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Israel, Iran Take Damage As Missile Strikes Escalate; Manhunt Underway For Suspect In Shooting Of Minnesota Lawmakers; Saturday Marks U.S. Army's 250th Anniversary And President Donald Trump's 79th Birthday; Police Use Tear Gas In Attempt To Clear L.A. Protesters. Aired 1-2 am ET
Aired June 15, 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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ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
BRIAN ABEL, CNN ANCHOR: Hello to our viewers here in the U.S. and around the world. I'm Brian Abel in Atlanta.
Ahead on CNN NEWSROOM.
No end in sight to the fighting between Iran and Israel as the death toll climbs. Could the conflict spill over across the region?
A manhunt underway after a U.S. state lawmaker and her husband were shot and killed in their home in Minnesota.
Plus protests across America as President Donald Trump holds a military parade.
Iran and Israel are trading missile fire for a third straight day as damage and casualties mount on both sides.
This is what played out in Tel Aviv as Iranian missiles rained down on targets in Israel. Officials say the latest barrage killed at least eight people and left about 140 others injured across the country. Tehran says it used its new guided or maneuverable ballistic missiles in some of those strikes, claiming it can penetrate Israel's advanced air defenses.
But Iran is also taking heat from Israel, which set ablaze this oil depot in Tehran. Iranian media says the country's Defense Ministry in the capital has also been hit, along with the world's largest national gas field in southern Iran. Sources are telling us the Israeli operation is expected to take weeks, not days. And Israel's Prime Minister is making it clear there's more to come.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): We have paved a path to Tehran. In the very near future, you will see Israeli planes, the Israeli Air Force, our brave pilots above the skies of Tehran. We will strike at every site, every target of the Ayatollah regime. And what they have felt until now is like nothing compared to what they will feel in the coming days.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ABEL: The next round of nuclear talks between the U.S. and Iran have been canceled. This comes amid the hostilities between Israel and Iran and after Iran's Foreign Minister called negotiations with the U.S. unjustifiable. Despite the talks being halted, the Trump administration says it's still committed to the discussions.
The White House wants Iran to dismantle its uranium enrichment program. It's not yet clear when or if those discussions will resume.
Nada Bashir has been keeping an eye on those developments, and she joins us from London in another busy night of crossfire.
Nada?
NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, we have seen yet more attacks both in and across Iran and also of course across Israeli territory as well. We've been hearing that warning now from Israeli officials that this is an operation, in their words, which could take weeks, not days. We've been hearing from Israeli military officials who have described the Israeli air force as having freedom, aerial freedom over Iran's airspace. They have said that their air force pilots have been operating within Iran's airspace alongside Israeli drones which they say have been operating almost 24/7 within Iran's airspace.
So, clearly we are seeing an expansion there, a development in Israel's operations across Iran in terms of its actual operations within Iran's airspace, not just the use of missiles and drones. And of course we've been hearing yet more warnings from the Israeli military about what is to come. As I mentioned, this is something they say that will take weeks, not just days. And we've been hearing from one spokesperson,
Brigadier General Effie Defrin, who has said that they are concluding with attacks following thorough intelligence across Iran's nuclear capabilities, but also it appears to be expanding to other strategic assets as well.
Take a listen to this statement given just yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRIG. GEN. EFFIE DEFRIN, ISRAELI MILITARY SPOKESPERSON: Reaching Tehran is of high operational and strategic importance. The air force and the intelligence division have been preparing for this for years. We will go wherever it takes to protect the citizens of Israel. Tehran is no longer immune. Its capital and Iran's terrorist institutions are vulnerable to Israeli attacks.
(END VIDEO CLIP) BASHIR: Now, of course, we have seen attacks targeting Iran's nuclear capabilities. We've heard from the Israeli prime minister saying that the Israeli military is focused on eliminating what he has described as the dual threat.
So, Iran's nuclear capabilities as well as its ballistic missiles, as you mentioned, Brian, we've heard from Iranian officials saying that they have used new ballistic missiles, maneuverable ballistic missiles in targeting Israeli territory. And of course, we've seen the impact of that overnight.
[01:05:05]
In addition to Israel's attacks on Iran, we have seen the targeting of an oil depot. We've seen the targeting of residential buildings. We've also seen the targeting according to officials of Iran's air defense ministry headquarters. But within Israel, we have seen several buildings, according to Israeli officials, being directly impacted.
So, while some of those Iranian missiles are being intercepted by Israel's air defenses, clearly several of them are making impact and hitting their targets. We have seen, of course, the death toll rising in the last few hours. According to Israeli authorities, at least eight people have now been killed overnight as a result of those strikes. More than 100 people said to have been injured as well. And we are still getting updates from the emergency services across Israel as well.
But we have seen the devastating impact of those missile strikes both across Israeli territory but also in Iran as well. And there are fears around how this could continue to escalate. We've heard the warnings from Iran's envoy to the United Nations warning that they may begin to target potentially assets and nations which have provided support to the Israeli military in its unprecedented attacks on Iran. That includes, of course, namely the United States, which has several military assets and bases in the region.
We've heard from the United Kingdom. They are now mobilizing military assets in the region to bolster their preparedness there on that front in case of any sort of escalation. Of course, this is all happening alongside what appears to be dwindling hopes around any attempt to salvage nuclear talks, any hopes that there may be some sort of diplomatic off-ramp to this escalation. At this stage, it appears as though we are expecting to see those military confrontations only escalating and expanding further.
ABEL: Nada Bashir for us in London. Nada, thank you very much.
And joining us now is Mick Ryan, a retired Major General with the Australian Army, author and a Senior Fellow for Military Studies, joining us from Brisbane.
And Mick, we saw again that Iran is not completely down and out, still has that capability to get past Israel's offenses and the U.S.' for that matter by assisting Israel's. But conversely, today also revealed Israel's ability to strike within Iran. What are you seeing in today's back and forth?
MAJOR GEN. MICK RYAN, (RET.), AUSTRALIAN ARMY: Well, what we're seeing first and foremost is an expansion of the target list being struck by Israel. Very early on, the Israeli Prime Minister warned Iran not to strike civilian targets. The Iranians promptly ignored that.
And therefore, Israel has expanded its target list being on the military and senior commanders to start hitting oil targets as well. For the Iranians' part, they have deployed what looks like a new advanced ballistic missile with a maneuvering warhead that will be difficult for both Israeli and American systems to shoot down.
ABEL: While you did mention the targeting there, Mick, I want to ask you about that. With that targeting of Iran's oil field, it seems Israel is possibly entering a different phase in its strategy here. What do you see as the next steps for Israel? And do you see any U.S. involvement in those next steps?
RYAN: Well, I think first, with the United States, we'll see it continuing to play a defensive role, helping Israel to defend itself. It's already been doing that, not just with shooting down missiles, but probably by providing intelligence to help them in that defense. And of course, the U.S. will be defending its own bases and people in the region.
For the Israelis, over the next few days, they'll be having a look at the targets they've already hit, particularly nuclear ones, and probably going back and reservicing those targets. If they haven't inflicted sufficient damage on them, and they'll probably continue targeting senior military people, as they have been the last couple of days.
ABEL: And Mick, do you see this conflict expanding beyond its current borders with, as Nada mentioned, Iranian proxies, for example, attempting attacks on U.S. bases?
RYAN: Well, that is the traditional Iranian strategy, but they've lost a lot of those proxies in the last couple of years. Hamas is not capable of doing this to any degree. Hezbollah is nowhere near as strong as it used to be.
The Houthis certainly have the capacity, but Israel's already struck their senior leadership. We're waiting on the results of that. So, Israel's shaping regional proxy forces to not get involved here. It's very possible, but we haven't seen too much of it just yet.
ABEL: If Israel has the might to continue its campaign, where is the line for Iran to say, our ambitions for a nuclear weapon are no longer worth enduring what's happening? Does that line exist even?
RYAN: I don't think it exists just yet. I think it might be quite the opposite. The Iranian leadership, in an act of self-preservation, because they're trying to preserve not the country, but their own jobs, may seek to rush to get a nuclear weapon.
[01:10:08] This has always been one of nightmare scenarios for the Israelis. So, they will want to take away any capacity that the Iranians have for a Daesh or a nuclear bomb.
ABEL: And as for those nuclear talks, Mick, it seems like there's no diplomatic off-ramp here at this moment with those talks being gone. Is that your take too?
RYAN: It's hard to imagine it, but I think the Trump administration would probably be open to some kind of talks as part of a ceasefire deal to give both belligerents here the ability to back down. I don't see that in the next couple of days. The Trump administration probably wants Israel now to finish the job. But at some point, I expect America will step in with an offer of a ceasefire and further negotiations with Iran.
ABEL: Mick Ryan in Brisbane. Mick, thank you.
RYAN: Thank you.
ABEL: We're also following breaking news in Minnesota. A manhunt is underway after a state lawmaker and her husband were shot and killed in their home. A state senator and his wife survived a second shooting. The governor says it looks like a politically motivated assassination. Authorities have identified the suspect as 57-year-old Vance Boelter. They believe he may have been disguised as a police officer during the attacks.
SWAT teams and officers from multiple agencies have been searching his property, but the sheriff says he was not there. CNN's Whitney Wild has more from Blaine, Minnesota.
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WHITNEY WILD, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT: This started at two in the morning Saturday when that first 911 call came in for that shooting at state senator John Hoffman's home. And police say that Vance Boelter looked so much like a real police officer that when he knocked on the door, state senator John Hoffman answered. And that's when he and his wife Yvette sustained multiple gunshot wounds.
And what police say happened next was that a neighboring law enforcement agency was called in to help with that first shooting at state senator Hoffman's home. And it was an astute sergeant from that neighboring police jurisdiction who said, let's go check on representative Melissa Hortman's home. And so they went there. This was about 90 minutes after that first shooting. They went to representative Hortman's home. And it was in that moment that they saw Vance Boelter coming out of the home, still dressed like a police officer.
And he opened fire on the real cops who were coming to check in. Police have not seen him in-person since that moment, according to the multiple law enforcement updates that were ongoing throughout the day Saturday. They still don't know where Vance Boelter is. But there are many outstanding questions as we learn more about him. CNN's investigative team has done a fantastic deep dive on him. And
what they found was that he worked for a security company called the Praetorian Guard Security Company that offered random armed patrols of residents' homes.
And so that suggests that that might have been how he was able to acquire what really looked like police gear and this SUV that looked like a legitimate squad car. Again, law enforcement is on this massive manhunt. There are multiple law enforcement agencies engaged in trying to track this man down.
Again, CNN has done this very deep dive on him. And in addition to his work as a security guard, CNN has also learned that he was an evangelical Christian who had traveled to Africa and gave sermons there. And multiple people who've spoken with reporters from our affiliates at KARE 11 -- our affiliate reporters at KARE 11 to, you know, multiple CNN reporters, there is this feeling of shock among people who knew him.
And so, as we're learning more about him, this big question remains is what happened? Where along the timeline from these people who knew him who said that they would have never seen this happen to what we know happened on Saturday? Again, there's this massive manhunt underway and law enforcement is hoping to update with other details. And they say that they need the public's help.
So, if we can go ahead and show that photo of him, he has a -- the last photo that they had of him, it showed him with a cowboy hat in civilian clothes and law, you know, law enforcement really wants the public to make sure that they take, you know, careful note of what he looks like because they're really relying on the public's help to try to track down Vance Boelter as they continue this investigation.
Whitney Wild, CNN, Blaine, Minnesota.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ABEL: A massive parade in Washington, D.C. honors the birthday of the U.S. army. And president Donald Trump plays a big role in the day's events. That's story and much more straight ahead.
Plus, tensions rise in Los Angeles as police used tear gas to clear protest areas. We have details when we come back.
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ABEL: In Los Angeles police using tear gas and horses to try and clear out people protesting federal immigration rates. Police say some protesters threw pieces of concretes, fireworks and bottles at officers. City officials say more than 20,000 people rallied in Los Angeles during the day.
Later this hour we'll be joined by an organizer directly involved in trying to improve conditions for day laborers and others affected by immigration crackdowns.
A massive military parade in Washington D.C. celebrating the Army's 250th birthday on Saturday. Thousands of soldiers and dozens of tanks and military vehicles participated. You see some of them here and vintage equipment and uniforms highlighting Army history going back to the Revolutionary War.
Saturday was also President Donald Trump's 79th birthday and he played a big part in some of the events. Mr. Trump praised the Army when he spoke late in the day.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), U.S. PRESIDENT: The Army keeps us free. You make us strong and tonight you have made all Americans very proud. They're watching from all over the world actually. Made them all very proud. Every other country celebrates their victories. It's about time America did too.
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ABEL: CNN Senior White House Correspondent Kristen Holmes was there and has this report.
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KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: On Saturday President Donald Trump delivering apolitical remarks when he celebrated the 250th Anniversary of the Army came over from the White House to stand by as a parade of really hours went by showing all of the military's hardware. We saw eras of different soldiers in uniform from the Revolutionary War to World War II to modern day. The last thing we saw were robotic dogs and drones. All of that showcasing what the Army's was best at or its best gear and what the future really looked like.
Now, there were a lot of questions and really controversy around this parade in general particularly given that it is falling on Donald Trump's 79th birthday. Now, the White House pushed back on that saying there was always going to be a celebration for the Army's 250th anniversary. But we were told by officials that this is a much larger scale. President Trump has wanted a military parade of this scale since he was in office back in 2016.
In 2017 he went to France. He saw a military parade there and our reporting has that he told President Macron president of France that they were going to top it in the United States. But during that first term of Donald Trump's it never really came to fruition. There were generals and aides and staffers all of whom really pushed back on this idea saying that it would look too political.
But that itself gave lent credence to the fact that this was an opportunity for Donald Trump the 250th Anniversary of the Army to actually go through with this parade. And what we saw again it's hours of the best of the military combined. I talked to a number of veterans who emailed me saying that they were honored that Donald Trump was doing this.
Again, it's marks -- there was a lot of looking and focus on those remarks that he gave because there were questions as to whether or not he was going to make it political. We've seen two recent speeches he gave at the graduation in West Point both at Fort Bragg where it became political something that the Army the military tries to stay out of. They were cheering President Trump at times. They were booing President Joe Biden. But this was a focus on the Army as it should have been the anniversary.
And I will mention one part here because again the pushback from the White House saying it just happened on his birthday. There was a mention of Donald Trump's birthday at the very end of his speech. They came up to him. They sang happy birthday to him and presented him with a flag.
But overall the people we spoke to on the ground the people who are watching at home they said that they were in support of this kind of parade to honor the men and women who risked their lives.
Kristen Holmes CNN Washington D.C.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ABEL: Demonstrators rallied throughout the U.S. before and during that military parade. They denounced what they say are President Trump's authoritarian policies. Organizers say they wanted demonstrations to be peaceful in contrast to the military parade. Here's what one protester had to say about why she was there.
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PROTESTER: I'm here for democracy. I'm here because I'm frightened of how we are traveling in this country. But my anger supersedes my fear because he wants me to be afraid. And I am but I'm more angry. And when I'm angry you better back up.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ABEL: Retired U.S. Army General Mark MacCarley is an Iraq war veteran. He joins us live from Los Angeles. Major General, thank you for being with us.
Given your background of serving, I wonder if you could just tell us what you saw and felt today watching this parade?
MAJ. GEN. MARK MACCARLEY, U.S. ARMY (Ret.): Everybody -- great question, everybody loves a parade from the time I was a little kid. The issue -- the only issue I have as we look at the tremendous amount of money that will be required to upgrade our army to fight the battles that might indeed face us in the next couple of months years. It's money. And if the cost is as some folks said $25 million, $45 million. The question that comes up is could that money have been more appropriately spent for anything from helping soldiers to acquiring kit or doing those things that can constructively move our army forward. Could we have -- could the administration have moved forward with a representation and a recognition of the army in a way different than walking 6500 or 6700 soldiers with 87 armored vehicles down Constitution Avenue. Maybe there's another way. The army puts out fabulous videos that represent the strength of the army and that might have been a much less expensive action.
ABEL: Do you have any sense whatsoever that this celebration takes away in any way the U.S.' readiness maybe from just the equipment that was there because it seems like you're saying it may in terms of what we can purchase what we can't purchase because of this?
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MACCARLEY: Well, from the short-term perspective when you have -- there's a cost associated with this parade and that money as I said before could be used for any number of things that are important to our army and to our soldiers. Does it affect readiness? Yeah, in some small way in a sense that when you put equipment out and you use that equipment and then you have to bring the equipment back to home station you're going to have to spend hundreds of hours of soldier time to check and verify this equipment to determine if anything went wrong. If parts need to be replaced that has to be done and all that does in fact cost money and it affects readiness. Readiness quite simply means that the piece of equipment is not ready for engagement in any armed conflict. So, yeah there's effect on readiness.
ABEL: There's also Major General been a lot of talk lately about the politicization of the military from this parade coinciding with the President's birthday to the use of the National Guard in L.A. as the U.S. military. Is the U.S. military subject to political pressure that it has not been before?
MACCARLEY: I think when you look at the totality of actions over the last couple of weeks our army has responded both at the national level the United States Army and the 54 National Guards each guard representing a state and or territory of the United States. I'm not calling this resistance there certainly has been a response to the effect of our army our national army is intended quite frankly for one for purpose and that is to defeat our enemies our foreign enemies who are seeking to overturn and destroy us from the outside.
The question of whether it was appropriate to use the National Guard in Los Angeles gets down to a conversation about the specific statute the two statutes that were used to justify transferring what we call command and control of the California National Guard from its commander what we call the state adjutant general to an active duty or an officer who was given active duty authority to use that in pursuit of objectives outlined objectives by the administration and that's certainly been reviewed by first the district court and then now the appellate court the ninth circuit came out with which allowed basically this emergency decision allowed the administration to move forward and use these National Guard for the purpose of protecting federal property and protecting federal agents.
Is it a wise use of American military power? Of course, I'm not in command but when you look at what California has in terms of robust police and law enforcement agencies it does indeed have the National Guard with over 10,000 soldiers within that guard even more than that as we review the numbers and it would have the capability to resolve this without the necessity of bringing in federalized soldiers. And I think that that's been the theme.
But as -- I answered this question a couple of days ago, there are two things going on here one is public disorder. And the second is the achievement of the objective of the administration and that objective is to remove undocumented people from the United States. And if the concern on the part of the administration is we don't trust the state of California the governor of the state of California to use its National Guard in a way that furthers the administration's objective I think that is the key question here lack -- lack of coordination and of course a difference of substantial, an existential difference between how the administration sees the use of armed force versus the use of armed force for the purpose of maintaining order in the state of California.
ABEL: Last thing I have for you. I want to go back to something you started this conversation with saying that Americans love a good parade. They've been a feature of small-town America and big cities for generations if you take away any of the controversies surrounding this parade. Do you hope that a spectacle like this reminds people of the sacrifices maybe for those who serve make maybe has a new generation considering possibly enlisting now?
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MACCARLEY: Great, question. I just delivered a speech about that subject to some local community organization and my sensing is that there was some amount of enthusiasm for the display of military hardware and our proud soldiers walking down Constitution Avenue.
I don't think that those -- many of those who watched this came up with a sense of antipathy or animosity toward the parade itself. I think the only legitimate complaint is the cost associated with putting this on.
And my view is, if you look at the purpose to encourage people to look at the Army as perhaps one of the most important institutions in the United States government, you could do it a lot of different ways besides spending 45 million.
ABEL: Major General Mark MacCarley, appreciate your time. Thank you for the analysis, sir.
MACCARLEY: Thank you.
ABEL: Israel's military says its new video shows a mid-air confrontation. Still ahead, Israeli helicopters taking out Iranian drones.
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ABEL: Let's get you up to speed with the latest on the fighting between Israel and Iran.
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ABEL: Israel's military has released a new video saying it shows Iranian drones being shot down by Israeli helicopters. Earlier, Israel took a barrage of missile strikes, which killed at least eight people and left more, roughly 140 people injured.
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Iran says it used its new maneuverable ballistic missile in some of the strikes, claiming it can evade Israel's advanced air defenses. Iran is also on the receiving end of Israeli strikes with a major oil depot in Tehran set on fire, and the country's defense ministry also hit by Israeli attacks. Sources are telling us the Israeli operations are expected to take weeks, not days.
And joining me live from Tel Aviv, Senior Fellow at the International Institute for Counterterrorism and retired colonel of the Israeli Defense Forces, Miri Eisin.
Thank you for being with us. This is becoming far more deadly, this conflict, for both sides than the earlier exchanges between Israel and Iran, and is already more protracted. Prime Minister Netanyahu talking about this taking weeks. Is the Israeli public ready for the trauma of more deaths as missiles get through the country's defenses?
MIRI EISIN, SENIOR FELLOW, INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR COUNTER- TERRORISM AT REICHMAN UNIVERSITY: One of the most important parts for me as an Israeli, and I'm sitting now in Tel Aviv, and these nights are not easy for anybody, and horrific attacks is that we do understand the implications of what started. Even though I don't support this government, and you'll hear lots of different voices, for a variety of reasons, I absolutely understand and support these actions against the Islamic regime of Iran.
When it started for us early Friday morning, 3 a.m., and we're already on Sunday morning here inside Israel, when it started for me as a citizen, but also as a military person, it was clear that there's the opening act. That was what everybody saw Friday, very impressed by, but that was just day one, and as I said, even the six-day war went on six days, and yes, the Prime Minister's already said weeks. We have to breathe in hard. This is not easy, and the Iranians make a lot of rhetoric, but at the end, our defenses have been very effective, and Israelis are acting very responsibly.
Sadly, as I say as a military person, statistically, some are going to get through, and that's horrible, and that's why we try to go to the different defined safe areas, and we're going to continue to do so. I think that we are ready.
ABEL: Miri, President Trump, a short time ago, posting again that the U.S., quote, had nothing to do with the attack on Iran tonight. He went on to say that, and I'm quoting here as well, we can easily get a deal done between Iran and Israel and end this bloody conflict. Is that the view where you are? Is there an off-ramp that leads to talks? EISIN: There's always going to be an off-ramp. I just don't know at what stage. I'll say kind of sillily, every war is going to end at the end with some kind of an agreement. Will it be today or tomorrow or in a week's time? For Israel, the main challenge is not just that quest for nuclear weapons, it was the nuclear weapons combined with the different platforms, combined with a lot of other terror capabilities, because the Islamic regime is the main state sponsor of terrorism all around.
I'm looking right now in the last attack, as they said in Israel, it wasn't just the Islamic regime firing ICBM ballistic missiles. Yemen, or the Houthis, also fired against Israel. There are all sorts of different quotes going on that ground troops, as they like to call themselves, Shiite from Iraq, perhaps from Yemen, are trying to join on in. We're talking about something that should be taken care of, that should not be allowed to be there.
The off-ramp, absolutely. But that off-ramp is something where the Islamic regime has to stop, and then they can come and sit down, but it's both the nuclear quest and all of those other terror sponsoring issues.
ABEL: Mary, what sense do you have about Israel's endgame here? Is it simply the ending of Iran's nuclear program, which in and of itself is a tall order, or is it continuing to decapitate Iran's military leadership, or is it a regime change, or is it all of the above?
EISIN: I don't think it's all of the above. I think that what has always really disturbed us is not just the nuclear, it's the combination of the nuclear with the platforms. Look at these missiles that they can fire against Israel. They're firing them 1,000 miles away. These missiles could reach, you say, Turkey. They could reach Germany. They could reach the U.K. Nobody wants the Islamic regime of Iran to have that, and with nuclear capability.
So, it's both about the platforms and about the nuclear capability. For me, it's also about the state-sponsored terrorism. On October 7th, one of the inspirations for the attack and the way that that whole situation played out for Hamas, their inspiration was the Islamic regime. Hezbollah, the other proxy, joined in. The Yemen Houthis have joined in. These are things that need to be, again, stated very clearly. That regime calls for our annihilation. If the regime would change, that would be, as far as I'm concerned, great. But I don't see us doing so. Us, Israel, actually doing the regime change.
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ABEL: Given the new developments of this conflict between Iran and Israel, where do you see dynamics on the ground changing in those countries? Give us a sense, if you can, right now, of how Israeli people and Iranian people are feeling about their leaders, but also about each other.
EISIN: So, the Israelis and Iranians, for many years, because this idea that Israel would attack the nuclear facilities and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard has been in the air for many years because this quest for nuclear weapons has been around a long time. And if people look up online in old social media, mainly in Facebook, there was about Israel loves Iran, Iran loves Israel, the people are not the issues.
And in this case, and I want to state clearly, the Israeli people right now very much back what is being done, because this Islamic regime has not just said it wants to annihilate Israel, it is actively pursuing illegally every path it can to achieve nuclear weapons, not nuclear free zones, nuclear weapons. It's doing this against any kind of treaty or anything in the world kind of blinks at it, not for Israelis. I think that the people is not about the issue. It is about the regime. It's about that quest and the combination of calling for annihilation and actively seeking illegally nuclear weapons. This is a huge issue here.
I would love to hope that someday it would be different. Not today right now, I'm breathing in as I'm sitting here. We are in a complete state of emergency right now. I happen to be in my home. But in general, it's very challenging right now here and we need to breathe in deep. It's not going to be over today or tomorrow. This is something that needs to be taken care of.
ABEL: Miri Eisin in Tel Aviv, Miri, thank you and please stay safe.
EISIN: Thank you.
ABEL: Police used tear gas on protesters in Los Angeles. We'll speak with an organizer who's trying to help them after the break.
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[01:45:04]
ABEL: The federal immigration raids have triggered protests throughout the United States. This was the scene in Philadelphia on Saturday. But the biggest anti-ICE protests may be in Los Angeles. At one point on Saturday, police using tear gas to clear out protesters. CNN's Michael Yoshida was there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAEL YOSHIDA, CNN REPORTER: Here in downtown Los Angeles, a curfew once again in effect. You can see LAPD filling the street. This follows a day full of protests here in downtown Los Angeles. The "No Kings" protest kicked things off early in the morning. 20,000 or so people taking part in the protest. A march and rally near City Hall in downtown L.A. as the afternoon went on.
We did start to see tensions rise between some protesters and law enforcement. At some point, some protesters started throwing objects, bottles, rocks, stones at the officers. They started to then use tear gas, rubber bullets and other equipment to try and move those protesters away from City Hall and other federal buildings.
Late into the night here in L.A., you can still see we have Los Angeles police moving through the streets. The sirens, very audible here in downtown L.A. The curfew has been in effect for several days now. All of this happening after ICE detentions and raids here in Los Angeles. More than a week later, again, we continue to see protests and marches throughout the city.
In Los Angeles, Michael Yoshida.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ABEL: And let's bring in Palmira Figueroa now. She is the Director of Communications for the National Day Labor Organization Network, and she is joining us from Seattle.
Palmira, after days of protests now across the country, has anything changed on the ground? Has anything improved?
PALMIRA FIGUEROA, NATIONAL DAY LABORER ORGANIZING NETWORK: Well, I would say that the protests continue to be mostly peaceful. We know that, you know, the loud firing cars and the loud gas that the police forces are doing against protesters is what we see on -- on TV. But really what's happening is people going to the streets to defend their communities. There's a lot of protests happening, yes, but it is mostly peaceful.
ABEL: We are reporting on how businesses, some are barely able to function with members of the immigrant community, afraid to show up, fearing raids.
FIGUEROA: Yeah.
ABEL: Graduation ceremonies sparsely attended. That fear of the randomness of the raids, that is not just about gang members being sought after. That remains very real, doesn't it?
FIGUEROA: Definitely. What is happening is more violent than any violent protest, I would say.
I have a story that today morning I was talking to Yamilette (ph). She is an 18-year-old. Her father was taken away from them when he was looking for work in a corner in Long Beach just three days ago, a day before her high school graduation.
That is one of the things that -- one of those stories that is so real and it's happening every day in Los Angeles and around the country, but especially in California with the last few days of raids and a heightened ICE activity.
ABEL: What are activists telling those who want to go out and protest and vent these feelings? What's the message there?
FIGUEROA: I think the message is that we cannot answer the violence with more violence. Our peaceful protesting speaks louder than they snatching people from the streets and taking it away from their families. We are calling for nonviolent protest because that is the way we show that we care. The more violent they are, the more loving that we are. Our call is for people to let the people of the United States know
what immigrants are doing here. We're here to work. We're here to be a part of the community. We're here to build your houses, care for your children. We've been doing that for years and we're an integral part of this community.
ABEL: Palmira, what's your outlook for the coming week? Is there any optimism there?
FIGUEROA: Yes, I am optimistic. I see -- I am in Seattle, but I am directly connected to L.A. all day, every day. I was there last week. We, around the country are hopeful because people are raising up. We saw today thousands and thousands of people everywhere in the streets. We had the biggest march we have had in Seattle ever today for the "No Kings" Day.
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And the message was we're here, we're together. Only the people save the people. We're going to get through this by helping each other, supporting each other, embracing each other.
ABEL: Palmira Figueroa in Seattle. Palmira, thank you.
FIGUEROA: Thank you so much.
ABEL: The people of Britain come together for a display of military precision, horsemanship, and fanfare. Coming up, the change King Charles asked some of his family members to make for Trooping the Color and the reason behind it.
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ABEL: India is ordering inspections of all Boeing 787 aircraft after the tragic Air India plane crash, which killed at least 290 people. India's aviation regulator says it will examine assessments of takeoff parameters, electronic engine control test, and engine fuel test. This comes as the investigation continues into what caused the doomed flight to go down. Both data recorders, also known as black boxes, were recovered from the aircraft on Friday.
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Members of the British Royal Family wearing black armbands to honor the Air India crash victims during the Trooping the Color parade in London on Saturday. The annual event marked the sovereign's official birthday, although King Charles actually turned 78 in November. The event honors the monarch's links to the military and was heavy on pageantry without tanks or heavy hardware. It ended with the Royal Family watching a fly pass by the Royal Air Force's Red Arrows over Buckingham Palace.
That does it for us. Thank you for watching. I'm Brian Abel in Atlanta. Our breaking news coverage continues with my colleagues Ben Hunte and Becky Anderson.
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ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.
BEN HUNTE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, I'm Ben Hunte in Atlanta. We're following several major stories in the U.S. and around the world today. There's a manhunt for a suspected assassin in Minnesota, a military parade honoring the founding of the U.S. Army and anti-Trump protests around that.
But first, let's go to Becky Anderson in Abu Dhabi with the latest on the fighting between Israel and Iran.
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN ANCHOR: Ben, thank you. There are no signs of a slowdown as Iran and Israel trade heavy missile fire for a third straight day.
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