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Canada Offers Ukraine Military Aid, Loans; IDF Says It Struck Key Military Targets In Tehran Area; Sources: Trump Warming To Idea Of U.S. Strike On Iran. Aired 5:30-6a ET
Aired June 18, 2025 - 05:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[05:30:00]
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN ANCHOR, "CONNECT THE WORLD": Just ahead we go back to Washington for some more of today's top stories, including Russia's latest attack on Ukraine, the deadliest in nearly a year. More after this.
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AUDIE CORNISH, CNN ANCHOR. "CNN THIS MORNING": Welcome back. I'm Audie Cornish in Washington, D.C., and here are some of today's top stories.
The ongoing strikes between Iran and Israel have now entered day six. The Israeli military says more than 50 fighter jets carried out overnight strikes on Iranian centrifuge and missile production sites. The Israeli prime minister's office says Iran has launched more than 400 missiles towards Israel since Friday.
[05:35:00]
And tributes are pouring in for chef and television personality Anne Burrell. The Food Network star died at her home in New York on Tuesday. Burrell's family said in a statement, "Her light radiated far beyond those she knew touching millions across the world." They did not disclose the cause of death. Anne Burell was 55.
And for the second year in a row the Florida Panthers are kings of the National Hockey League. They won this year's Stanley Cup after crushing the Edmonton Oilers 5-1 in game six of the finals on Tuesday. Panthers star Sam Reinhart scored four goals, the first player to do that in a Stanley Cup Final since 1957.
Canada's prime minister announced a new military aid package for Ukraine worth billions of dollars. Mark Carney says his country will impose new sanctions on Moscow as well.
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MARK CARNEY, CANADIAN PRIME MINISTER: With our international partners we're launching a major new package of sanctions on individuals, on companies, on vessels -- the shadow fleet -- to exert maximum pressure on Russia. We're also sending over $2 billion in funding for drones, ammunition, and armored vehicles to help Ukrainians defend their territory, as well as a $2.3 billion loan to help rebuild the infrastructure in that country.
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CORNISH: And that pledge came just hours before Russia launched its deadliest airstrikes on Ukraine in almost a year. Ukrainian officials say at least 21 people were killed and 134 injured in Kyiv.
CNN's Clare Sebastian joins me now from London. Clare, what more details have you learned about this attack?
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. Well, Audie, look, in a pattern of dramatic escalation that we've seen over recent months in Russia's air war, this was one of the biggest attacks and certainly the deadliest in over a year, according to the United Nations, on the capital of Kyiv. The death toll I can tell you this morning, according to the Ukrainian Emergency Services, has now risen to 23. Eighteen of those people were killed in a nine-story residential building that sustained a direct hit by a Russian cruise missile.
So this is a constant pattern. There were more drones fired overnight into this morning, part of a Russian effort essentially to exhaust Ukraine's population, to cripple their infrastructure, and to threaten their very survival. That is ultimately the whole point of this conflict.
So I think in that context the pledge from Canada and any military aid pledges from any allies are very welcome. And $2 billion, which is what Canada pledged to the G7 is a very large number. It almost increases by 50 percent of what they've pledged since February 2022.
But it does not reverse the fortunes of this faltering peace process or repair the image of disunity, frankly, that we got at the G7 from Ukraine's allies. There was no joint statement, for example, on Ukraine. There was just a host statement that came from Mark Carney.
There was no presence of President Trump in the room when they talked about Ukraine and that meant, of course, that there was no opportunity for him to sit down one-on-one with President Zelenskyy, which would have been a critical opportunity for the Ukrainian president to sort of bring him back around to his way of thinking and to try to convince him to up the pressure on Russia which, of course, the U.S. has not done yet.
But I think, of course, one of the major worries for Ukraine right now is that the U.S. attention is now fully focused on the Middle East and that will essentially divert not only its priorities but also potentially its resources -- Audie.
CORNISH: That's Clare Sebastian in London. Thank you.
We're going to head back to Becky Anderson in Abu Dhabi in just a moment. She has the latest on the conflict between Israel and Iran with both sides exchanging new strikes overnight.
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[05:43:25]
ANDERSON: Hello. I'm Becky Anderson in Abu Dhabi. We're following breaking news. Here is what we know on day six of this Israel-Iran conflict.
Israel says it has hit a centrifuge production facility and missile manufacturing sites in the Tehran area. More than 50 Air Force jets carried out strikes on military sites according to the IDF overnight.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Iran has launched more than 400 missiles and hundreds of drones at Israel since Friday.
Sources tell CNN President Donald Trump is considering U.S. military strikes on Iranian nuclear targets.
And joining me now live from Jerusalem is Zvika Klein. He is the editor-in-chief of The Jerusalem Post. Good to have you. We've just reported that Iranian state TV --
ZVIKA KLEIN, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, THE JERUSALEM POST: Thank you.
ANDERSON: -- had footage of an Israeli drone it says was shot down. While Iran will likely count this and message this as a -- as a win it is still very unclear how long the military capacity of either Iran or Israel can maintain this rate of attack.
What's your perspective there?
KLEIN: So hello from Jerusalem.
And yes, as you said and the IDF actually affirmed that this was a drone -- an Israeli drone of the IDF -- by the way, as opposed to other reports in Iranian media up until now of claiming to have shooting down jets and airplanes. That is something that they haven't shown any proof to and the IDF also denied.
[05:45:00]
I think the two sides are definitely working very hard. I think from what we've been seeing the Iranian attacks have been a bit smaller. At the beginning they were sending dozens or close to 100 missiles at once. Now they're sending only a number of them every attack. Occasionally there are more than there were in the beginning, but we definitely see the Iranian side slowing down as opposed to the Israeli side that seems to be on a very organized playbook of things that -- of attacks and of espionage.
ANDERSON: Overnight Iran certainly suggesting it has used Fattah ballistic missiles -- hypersonic missiles. CNN cannot verify that claim as of yet. And as you say, we've certainly seen a reduction in the number of strikes -- both sides to a degree.
CNN sources say that Israeli officials are optimistic that Donald Trump will choose to enter this actual fight.
What are you hearing, and what would that look like? An attack on Fordow, for example -- is that -- is that the extent of what Israel is looking for in support?
KLEIN: Yes. Your question I think is exact. I think Israeli forces want to dismantle a potential Iranian nuclear bomb or the -- or the ability to create a bomb within the near future.
So according to our sources at The Jerusalem Post, both in D.C. and in Jerusalem, the indications are that Trump has been learning towards joining the attack. Up until now the U.S. has been assisting Israel with defense; not with the actual attack.
But sources both in the -- in the White House as well as in the Israeli prime minister's office who are on a daily basis in touch with President Trump and definitely with his advisers are saying that there is a -- there is more of a chance now than there was a few weeks ago that the United States will join this attack.
ANDERSON: You told Fox News that Mossad and the IDF have more tricks up their sleeves, and you do have significant security service sources. And CNN's Oren Liebermann said that Mossad is operating in Iran like it is their "backyard."
And we saw that black and white footage of operatives on the ground in Iran, but is that going to become more difficult as Iran becomes more suspicious of potential operatives?
How do you think Iran is countering the intelligence gathering operation at the moment as we await any confirmation that, indeed, the U.S. has agreed to get involved in the -- in the fight here?
KLEIN: So yes. So, I mean, I think -- you know, I stand by what I had -- what I said. And we're talking about decades -- you know, even more than -- you know, many, many decades of activity and work within Iran, seeing Iran as a very strategic threat against the state of Israel.
So, yes. As Oren Liebermann was saying, yes, it is -- they were treating as if it is their backyard. Potentially, it could be more difficult because of suspicion on the one hand. On the other hand the suspicion has been there for such a long time.
You know, so many times there have been reports of a nuclear scientist being killed by someone driving by on a motorcycle and years later it is revealed that was the Mossad.
So it's not like it's new. I think the extent to which Israel and the Mossad have infiltrated Iran has been displayed in a -- in a larger scale. But I think it's so sophisticated and organized and really going on for such a long time. You could have an agent who has been there for decades and living a life that seems to be normal. And also -- there's also local representatives who cooperate with the Mossad as well as other countries around the world.
ANDERSON: Zvika, it's good to have you. Zvika Klein is in Jerusalem this morning. Thank you.
[05:50:00]
And still to come some final thoughts on the back-and-forth strikes between Israel and Iran and where this conflict could be headed next.
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ANDERSON: We close out this hour with some final thoughts on the fighting between Israel and Iran. At last check, 24 people confirmed dead in Israel and more than 800 others injured. On Sunday, the Iranian government said at least 224 have been killed but has yet to provide any updated figures.
With no diplomatic solution in sight, those death tolls seem certain to grow, especially considering the fact that questions are mounting over whether Washington will not get more involved. Any direct military action from the U.S. would further complicate its historically complex role in this region and the many members of President Trump's isolationist MAGA base.
[05:55:17]
He made a point of taunting Iran's supreme leader on Tuesday, calling him an easy target and suggesting he could have him killed but won't, at least not yet. Keep in mind President Trump has a history of saber- rattling.
But Iran's supreme leader is using fiery language of his own, warning "the battle begins." That battle could impact well beyond the territorial borders of either Israel of Iran. You see the Strait of Hormuz on this regional map.
The world's energy security could be impacted by what happens there. We are reminded of that by the rising oil prices that you are seeing on your screen right now. We will keep a close eye on all of these angles.
Thank you for watching. I'm Becky Anderson from our Middle East programming headquarters here in Abu Dhabi.
"CNN THIS MORNING WITH AUDIE CORNISH" starts after this quick break.
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