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Debris From Iranian Strikes Causes Damage In Tel Aviv; Israel And Iran Trade Strikes As Donald Trump Weighs U.S. Action; Debate Rages Over Iran's Nuclear Capabilities; Israel, Iran Trade Strikes as Trump Weighs U.S. Action; Hospital in Southern Israel Extensively Damaged; Iran Says No Choice but to Retaliate if U.S. Joins Attacks; U.S. President Waiting to See if Iran Steps Back From Nuclear Program; Putin Won't Discuss Possible U.S. Killing of Iranian Leader; Hurricane Erick Threatens Mexico, Strengthens to Category 4; Candlelight Vigil Honors Slain State Lawmaker and Her Husband. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired June 19, 2025 - 02:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:00:25]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the United States and all around the world. I'm John Vause.

We begin in the Middle East with the latest round of Iranian missile and drone strikes appears to have caused some major damage in a suburb of Tel Aviv. Emergency crews are on the scene where high rise buildings have been hit. Windows have been shattered, likely from falling debris. Israeli air defenses intercepted incoming fire just a few hours ago.

And a hospital in the southern city of Beersheba has also been extensively damaged in the latest Iranian attacks. The conflict between Israel and Iran now into its seventh day, U.S. President Donald Trump is refusing to say if American forces will get directly involved in supporting Israel.

A source tells CNN, the president has reviewed attack plans for Iran, but is holding off to see if Tehran steps back from its nuclear program.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I have ideas as to what to do, but I haven't made it final. I like to make the final decision one second before it's due. You know, because things change.

I mean, especially with war, things change with war, it can go from one extreme to the other. The war is -- the war is very bad.

(END VIDEO CLIP) VAUSE: Israel says more than 20 military targets in Tehran were hit in the past day. According to Iranian state media, several people were injured at the National Police Headquarters, and another strike hit near the Red Crescent facility in Tehran.

Iran's supreme leader says his country will never surrender.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AYATOLLAH ALI KHAMENEI, IRANIAN SUPREME LEADER (through translator): America's involvement in this matter will be 100 percent at their loss, the loss they receive will probably be much more than the damage Iran will bear.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Live now to Tel Aviv, CNN's Jeremy Diamond joining us now. So, Jeremy, precisely what's been hit? How extensive is the damage, and what's been the reaction?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, right now, we are on the scene of a ballistic missile strike from Iran just on the outskirts of Tel Aviv, and you can see behind me the damage is enormous. These are residential buildings right now on the outskirts of Tel Aviv. You can see that the whole side of the building has been shredded apart by the impact of this ballistic missile.

I'm told that the impact actually happened a little bit further back here between these buildings, but you can see, you know this older building here, the destruction is even more thorough. You can see pieces of concrete and rebar just littering the entire grounds around us.

And I can tell you that rescue crews here have really been on edge about the possibility of some kind of a building collapse in the area, and you can see the enormous level of emergency response that is here with us right now.

We are actually on the scene with the Israeli military's elite rescue unit, which have arrived here. They already went into the scene. I spoke with one of the commanders. He told me that they arrived on this scene in particular because of the density of the population, because of how many people might be in this area, because of the potential complexity of the scene.

And indeed, when you arrive here, you can see the extent of the damage from this ballistic missile.

I also want to pan around here, because you can see that all around this block, windows have been shattered. And these are -- these are -- this is a residential area, a commercial area as well, and the damage is indeed very, very extensive.

VAUSE: Jeremy, it's just on 9:00 a.m. there on a Thursday morning. Normally it would be a busy time of day there for most Israelis, it would be -- they would be starting their day. Some would be heading off to work, some be heading to school. Where were they? Where were most of the residents of that building when this ballistic missile hit?

DIAMOND: Well, the sirens went off at about 7:30 this morning. And so, you can certainly imagine that people would have been here in their homes.

What we understand is that as of now, there are no major casualties as a result of this attack. That, of course, is likely a credit to the bomb shelters that people were able to make their way into.

What is also notable is that, you know, for the last two days or so, we've really seen the smaller barrages of missiles from Iran. This morning was perhaps the most significant barrage that we have seen fired by the Iranians over the course of just the last few days.

And we also understand that there were four different strikes that actually made impact in Israel. One of them is actually in the southern part of Israel, in the city of Beersheba, where Soroka hospital was actually struck by what seems to be a direct hit from one of those ballistic missiles.

[02:05:14]

And then, of course, you have this scene where you can see rescue crews over here are moving in and out of this building. You can imagine that they are going floor to floor, trying to make sure that they haven't missed any survivors, that there haven't been any additional casualties that they don't know about at this scene, but certainly a very active, a very volatile scene at this moment.

And also, once again, a reminder that, even as the Israeli military has made clear that they have degraded Iran's ballistic missile capabilities, they certainly have not completely destroyed them yet, and Iran still retains the capacity, as you can see behind me for quite significant destruction.

VAUSE: And Jeremy, just what we heard also, quickly, over the last few years, the Israelis have become used to the Iron Dome intercepting most of these rockets, most of these missiles, which have been fired from places like Gaza and from Lebanon.

The Iranian missiles appear to be a whole different category in unto themselves. You mentioned no one was actually hurt in this latest strike. But there is also the trauma and the impact this has on the fear factor for most Israelis.

So, speak to that right now. The longer this goes on, the more these buildings are hit, what is the impact there on the Israeli population?

DIAMOND: Yes, without a doubt. I mean, these ballistic missiles being fired by Iran carry hundreds of pounds more of explosives than those missiles that we've seen being fired by Hamas or by Hezbollah.

And in addition to that, because they are ballistic missiles, they are coming in at a much, much higher rate of speed, much higher velocity, and that delivers a lot more impact here on the ground.

And so, the Israeli air defense systems, not just the Iron Dome, which is for shorter range missiles, then you have David's Sling for medium range, but also the Arrow 3 system, which is really the system that's responsible for shooting down ballistic missiles. It has been performing well, but it certainly has not been a hermetic defense, meaning that there are still missiles that are getting through these defenses, in particular when Iran is able to fire off larger barrages of missiles, and that seems to be the difference between what we are seeing today and what we have seen the past three days.

Over the past three days, we were talking about much smaller barrages of missiles. Today, it seems like we got a barrage of 20 or so missiles, and the result of that is that you're getting more of those missiles that are indeed breaking through those air defense systems.

VAUSE: Jeremy, thank you. Jeremy Diamond on the scene there in Tel Aviv, where an Iranian ballistic missile has struck very close to a residential high rise there in Israel's largest city.

We will move on. Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister now saying his country will act in self-defense if the United States decides to become involved in this deepening conflict. His comments came during an interview with CNN's Christiane Amanpour.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAJID TAKHT-RAVANCHI, IRANIAN DEPUTY FOREIGN MINISTER: If the Americans decide to get involved militarily, we have no choice but to retaliate wherever we find the targets necessary to be acted upon. So, that is -- that is clear and simple. Because we are acting in self- defense.

If, you know, another country joins the fight, so that is another instance for our self-defense. You do not expect Iran to be -- to not use its right of self-defense based on Article 51 of the U.N. Charter.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Dina Esfandiary is a lead analyst on the Middle East for Bloomberg Geoeconomics, and she joins us this hour from Istanbul in Turkey. Thank you for taking the time to speak with us.

DINA ESFANDIARY, MIDDLE EAST LEAD ANALYST, BLOOMBERG GEOECONOMICS: Thanks for having me.

VAUSE: So, the U.S. president has made what could be considered a maximalist position when it comes to Iran. Here he is. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: Very simple, unconditional surrender. That means I've had it. OK, I've had it. I give up, no more. Then we go blow up all the mili -- you know, all the nuclear stuff that's all over the place there.

(END VIDEO CLIP) VAUSE: And the Iranians, as we just heard in their public statements, at least, appear to be taking a hard line. Are warning the U.S. against direct involvement, saying they will continue to fight on.

Is this just all tough talk from both sides at this point, or is this truly where things stand right now?

ESFANDIARY: I actually think it's a little bit of both. I think the two countries are taking maximalist positions because that's the best way for them to try and deter the other from escalating.

And the problem is with the Trump administration, it's really difficult to tell where his red lines are, what he's aiming for. After all, he was in talks with the Iranians to get to an agreement when the air strikes started. And now he's pushing for, you know, capitulation from Iran's part.

So, if you're sitting in Tehran, it's a really difficult situation to be in. It's hard to read, and you really don't know what the president is going to do next.

[02:10:07]

VAUSE: And from the Iranians point of view, they're talking about, they have a right to self-defense. They're warning the Americans that they will strike out, they will target American interests. There's about 40,000 U.S. troops in the region who are clearly vulnerable to some kind of Iranian strike.

But beyond that, it seems Iran, you know, is not a military threat directly to the United States. So, but what about state sponsored terrorism from Iran? How does that play into all of this?

ESFANDIARY: So, Iran has a range of options, but none of them are good. As you mentioned, if it were to escalate, it could easily target U.S. assets and personnel in the region. It doesn't want to do that, but it could. It could target regional energy infrastructure. It doesn't want to do that as well, because it has new relationships with the Gulf Arab states that it doesn't want to jeopardize. It could potentially close the Straits of Hormuz. That's something that it's been threatening for many years. But again, if it does that, it's a little bit of an own goal.

The other option that it would have had before, but has less recourse to now, is drawing on its partners, its proxies in the region. But after 18 months of Israeli onslaught, these partners have been weakened and are somewhat frustrated because they feel as though Iran has abandoned them. So, it won't be that easy to get them to step up.

VAUSE: Earlier this week, you talked about the confusion coming from the White House and their ultimate goals here. We heard that, you know, Donald Trump was hoping to set up the meeting with the Iranians for this last minute diplomatic agreement. The Iranian themselves have been talking about a cease fire, but not now it seems.

I want you to listen to the Deputy Foreign Minister talking to CNN. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TAKHT-RAVANCHI: We are not begging for anything. What we are saying -- what we are saying is that stop this aggression, then we will have time to do whatever needed. As long as the aggression continues, as long as this brutality continues, we cannot think of engaging.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: So, it seems that this is now a much harder line compared to what we were hearing earlier in the week. But why are they taking a harder line, given the weakened position militarily?

ESFANDIARY: Well, because again, if you're sitting in Tehran, you're stuck between a rock and a hard place right now. From your perspective, this is a surprising turn of events. You were engaged in negotiations with the Trump administration. When Israel started striking at Iran, there was already another meetup planned two days after in Oman to continue the negotiations. And now you're facing missile attacks from Israel and potentially attacks from the U.S., even though you had already agreed to talks.

So, this idea that will attack you return to the talks, from Tehran's perspective, it doesn't quite make sense. I think what's likely to happen is that they will take a hard line for a while.

It's going to be hard for them to capitulate, and the only instance that I foresee Iran giving in is really if things get a lot worse, but if they get worse, but if they get worse, they'll get worse for everyone, not just for Iran.

VAUSE: There's also this disagreement over how close Iran actually was to developing some kind of nuclear weapon, actually, weaponizing it, putting it on a missile and being able to deliver it. The Israelis obviously say they were close. The U.S. president now seems to be moving towards that position.

At this point, does it really matter, or is this just a good opportunity for the Israelis to take out the nuclear program because of Iran being so weakened?

ESFANDIARY: So, I think that, first, it's really important to highlight that U.S. intelligence, only a few months ago, reassessed that Iran actually hadn't gotten anywhere near developing a nuclear weapon. Had given up the military aspects of its nuclear program back in 2003.

So, yes, Iran had amassed a lot of the war materials needed to make several bombs, but there were still several steps left for Iran to actually get to weaponization.

So, the idea that Iran was close, I think that was a useful pretext, because, as you mentioned, it was a good opportunity. From Israel's perspective, Iran was weakened in the region. It was weakened domestically because of rising discontent and protests and the economic situation. And Israel is somewhat, you know, pushed ahead from the successes it's had in the last year. And so it decided, well, if not now, then when.

VAUSE: There's also this possible goal of regime change and the assassination of the Supreme Leader, the nephew of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who lives in exile, believes that's not a good idea. It won't work, here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAHMOUD MORADKHANI, NEPHEW OF IRAN'S SUPREME LEADER (through translator): Will killing Khamenei make the regime disappear immediately? That's another question, because since this is a situation of war, the different factions within the Islamic Republic will reunite together to counter the war, and their differences will not be visible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: He goes on to say that just another Supreme Leader will be chosen immediately. So, at this point, is it possible to force regime change externally, or is that only really possible when the demand and the momentum is home grown?

[02:15:03]

ESFANDIARY: I think a change of the Iranian system has to come from within. There are no instances where, when it's been imposed from outside, it's led to success.

In the past, anytime Iran has been attacked, there's been a huge rally around the flag effect in the face of an external enemy.

And while discontent continues, it gets pushed aside temporarily, so that Iranians unite, feel a sense of nationalism and really just coalesce in order to tackle the external enemy, that's likely to happen here, and it's likely to worsen the longer these attacks continue. And the more images of death and destruction are shared in Iran, the regime change will just not happen at the hands of -- at the hands of Israel's bombs.

VAUSE: Dina, thanks so much for being with us. Your insights and your experience are very much appreciated. Thank you for being with us. Appreciate it.

We'll take a short break, when we come back, more on the growing debate in the intelligence community over just how close Iran was to having a nuclear weapon, the justification for Israel's preemptive strikes. More on that. You're watching CNN, back in a moment.

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[02:20:34]

VAUSE: 20 minutes past the hour. Welcome back everyone. Damage assessments are underway in southern Israel after a new wave of

Iranian attacks within the past few hours. Missile and drone strikes caused major damage in and around Tel Aviv, at least 10 people were wounded. Several high rise buildings were hit. Emergency crews remain on the scene at this hour.

Hospital in the city of Beersheba has also been hit. Spokesperson for the Soroka Medical Center says damage is significant in parts.

Israel says it attacked Iran's Iraq heavy water reactor nuclear facility, about 155 miles, nearly 250 kilometers southwest of the capital Tehran.

On Wednesday, the Israeli military said it hit more than 20 military sites across Tehran, including sites associated with the country's nuclear program.

The Israeli prime minister says he ordered these preemptive strikes on Iran, claiming Tehran was close to building a nuclear weapon. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying that Tehran had become a threat to Israel's very survival.

But just how close Iran was to a nuclear bomb is up for debate, as CNN Tom Foreman reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Amid showers of missiles and thundering exchanges, the claims are growing louder, Israel and its allies insist the already sweeping attacks on Iran's nuclear facilities need to be decisive.

PRES. ISAAC HERZOG, ISRAEL: If you want this war to deescalate, get the nukes out of Tehran's hands.

TRUMP: It's very simple, not complicated. Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon.

FOREMAN (voice-over): For decades, Iranian leaders have been building a nuclear program which they say is for research and to generate electricity. Indeed, just days ago, Iranian leadership reiterated they have no intention of building a nuke. But intelligence and military analysts say Iran has long been stockpiling refined uranium, developing more powerful missiles, and mining the technical knowledge of allies, including Russia, with hopes of someday becoming the world's tenth nuclear armed nation.

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: The Iranians are definitely much closer than they were five or 10 years ago. And it is certainly true that they've gotten a lot closer to deploying a weapon of this type than they were even a year or two ago.

FOREMAN (voice-over): How big would an Iranian nuke be? Some analysts suspect it would pack about two thirds of the explosive power of some bombs developed by the U.S. in the 1940s and 50s. U.S. intelligence predicts a viable weapon could still be years away. But the Israelis argue it might come much quicker.

NETANYAHU: We decided to act because we had to. We saw enough uranium, enriched uranium for nine bombs, and all they had to do was weaponize them.

FOREMAN (voice-over): Netanyahu did not offer specific evidence. The Israelis have made such claims before right here. And the complete equation is more complicated. Any Iranian nuke would have to be miniaturized enough to be carried by a missile, plane or other delivery mechanism. It would need to evade Israel's robust detection and defense systems.

And it would have to work. But if just one made it through --

LEIGHTON: It could obliterate a large portion of a major city. It could make a port unusable.

FOREMAN (voice-over): -- it could cripple communications, shut down electricity, and poison the land with radioactive fallout. And so far, plenty of analysts note a lot of Iran's nuclear infrastructure is deep in the ground where Israeli bombs can't reach it.

REP. JIM HIMES (D-CT), RANKING MEMBER, INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: Right now. Iran, if they were left alone, could reconstitute their program very quickly.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOREMAN (on camera): Again, the Iranians say they have no plans to produce a nuclear weapon, even as the Israelis say they just can't take their word on that. Can't afford to be wrong about the nuclear aspirations of their old foe, not even once.

Tom Foreman, CNN, Washington.

VAUSE: Live from Washington is Jennifer Kavanagh, a Senior Fellow and Director of Military Analysis at the foreign policy think tank Defense Priorities. Thank you for staying up late and being with us.

JENNIFER KAVANAGH, SENIOR FELLOW AND DIRECTOR OF MILITARY ANALYSIS, DEFENSE PRIORITIES: Thanks for having me.

VAUSE: OK, so here's a little more from the U.S. president on possible direct involvement in Iran's -- in Israel's rather offensive on Iran's nuclear program. Here's Donald Trump.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We're the only ones that have the capability to do it, but that doesn't mean I'm going to do it at all. I haven't made a decision.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: So, he's talking about U.S. bunker buster bombs, which are capable of doing significant damage to the Fordow nuclear site in Iran. It's very deep inside a mountain. But just quickly, is it possible that the Israeli Prime Minister began this offensive without U.S. agreement on the only way to achieve his military objectives?

[02:25:09]

KAVANAGH: Well, President Trump is correct that the United States is the only country that has the capabilities, the bomb and the aircraft to take out the Fordow nuclear facility.

And so, I think it's probable that Netanyahu is hoping that if he started this war and was successful initially and tactically against regime targets and other nuclear facilities, that the United States would see this as an opportunity to join in and to accomplish what has been a long time U.S. goal of ending the Iranian nuclear program.

I think it's important to note, however, that there's no guarantee that even if the United States does use these bunker buster bombs, it would finally eliminate Iran's enrichment capabilities, or forever end its pathway to a nuclear bomb, that could only be accomplished by political means, not military means.

VAUSE: It's interesting you say that because Joseph Cirincione, who is an expert on nuclear Non Proliferation and all things Iran -- and all things nuclear program in Iran, he explained how these bunker busters actually work in any kind of attack on the Fordow nuclear site there in Iran. Here he is. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSEPH CIRINCIONE, BOARD VICE CHAIR, CENTER FOR INTERNATIONAL POLICY: The first aircraft, B-52 or B-2 rather, is the only aircraft that can carry this munition has to drop one in a precise location, followed by another B-2 who would drop another in the crater. And that might not be enough, so you might have to do it a third or fourth time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: So, you know, in the words of you know, the U.S. intelligence CIA boss from back in the Iraq days, it's not a slam dunk that U.S. involvement here would actually destroy the Fordow nuclear site completely.

KAVANAGH: Certainly not with air strikes. There would have to be a ground component, some kind of ground raid to ensure that that facility was fully eliminated and that Iran's stockpiles of highly enriched uranium were either rendered unusable or inaccessible.

And right now, no one is talking seriously about sending ground forces. So, if we're relying only on air power, the chances are quite high that even with U.S. involvement, it would be impossible to achieve what Israel has set out as its strategic objective of eliminating, finally, this nuclear capability.

And even if it was successful, if they weren't able to take out the facility and other facilities completely, there's still the matter of Iran's intellectual property. They figured this out once, they can figure it out again. The program might be delayed several years, even a decade, but it's only through political means and diplomacy that the challenge of Iran's nuclear weapons can be dealt with in a final and lasting way.

VAUSE: And returning to those nuclear negotiations at this point seems unlikely given what's happened, right?

KAVANAGH: Well, it certainly seems difficult. I mean, the challenge here is that Iran and the United States were talking, they were at the negotiating table when Israel began its attack.

So, now Iran has very little incentive to believe that if it returns to the negotiating table and makes additional concessions, it will actually be protected from future attacks.

So, it's not just a problem of the threats, the threat of additional military attacks from Israel or the United States, but also a problem of assurances. The United States has limited means here to provide Iran credible assurances that if it makes concessions, the attacks will stop and won't start again.

And for the regime, obviously there's the domestic audience too that's watching this and could see a return to the negotiating table as a sign of weakness.

VAUSE: And President Trump now appears to be an open disagreement with his own U.S. intelligence, as you mentioned, he's moved a lot closer to the Israeli position on how soon Iran could build a nuclear weapon. So, here's the assessment from the IAEA.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RAFAEL GROSSI, DIRECTOR GENERAL, IAEA: We did not have any proof of a systematic effort to move into a nuclear weapon, the material is there. There have been in the past some activities related to the development of nuclear weapons, but we did not have at this point this element.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: At this point, does the question of how close Iran was to developing a nuclear weapon with the capability of delivering that nuclear weapon, simply a matter of legality for when -- for Israel's justification for a preemptive strike? Does it really matter at the end of the day, beyond that?

KAVANAGH: I mean, I think it does matter for U.S. decision makers here, because how close Iran is should be the guiding factor in U.S.'s decision making.

And if it is true that Iran is actually several years away from having the capability to weaponize the highly enriched uranium that it has, then getting involved and dragging the United States into what will be a long and costly military campaign again in the Middle East, is something is a big -- is a big risk. [02:30:00]

If it is true that this weapon isn't even -- isn't even a real threat right now. I mean, this is a real replay for the American public of what we saw in the Iraq war. This threat of nuclear weapons that needs to be taken out immediately, that turn out to not actually be a threat.

JOHN VAUSE, CNN ANCHOR OF "CNN NEWSROOM": Yeah, because it does seem to be this overwhelming opinion is certainly, you know, within U.S. politics and especially on the right, that no matter what Iran says, they're lying through their teeth. They can never convince anybody that they have no interest in a nuclear weapons program, and that ultimately, they have this desire to build a nuclear bomb regardless of the timing here. So now is as good a time as any.

KAVANAGH: Well, I guess, I disagree with that assessment. I mean, I think the risks here to the United States of getting involved are extremely high. There's this idea that just a few strikes at the Fordow plant will wrap it up. We can declare victory and come home. But that's not how it'll play out. It's unimaginative to think that Iran will not retaliate against U.S. bases in the Middle East if the United States gets involved. We have 40,000 U.S. forces, many of which are stationed at vulnerable, non-hardened bases.

And so, then you start to see U.S. casualties and the United States would have to respond to that, and you are now into a protracted war. Iran also has other ways that it can impose pain on the United States, whether it's cyber attacks or other types of irregular warfare activities. So, the risks of another long-term military campaign for the United States are quite high. I don't see that risk as being worth the threat based on what we know from U.S. intelligence and U.S. interests in the region and globally.

VAUSE: Jennifer Kavanagh, some very good salient points to end our interview on. Thank you so much for being with us and it is a good point to remember, the law of unintended consequences. There is no such thing as a simple engagement in the Middle East. Thank you so much for being with us.

KAVANAGH: Thank you.

VAUSE: I want to go now live to Beersheba in Southern Israel where the hospital that was hit in this latest wave of Iranian airstrikes, damage assessments are still underway at that hospital right now. But we're told by a spokesperson, the initial assessment appears to be that some parts of the hospital there was significantly worse -- rather significantly damaged by Iranian missiles and possible drones as well in that strike. 9:32 on a Thursday morning there in Israel, you can see the smoke rising from the hospital there in Beersheba. It is in the southern part of Israel and that appears to have been one of the targets that was actually struck by Iranian firepower in the last couple of hours.

We'll leave you with those images as we take a short break. You're watching CNN. A lot more on Israel's conflict with Iran and the ongoing missile fire between both countries. You're watching CNN. Back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:37:23]

VAUSE: Welcome back to our viewers here in the United States and all around the world. 37 minutes past the hour. I'm John Vause. You're watching "CNN Newsroom" and we are continuing to monitor developments, the deepening conflict between Israel and Iran.

Warning sirens were heard across Israel just hours ago after the IDF warned that it identified incoming missiles. Iranian State Media says drones were also launched towards Israel, the latest attack causing damage to several high-rise buildings in and around Tel Aviv, as well as to a hospital in Southern Israel.

Meantime, the Israeli Air Force says a series of strikes is underway in Iran with State Media there reporting attacks on the Iraq Heavy Water Reactor, a nuclear facility to the southwest of the capital Tehran. Up until now, independent reporting from Iran has been difficult. Confirmation has been hard on some of these details that we are hearing from officials in Tehran. But now, CNN's Senior International Correspondent Fred Pleitgen, Photo Journalist Claudia Otto, are now in the country, the first Western journalist to enter Iran since this conflict began and filed this report just a short time ago.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Last night, we did see and hear a lot of anti-aircraft fire in the skies over Tehran. We also heard some thuds and impacts, although it's unclear whether or not those are potential Israeli airstrikes or whether or not that was Iranian air defenses at work, maybe air defense missiles being fired off by the Iranians. A lot of that happened towards the west of Tehran, over there, where in the skies, you could see that anti-aircraft gunfire bursting in the skies above the Iranian capital. But it did also appear as though some of the thuds came from the north of the Iranian capital, right up there near the mountains. And that of course, is an area where there have been a couple of airstrikes since the Israelis began their aerial campaign a couple of days ago.

In general, on the ground here in Tehran, one thing that you notice is that the city is pretty empty. There's not many people who are on the streets. There are some people who are on the streets. Also, a lot of the shops do remain closed, but basic services are still very much working. On the whole, we drove through a substantial part of the country to get here to the Iranian capital and it appeared as though in most parts of the country, it is still business as usual. There was traffic on the streets, but not too much traffic. There were factories that still appeared to be working. There were trucks delivering goods.

So, it certainly didn't appear as though there was any sort of panic here on the ground, and that this society is being destabilized by that aerial campaign that is going on. Of course, the Iranians have vowed to continue the fight.

[02:40:00]

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei saying that the Iranian nation would never surrender. And of course, what we have been seeing over the past couple of days as well, is the Iranians firing back, shooting missiles towards Israel.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Tehran.

VAUSE: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has publicly thanked Donald Trump for standing by Israel and the U.S. President says he has encouraged Netanyahu to continue with the military offensive on Iran's nuclear program. That comes even as President Trump himself weighs direct U.S. involvement. CNN's Jeff Zeleny has more now, reporting in from Washington.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: After one more meeting with his National Security Council, President Trump retired to the residence of the White House on Wednesday evening. We are told still not resolved, what his plans will be in terms of the U.S. lending a hand to Israel's attack on Iran. Will the United States lend the firepower to decapitate and destabilize the Iran nuclear program? That's very much an open question.

Of course, president Trump began the day saying, I may do it. I may not do it. No one knows what I'm thinking. But he also, in the Oval Office on Wednesday, offered a window into his mindset heading into this major decision.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I have ideas as to what to do, but I haven't made a final. I'd like to make the final decision one second before it's due. You know, because things change. I mean, especially with war, things change with war. It can go from one extreme to the other.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ZELENY: Going from one extreme to another, that certainly is an understatement. But, the weight of this decision clearly weighing on this president who has long campaigned against American engagement, particularly in the Middle East. His whole America First agenda, of course, was about not intervening in other country's affairs. Of course, the president says, keeping Iran from developing a nuclear bomb is very much in America's interests.

But going forward here, I'm told some key questions are, can the U.S. authorize a strike? Can the president authorize a strike without entangling the U.S. government into a long drawn-out war? That is very much an open question. Many advisers to the president believe he can indeed do that. But history is also on the other side of this. I'm also told that the aftermath of a strike is part of the president's decision making as well. What would go into that in terms of fortifying U.S. forces in the region, some 40,000 forces in the region? So the question here as the president weighs this big decision. Will he listen to supporters of his who are urging him to strike at this opportunity? Or will he listen to some of his MAGA supporters who say do not do this, or will he follow his own guidance? There's no doubt it's the biggest decision facing President Trump.

Jeff Zeleny, CNN, the White House.

VAUSE: To Tel Aviv now, and Yossi Melman, an Israeli writer and journalist, also co-author of "Spies Against Armageddon." Yossi, thank you for being with us. Thanks for (inaudible).

YOSSI MELMAN, ISRAELI WRITER AND JOURNALIST: Thank you, John. It's my pleasure being with you here.

VAUSE: Thank you. Now, during a national address, the Israeli prime minister talked about the ongoing success of this military offensive against Iran. Urged the country to stay the course, but also acknowledged the toll this conflict is taking at home. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): We're suffering many losses, painful losses, but we see that the home front is strong. The people are strong and the State of Israel is stronger than ever. I've instructed government ministries to provide assistance to all those affected. At the same time, the intense fighting in the Gaza Strip continues.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Israel has now been at war for more than 600 days, 622, I believe, Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon, and now Iran. Right now, there doesn't seem to be an end in sight to the conflict with Iran, especially, and that's without U.S. involvement. So, is there a use by date here on public support for the offensive on Iran? And is there a use by date on how much longer the IDF can continue with this stepped up war effort?

MELMAN: Well, John, these are two separate questions. There is no great enthusiasm and support for the ongoing war in Gaza. Actually, the war has been forgotten, including with the fate of the 53 hostages, 20 of them probably alive. The border in Lebanon is quiet, though many people still hasn't -- have not returned to their homes. But as far as the major battle nowadays is concerned, this is Iran. So far, the Israeli public has shown resilience, is ready to receive these blows and the damage that has been caused. And the damage is huge, huge, huge.

Just three days ago, I was very close to a missile site, which hit my home and the glasses were broken. But the public is still ready to achieve this toll.

[02:45:00] And as far as there is a hope in the near future, and this is the big problem. On the military battle, on the military field, the IDF is and the Mossad are performing miracles.

VAUSE: Yeah. I cannot remember a period of time in Israel's history where it has had this many conflicts ongoing on so many different fronts, at so many different time. And so much has been called on an army, which is essentially a reservist army, which is made up of volunteers.

MELMAN: Well, you know, the -- first of all, most of the burden is on the Israeli conscript army in the battle in Gaza. And to a lesser degree, the reservists are also in Gaza. As far as Lebanon is concerned, the border is pretty quiet and there is no huge presence and deployment of Israeli troops on the border. But in Iran, there is no, as far as I can tell, any reservist operating inside Iran. So, it's -- the main missions carried and executed are by the Air Force and to a small degree, secret agents, combatants, special forces of the Mossad.

VAUSE: But this has to have some kind of grind effect. It's been ongoing for so long. Israel's not really -- the military in Israel is not used to protracted long conflicts, ones that have been going on for so long, regardless -- even if they are stovepiped in a way, if you like.

MELMAN: Yes, John, you are absolutely right. This is the longest war ever, even longer than the first war, the War of Independence of '47 which ended in early -- in '49. The question of how long the Israeli public, the Israeli rare (ph), and the Israeli military can sustain it? It's a very important one. So far, it seems that the public is ready to make these act -- sacrifices. But I don't think that Israel would -- could withhold a long war of attrition, while the Iranians, as we know from past precedents, especially the war, eight-year war between Iraq and Iran, are ready to make these sacrifices.

And Iran is huge, 80 times bigger than Israel, 90 million people. So, there are -- the beginning of calls for the government to make a decision how to end the conflict. But everyone is waiting for the decision by President Trump.

VAUSE: You know, the Israelis have made no secret that Iran's supreme leader could be in their crosshairs. And the Russian President, Vladimir Putin was asked what his reaction would be if the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was assassinated? Here's Vladimir Putin.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VLADIMIR PUTIN, RUSSIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): With your permission, I hope this will be the most correct answer to your question. I do not wish even to discuss such a possibility.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VAUSE: Putin wouldn't even go there. He didn't want to even think about it. You know, there's no shortage of examples of, you know, attempts at regime change through assassination in the Middle East, all of which have ended in chaos and instability. Would it be any different this time?

MELMAN: Well, I don't think that Israel is planning to assassinate the Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. It's not in the cards. It's not part of the war goals. Israel is even saying, now openly and publicly that the government is saying it. Although there are calls from the public that Israel is not interested in toppling the regime in Tehran. But if it happens, of course, Israel would be very happy, as I assume also many countries in the region. The Sunnite (ph) countries, and even Western Europe.

So, Israel is trying to stick to its original goals, which is to try to cause as much damage as possible to Iran's nuclear sites and to its military capabilities like missile warehouse, launchers, and so on.

VAUSE: Yossi Melman there in Tel Aviv. Sir, we appreciate your time today. Thank you for being with us. It was good to speak with you. Thank you.

MELMAN: Thank you, John, for having me. Thank you.

VAUSE: A pleasure. Thank you, sir. We'll take a short break. You're watching CNN. Back in a moment.

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[02:54:05]

VAUSE: Coming up to six minutes before the top of the hour, welcome back. Hurricane Erick has just been upgraded to what forecasters call an extremely dangerous Category 4 storm in the Eastern Pacific Ocean. Expected to make landfall around Acapulco, Mexico in the coming hours. This potentially deadly storm has winds of 145 miles per hour, and it could bring rainfall of up to 16 inches. That could trigger flash floods and mudslides across Mexico's southern coast. Besides hurricane warnings, tropical storm warnings are in effect in other coastal areas.

Tributes in the U.S. state of Minnesota with a candlelight vigil at the state capital Wednesday, honoring Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband Mark. Both were shot and killed over the weekend in what's called a politically motivated attack. Many were in tears as they held one another and placed flowers on the capital's steps. Governor of Minnesota, Tim Walz and his wife Gwen, paid their respects as well.

[02:55:00]

Right now, a 57-year-old man is facing federal and state charges for killing the Hortmans and severely wounding another state lawmaker and his wife. Police are also investigating an apparent break-in at the home of Hortman and her husband. This seems to happen after they were murdered Saturday. Officials say someone pried off the plywood covering a rear window and broke the glass and managed to get inside. Police say the house appeared to have been searched, but the family says nothing appears to be missing.

Thank you for watching "CNN Newsroom" and our continuing coverage of the escalating crisis between Iran and Israel. I'm John Vause. Back After a very short break. You're watching CNN.

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