel. You can smell the smoke and the burnt metal that kind of lingers in the air.

And now just showing you the number of people inside. I believe, like I said, about 300 officials inside. Search operations are on. There are remains of the bodies that they're still searching for.

A lot of the remains have been found, but one of the biggest challenges for the next few days will be DNA testing. to ascertain whether they can give those remains to the family members who are waiting outside the hospital.

It's a grieving moment for so many families. We're talking about 241 passengers. We know of one lone survivor until now, and that itself is a miracle, really.

We know of this man, a British national who walked away from the crash site. And I think that amazed everyone around, not only in India but across the world that one man walked away from the crash site. He's in hospital right now and it's just stunning, really, to even talk about it.

But just coming back to this place now, we're about not even a kilometer away from the airport. Very soon you might just hear planes going above us.

And just a small anecdote that I want to share with you. We could see nervous faces at the airport as well. I took a flight into Ahmedabad just about an hour and a half back, and even on that flight, when it was turbulent and it really was, you could hear people shrieking. You could hear them really being nervous and worried for their lives.

And that's what's going to stay with a lot of passengers across India, at least for the next few days. There's this fear that's gripped India right now.

Of course, there's grieving. There's mourning for all those passengers on board. We're talking about 242 passengers and crew members -- 169 Indian nationals, 53 British nationals, 7 Portuguese nationals. So we're talking a lot of people on that plane.

At the hospital, it's like a war-like situation getting people in and trying to help those who are injured.

We believe a lot of students from these buildings are also being treated at the hospital right now. We don't know how many casualties, if any, are there from this building, but we know there have been a lot who've been injured.

But this is the tragedy site. This is the crash site we're bringing to you.

The tail of the plane to the right. You can't see it right now because its dead of night. But we'll keep bringing you more updates from the ground.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[01:54:47]

SCIUTTO: Parts of downtown Los Angeles currently under curfew for the third night in a row amid protests against immigration raids. Mayor Karen Bass says that it will continue for a few more days in the hope that, quote, "people will get the message that we are serious".

She added that there will be investigations into the conduct of everyone involved in the protests, including the police department.

The demonstrations are now spreading to other cities in the U.S. Protesters in Chicago filled up a full city block on Thursday.

Thanks so much for watching. I'm Jim Sciutto.

Our breaking news coverage of Israel's strikes on Iran will continue right at the top of this hour.

[01:55:26]

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