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Israel, Iran Take Damage As Missile Strikes Escalate; Manhunt Underway For Suspect In Shootings Of Minnesota Lawmakers; Demonstrators Rally Throughout U.S. During Military Parade. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired June 15, 2025 - 03:30   ET

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

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[03:00:00]

BEN HUNTE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello. Welcome to our viewers watching in the United States and all around the world. I'm Ben Hunte.

We are following several major stories in the U.S., including a manhunt after the assassination of a Minnesota state lawmaker, as well as protests across the U.S. that coincided with a military parade in Washington D.C.

We will get to all of those stories and so much more, but we start this hour with the intensifying fighting between Israel and Iran.

And for that, let's go straight to Becky Anderson in Abu Dhabi.

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN ANCHOR: And there are no signs, Ben, thank you, of a slowdown in this conflict, as Iran and Israel trade heavy missile fire for a third straight day.

Well, this is what played out in Tel Aviv as Iranian missiles rained down overnight on targets there and across the country. Officials say the barrage killed at least 10 overnight and left about 140 others injured. Tehran says it used its new guided or maneuverable ballistic missile in some of these strikes, claiming that that can penetrate Israel's advanced air defenses.

Iran also taking devastating hit, as you can see in this footage, released by Israel's military. They say it shows strikes on various Iranian missile launches. Iranian media say a major oil depot in Tehran has also been hit along with the country's defense ministry in the capital. Israel's military says it is not done going after targets in the city.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRIG. GEN. EFFIE DEFRIN, ISRALI 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)

ANDERSON: Well, CNN International Diplomatic Editor Nic Robertson live on the ground in Bat Yam, in Israel the side of an Iranian missile strike.

And, Nic, you can see the fallout behind you. We were talking just moments ago about what you see there. Just explain, if you will, what happened when and how.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, Becky, middle of the night, about 2:30 A.M., Central Israel, that's where we're located, Central Israel right now, there was a barrage of Iranian missiles came in. One of them -- we saw a lot being intercepted, but as I looked to the horizon in this direction last night, I could see a huge flash. And now we can see below us the destruction.

I mean, just looking at the ground here behind me, you're seeing kids' toys. This is a residential neighborhood back to the apartments behind us. I know, Neville (ph), if you can pan back up again here. You can see the destruction.

But I'm joined by a police spokesman, Dean Elsdunne Dean. Tell us what you're finding here and what you -- you're still in rescue and recovery, right?

DEAN ELSDUNNE, INTERNATIONAL SPOKESPERSON FOR ISRAELI POLICE: The efforts of -- the rescue efforts are still extensive, still ongoing. This is the result of yet another barrage of rockets targeting our civilian populations. I do want to say that the civilian discipline, the population, the Israeli population, to listen to the home front command, to find protected shelter is what's saving so many lives.

But when you see this building --

ROBERTSON: But six people here were killed.

ELSDUNNE: The number's very dynamic. It's changing. Obviously, you can see this is not a site that's going to end very quickly. We still have police bomb squads together with the home front command using different technology and removing dangerous debris to find people believe to be injured or missing still underneath this rubble.

ROBERTSON: But why do you think people are still missing?

ELSDUNNE: I believe, as you can see, that it's clear to see that there might be possibly underneath this rubble, maybe the communication was lost between their loved ones that haven't been able to make contact. This is still ongoing, it's still very dynamic, but this is what we've been preparing for to best service our civilians during this very difficult time where they've clearly been targeted by these terror rockets.

ROBERTSON: It appears that the government doesn't expect this to end anytime soon. There are no schools today, no plans, it appears, for children to go back to schools. And this advice that you're talking about and listening to the spokesman of the military last night, the IDF saying, look, we have defenses, but they're not hermetically sealed, that Iran still has capabilities, stay close to your shelters.

[03:05:00]

That continues to be the message. But how long can Iran keep this going?

ELSDUNNE: You know, I can't see the future. What I can tell you is that we're constantly holding dynamic situational assessments in the police in order to respond to sites like this, where residential communities are being targeted. Our bomb squads working very close together with the home front command, canine units that are able to sniff out people that are -- that might be trapped underneath the rubble.

There's a few different commands that we're asking of the public. Obviously to stay close to protected shelter, to be in protected shelter until you get a notification to leave, but also not to share locations of impact sites. It's very dangerous. The Iranian regime is obviously using this to continue their targeting of the civilian population. And so we asked to continuously listen to these instructions.

ROBERTSON: And the fact that this neighborhood has been hit, there are air defenses around the country. How effective can the air defenses be there? There's Iron Dome, there's David's Sling, there's Arrow 2, Arrow 3. What percentage of Iranian missiles are getting through?

ELSDUNNE: You know, these are questions more for the IDF. Obviously, given the technology, it's less connected to the police. But what I can tell you is that it's a miracle that the number of casualties, unfortunately, it's heartbreaking that there is casualties, that there is fatalities. But when you see a site like this where a building is completely desecrated, demolished, and you see the numbers of those killed and injured, it's honestly a miracle. But it's due to the fact that the public is listening to the instructions to find protected shelter, to stay there. And we all pray for a peaceful and quick end to this.

ROBERTSON: And just describe for us how big of an area is affected here. How many people have been forced out of their homes? How big is the area of effective impact here?

ELSDUNNE: So, what you see here is the direct impact, but it goes much more than that. You have locks of houses, streets ongoing here, where the shards were blasted from the shrapnel metal, and that's just as dangerous. We saw the Houthi drone attack not too long ago, a couple of months ago, where the fatality there was from the blast and the shard that killed that individual.

So, those that are injured, those that are killed, may not be even here. It could be a block away, two blocks away from here.

ROBERTSON: And quickly, could you give us an assessment of those who have been injured and taken to hospital? How many? How's that -- what's their condition?

ELSDUNNE: So, there's various conditions and we're talking about dozens of injured. I don't want to get into exact numbers. Obviously, this is also dynamic. It's changing. As the forces the police and the IDF are working to locate more individuals and we're finding more individuals. So, I don't want to give you that exact number, but I can tell you that, unfortunately, that number's growing.

ROBERTSON: Dean Elsdunne, thank you very much indeed. I appreciate that.

Becky, that's a recap of the situation here, but obviously across the country in the town of Tamara, north of here, just further north in Central Israel, there were other people killed overnight as well. Four young women were killed, again, a residential area that was hit by the missiles, sirens going off several times in the middle of the night. And I think, you know, this is the beginning of something that can go long, that Israelis have been, in a way, expecting that there would be potentially an escalation of the confrontation with Iran.

The mood has been generally that it's supportive that the government is taking these measures. But when you understand and see that every night. The sirens go off several times in the middle of the night, the people are getting up heading to their shelters, you can see that over time this will have a wearing psychological, physical impact on people.

We are not there yet. The reality of this conflict today, the buildings you see behind me here, we know that Israel launched a number of strikes into Iran last night. They say the IDF says that they targeted Iran's defense ministry in the capital, it appears Iran's energy infrastructure, gas supplies were also part of the targeting yesterday.

We've seen in Tehran as well the authorities there, state media reporting a house there that was hit during an Israeli strike where 60 people were killed. They say 20 of them children. This is a conflict that is impacting civilians, whether you are in Israel or Iran, Becky.

ANDERSON: Yes, absolutely. Nic, it's good to have you. Thank you, for the time being. Nic Robertson in Bat Yam in Israel.

Nada Bashir is monitoring the ongoing action on both sides from London today. Nada, what have you got?

NADA BASHIR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, just to reiterate what Nic was saying there, this is an operation which, according to Israeli officials and sources, could take weeks, not days. We've seen these barrage of missiles targeting Israeli territory, but also, of course, across Iran as well, those missile attacks from Israel.

And what we've seen over the last few hours and overnight is the targeting of key objectives in Iran expanding.

[03:10:04] We've seen the targeting of, according to the Israeli military, Iran's Defense Ministry headquarters. We've seen the targeting of an oil depot. And that is, of course, in addition to the previous targeting of key Iranian nuclear sites and the killing and targeting of top military officials and top nuclear scientists.

Now, of course, what we've also been hearing from the Israeli military is that warning that they will continue to expand and escalate. We've been hearing from Israeli officials saying that they have been successful in carrying out air operations, that their Air Force has been able to move freely across and within Iranian air space alongside Israeli drones, that they have been successful in dismantling and eliminating as much of Iran's air defense systems, or are they part of Iran's air defense systems?

But, of course, the key targets and focus for the Israeli military remains, those key nuclear sites. We've been hearing from the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, who has said that these attacks by Israel will continue until they have been successful in eliminating what he has described as the Iranian nuclear threat. We've seen overnight the targeting of surface to surface missile launches in Iran, and that is expected to continue. It is expected to expand. We've been hearing from sources telling CNN that this is not the typical tit-for-tat that we've seen in the past in terms of confrontations between Iran and Israel, but rather that Israel is following an escalatory strategy that they are pushing ahead.

We've been hearing from U.S. officials and from Israeli officials who have indicated that this is, coming as well with some tacit support, or at least acknowledgement from U.S. officials as well. But, again, there is questions around how much further this can expand, whether we begin to see a greater level of involvement or support by the United States.

And then, of course, when we look more broadly across the region as well, we've been hearing those warnings from Iranian officials, that they will not only intensify their attacks on Israeli territory, as we have seen over the last few hours, but also potentially other regional assets for nations that are providing that military support for Israel, namely, of course, the United States and its regional military bases. Becky?

ANDERSON: Nada Bashir is in London. Thank you.

Let's get you to Tel Aviv. Alon Pinkas is the former Israeli consul general in New York. He is live from Tel Aviv today.

24 hours after we last spoke, what's your perspective on the continued ferocity and fallout of these strikes, these operations on both sides, Alon?

ALON PINKAS, FORMER ISRAELI CONSUL GENERAL IN NEW YORK: Good morning. Look, there's no question that the last 24 hours there's been an escalation and you called it the ferocity of it, and you're absolutely right. Look, on the one hand, you have some operational Israeli -- some impressive Israeli operational successes that should not be discounted, and you have further weakening and vulnerabilities on the Iranian side.

On the other hand the entire operation still lacks, and I know sometimes it's not -- you know, contemporaries should shut up when things seem to be working fine, but, nonetheless, there seems to be a conspicuous absence of both an exit strategy and a clear political objective here.

Now, you would imagine that the off-ramp for this that the golden bridge, so to speak, would be to make an Iranian offer on the negotiations and offer that they that would be respectable and respectful enough for them to accept. But, you know, that's almost counterintuitive.

At this point, the big question, the military question, is what is Israel going to do? Because yesterday, the defense minister threatened the Israeli defense minister, that is, threatened Iran that if they continue on with the rocket, with the missile salvos, then Tehran will not be spared. And so I don't know what that means. Also a first thing that Israel, that for the first time Israel yesterday attacked Iranian energy, that is oil and gas infrastructure. So, all that could escalate.

The key here, I think, at this point is when and if, or if and when, the U.S. intends to get involved diplomatically, not militarily, Israel is still trying to pull the U.S. militarily into this, but the US is the only one which can or is capable of ending this diplomatically. Whether that'll be done, I don't know.

ANDERSON: You and I spoke then at this time yesterday, and you describe what is happening now as very different, and you clearly see that continuing, very different to what we've seen in the past.

[03:15:07]

And you said to me, in retrospect, the recent past action looked almost scripted. You said there was a coalition led by the U.S. and Britain, including some Arab Gulf states, and Jordan, for example, that intercepted most of the Iranian missiles and drones last time, and I was in Tel Aviv when that sort of tit-for-tat, that sort of scripted tit-for-tat happened. Again, you know, I underscore you say this is very different. And you make that point about what happens next and what U.S. involvement might look like, if at all.

Certainly, we continue to hear from the U.S administration, specifically from Donald Trump himself, that the door to a diplomatic off-ramp is open. He wants those talks to continue. Of course, the sixth round of those talks were scheduled today in Oman. Perhaps we shouldn't be surprised that they are not happening.

The Iranians, though, Alon, have kept the door open to further talks once they say, this part of their operation is over. None of us know what that looks like at this stage. But let's just discuss what we do know. Benjamin Netanyahu said his objectives are to neutralize the Iranian nuclear infrastructure and program and neutralize the ballistic missile stockpile. When you step back, whatever we've seen over the last 72 hours or 48, whatever it is, that has not happened. That nuclear program still exists, albeit hampered, perhaps. And what we've seen overnight in Israel is the fallout from not just a ballistic missile stockpile, but a new weapon. How worrying is that and how important is it to your mind that Israel step up its support, as it were, for a diplomatic off ramp at this point before this gets really bad?

PINKAS: Well, look, Mr. Netanyahu is not seeking a diplomatic solution to this. While he's not stating it explicitly, he wants to see regime change. The problem is that the Iranians are perceiving that and this is so discernible that the Iranians are concluding that the regime is under some kind of an existential threat. That hardens their position. It doesn't make them more amenable to a diplomatic solution.

That is why Becky, Mr. Netanyahu wants the U.S. to get into the war actively, militarily get into the war because he knows that Israel's ability or capabilities, rather, to inflict irreversible damage on Iran's nuclear program is extraordinarily limited. And for that, you need the munitions and the sustained aerial capabilities of the U.S., which is not very enthusiastic about joining this war.

Now, as for Donald Trump, whom you mentioned at the beginning of your statement or your question, look, he's saying different things every day. So, you know, trying to predict what the U.S. would do based on what Donald Trump is saying. is an impossibility. It is also somewhat irrational to expect some kind of pattern in what he says.

Now, militarily, you asked about the military aspect of this, because as you said, and I agree obviously that this is different, it all depends on the stockpiles, on the arsenal that the Iranians still have of ballistic missiles. I don't know. Are they in the thousands, in the hundreds? There's a key component here, which is the missile launchers. They may have 500 missiles in buried somewhere, but if the launchers have been neutralized, then the missiles are very little use, which all brings us from a diplomatic or even a strategic point of view to the great dilemma that the Iranians are facing right now.

And I have no pretense of being an expert on how the Iranians are thinking these days. But, nonetheless, it seems obvious that they know that agreeing, consenting to whatever the Americans are proposing now would be seen as weakness.

Remember until a year-and-a-half ago, Iran was perceived to be this geopolitical regional superpower with a vast web of heavily armed proxies, Hezbollah and the Houthis and Yemen and some militias in Iraq and in Syria.

[03:20:01]

And right now, they are without those proxies, all of which have been degraded militarily in a significant way. The Iranians' air defenses have been degraded severely. They have been attacked directly by Israel. So, any kind of agreement or acquiescence to entertain American offers would be seen as some kind of a weakness on the part of the regime. On the other hand, if they persist in this unscripted war that can escalate any moment into further firepower against energy, infrastructure in Tehran, that could -- that risks getting the U.S. involved. Look, I mean, I wouldn't say that it is likely but you have to pay attention to the constant and persistent Iranian threats on U.S. forces in the Gulf and the Straits of Hormuz. At some point, if the regime thinks it is under an imminent existential danger, they may do so. So, if they don't stop the war and agree to some kind of diplomatic status, they risk the Americans getting involved and then they risk losing everything.

This is the dilemma I think they're facing, and this is the dilemma Mr. Netanyahu wanted to corner them into. The problem with Mr. Netanyahu's approach, as was the case in Gaza, which was less successful compared to Iran, certainly from a military and technological point of view, is that there's no clear political objective, that the military means, however successful, are not aligned with a coherent exit strategy for Mr. Netanyahu.

So, you know, all of this leads us to the basic question, how long is this going to take? And the answer is, it's up to the Iranians really, not Israel.

ANDERSON: Alon, it's good to have you, your analysis extremely important as we continue to cover this story.

And we are of course just tracking what is going on around the region through statements and posts about phone calls. There is clearly, certainly in the region that I am in, an enormous amount of activity behind the scenes, at least diplomatic activity through calls between Qatar and the Saudis, Qatar, and the Egyptians the Saudis and the UAE. This action is going on behind the scenes. Where it lands, of course, as far as diplomacy is concerned will only be clear in the hours to come. Thank you, Alon.

And we are learning new details about the suspect in the Minnesota shootings that left one lawmaker dead and another wounded. That is up next.

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[03:25:00]

HUNTE: Welcome back. An urgent manhunt is underway in Minnesota after a state lawmaker and her husband was shot and killed in their home. Authorities have identified the suspect as 57-year-old Vance Boelter. The governor says the shooting looks like a politically motivated assassination. Investigators believe the shooter may have been disguised as a police officer.

SWAT teams and officers from multiple agencies searched the suspect's property but didn't find him. Officials say State Senator John Hoffman and his wife were targeted on Saturday morning. They survived the shooting and have now undergone surgery.

Melissa Hortman was the top Democrat in the Minnesota House. She and her husband were killed in their home. One of her colleagues spoke to CNN earlier, remembering the lawmaker as a friend.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STATE REP. SYDNEY JORDAN (D-MN): Sitting next to her, I think about my friend that was very funny. I think she had a very raw sense of humor and was a very direct person. She could tell you very -- she was not someone who was going to, you know, candy coat what you needed to do. She was somebody who gave you that direct advice and told you what you needed to hear in that moment. And some of that guidance and that gentle but firm ideas that she would give people is the kind of leadership that is rare and is so needed, and it's an unspeakable loss.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTE: Flags are at half staff and a memorial for the victims is growing outside the state capitol.

CNN's Whitney Wild has more for us from Blaine in Minnesota.

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 into 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.

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 resident's 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.

[03:30:05] 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've never seen this happen to what we know happened on Saturday? Again, there was 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 showed him with a cowboy hat in civilian clothes. And, you know, law enforcement really wants the public to make sure that they take, you know, a careful note of what he looks like because they're really relying on the public's help to try to track down Vance Butler, again, or Boelter as they continue this investigation.

Whitney Wild, CNN, Blaine, Minnesota.

HUNTE: Demonstrators on Saturday rallied throughout the U.S. before and during the Washington, D.C., military parade denouncing what organizers describe as Donald Trump's authoritarian policies. They gathered at thousands of locations. Protest leaders say they wanted to present a peaceful contrast to Saturday's military parade in Washington.

Organizers canceled planned protests in Minnesota for safety reasons after two state lawmakers and their spouses were shot.

Meanwhile, a parade in Washington, D.C., celebrated the Army's 250th birthday with the largest display of military might seen in a nation's capital in decades.

A 21 gun salute honored the U.S. President Donald Trump, who was also celebrating a birthday on Saturday, his 79th. Mr. Trump figured prominently in some parts of that celebration. He administered the oath during an enlistment and re-enlistment ceremony after reviewing thousands of troops and dozens of tanks and military vehicles that passed, by Mr. Trump addressed the crowd later in the day. He praised the army and the critical role it plays for the country.

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DONALD TRUMP, 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.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTE: Escalation in the Middle East as Israel and Iran exchanged military strikes. In Israel, Iranian missiles have killed at least 10 people and wounded more than 100 others. The latest is up next on CNN.

Stay with us.

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[03:35:00]

HUNTE: Welcome back. I'm Ben Hunte. Let's take a look at today's top story.

Police in Minnesota are searching for a man accused of killing a state lawmaker and her husband early on Saturday morning. A state senator and his wife survived a second shooting. Authorities have identified 57-year-old Vance Boelter as the suspect.

Thousands of people took part in the No Kings protests in thousands of locations across the U.S. on Saturday. They were demonstrating against what they called President Donald Trump's creeping authoritarianism.

A massive military parade in Washington, D.C., on Saturday celebrated the 250th anniversary of the creation of the U.S. Army. Thousands of troops and dozens of tanks participated in the event, which also saluted the 79th birthday of President Donald Trump.

ANDERSON: Well, Israel now says it is aerial freedom over Tehran. A military official says Israel has eliminated many of Iran's air defense systems, giving it the ability to launch surprise attacks. And the claim comes as both sides keep inflicting damage on each other with increasingly, it seems, ferocious missile strikes.

Well, Israel's military released a new video saying that it shows Iranian drones being shot down by Israeli helicopters. Earlier, Israel was hit by a barrage of missile strikes, killed at least 10 people and left more than 140 injured. Iran says it used its new maneuverable ballistic missile in some of the strikes claiming it can evade Israel's advanced air defenses.

Well, meanwhile, Houthis in Yemen say they fired ballistic missiles towards Israel in coordination with Iran. A faction said it targeted Jaffa at various times over the past 24 hours.

Well, Iran also on the receiving end of Israeli strikes with a major oil depot in Tehran set on fire. The country's defense ministry also hit by Israeli attacks, and the Israeli military has just issued an urgent evacuation warning to Iranians living near weapon production facilities, saying that being nearby would endanger their lives.

Well, that is a lot to get your head around over the past 24 hours or so.

Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump posting that Washington had nothing to do with Israel's attacks, and he said, an agreement is still possible to end the conflict. The statement came after U.S.- Iranian nuclear talks scheduled for today were officially canceled. The U.S. defense secretary later said that negotiations are Tehran's best option. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETE HEGSETH, U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: The president continues to say to Iran, Hey, you have an option for peace. It includes, you know, various aspects of what's been discussed. Iran knows they know they can come back. They're making their own decisions right now and we hope they would choose a negotiated option.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Maha Yahya is the director of the Carnegie Middle East Center. She joins us now from Beirut. As the U.S. appeals to Iran to approach this negotiated option with sort of clarity at this point, so, you know, the last 24 hours has revealed what feels like, you know, an ongoing operation that is getting increasingly ferocious.

Maha just reflect on what we've seen over the past 24 hours and we continue to see and get warned off ongoing operations as you and I speak.

[03:40:07]

And then let's talk about what a negotiated option might look like and whether Israel has any support for that, whether there is any evidence that Israel would be in support of that.

Let's start just with your reflections, though, of what we have seen over these past 24 hours from your perspective there Beirut.

MAHA YAHYA, DIRECTOR, CARNEGIE MIDDLE EAST CENTER: Good morning and thank you for having me. Look, it's just been terrifying to watch. We're looking at two regional powers going at each other in a horrific manner. We're just in -- there's nothing anyone can do here in the region. We're kind of sitting back and watching this unfold.

Israel basically chose to have this war with Iran and the consequences will be for everyone to bear. The death toll is rising in both countries and the damage -- I mean, we're all watching the damage.

The concern here today is that this is escalating, A, very quickly and it can quickly get out of hand. These are not measured strikes. We're starting to see the targeting of civilian areas. Already it was starting on day one, but this is be becoming more expensive. We're looking at damage to critical infrastructure, so on and so forth. So -- and it can escalate. Iran is already saying that we have other options, and they do have other options.

Now, each option comes with its own consequences, including, excuse me, including the targeting of American bases in the Gulf, which I don't think is an option they want to choose. They do not want to give the United States an excuse to get into this conflict in part because the nuclear facility at Fordo needs us bombs. The Israel cannot take out the nuclear capacities on its own in the way it's talking about. They would like to have the United States involved in this conflict.

We won't talk about the dangers of also radiation, should this continue. There are already indications that there is some radiation happening around the Natanz facility.

So, the escalation can happen very quickly. Other options that the Iranian regime -- and let's not forget the further regime the humiliation of the extent of Israeli intelligence penetration, the taking out of the top commanders, et cetera. It feels like it's fighting for its survival now, in many ways, for this particular regime. It's not just a face-saving issue, but it's also fighting for its own survival.

So it'll go all-out.

ANDERSON: And it is a degraded regime, of course, isn't it? It's a degraded regime over the past nine months since the decapitation of Hezbollah, where you are, of course, with the beeper attacks. And what we've seen in the early hours of this operation and the release of the Mossad intelligence video sort of reminds us of the depth, it seems, of Israeli intelligence in degrading Iran's capacity both inside the country and around the region.

So, this is, as you say, a weakened Iran. Its proxies are very much weakened. So, its capacity to sort of reign terror around the region much reduced, although, of course, we see the use of, it seems, new ballistic missiles today wreaking damage and deadly damage on Israel.

I want you to speak, you have -- you are really well-sourced around this region, around the -- where you are, around the Arab Gulf region where I am. I'm seeing a lot of diplomatic activity over the past 24 hours around this region, the Qataris speaking to the Saudis, the Saudis speaking to, you know, others, Egypt involved, Qataris speaking to Donald Trump, for example.

Just get our view as a perspective of how the regional players might influence what happens next, Maha.

YAHYA: Look, no one in the region wants to see this escalate. I mean, literally no one. Because at the end of the day, it's the people in this region who will pay the price, and we have been paying the price over the past few decades.

[03:45:09]

We've all seen what Israel has done over the past year-and-a-half. So, we've seen Iran's rogue activities in the region over the past decades. So it's -- again, it's the people in the region who are paying the price.

So, while Gulf countries may not mind seeing their former archenemy's power degraded, and I want to say here that it's the defense, a strategy of Iran, that has been degraded over the past year-and-a- half. The regime itself, and its control over -- I mean, its control over the political, military, and economic system within the country has not necessarily been degraded by the fighting. It has been degraded by the economic sanctions, et cetera. So, there are different mechanisms at play here.

For countries in the region, I think there will be a real -- there already is a lot of, as you mentioned, diplomatic activity to try and contain this, to try and use whatever leverage they have before this gets completely out of hand.

As I said, Iran is reluctant to use some of the tools that it has on its hand, but if pushed to a corner, into a corner, further into a corner, it may use them.

ANDERSON: Yes.

YAHYA: the same -- I mean, it's already now sending signals that may block the Straits of Hormuz, which will have obviously an impact on oil, et cetera, et cetera.

So, it's a very delicate balancing act, if you like, and the United States needs to step in with a very firm hand right now to say, stop it, enough is enough. Work with Saudi Arabia, with UAE, with Qatar, to try and contain this very quickly before, you know, things get much worse, a lot more worse.

ANDERSON: Yes. It gets further out of hand, yes, in your perspective particularly, as well-sourced as you are around this region is really, really important. I'm here at our Middle East broadcasting headquarters. Maha, thank you, in Abu Dhabi.

We are going to take a very short break at this point back to Ben after this.

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HUNTE: Demonstrators rallied throughout the U.S. before and during President Donald Trump's military parade in Washington.

CNN's Jen Sullivan has more.

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JENN SULLIVAN, CNN REPORTER (voice over): A celebration of the U.S. military, the parade kicking off in our nation's capital Saturday to mark the 250th anniversary of the U.S. Army. It's also President Donald Trump's 79th birthday.

TRUMP: America stands tall, America stands proud.

SULLIVAN: The parade was made up of several million pounds of military equipment, including tanks and Bradley Stryker fighting vehicles. The day's events launching what will be a year full of celebrations as the United States turns 250 next summer.

TRUMP: The Army has forged a legacy of unmatched courage, untold sacrifice and unequal and undying glory.

SULLIVAN: The capital celebrations, though, come at a tense time for the Trump administration. Saturday's events followed days of protests in Los Angeles over recent immigration raid, as the White House cracks down on illegal immigration and its use of the National Guard and U.S. Marines. Those, protests spreading to other cities across the country.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The people of this country have to rise up.

SULLIVAN: Saturday marked more anti-Trump demonstrations, dubbed No Kings protests, which organizers say seek to reject what they say is authoritarianism by the Trump administration.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're suffering through a lot of threats to democracy here, and this seemed like a very powerful and important place to come to express that.

SULLIVAN: Ahead of the protests, the White House asked people to protest peacefully. More than 2,000 protests took place in all 50 states.

I'm Jenn Sullivan reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HUNTE: Okay. We'll be right back.

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[03:55:00]

HUNTE: Welcome back. India is ordering inspections of all Boeing 787 aircraft while following a 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 tests, and engine fuel tests. This all comes as the investigation continues into what caused the doomed flight to go down.

Members of the British Royal family wore 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 ceremony also honors the monarch's links to the military and was heavy on pageantry, without tanks or heavy hardware.

Okay. That's all we've got for you. Thanks for joining me and the team. I'm Ben Hunte Atlanta. Becky Anderson will pick up our coverage with Isabel Rosales after a very quick break. See you tomorrow.

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