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Israeli Air Force's New Strikes Hit Defense Arrays in Tehran; U.S. Still Hopes to Hold Nuclear Talks with Iran Sunday. Aired 5-6a ET

Aired June 14, 2025 - 05:00   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 (voice-over): This is CNN breaking news.

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST (voice-over): Welcome to our viewers joining us in the United States and around the world. I'm Becky Anderson in Abu Dhabi.

Just moments ago, came this statement.

"The Israeli military is set to resume striking targets in Iran's capital, Tehran."

That is according to the head of the Israel Defense Forces. It follows tragic news coming out of Tehran's capital. State media in Iran have just reported that 60 people, including 20 children, some 6 months old, were killed in the latest strikes on Tehran. A 14-story residential building apparently hit. And 10 bodies are said to be still in the rubble.

Iran said 78 people were killed in earlier strikes. The news coming as Iran and Israel traded heavy barrages of deadly drone and missile fire within the last few hours. Israel reported new strikes on Iran, saying it hit defense arrays and other targets. And both sides have also claimed they have shot down a number of each other's drones.

Well, if you're just joining us, let me get you up to speed. Earlier, explosions were heard over Jerusalem after officials warned a wave of missiles was headed toward the country. The death toll in Israel has reached at least three since the attacks began, two killed when an Iranian missile hit south of Tel Aviv.

And 19 others were wounded and another person was killed earlier by falling debris. And also in Tehran, state media now say there's no damage to the runway or that main building at the city's Mehrabad Airport. Reports say that Israel had targeted Iranian fighter jets stationed there, causing a fire.

Look, the two countries have used so much firepower that some smoldering missiles ended up on a road in southern Israel.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Look at this rocket behind me here. This just came down. We were watching intercepts in the sky above me, the early morning sky and there was a lot of loud explosions and impacts.

And you can see here, this missile here, right behind me lying in the road here, it's still smoking. This came down. This was from the latest salvo of Iranian missiles intercept. It's not clear if this is an intercept missile or one of the Iranian missiles still smoking in the road here. Only just came down.

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ANDERSON: Well, that's Nic Robertson. Nada Bashir monitoring developments from London, joining us now live.

And Israel just this hour has announced that it is set to resume strikes on targets in Iran's capital, Tehran. The images now that we are getting into CNN, from both Israel and Iran, reflecting the fact that this war is ongoing and is deadly.

NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. And it is unlikely to de- escalate at this current point in time. We've heard from the Israeli prime minister speaking yesterday, saying that Israel plans to continue targeting Iranian territory until it is able to eliminate what Netanyahu has described as the Iranian nuclear threat.

So it is not unprecedented that we will continue to see Israeli fighter jets taking part in further military operations in Iran, as has now been confirmed by the Israeli military.

And as you mentioned, we have seen those images over the last few hours overnight of attacks on both sides. We have seen Iranian missiles targeting Israeli territory. And as you mentioned, this has proven deadly in at least two instances. At least three people have been confirmed to have been killed, dozens more have been wounded.

And we've seen the destruction caused as a result. And in fact, just in the last few hours, the Israeli military confirmed that it had intercepted yet more Iranian drones. And, of course, this attack by Iran comes in retaliation to that unprecedented attack by the Israeli military in the early hours of Friday morning in Iran.

According to the Israeli military, some 200 fighter jets took part in that attack, dropping more than 300 munitions on around 100 targets.

And as we know senior members of Iran's military, senior nuclear officials as well, top nuclear scientists were targeted in that attack and assassinated, according to Iran's envoy to the U.N. who spoke yesterday during a U.N. Security Council briefing.

More than 70 people have been killed as a result and we've been hearing today from reporters for Iranian state media.

[05:05:00] Reporting from the scene of a residential building which was targeted, they have described dozens of people being killed in that attack, with some still believed to be under the rubble.

It's unclear, though, whether or not that death toll was included in the initial 78 outlined by Iran's U.N. envoy. But clearly this is a deadly conflict now on both sides. There are real concerns around the potential for this to escalate further across the region, particularly when it comes to other regional military assets.

We've heard the warnings from Iranian officials around any support for Israel's military action from its international allies, namely the United States, which does have a significant military presence in the region.

So concern there for the potential for those assets to be targeted. And we have been hearing calls for an urgent de-escalation from members of the international community. The leaders of the United Kingdom, France and Germany spoke on Friday.

They have called for a diplomatic resolution and that has been echoed by the U.N. secretary general. Take a listen to this statement from the secretary general's spokesperson.

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STEPHANIE TREMBLAY, U.N. ASSOCIATE, SPOKESPERSON FOR THE SECRETARY- GENERAL: The secretary general condemns any military escalation in the Middle East.

He's particularly concerned by Israeli attacks on nuclear installations in Iran, while talks between Iran and the United States on the status of Iran's nuclear program are underway.

The secretary general asks both sides to show maximum restraint, avoiding at all costs a descent into deeper conflict, a situation that the region can hardly afford.

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BASHIR: Now hopes for a diplomatic resolution to this conflict are dwindling.

We've heard from the U.S. president, Donald Trump, who has suggested that any movement by the Iranian regime to come to the negotiating table with regards to its nuclear program, to agree to the terms put forward and requested by the United States with regards to dismantling its nuclear capabilities.

That may lead to a step-down of this conflict from the Israeli side. The U.S. has said it was not partaking in that initial strike by the Israeli military. However, sources say that they were notified and that have offered support when it comes to bolstering Israel's air defenses.

So again, that U.S. involvement is, in the eyes of the Iranian regime, clear; their support for Israel also clear. So concern for those U.S. assets there. President Trump seemingly attempting to offer some diplomatic off ramp.

But at this stage it appears as though the military confrontations are only escalating. And that warning from prime minister Netanyahu, that they will not stop until they have eliminated Iran's -- the Iranian nuclear threat, really does not bode well for any hopes or push toward a diplomatic resolution -- Becky.

ANDERSON: Nada. Thank you. You've got us bang up to date with what we know this hour.

Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu spoke on the phone on Friday. The U.S. says it was not part of the attack on Iran, the initial attack in the early hours of Friday morning. But questions remain over how much the U.S. administration knew before Israel's strikes. CNN's Kristen Holmes with more from the White House.

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KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Much of Friday was trying to figure out what the United States knew, what the administration knew and when.

Because of that, Marco Rubio, the secretary of state's statement that we had seen on Thursday that really clearly laid out that this was a unilateral decision for Israel to strike Iran. The United States had nothing to do with it.

Also saying that U.S. personnel should not be attacked in any way, because, again, they were not involved.

However, we did start to learn some details on Friday that signified that that wasn't entirely accurate. One was that Donald Trump, we learned, had multiple phone calls with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, including before those strikes.

At one point, Donald Trump told reporters he knew everything about what was happening.

And now the question is, what exactly are they going to do next?

Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump spoke again on Friday. No details yet. No readout of that call.

But we did learn that U.S. officials say that the United States is helping deter missiles that are coming into Israel now, as a response from Iran. And that official said that this is because there are tens of thousands of American citizens that are in Israel. They also said there's a lot of U.S. military assets.

So clearly here trying to say this is because they want to protect Americans. This is not necessarily because this is not a unilateral decision. But it's a little bit of splitting hairs here to say that they're not involved. The United States is not involved in any of this but they are

protecting Israel. Now, of course, the big question the administration is working on is whether or not they can still get Iran to the table and the Iranian nuclear deal talks. They were supposed to have the sixth round of talks on Sunday in Oman.

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Middle Eastern envoy Steve Witkoff was going to be present with Iranians. It is unclear if that's going to still happen. The administration says they still want to bring Iran to the table. They still think that they might show up.

And Donald Trump, for his part, has really been trying to push the Iranians on this, essentially saying it could be too late. Look at what's already happened. I gave you a lot of chances. Now Israel has bombed you. You better show up to the table, kind of giving a loose threat that things could be worse if they don't make a deal.

Some administration officials have cast doubt on the idea that Iran is going to show up at all, given these strikes.

But there are still a lot, within the White House in particular, that believe that this could still happen even as early as Sunday -- Kristen Holmes, CNN, the White House.

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ANDERSON: And news just in to CNN, Iran's foreign ministry says it is still unclear whether negotiators will attend Sunday talks with the U.S.

"It's not possible for you to simultaneously claim to be negotiating and talking, to reach an understanding on an issue while at the same time allowing" -- this is according to the Iranian authorities -- "while at the same time allowing a racist regime," they say, "to violate the territorial integrity of Iran."

White House officials continue to argue that the U.S. president, of course, is committed to finding a diplomatic solution to this. But the importance of that reporting is that the Iranians certainly not officially closing the door on those talks in Oman, which are, of course, scheduled for Sunday tomorrow.

Earlier, I spoke with Alon Pinkas, a former Israeli consul general in New York. He is in Tel Aviv. And he stressed that what we are witnessing now in the Middle East has moved far beyond last year's tit-for-tat strikes between Iran and Israel. Have a listen.

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ALON PINKAS, FORMER ISRAELI CONSUL GENERAL, NEW YORK: This is an all- out war. I mean, in April of 2024 and then again in October of 2024, Israel and Iran exchanged salvoes of missiles and drones in a way that, in retrospect, looked almost scripted. There was a coalition led by the U.S. and Britain and even some Arab

Gulf countries and Jordan that intercepted most of the incoming Iranian missiles and drones. The idea was a, you know, to prove capabilities as a, you know, shot across the stern. That was then and this is now.

Now it's all-out war. It could escalate. Yes, when you speak about an all-out regional war, we're talking about a different scenario. We could discuss that later if we have time. But bilateral, a direct Israeli Iranian war is taking place as we speak.

So it feels completely different. And also the intensity of the -- both the Israeli attacks, obviously but also the Iranian retaliation is very much different than it was last year.

ANDERSON: Alon, I'm fascinated by your analysis and totally get the idea of last year's sort of, quote, "scripted" performance. And to your point, the involvement of so many other stakeholders alongside Israel and Iran, it is different this time.

What is Benjamin Netanyahu's objective here?

PINKAS: Well, first of all, one other dimension of how different this all is, that Iran has been significantly weakened geopolitically with the loss of Hezbollah, its prized asset or prized proxy organization in Lebanon, that was degraded militarily in a significant way by Israel throughout 2024.

And the loss and fall of the Assad regime in Syria, which then led to an exit of the Russian military presence in Syria. So Iran felt somewhat feels somewhat isolated.

On top of that, there were those attacks, those salvos that we just discussed. And so Iran seems to be weakened and isolated.

For Mr. Netanyahu, this seemed to be an opportune moment to attack Iran's nuclear facilities, which he did in the last 36 hours, which Israel did in the last 36 hours. Now there are two ways of looking at this, Becky. I know we don't have time to elaborate and delve into it.

But let me just run them by -- let me just run them by you. There are two ways of looking at it.

One is the simple way. Say Israel had to do what Israel had to do. You got to do what you got to do. You know, you choose your euphemism. Iran was very close to weapons grade material. It was a matter of decision, not of technological capability, know-how and fissile material; i.e. enriched uranium.

So Israel had to take it out.

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Parenthetically, of course, Iran is as close as it is to a military- grade nuclear facility or capability, rather, because Mr. Netanyahu himself encouraged president Trump in 2018 to unilaterally withdraw from the JCPOA. So it's on him, partly.

But there's a second way of explaining this. Mr. Netanyahu, when it comes to Iran, is messianic. This is not to say that he's not identifying a real threat. This is not to diminish from Iran's criminality or the vile nature of the regime and the terror-sponsoring and the threats to eliminate and annihilate Israel.

OK, putting that aside, Netanyahu thinks of -- for many years, by the way, irrespective of the last 1.5 years of war in Gaza and war with Iran, he thinks of Iran as -- he thinks this is 1938 all over again.

Iran is a Hitler. Iran is threatening Western civilization. He, Mr. Netanyahu, is the antidote. He's the Winston Churchill of his times. He's not only the protector of Israel but he's also the savior of the West.

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ANDERSON: Alon Pinkas, speaking to CNN earlier.

We've got a lot more coverage of the breaking news in the Middle East as Israel and Iran continue to trade missile strikes, the death toll rising in both countries. And a fire is raging at one of Tehran's airports. More coming up.

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ANDERSON: Well, an ominous warning that Israel is not pulling back from its attacks on Iran. The IDF chief of the general staff says fighter jets are now set to resume striking targets in the Iranian capital.

Iran's state TV says about 60 people, including 20 children, were killed in an attack on a residential building in the capital; 78 others were reported killed in Iran earlier and more than 320 people have been reported injured.

The state news agency there reports Israeli strikes targeted Iranian fighter jets at Tehran's Mehrabad Airport. Neither the runways nor the main building, they say, were damaged but flights have been canceled.

The Israel Defense Forces said earlier explosions have been heard over Jerusalem as a new wave of Iranian missiles headed toward Israel. Officials say at least three people have been killed in Israel so far in the conflict.

The Israeli military says it intercepted Iranian drones after warning sirens sounded near the Jordanian border. Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke about Israel's objectives during an address to the Iranian people. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, PRIME MINISTER OF ISRAEL: The objective of Israel's military operation is to remove this threat. Both the nuclear threat and the ballistic missile threat to Israel. And as we achieve our objectives, we're also clearing the path for you to achieve your objective, which is freedom.

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ANDERSON: Well, Benjamin Netanyahu, then laying out his objectives directly to the people of Iran.

Dr. Ali Fathollah-Nejad is the founder and director of the Center for Middle East and Global Order, joining us today from Stockholm.

And I want to get your perspective on what is the thinking in Iran at present, both on the ground with the general public and from the leadership.

We've been speaking to a number of people this morning in Tel Aviv, in Jerusalem, who say that things feel very, very different today.

Dr. Ali, are you hearing a similar view from inside Iran?

DR. ALI FATHOLLAH-NEJAD, FOUNDER AND DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR MIDDLE EAST AND GLOBAL ORDER: Well, of course, there's a difference between state and society in Iran. The gulf is between the two sides. It's quite huge. The regime does not, you know, enjoy any kind of popular support.

But, of course, in these days, when there is a full-fledged war going on, there is, from a societal point of view, there is a lot of scare when it's scared because of the ramifications, because of what could still unfold.

So this is, I think, quite clear. On the other hand, we also hear a lot of schadenfreude because of the targeting of top political and military figures, who, of course, are seen by a majority of the Iranian people as their oppressors.

From the regime's perspective, of course, there is a lot of panic. Israel has embarked on a gigantic operation against the Islamic Republic,, targeting not only strategic sites but also the top military and political figures. There is a lot of panic and disarray within the leadership.

ANDERSON: How effective is it at this point?

FATHOLLAH-NEJAD: It remains to be seen. I think the Iranians have no good options left if they continue this kind of military confrontation with Israel. It's clear who the superior part is. It's clearly the Israelis. And let alone, if the United States enters the war, so they cannot possibly win a war against their external -- those external actors. And it would really threaten the survival of the regime. So this is

very clear. The other option, of course, would be to try to get some kind of diplomatic understanding with the United States.

But in that context, they would have to abide by any kind of Trump diktat, be it on the end of domestic enrichment or also the end of the ballistic missile program. So more or less perhaps the Libyan model that the Israelis had preferred to be applied onto the Islamic Republic of Iran.

So that is the total dismantlement of both programs and the -- and the connected domestic infrastructures thereof.

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And this would be a face-losing kind of situation for them. So this would be also grave in terms of, you know, their political ideology. So they have no good options left here.

ANDERSON: Iran's foreign ministry has, in the past couple of hours, said it is still unclear -- and I quote them here -- "It is still unclear whether negotiators will attend Sunday's talks with the U.S. in Oman," not closing the door to those talks.

At this stage, as you and I speak local time, lunchtime on Saturday or just after lunchtime on Saturday, that is still an option for the Iranians. It's not a face-saving option at this point, as you rightly point out. I think most analysts would agree with that. But it is still an option.

A likely path at this point?

FATHOLLAH-NEJAD: We'll have to see. So this is exactly confirming what I explained before. They don't have good options left. And you have to always look at it from the vanguard of regime survival.

So this is the kind of, you know, main interest from the Islamic Republic's viewpoint and all of that. And also mistakes from other sides has led us to this terrible situation. You know, from the Iranian side, the preference of regime interests over national interests, you know, that has informed the so-called red lines of the Islamic Republic.

Be it a domestic enrichment, be it ballistic missile program, be it the axis of resistance. So all of that are really detrimental to the national interest.

And the other side, there's also internal politics playing into, you know, some of the Israeli decision-making. But then again, there is a perception of threats emanating from Iran from October 7th, 2023, you know, onwards.

And there is also a failure of diplomacy by the West, including the United States and Europe, that have not engaged in Iran diplomacy, that talks about all those three urgent issues -- you know, axis of resistance, ballistic missile program and nuclear issue. And this has left a kind of strategic void, which the Israelis have

now taken to act unilaterally. And as we said, we have now entered uncharted waters.

ANDERSON: Dr. Ali Fathollah-Nejad, thank you.

Well, our breaking news coverage will continue in a moment as we monitor a wave of new attacks between Israel and Iran. And what looks like a real escalation in the Middle East is bound to impact energy costs. The surge in oil prices is just ahead.

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ANDERSON: Welcome back to our viewers joining us in the United States and all around the world. Wherever you are watching, you are more than welcome. I'm Becky Anderson. Here are some of the stories that we are watching for you today.

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ANDERSON (voice-over): And Washington, D.C., getting ready to host a massive military parade in the coming hours. The event honors the 250th anniversary of the creation of the U.S. Army and coincides with president Donald Trump's 79th birthday.

Meantime, cities and towns across the U.S. are preparing for a day of anti-Trump protests. More than 2,000 so-called No Kings demonstrations are scheduled to happen on Saturday. Organizers say participants are committed to nonviolence.

Israel's air force says it carried out a wave of new strikes overnight, hitting dozens of targets in Iran. The statement came hours after Iranian media reported a fire at one of the city's airports.

Israeli strikes targeted a hangar housing Iranian fighter jets without damaging runways or the main airport building, according to authorities.

ANDERSON: And an Iranian state media reporter says one Israeli strike hit a residential building in Tehran, killing at least 60 people, including 20 children. Some were as young as they say, as 6 months old.

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ANDERSON (voice-over): Well, this video from Israel shows an apartment building that sustained significant damage after a strike in central Tel Aviv. CNN spoke to some residents in the city about the ongoing attacks.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We came home after we heard that one of the rockets had hit the south building. We came home to see if our dog was OK, because we heard that the building got hit.

Every time, every time I'd speak to someone, they would explain to me how there's still people stuck in their apartments, how they have to go floor by floor, because there's people still stuck in their apartments.

I must have spoken to about 50 different people to try to get to -- try to get word on our dog because we didn't know what the situation was.

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ANDERSON: At least three people have been killed in Israel and dozens more injured, according to authorities. And in the last few hours, Iran and Israel have claimed they've shot down a number of each other's drones.

H.A. Hellyer is a senior associate fellow with the Royal United Services Institute for Defense and Security Studies. He joins us now live from Cairo.

And in the last hour or so, the IDF has announced that it will resume airstrikes on Tehran. This is ongoing. As you and I speak, residents, for example, in Tel Aviv, suggesting what is going on now feels very, very different compared to what some have described as the more scripted tit-for-tat strikes between the two countries last year.

We're 32-33 hours into this and, as we witness it ongoing, H.A., what do you make of what we are seeing and what may happen next?

H.A. HELLYER, SENIOR ASSOCIATE FELLOW, ROYAL UNITED SERVICES INSTITUTE FOR DEFENCE AND SECURITY STUDIES: Well, thank you, Becky. Always a pleasure to be on your program.

I think we're in a very dangerous moment indeed. When you looked at the news on Thursday evening, on Friday morning, you could imagine that there was the possibility of a political deal between the United States and Tehran that would bring about some de-escalation on the nuclear file.

It was very real. It was very possible. It wasn't in the best of places, no, but it wasn't something that was just about to be thrown out the window, either. There is still a great deal of potential there and one that would avoid further escalation in a region that has seen so much war and suffering over the past two years.

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Not least of which was Israel's war on Gaza. What we've seen now over, you know, less than two days is a complete redrawing of all of that. And it's been empowered by this sense of impunity.

There is absolutely no way that Tel Aviv would have decided to embark on all of these strikes on Tehran -- and these are not preemptive strikes, I want to make that clear in the framing. You can't claim that strikes are preemptive unless there's an imminent attack that you are sure is going to be underway imminently.

You know, not in a few months or a few weeks or something like that but imminently. And there was nothing like that. And nobody believes that. And the Israelis would never have done this had they felt that there would be any consequence from the international community and especially from the United States.

I'm not saying that the United States was involved. It wasn't involved. There's some reporting around how much they gave a green light beforehand. And I think that there's still some questions around that.

But they didn't need to be involved. They needed to actually make it clear to the Israelis that there would be consequences if this incredibly vigilante kind of activity was undertaken. And they didn't.

And we now see the region in a spiral. It's not simply tit-for-tat. This will escalate because the Iranians will feel that, if they don't do more, then they're simply inviting more from the Israelis.

The Israelis will continue on the same calculation that they've had since the beginning of this, which is to try to degrade Iranian capacity on multiple files. And I have to say, part of this is going to be about Israel's domestic woes.

In terms of Netanyahu's own political problems on the ground, many in Israel are talking about that already. I'm not -- I'm not the first one to come up with it. It's been very clear in Israeli media.

So, no, it's a dangerous moment; it's a reckless moment. It's an irresponsible moment. And the international community needs to be very clear about that.

ANDERSON: It may be all of that. It may also be utterly convenient at this point to many, not least in this region, to degrade, further degrade an Iranian regime which has been difficult to deal with. And that is an understatement.

For years, as much as you are seeing rapprochement with the likes of Riyadh and Tehran, Abu Dhabi and Tehran, there's no love lost at the end of the day from the Gulf or around the Arab world for this leadership.

H.A., nobody is suggesting outright that this is about regime change. Many will suggest it may be. But nobody's going to say that officially. That's not the official position here.

And I guess the question remains, what happens next?

You know, what are the options for the Iranians? One is that they pitch up to these scheduled talks in Oman tomorrow. And they certainly haven't closed the door on that.

Do you expect to see a twin track at this point?

The continuation of this, these military operations, this military operation, you know, whilst, at the same time, you know, the off ramp, the potential off ramp, that is a diplomatic solution.

HELLYER: So two things, Becky, and I don't disagree with you at all. I think that, within the region, there's going to be a lot of mixed feelings in terms of the strikes on the regime and the strikes on Iran, because, of course, the Iranian regime is not a good actor in the region, to put it quite mildly. And the Gulf knows that well.

Syria knows that well. So there isn't going to be, you know, a huge amount of sympathy for the government of Iran in that regard.

But I want to say something here, despite all of that, despite all of that history, there is nobody in the region on terms of the leadership, whether you're talking about the Saudis or the Emiratis, that wanted this to go forward.

On the contrary, they we're very keen for it not to go forward. They were lobbying very publicly and privately to try to ensure that the United States would make it clear to the Israelis that, no, don't go forward. This strike, this is dangerous. It will send the region into a spiral. It's not what we need. It's not what the region needs.

[05:40:00]

Don't do it. So when you have the quote-unquote, you know, sympathizers of the regime on the one hand and also opponents of the regime on the other, both being quite clear that they don't want this action.

They don't want this activity because it just removes any further, any semblance of a rules-based order when it comes to all of this stuff, I think that that's something very important for people to keep in mind.

Do I expect a twin track?

No, I don't, I think that the Iranians are going to find it very difficult to engage with their own people in Iran and say, yes, we're still going to the talks in Oman, which were supposed to be tomorrow, because the United States didn't simply say, we had nothing to do with this.

They then came out quite supportive of it. You had Marco Rubio begin with a particular line. And then -- who is secretary of state.

But then you had president Donald Trump make it very clear that he was quite supportive and seemed to think that these strikes would somehow lead to a better diplomatic solution, some breakthrough in the talks.

I don't see that. I think that this will signal to the Iranians that diplomacy is over and that they have to engage in another way entirely. Again, this is not good for anybody. It's not good for the Iranians. It's not good for the region. But I do think that this is what we're about to see and then that we're in the midst of seeing right now.

ANDERSON: That's fascinating. Well, we will continue to monitor what is going on. I mean, this is ongoing as we speak. Those initial strikes, as you rightly point out, described on Friday morning in the wake of those strikes by Donald Trump as very successful.

A change in tone from the original positioning from the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, in the -- in the early hours following those strikes. These talks still scheduled for tomorrow in Oman. It's important that we stay across that and see what happens going forward.

It's good to have you, H.A., as ever. Thank you so much.

Well, oil prices have surged following the escalating hostilities between Iran and Israel. West Texas Intermediate rose more than 7 percent, ending at nearly 73 bucks on the barrel. Brent gaining 7 percent, settling at 74.25 on the barrel.

It's the largest single-day increase since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Remember, a fifth of the world's oil travels through the Strait of Hormuz. It is a very contended waterway.

And when you get this activity and this uncertainty around that amount of oil, including what happens to Iranian oil going forward, because there's significant amount of that on the market, then there is no real surprise that these stocks, these prices have gone higher.

Despite the fact that actually they've been relatively sanguine about the conflict over the last 20 months.

Meanwhile, U.S. stocks fell, sending investors into a scramble. The Dow fell nearly 770 points Friday or nearly 2 percent. The Nasdaq dropping 1.3 percent and the S&P off more than 1 percent.

Right. I'm going to take a very short break. Back after this.

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ANDERSON: Israel says it will resume strikes against Tehran. The head of the Israel Defense Forces said a short time ago that fighter jets will conduct new strikes on the Iranian capital.

Meanwhile, one missile hit a residential area just south of Tel Aviv, two people killed and 19 wounded. Rescue crews are searching for any residents who might be trapped under the rubble. Other strikes in Israel killed one additional person and wounded dozens more. Iran said it was targeting Israeli military centers and air bases.

Well, Farzin Nadimi is a senior fellow with the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. He joins us now live from Washington.

And as Israel announces that it will resume airstrikes on Tehran, what's your perspective on where we are and what happens next?

FARZIN NADIMI, SENIOR FELLOW, WASHINGTON INSTITUTE FOR NEAR EAST POLICY: Hi, Becky, and thank you for having me. Well, Israel launched a very successful campaign to begin with, the dislocating the very top part of Iran's chain of command.

Absent the supreme leader but the military chain of command was seriously disrupted by early Israeli action targeting IRGC top commanders.

Then Israel went after key air defense radar sites in western and north northwestern Iran, which opened the way for initial waves of Israeli aircraft entering Iranian airspace.

Israel had pre-positioned drones and anti-tank missile teams inside Iran, looking, monitoring known ballistic missile transport routes and close to Iranian ballistic missile bases. And they disrupted the movement of the transporter launcher that launchers -- that were tasked with pre-positioning to launch missiles.

So they managed to disrupt Iranian missile launches at very early on. And they went on with attacking some key Iranian nuclear sites. And then after some military, key military industrial complex sites in eastern Tehran, those missile factories.

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ANDERSON: And the action continues.

Farzin, I want to get your perspective on, you know, as we move in to the, you know, next hours with this ongoing operation, with the Israelis saying they will resume targeting Tehran, what do you expect that to look like?

And with your Washington lens, can you give us a sense of what the perspective is in Washington at this point?

NADIMI: Well, at this point, Washington is keenly and anxiously looking at the exchanges between Iran and Israel, while Israel -- I was explaining that how successful Israel was in setting the stage.

[05:50:00]

Initial setting, the initial stage for its operations, Iranians were disoriented initially. But they gradually managed to regain control. And they started to launch ballistic missiles at the -- at the current rate of about 400 ballistic missiles launched at Israel.

Iran can sustain this rate for a few weeks and Israel can sustain its aerial operations for a few weeks. But we know that Israel has a limited -- doesn't have a finite amount of air munitions.

They -- the aircraft that that are capable of penetrating Iranian airspace and operating over Iran, they are about 250 combat aircraft that, at some point, they will need to be maintained and repaired and prepared for the next stages.

So both sides will have a certain amount of time to assert their status. And for United States, perhaps the United States is waiting to see if any side blinks first. It appears that both have a long way to reach that stage.

So we might see that, at some point, United States will try to use the nuclear negotiations platform to outreach to Iranians, to reach a settlement and to reach a ceasefire perhaps so they could stop.

ANDERSON: And those talks still scheduled, of course, in Oman tomorrow. It's good to have you, Farzin. Thank you very much indeed.

Iran's state media reporting a deadly strike in Tehran, just as Israel says its fighter jets are set to attack again. That story is just ahead.

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[05:55:00]

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ANDERSON: Story this hour, Israel says its fighter jets are set to resume strikes on Tehran following reports of a deadly attack earlier today. Iranian state media said 60 people were killed, including 20 children, in an Israeli attack on a residential building in Tehran.

State media they're also reporting on a fire at Tehran's Mehrabad Airport. They say the targets were fighter jets stationed there. They say the runway was not damaged.

Well, that followed Iranian attacks on Israel, including this missile strike south of Tel Aviv. Israel says at least three people have been killed since the fighting began before the latest strike on Tehran. Iran said 78 people in that nation were killed.

Well, that wraps up this hour of CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Becky Anderson in Abu Dhabi. "CNN THIS MORNING" is up next.