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Israel and Iran Missile Strikes Escalates; Manhunt Underway in Minnesota; U.S. Army Celebrates 250th Birthday; Trump Attends Army Parade; "No Kings" Marches from Coast to Coast; Curfew in Effect Again in Los Angeles; Israel's New Warning. Aired 4-5a ET

Aired June 15, 2025 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:00]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

ISABEL ROSALES, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers watching in the United States and all around the world. I'm Isabel Rosales.

We're following several major stories out of the U.S. A manhunt is underway in Minnesota for a man who authorities say shot two Democratic lawmakers and their spouses in their homes. President Donald Trump spent his 79th birthday at a military parade to honor 250 years of the U.S. Army, and thousands of people marched through major cities across the U.S. as part of a National Day of Action dubbed the No Kings protests.

But first I want to bring in Becky Anderson. She is in Abu Dhabi. She's following the escalating hostilities between Israel and Iran. Becky.

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST: Thank you. And we begin with a new statement from Israel urging Iranians to get out as soon as possible if they live near weapons production facilities. The Israeli military says being nearby would endanger their lives. Well, this comes after Iran took a pounding from Israeli strikes overnight with targets including a major oil depot. And the defense ministry in Tehran, sources telling CNN, the Israeli operation is expected to last for weeks, not days. Israel's prime minister made it clear more attacks are coming.

(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)

ANDERSON: Missile fire also went in the opposite direction with at least 10 people killed in Israel overnight. More than a hundred others were injured. Iran says it used a new maneuverable ballistic missile, which can evade Israel's advanced air defenses.

Let's start with CNN's International Diplomatic Editor Nic Robertson. He is live in Bat Yam this morning in Israel where an Iranian missile struck. And, Nic, the devastation all too clear around you. What do we know about what happened? Who's been affected and why?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes. Becky, I'm just going to ask Neville here, our cameraman, to push in and zoom a little at the base of the building that was -- took the main brunt of that Iranian missile. I don't think -- I think they just stepped out of the way. But a few minutes ago, there was a cluster of rescue recovery people right at the bottom of the building climbed high up on the rubble there. And it's gone quiet here. And they were shouting into the building there, if you can hear us, if you are there, send a signal, send us a message. We are here. Tell us you're there.

It's more than eight hours after the strike now. And there really is a race against time to try to find and rescue and help and keep alive those many people that officials believe are unaccounted for at the moment. We understood earlier this morning that six people have been killed, dozens injured, some of them taken to hospital for treatment. We've seen other people going in and out their apartments here to try to recover what they can. I saw a lady with a bandage on her arm, so it's walking wounded, if you will.

But just standing here to give you a sense of how big the blast radius is, there's bits of concrete dripping off the building behind me. We're about 70 meters away. Neville's giving you the shot of the building there, but right above Neville's head, there's little bits of concrete dropping off. The wind -- not only are the windows blown out above us, but the window frames are blown in. And look, it's just right next to me here, pieces of glass like this scattered from the blast all around. This just as dangerous. If you're a person standing out here when the blast happened as a piece of flying shrapnel, that's what the police tell us.

But that rescue and recovery effort now more than eight hours after the blast, it really is at a desperate moment, if you will. They have to find anyone who is injured under that building with speed if they're going to be able to save them. That's the thrust of the effort at the moment.

[04:05:00]

And I think, you know, when we arrived here a couple of hours ago, you could hear the heavy lifting equipment sort of tearing at the rebar, trying to pull back concrete. But now, you're just sort of -- you don't have that, you're just hearing the shouts of the rescue workers. And that appears to be because they're focusing on trying to save those people.

And of course, the missile strikes not just here in Central Israel, but further north, in a town north of here, four people were killed there, and many people -- many others injured. They were all civilians. Four women killed in that blast. And the message from authorities here, Becky, as we've been hearing over the past 24, 48 hours, when the sirens go off, go to your shelters. They -- Israeli officials say Iran still has a lot of weapons at its disposal. While the defense systems here are strong, they're not a hermetic seal. They're not going to protect everyone a hundred percent. Stay close to your shelters. That's the guidance.

And that's why officials say the death an injured toll here could have been much worse. I talked to one man who said he got the warnings and he'd gone to state his parents. He'd come back to pull out what he could from his house, but he was well and safe. He said, well, quite literally, because it left and got out of the neighborhood when the warnings went off.

ANDERSON: Yes. Nic Robertson at the scene of a missile strike there in Bat Yam. It's good to have you. Thank you, Nic. Firas Maksad is managing director for the Middle East with the Eurasia Group. He joins us now live from neighboring Lebanon. And no shortage of things to discuss here this morning, not least what Nic has been speaking to there, a ballistic missile strike on the town of Bat Yam. We also know of coordinate that coming from Iran, one assumes. We also know that the Houthis in Yemen say that they are involved and they are sending -- targeting Israel with ballistic missiles as well. Let's just start with what we've seen overnight and then we can discuss the kind of the wider story here, Firas. So, your thoughts.

FIRAS MAKSAD, MANAGING DIRECTOR FOR THE MIDDLE EAST, EURASIA GROUP: Becky, well, it was quite a light show here in Beirut last night as we saw these Iranian ballistic missiles, many of them hypersonic, just cut across the sky on the way to Israel and Israeli interceptions over the Lebanese capital.

What I could say is that we're clearly seeing an uptick. The trends continue to be escalatory. And when you and I last spoke, we were talking about what that escalation ladder looks like. Currently, the Iranian response is focused on Israel with these barrages of drones and ballistic missiles. The next step up from that is exactly what you mentioned, to see greater involvement from Iran's forward defense networks, i.e., the Houthis as we saw last night. Israel engaged them, perhaps preemptively, but the Houthis have also been firing at Israel all along. If a greater degree of involvement from the proxies begin to materialize, that's the next step up the ladder.

But the most dangerous one and perhaps the most important development happened since we last spoke is we saw Israel take a strike at Iranian oil infrastructure. And that's dangerous because of the dynamics that it could put in motion if there is, in fact, an Iranian response in kind, not against the oil refineries in Haifa, because that already was struck yesterday, but if we start seeing Iran make good on its threat to go after global energy infrastructure in the GCC, in the Persian Gulf, as by the way the Iranian foreign minister alluded to in his speech, in his address only within the hour, that is an escalation that can actually draw in the United States.

And very interestingly, Becky, here is that we saw a statement from the White House yesterday calling the Israeli attack against the Iranian refinery as irresponsible. Perhaps Bibi trying to put in motion dynamics that would draw the United States in. ANDERSON: And not only the oil refinery, of course, but the strike on the South Pars Gas Field, and that is a gas field that of course is shared by the Qataris, who along with other Gulf Arab and Arab nations have condemned these Israeli strikes on Iran. They were quick to condemn in the aftermath of the original Israeli strikes back on Friday morning.

The ministry of foreign affairs, for example, in Qatar describing that as a blatant violation of Iran's sovereignty and security and a clear breach of the principles of international law. We've seen similar statements from other Gulf Arab nations. We've seen a flurry of diplomatic activity behind the scenes.

[04:10:00]

Posts of statements between, for example, the Qataris and the Saudis in lockstep about how they feel about what is going on. The South Pars Gas Field is the world's largest. It counts, as I understand it, for about 10 percent of global gas reserves. We've heard the warnings from the Iranians, and as you rightly point out, the involvement of oil and gas infrastructure could be extremely significant, not least of course for the U.S. president, who doesn't want to see, you know, a disruption to oil that might impact prices at this point. Where's this going at this point, to your mind?

MAKSAD: Exactly. And so, this crisis took many of us by surprise, precisely because we all believed and still believe that President Trump's impulses is not to see the U.S. dragged into yet another Middle Eastern war because there is actually quite an isolation strength within his support base and the MAGA movement.

But you know, we came up against the 60-day deadline. The Israeli prime minister was able to take advantage on day 61, basically getting an orange light, if not a green light from the American president to go ahead, because there was no breakthrough in the negotiations. But with that statement out of the United States yesterday, essentially warning Israel about going against energy -- Iranian energy facilities, we again see the impulses of the president of the United States calling Iran back to the negotiating table.

What was interesting about the foreign minister's -- the Iranian foreign minister's statement today is while he did warn about the consequences of this war broadening to not only just energy facilities in the Gulf, but he also very importantly highlighted potential U.S. interests, U.S. bases in the region, despite the fact, as you mentioned, that Qatar, Saudi Arabia, very much have been on the diplomatic side of things, condemning the Israeli attacks, wanting to hedge against the possibility of Iran going after energy and American bases on their territories.

But the Iranian foreign minister dangling that out there while at the same time keeping the door open to diplomacy. I think the Iranians now, given the weakened position that they're in, should have a greater readiness to go back to the negotiating table. But of course, that is now being dictated by events on the ground. We'll have to see whether there is an exit ramp, a de-escalation pathway to be taken or not.

Very quickly, Becky, I should say that Israel is also in a race against time here because the Iranians are estimated to have some 2,000 ballistic missiles that they could fire at them. A big question is how many interceptors does Israel have? The U.S. has moved in two destroyers from what I know. Also, three squadrons of F-15s to try and shoot down these ballistic missiles. But the Israelis have to move fast in taking out most of these launchpads that the Iranians have, particularly in the northwest, so as not to be caught in a situation where ballistic missiles are still raining on them and they're raining on them and they run out of intercepts. So, it's a very delicate military dynamic that's worth watching right now.

ANDERSON: Yes, absolutely. We cannot underscore how important this is. This is new. It is different. And it is very, very deadly at this point. Is there a diplomatic off route well -- off ramp? Well, there is certainly the option out there. It is whether anyone is prepared to take it at this point. Firas, it's always good to have you. Thank you. Out of Beirut, Lebanon this morning. That is it from me, just for the time being. Back to Isabel.

ROSALES: Thank you. And we're also following breaking news in Minnesota where a manhunt is underway. State representative and her husband were shot and killed, and a state senator and his wife were also wounded. Authorities have identified the suspect as 57-year-old Vance Boelter, that's his picture right there.

The governor says the shooting looks like a politically motivated assassination. Officials say, State Senator John Hoffman and his wife were targeted 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 both killed. One of her colleagues spoke to CNN earlier, remembering the lawmaker as a friend. Listen.

(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.

[04:15:00]

She could tell you very -- she would -- 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 I -- it's an unspeakable loss.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROSALES: CNN's Whitney Wild has more from Blaine, Minnesota.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) WHITNEY WILD, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT: This started at 2:00 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 Pretorian Guard Security Company that offered random armed patrols of residence 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 KARE11 -- our affiliate reporters at KARE11 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 this 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 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 at -- again or Boelter as they continue this investigation.

Whitney Wild CNN, Blaine, Minnesota.

(END VIDEOTAPE) ROSALES: There is much more to come on CNN, including a look at President Donald Trump's role in a huge military parade in Washington, D.C. honoring the birthday of the U.S. Army.

Plus, the No Kings protests brought thousands together throughout the U.S. Those stories and more when we come back. You're watching CNN Newsroom.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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ROSALES: The U.S. Army celebrated its 250th birthday with a huge parade in Washington, D.C. Saturday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CROWD: USA, USA.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROSALES: You hear that chanting of USA. 21-gun salute honored U.S. President Donald Trump, who was also, by the way, celebrating a birthday Saturday. His 79th. Trump featured prominently in some parts of the celebration and he praised the army during remarks later on in the day.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

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)

ROSALES: CNN's Natasha Bertrand has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NATASHA BERTRAND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: The U.S. Army Parade in Washington, D.C. the first that the city has seen in decades appeared to go relatively smoothly on Saturday with massive Abrams tanks rolling down the streets of D.C. as well as heavy fighting vehicles. And none of them appeared to have left any significant damage on the roads at first glance.

Now, that is largely because of all of the work that the Army put in over the last several months trying to mitigate any potential damage that the roads and the infrastructure here in D.C. might suffer because of these very heavy tanks. All of them weighing -- each of them weighing around 70 tons on the roads, which are not typically equipped for that, of course.

And we are told that the Army Corps of Engineers worked for several months to ensure that metal plates were put down on the road, that there were pads on the equipment so that they would not directly hit the asphalt, and all appears to have gone up fairly smoothly.

Now, of course, the Army only had several months to prepare for this because it was a last-minute request by the White House. The Army had been preparing to celebrate its birthday for several years now. It's 250th birthday. But that parade element was only added after conversations began with the White House about what the celebration would look like.

And of course, President Trump has wanted this kind of massive military parade dating back to his first term. So, his supporters were out in force at the -- around the capitol. They were particularly impressed by the flyovers of the military aircraft that occurred, as well as the parachute team, the Golden Knights, that leapt in to the parade.

[04:25:00]

And there were only a few protestors here and there. And so, by and large, I think the Army is going to be breathing a sigh of relief given how little preparation and planning time they had for such a major event.

Natasha Bertrand, CNN, in Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROSALES: Demonstrators rallied throughout the U.S. before and during that D.C. military parade denouncing what organizers describe as Donald Trump's authoritarian policies. It happened at thousands of locations. Take a look at this map, all that red. They canceled planned protests in Minnesota for safety reasons after the state representative and her husband were killed, and a state senator and his wife were shot. Now, protest leaders say they wanted to present a peaceful contrast to Saturday's military parade in Washington.

And in Los Angeles, the atmosphere became tense as police used chemical irritants to try to clear areas as the nighttime curfew approached. City officials say more than 20,000 people rallied in Los Angeles during the day, 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. No Kings protest kick things off early in the morning. 20,000 or so people taking part in 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 protestors and law enforcement.

At some point, some protestors 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 protestors 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)

ANDERSON: Well, Israel has a new warning for Iranians living near some military facilities, following barrage of Israeli strikes across the country and retaliation by Iran. That story is just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:30:00]

ANDERSON: Well, Israel is telling Iranians who live near weapons production facilities to get out as soon as possible or be endangered. The warning came after Israel was hit by a barrage of missile strikes, which 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 that can evade Israel's advanced air defenses. Some Israelis were furious after the strikes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The terror regime has been threatening to annihilate Israel for years. Israel did a preemptive strike in order to defend our civilians, and this is the result. This is the response. The terror regime that promised to annihilate Israel, that calls for the death of Israel, of America, and all Western ideology is proving who they are by targeting our civilians.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, Iran also on the receiving end of Israeli strikes with a major oil depot in Tehran set on fire. The countries defense ministry also hit by Israeli attacks. One former Israeli diplomat questioning Israel's strategy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALON PINKAS, FORMER ISRAELI CONSUL GENERAL IN NEW YORK: There seems to be a conspicuous absent 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 that -- 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 U.S. is the only one who -- which can or is capable of ending this diplomatically.

Whether that'll be done, I don't know.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Joining me now from Canberra in Australia is Malcolm Davis. He is a military analyst and the senior analyst for Defense Strategy and Capability at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute. And it's good to have you, Malcolm, back with me today.

And you are keeping a keen eye on what is going on both in Israel and in Iran. Tehran says it has used new maneuverable ballistic missiles in its latest strikes on Israel, equipped with a maneuverable warhead, as I understand it, that could penetrate missile defense systems. How big a risk is this for Israel's Iron Dome and other advanced air defense systems, sir?

MALCOLM DAVIS, MILITARY ANALYST AND SENIOR ANALYST, THE AUSTRALIAN POLICY INSTITUTE: Well, certainly there's been suggestions looking at the reporting coming through that Iran has some sort of hypersonic weapon system that would align with the suggestion of maneuverable warheads because hypersonic weapons are invariably called hypersonic glide vehicles that can maneuver in their terminal phase. That would make it much more difficult for the Israeli integrated air and missile defense system that's made up of Iron Dome for against short-range threats and arrow against medium-range threats and David Sling against longer-range threats.

[04:35:00]

That would make it much more difficult for that integrated air and missile defense system to be effective against Iranian missiles coming in in that way. But it's a question of how many of these maneuvering missiles do they actually have? And I think we really don't know that at this point in time.

ANDERSON: The question is, does Israel at this point? I mean, let's be quite clear because Benjamin Netanyahu has been quite clear. And so, we are well aware that his objectives are to neutralize the nuclear capability of Iran and at the same time take out its ballistic weapons stockpile. To your mind, what sort of intelligence does Israel have on that? We have seen the fallout from its use just in the past couple of hours on Israel, and it is deadly.

DAVIS: Indeed. And I think that when you look at what Mossad has been able to do in the lead up to this war, where they've actually set up drone bases inside Iran and they have operatives within the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, I would imagine that the Israeli intelligence on Iranian military capabilities would be pretty substantial.

After all, Israel sees Iran as their number one enemy. So, they've probably been preparing for this sort of war for quite a few years. And that part of that would be gathering intelligence. But certainly, I think the Iranians have demonstrated a new capability and I think that is probably going to be more of a challenge for the Israelis.

Now, the Israelis now have air superiority or air dominance over Iran. So, their aircraft can roam at will across Iran. That's a real huge benefit in terms of gathering intelligence and also doing strike. So, it gives them some advantage to be able to spot a missile before it's launched and attack that missile.

ANDERSON: Malcolm, it's good to have you. Thank you very much indeed.

ROSALES: A costly military parade for the U.S. Army's 250th birthday. What the total bill looks like for American taxpayers.

Plus, the massive protests against Donald Trump. That's next on CNN Newsroom.

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[04:40:00]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whose streets?

CROWD: Our streets?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whose streets?

CROWD: Our streets?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whose streets?

CROWD: Our streets?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROSALES: In many parts of the U.S. Saturday demonstrators joined anti-Trump No Kings protests. Organizers say that they were denouncing what they call President Trump's, quote, "creeping authoritarianism." Thousands of people attended more than 2,000 demonstrations. Protest leaders say they wanted to present a peaceful contrast to Saturday's military parade in Washington.

And in Los Angeles, police used tear gas and horses who tried to clear up protestors. Police say some protestors threw pieces of concrete, fireworks, and bottles at officers. City officials say more than 20,000 people rallied in Los Angeles during the day. But other protests were peaceful. CNN's Rafael Romo has more from the protests in Atlanta, Georgia.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) RAFAEL ROMO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We are standing in the middle of Liberty Plaza here in Downtown Atlanta. As you can see behind me, this is the state capitol. Hundreds, perhaps thousands of people are here for this protest that has more of a feel of a rally. Something that we have heard throughout the morning was no kings, no kings in 1776. They are criticizing the Trump administration immigration policies.

I saw a sign that says, ice only belongs in margaritas. And a lot of people here are also criticizing the fact that the Trump administration has put together a military parade to celebrate not only the 250th anniversary of the Army, but also that this is happening on the day that President Trump turns 79.

I had an opportunity to talk earlier to a couple of protestors and this is what they had to say. Let's take a listen.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I absolutely do not agree with that. People are hungry, people are hurting. We need that money in other places. Let's -- how about funding education? How about feeding people? How about offering healthcare?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It feels like Trump is doing it just to -- what is it? It's like just to make himself feel bigger and better, and to also threaten us. Like to have the military go through the streets of our country, it feels like a threat to me. Like he's saying, don't speak up. Don't stand out.

ROMO: Now, this is only one of more than 2,000 protests happening across the country. Some of the places that we have heard that our staging protests are cities like Phoenix and Arizona, Houston, Texas, New York, many, many other cities. Different kinds of protests. This is, again, more of a festive environment where people are talking about the way they feel.

They also wanted to express themselves when it comes to some of the Trump policies that they are completely against. It was a cloudy day this morning, but then the sun came out and many people showed up in the end.

Rafael Romo, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ROSALES: Constitution Avenue in Washington, D.C. was filled with tanks, soldiers, and a massive display of military might on Saturday as the U.S. Army celebrated its 250th birthday with a military parade. Saturday was also the birthday of President Donald Trump. And he was a big part of the celebration. He was treated to a 21-gun salute and administered the oath at an enlistment and reenlistment ceremony. Later, he addressed the crowd and celebrated the Army's lethal fighting capabilities.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: The U.S. Army has driven bayonets into the heart of sinister empires, crushed the ambitions of evil tyrants beneath the threads of American tanks. It's done so well, it's done so much, and sent the devil himself flying into full retreat. Time and again, America's enemies have learned that if you threaten the American people, our soldiers are coming for you. Your defeat will be certain, your demise will be final, and your downfall will be total and complete.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[04:45:00]

ROSALES: And joining me now live from cold Chester England, is professor of Government at the University of Essex, Natasha Lindstaedt. Natasha, thank you so much for being on the show. This $45 million parade coinciding on Trump's birthday took place really against a stark backdrop as American politicians were shot in what's been called a politically motivated attack, and then with thousands of people across the U.S. protesting and denouncing what they describe as Trump's authoritarian policies.

And we heard their Trump say at the conclusion of the parade, quote, "every other country celebrates their victories. It's about time America did it too." Natasha, what did you make of this display of military might?

NATASHA LINDSTAEDT, PROFESSOR OF GOVERNMENT, UNIVERSITY OF ESSEX: Well, military parades are all about the optics, and the optics on this one weren't particularly good as had been reported. It cost 45 million to roll tanks in that are that heavy. There's going to be a lot of destruction to the streets in Washington, D.C. and they're going to have to repair that. And in fact, when Republican Senators were questioned on the price tag, none of them really wanted to answer or were comfortable answering. It was only Republican Senator Rand Paul who was willing to openly criticize this.

As you mentioned, in the backdrop of all these different federal cuts going on to spending that are affecting things like healthcare and access to food stamps, nutrition, and so forth. So, this doesn't look good. And you know, normally military parades are supposed to be the show of force that will show your enemies, your external opponents, how strong you are. And instead, I think it made the U.S. look a bit desperate.

And military parades are normally supposed to be a time when you unite and when there is some sort of nationalistic fervor. And that's not what's happening here. Instead, the country looks more divided than ever before with 700 Marines deployed, thousands of National Guard members deployed on U.S. owned citizens. So, while this may have been supposed to be something to unite us instead, I think it caused further divisions.

ROSALES: Yes, and this is the party of small government. But of course, we've heard supporters say that this will boost enlistment numbers and that'll be worth it in the end. We'll see about that. Now, Natasha, there's been intense criticism of the politicizing of the military where -- whether it's this parade that critics keep hammering happened on Trump's birthday, and then, there's a use of the National Guard in L.A. during immigration protests, plus the images that we saw just days ago of uniformed soldiers cheering and booing along with the president's political statements over at Fort Bragg. What do you think about this blurring of lines between partisan politics and the military?

LINDSTAEDT: So, this is definitely a dangerous road that we're going down, and this is something that happens more in authoritarian regimes and hybrid regimes. You're not supposed to use your military for law enforcement purposes domestically. You're not supposed to do that in democracies. You're supposed to use civilian law enforcement like the police. And when these lines get blurred or when there's a hybridization of the military and the police, you're going to see human rights be violated.

And this is what we've seen happen typically in military dictatorships, for example, in different parts of Latin America during the Cold War, or another authoritarian regimes around the world that use a preponderance of force against their own citizens and actually are neglecting the uptake -- upkeep of their own militaries to thwart actual threats. So, the trend that we're seeing in the U.S. is one that I find very concerning.

ROSALES: And as this parade was going on, conflict has been raging in the Middle East with Iran and Israel trading strikes. Here's what President Trump wrote on Truth Social saying in part here, the U.S. had nothing to do with the attack on Iran tonight. However, he goes on to say, we can easily get a deal done between Iran and Israel and end this bloody conflict.

Now, he made three different points in this statement that he wrote, this post, distancing the U.S. from the Israeli strikes on Iran, promising retribution if Iran targets U.S. installations, and then also pushing Iran to get back to the negotiating table. And all of this happening as the U.S. has assisted Israel with American air defense systems and a Navy destroyer shooting down Iranian missiles. Natasha, what do you make of this latest reaction from the president?

LINDSTAEDT: So, I think that Trump actually did want to get a deal done with Iran and was trying to deter Israel from attacking. Of course, this deterrence didn't work. Israel decided to go unilaterally. Israel was hoping that the U.S. would join in some kind of coordinated attack, and that didn't happen.

For -- from Trump's standpoint, any kind of conflict going on in the Middle East, or particularly if it escalates, is going to lead to rising oil prices, which will lead to inflationary pressures in the U.S., which then of course undermines his own domestic agenda of what he claims is to try to lower oil prices in particular.

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So, I think he does want to return to some kind of deal, but this is going to be very difficult to do because actually things between Israel and Iran are escalating at the moment. This is probably the strongest shows of force that we've seen between both actors against one another. And it's going to be very difficult for the U.S. to get involved. Iran already thinks that the U.S. was involved and is accusing it of that. And if the U.S. does get more directly involved, of course, Iran will try to target U.S. targets in the Middle East. So, it's incredibly difficult situation to navigate. And it's unclear how it's going to all pan out.

ROSALES: Yes. Complex and risky, especially regionally. Natasha Lindstaedt, thank you for your time. Over to Becky.

ANDERSON: Well, thank you. Israel says its military went after Iranian missile launches and it released a video to prove that it works. That story is just ahead.

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ANDERSON: Well, here's the latest in the fighting between Israel and Iran. I'm Becky Anderson in our Middle East programming headquarters here in Abu Dhabi.

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Israel has just issued a statement urging Iranians who live near weapons production facilities to evacuate as soon as possible. That happening after Israel pummel targets across Iran, including, and very importantly, a major oil depot and the country's defense ministry. In Tehran, the world's largest natural gas field in South Iran was also hit according to state media.

Israel also released this video reportedly showing overnight strikes on Iranian missile launchers. But Iranian missiles penetrated Israeli defenses overnight, killing at least 10 people and leaving more than 140 injured. Iran says it used its new maneuverable ballistic missile in some of those strikes.

ROSALES: And finally, this hour, an update on our other top stories. A massive manhunt is underway in Minnesota for 57-year-old Vance Boelter. He's suspected of shooting two Democratic lawmakers and their spouses. State Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband were shot and killed. State Senator John Hoffman and his wife were also shot but survived Minnesota. Governor Tim Walz says this was an act of, quote, "targeted political violence."

Also, in Saturday, thousands of protestors marched in every single U.S. state. Organizers for the No Kings protests say that they were the strongest display of opposition to President Trump in his second term. Those protests came as dozens of U.S. Army tanks and fighting vehicles rolled down the streets of the U.S. Capitol. It was a parade marking the Army's 250th anniversary, and it coincided with President Trump's 79th birthday.

Well, that wraps up this hour of CNN newsroom on Isabel Rosales in Atlanta.

ANDERSON: And I'm Becky Anderson in Abu Dhabi. We will be back with more news in just a minute.

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