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Iranian Missiles Struck Israel's Be'er Sheva Tech Park; CNN Gains Exclusive Access Inside Iran's State Broadcaster Compound; ICE Agents Denied Access to Dodgers Stadium; Trump Extends TikTok Ban Reprieve Anew. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired June 20, 2025 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:00]

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UNKNOWN (voice-over): This is CNN Breaking News

KIM BRUNHUBER, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to all of you watching us here in the United States, Canada, and around the world. I'm Kim Brunhuber.

We begin this hour in southern Israel where an Iranian missile has sparked a fire in the city of Be'er Sheva. Video posted on social media shows flames and billowing black smoke in what authorities described as a technology park. Israeli police report property damage and six minor injuries but no fatalities at this point.

Rescue crews have been searching through the damaged buildings for any other wounded people. And this is the same city where a hospital was damaged by an Iranian missile on Thursday.

This all comes as Iran's foreign minister is prepared to meet in Geneva today with representatives from the U.K., France, Germany, and the European Union. The British foreign secretary says a diplomatic window now exists to end the escalating crisis.

Meanwhile, Israel's Prime Minister refuses to rule out targeting Iran's Supreme Leader. Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel will strike all of Iran's nuclear facilities.

I want to bring in CNN's Paula Hancocks who's live in Abu Dhabi. And Paula, the Israeli military is releasing new details on the targets struck overnight in Iran. What more can you tell us?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Kim, the latest we have from the Israeli military is they say they used some 60 fighter jets overnight to carry out strikes on a number of military targets.

Now, they have specified, as they have in recent days, that many of these were to do with the missile ability of Iran, missile production, and also the missile launchers. Israel is really trying to lessen the impact of any Iranian retaliation to those strikes that they're carrying out. And they also say, according to the military, that they have been

focusing as well on the nuclear program, as they have been consistently. But they say that a research and development facility in Tehran was a specific target at this point.

Now, when it comes to what was coming the other way, we know in recent hours there have been missiles fired from Iran, as you mentioned there, in Be'er Sheva, which is in the southern part of Israel, this city once again being targeted.

Now, we have seen the footage just outside that technology park where you can see the black smoke, you can see damage to buildings. We understand from authorities six people have been lightly wounded at this point. Certainly, the fact that Israelis can get to shelters and have those shelters is keeping the casualty rate low on the Israeli side.

Now, also when it comes to Iran, we could potentially see some protests happening later today. At least there has been a call from the government for people to come out onto the streets after Friday prayers to show their anger against the Israeli strikes.

We've also, in the past, seen this taken as an opportunity for the Supreme Leader, for example, to make comments, to rally his supporters. Whether that will happen today is not clear because the Israeli Prime Minister has made it very apparent that he is still a target. Let's listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER (through translator): I instructed that no one in Iran will have immunity. I said we will achieve all our goals, all their nuclear facilities, but the decision to join is President Trump's. If he wants to join or not, it's his decision, he'll do what's best for the United States and I'll do what's best for Israel.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANCOCKS: We also heard from the Israeli Defense Minister saying that Khamenei, the Supreme Leader, cannot continue to exist, a direct quote there. So as we are waiting to see what the U.S. President Donald Trump decides to do within the next two weeks, we also see that there is no sign of de-escalation either by Israel or by Iran.

BRUNHUBER: All right, I appreciate those updates. Paula Hancocks in Abu Dhabi, thanks so much.

Well as we heard, U.S. President Donald Trump says he will decide within two weeks whether to launch a strike on Iran. Now two weeks has been a common refrain both in this term and his first one. He seems partial to giving himself that designated amount of wiggle room before making major decisions.

Let's listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: I will make that decision, I would say, over the next two weeks.

I could answer that question better in two weeks.

I'll do this at some point over the next two weeks.

I'll announce it over the next two weeks.

You know, in about two weeks.

[03:05:08]

It'll be out in about less than two weeks, probably.

Or maybe in two weeks.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: In the case of Iran, President Trump says those two weeks will be used to give diplomacy a chance. CNN's Kristen Holmes explains.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KRISTEN HOLMES, SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: President Trump in a statement saying that because of a substantial chance of negotiations that he would not be making a decision on whether or not the U.S. was going to get involved in the conflict between Israel and Iran for two weeks.

Now, there are still a lot of questions about what exactly that means. This was announced by Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt in a White House briefing. And we tried to get to the bottom of what happens at the end of two weeks if there is no deal, if Iran does not come to the table, and we still aren't entirely clear.

Does that mean that the U.S. will automatically get involved? What does U.S. involvement look like? Are we talking about strikes? Are we talking about something larger than that? But specifically, the other part of this is why two weeks? Why this extension? And that was something that I posed to the Press Secretary today.

We have heard from a number of U.S. officials who say that Iran doesn't want to make a deal, that they are just stringing the United States along. What is to say that they are not going to continue to do so if we continue to give them extensions now two weeks before 60 days?

KAROLYN LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Look, Iran is in a very weak and vulnerable position because of the strikes and the attacks from Israel. And with respect to the President's statement, I shared that with all of you.

And he has been very direct and clear. Iran can and should make a deal. We sent a deal to them that was practical, that was realistic, or they will face grave consequences.

HOLMES: So you hear they're saying they believe that because Iran has been weakened by these missile strikes that perhaps they are more likely to come to the table.

There's another part of this as well, which is that the Middle Eastern envoy, Steve Witkoff, met today with his counterpart for the United Kingdom. That's important because that same counterpart is going to Geneva for talks with the Iranian counterpart to that job.

Now, Witkoff is not intended to go at this point to that meeting. But the question is whether or not this is going to open up some more diplomatic avenues.

Right now, it does appear that Donald Trump, President Trump and his advisers are looking for an off-ramp or looking for anything other than U.S. involvement. We know he's been wary about that. Now, his language had gotten more aggressive.

He started taking a more aggressive tone with Iran in recent days. But clearly, with this two-week time frame, they are taking a step back to try and get it to the table where there's not actual U.S. involvement, not actual U.S. strikes in the region.

Kristen Holmes, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: A powerful Iran-backed militia in Iraq is vowing to attack U.S. military bases in the Middle East if the U.S. enters the conflict between Israel and Iran. The security leader of the group, Khatib Hezbollah, warned that American bases in the region will, quote, "become akin to duck hunting grounds." The group also threatened to shut down the Strait of Hormuz and key oil ports in the region.

Now the heightened tensions have the U.S. military repositioning its assets in the Middle East.

Have a look at this. The red dots you see there mark U.S. bases. Defense officials say non-sheltered planes are being evacuated from the American air base in Qatar and Navy ships stationed in Bahrain have left port.

U.S. Central Command has also prepositioned blood supplies in the region, which is standard procedure any time there's a chance of an attack on U.S. forces.

I want to go live now back to Abu Dhabi and Aniseh Bassiri Tabrizi, and she's an associate fellow at Chatham House and a senior analyst for the consultancy firm Control Risks.

Thanks so much for being here with us. So just what we heard there, what are you reading into these movements and preparations made by U.S. forces?

ANISEH BASSIRI TABRIZI, MIDDLE EAST EXPERT, ASSOCIATE FELLOW, CHATHAM HOUSE, AND SR. ANALYST, CONTROL RISKS: I think what we have seen over the past two or three days seems to anticipate an imminent attack or an involvement by the U.S. in the conflict. But I think today is really the first day in which de-escalation, some opening for diplomacy has featured since the attacks first started on the 13th of June as you mentioned, the meeting today in Geneva, but also what Trump has been signaling in the two-week time frame, seems to indicate that the immanency of the U.S. involvement is no longer there.

That doesn't mean that the U.S. is no longer considering being part of this war, but I think there are probably considerations about what the ripple-down effect would be for the U.S. and the consequences for the United States forces across the region, and more broadly for stability across the region as well.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, I want to get to those possible effects a little bit later, but just first I want to know how weakened has Iran been, both militarily and politically, by all these attacks?

[03:10:06]

TABRIZI: Well, the attacks significantly targeted the missile capability, as Paula was mentioning earlier, and I think it's too early to know what that means also for the nuclear capability. We know obviously that the main nuclear facilities, apart from Fordo, have been struck by Israel, but we don't know in terms of what that means for the program, the delay that that will cause to Iran's ability to enrich enough to produce a nuclear weapon.

I think overall we have seen definitely a weakening of the Iranian military capability, and that is something that has been, by the way, ongoing since at least April last year when the tit-for-tat between Iran and Israel started, April 2024 and then obviously October 2024, and then obviously the weakening of Iran's access across the region through the targeting of Hezbollah and Hamas in particular.

So that weakening is ongoing, but does that mean that Iran is no longer able to retaliate or continue its attacks? I think even the Israeli officials are saying that Iran is able to sustain these attacks for quite a while still.

BRUNHUBER: I'm interested in what you said there, the weakening of Iran's access there, because as I said earlier, a powerful militia in Iraq is vowing to attack U.S. military bases if the U.S. gets involved. So what ability does Iran and its proxies have to inflict damage on U.S. personnel and assets in the region and possibly even beyond?

TABRIZI: I think the weakening of the access is beyond doubt. Iran could rely before everything started on Hezbollah, which was probably the strongest force. It could rely on Hamas, and it could rely on the Houthis and the Iranian-backed proxies. I think of all these forces, the Houthis and the Iran-backed forces are those that can still inflict damage across the region, particularly against the U.S. forces in the region.

And I think what is interesting is that they have not been involved by Iran in this conflict so far, and that is probably deliberate choice to avoid spiraling further of the conflict. But I think even the U.S. is aware that the involvement of these forces would inflict damage on the U.S. forces across the region, and that's probably why on 11 June they decided to scale down their presence in the region, pre-empting and preparing for what then became the 13 June attack by Israel against Iran.

BRUNHUBER: One thing that's coming up more and more often is regime change. Iran's regime has been incredibly good at holding on to power no matter what. So how realistic would that be, and how risky, given how much instability that would create?

TABRIZI: I think this is the biggest question. First, what is the endgame of this war?

I think at the beginning it seemed to be very much targeted to weakening the Iranian nuclear capability, Iranian offensive missile capability, and I think now the questions about whether we are moving towards a different goalpost are increasing.

I think Iran is a very polarized society. We have seen this through the past rounds of elections. There are those who support the regime, there are those who are running around the flag, and those who are actually wishing for some sort of change and instability to be caused by the ongoing developments, and that applies for people inside Iran and also the diaspora outside of Iran.

But I think from here to say that a regime change is possible, likely, or even violent-less and peaceful, I think we are far from that.

BRUNHUBER: We'll have to leave it there, but I really appreciate getting your analysis on all this. Aniseh Bassiri Tabrizi, thank you so much.

TABRIZI: My pleasure.

BRUNHUBER: Russia is warning of the dangers that could come with a possible strike on another nuclear facility in Iran. The Bushehr nuclear power plant sits on the coast of the Persian Gulf. Russia says any strike on the plant would be a catastrophe comparable to Chernobyl.

The facility is Iran's only operating nuclear power plant, and Russia helped build it. Many Gulf Arab states and nuclear experts are concerned that if the plants hit, radiation could spread across the region.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ERNEST MONIZ, FORMER U.S. ENERGY SECRETARY DURING THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION: There are various radiation risks involved in a combat zone, but clearly the Bushehr reactor in Iran is the only place where you have irradiated fuel, which was, of course, the source of the Chernobyl disaster.

[03:15:09] Now, I have to say there's a certain irony in Russia saying that, given that they are the ones who have for the first time landed weapons on a nuclear power plant, namely in Ukraine. And we've been very concerned, as has the international agency, in terms of the sanctity, if you like, of highly radiological sources in combat zones. So clearly we have to avoid a Bushehr strike. So far, certainly Israel has respected that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: Israeli officials are still assessing the damage from Iranian strikes on a major medical center in southern Israel. We'll have details on that after the break.

Plus, CNN is the first Western media to arrive in Tehran since the fighting began eight days ago. They got rare access to a T.V. station hit by an Israeli missile.

And amid the conflict with Iran, Israel is conducting new strikes in Gaza. There are reports that scores of Palestinians have been killed in the past 24 hours. We'll have those stories and more just ahead, please stay with us.

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BRUNHUBER: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited a major hospital that was severely damaged by Iranian strikes on Thursday. He told reporters on the scene that he's grateful to U.S. President Donald Trump for, quote, "helping a lot in the conflict with Iran." Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NETANYAHU: President Trump will do what's best for America. I trust his judgment. He's a tremendous friend, a tremendous world leader, a tremendous friend of Israel and the Jewish people.

And we will do what we have to do and we are doing it. We are committed to destroying the nuclear threat, the threat of a nuclear annihilation against Israel.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BRUNHUBER: After the strikes, the medical center was closed to new admissions. The hospital spokesperson says about half of the 80 people who were injured in the attack are hospital staff.

CNN's Nic Robertson has more from the scene in Be'er Sheva.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: We're walking in here to right underneath where the impact happened. The ground is strewn with broken rubble, concrete off the buildings. The side of the building up here, take a look, literally ripped apart. Debris everywhere on the ground here.

The medical center director here told me it was a fifth floor direct impact on the cancer and urology ward. He said, very fortunately, the 25 patients, bedbound patients that they'd had there, had been taken to the basement for their safety.

This direct impact on the hospital, he said, has caused extensive damage, 40 casualties here, most of them with light injuries from broken glass. Most people taking shelter inside the hospital.

DR. SHLOMI KODESH, SOROKA MEDICAL CENTER DIRECTOR: This is not anything that has any rational explanation. I'll admit that I'm currently in operational mode. Feelings will come probably a bit later, but it is totally shocking.

ROBERTSON: I can hear water raining down. It looks like the fire crews are still up there above us, just dousing the building. We know that the fire crews, I just saw them going back inside the building there.

The recovery mission, the search mission for people who might be injured or trapped inside the hospital, the fire guys up here are telling us we've just got to move back a bit. So we're going to stay, keep talking to you.

We're just going to move back a bit here. You get a sense of the destruction. Look at all this twisted debris around here.

Fire trucks backed up as far as you can see. This has really raised the temperature on this conflict.

The politicians who have been coming here have been talking very clearly this was an intentional strike on the hospital by Iran.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): Among them, Israel's foreign minister, who rebutted claims by his Iranian counterpart, who posted on X claiming the hospital was near a military target and was only lightly damaged.

GIDEON SA'AR, ISRAELI FOREIGN MINISTER: You know very well that all the casualties we have until this minute, all of them, without an exception, are civilians.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu weighing in on what the U.S. may do.

ROBERTSON: Iranian officials say they were targeting a military facility near here. But what do you say to President Trump as he tries to make up his mind about whether to come in in support of Israel?

NETANYAHU: He gave them the chance to do it through negotiations. They strung him along. You don't string along Donald Trump, he knows the game.

And I think that we're both committed to making sure that Iran will not have a nuclear weapon.

ROBERTSON: This is one of those days where it's the political language that ratchets up. The damage is done. Diplomacy seems to be pushed over the horizons.

And we're just about to enter a second week of this deadly conflict between Iran and Israel.

Nic Robertson, CNN, Be'er Sheva, Israel.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: The conflict between Israel and Iran is also playing out in cyberspace. Pro-Israeli hackers are taking credit for stealing $90 million from Iran's largest crypto exchange on Wednesday. The hackers claim Iran used the crypto exchange to skirt international sanctions.

And in a separate attack, the hackers say they destroyed data at Iran's state-owned bank on Tuesday, claiming it was used by members of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Iranian media reported that the cyber attack disrupted services at ATMs around the country.

[03:25:09]

And Iran is thought to have some of the best hackers in the region. Cyber security organizations are advising U.S. businesses to be on high alert.

The Palestinian Health Ministry says Israeli strikes in Gaza Thursday killed more than 70 people, including children. We just have to warn you, the video you're about to see is graphic and shows first responders trying to rescue victims from destroyed buildings.

Palestinian health officials say at least two children were killed when several homes came under Israeli fire in northern Gaza. Three other children were killed by Israeli bombardment while they were sheltering in a tent at al-Shati refugee camp near Gaza City.

When asked for a comment, the Israel Defense Forces says it wasn't familiar with any strike in al-Shati. The U.N. warns that the humanitarian crisis in Gaza is deteriorating rapidly with famine increasingly likely.

President Donald Trump takes heat over possible U.S. strikes on Iran. It's not from political opponents, but some of the big guns in the world of conservative media. We'll have that story coming up, stay with us.

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BRUNHUBER: Welcome back to "CNN Newsroom," I'm Kim Brunhuber in Atlanta. Let's check some of today's top stories. Donald Trump says he will decide within the next two weeks whether to

order military strikes on Iran. The U.S. President says he wants to give diplomacy a chance first. Iran's foreign minister is meeting today with European envoys in Geneva, Switzerland.

Israel's prime minister is refusing to rule out targeting Iran's supreme leader. Benjamin Netanyahu says no one in Iran should have immunity. Earlier this week, President Trump said the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was an easy target for the U.S. and Israel.

And Moscow says a regime change in Iran is a non-starter for Russia. In an interview with Sky News, the Kremlin also said that assassinating Iran's supreme leader would only unleash more extremism in the country. On Thursday, the Russian and Chinese presidents spoke about the crisis and called for de-escalation.

CNN journalists are getting extremely rare access in Tehran. Senior international correspondent Fred Pleitgen toured Iran's capital at a T.V. station that was hit by an Israeli missile earlier this week.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As Iran and Israel continue to trade salvos of bombs and missiles, in Tehran, the cleanup is in full swing in residential areas that were struck.

We went to several impact sites, buildings partially collapsed in some, completely destroyed in others.

PLEITGEN: The authorities here say this building was flattened in the first wave of strikes against targets in Tehran, but in other parts of Iran as well. And they say in this site alone, six people were killed and two bodies are still buried under the rubble.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): As tensions between Iran and Israel continue to escalate, many residents have left Tehran. The streets empty, some shops closed, but defiance remains.

Billboards across Tehran showing those killed by the Israeli aerial attack and vowing revenge. This one addressing Israel directly, saying, you have started it, we will finish it. As Tehran's leadership says, it won't back down.

If the Zionist regime's hostile actions persist, our answers will be even more decisive and severe, the President says.

And Iran saying the Israelis are also targeting civilian installations, taking us to the state T.V. channel IRIB, recently bombed by two Israeli airstrikes.

An anchor had been reading the news as the building was hit. This is that studio now, burned out, with only a skeleton of the charred anchor desk left.

Authorities say three state T.V. employees were killed here.

PLEITGEN: You can see how much heat must have been admitted by the impact and by the explosion.

The phones that they had here are molten, here also, the keys molten, this screen. And there's actually someone's lunch still at their desk, standing here, which probably they would have been wanting to eat until they had to evacuate the building. You can see there's a spoon here that's also been melted away by this explosion.

And the devastation here is massive at the Iranian state broadcaster.

PLEITGEN (voice-over): Iran's leadership vows to persevere, saying it will continue to target Israel if the Israeli aerial campaign doesn't stop.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Tehran.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: I want to bring in H.A. Hellyer, who's a senior associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute for Defense and Security Studies. And he joins us from Cairo. Good to see you again.

So President Trump has said, I may do it, I may not do it, everybody or nobody knows what I'm going to do. And now he's announced this, you know, two week pause on a decision.

Do you have any sense as to whether the U.S. will ultimately commit to joining Israel directly in this war?

H.A. HELLYER, SR. ASSOCIATE FELLOW, ROYAL UNITED SERVICES INSTITUTE FOR DEFENSE AND SECURITY STUDIES: Well, thank you very much, Kim. It's always a pleasure to be in your program.

No, I don't. I also don't think that we can really speculate with any great degree of certainty in that regard.

[03:35:05]

When you look at where things were only 10 days ago, negotiations were underway between the United States and Iran. It seemed very clear to everybody that even though there were bumps in the road, that the United States was committed to the process, as were the Iranians.

And then a few days later in that intervening period, something changed. And we still don't know precisely when, but something certainly changed. Not that D.C. gave a green light.

I'm not sure we have evidence to suggest that at present, but it certainly made it clear that there wasn't a red light and it didn't try to hold the Israelis back in a way that I think they would have only a few days before that.

We also know that the Trump administration has made it very clear that if Americans are targeted in any way, then, of course, that will result in some sort of reprisal. And we don't know how that could happen. Right? I mean, the way in which this war is underway, there are strikes happening every day in both directions.

There are American-Israeli dual nationals in the state of Israel. For all we know, that could be used as a cross to the belly. We simply don't know.

So the two-week deadline, I hope, is indicative of a desire in the administration to find room to have some sort of negotiation where this war ends, because the war is a spiral. It's a spiral that leads to more devastation and destruction in the region.

Over recent days, many analysts that I've spoken to are reminded, quite frankly, of Iraq in the early 2000s and what led up to Iraq, the quote-unquote "dodgy dossier." A lot of mirror to that today and going into a country without justification. I mean, there's a lot of worrying precedents here.

BRUNHUBER: Yes, although obviously the huge difference would be no contemplation at all of U.S. boots on the ground in Iran.

On the diplomacy angle, I want to ask you if you have any sense now that the Iranian leadership might be willing to make any big or meaningful concessions on its nuclear program and its right to enrich uranium in exchange basically for the survival of its regime.

HELLYER: I think that's a very likely prospect, because the regime is really most concerned about regime survival, right? So I think that if the conflict were to even take a pause during this two-week period and there were to be some sort of negotiation between D.C. and Tehran, then I think that it's actually quite possible that there would be a deal that is struck. But nothing can happen while the war is ongoing.

And the Iranians are already very vocally expressing their anger that they were at the negotiation table and the war began while they were at the negotiation table, right? So it wasn't as though negotiations had been called off. They were supposed to be in Oman on the Sunday right after the Friday that this all kicked off.

So I think that we have to focus on trying to get the pause in terms of a decision to translate into a pause in terms of the actual war and move to a diplomatic solution, because, again, this -- it's not only a spiral, Kim. It's also a reflection of how little international law has been used as the guiding principle about how to engage in regional stability.

This was not an action that was authorized by the U.N. There was no preemptive action as a result of imminent threat. It really sets a bad precedent in the region.

BRUNHUBER: So let's talk about the region, then, because earlier I mentioned that the talks between Iran and several European nations are taking place today, but then as well this weekend, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation is meeting as well. So what role do you see other Muslim nations and the Gulf states specifically playing here, given that more than a few of those might be willing to exploit Iran's vulnerability?

HELLYER: So this is a very interesting thing, Kim. Iran is not popular in the region, right? I mean, especially in the closer region around the Gulf.

The GCC, I think you can name quite a few countries there that are incredibly suspicious of Iran, very cynical about its motives and intentions, and with a huge amount of justification, I might add. And they don't want this war. They wanted a deal.

[03:39:58]

They wanted the United States and Iran to come to a deal because precisely they were worried about the precedent that it would set if a unilateral action was taken and also what sort of spiral of violence would happen thereafter, right?

So nobody's looking to exploit this particular episode in order to try to, you know, come to some sort of funny deal. They simply want the war to stop. Because, again, what you've seen, and it's important to connect this to how the region connects it over the past 20 months.

Over the past 20 months, you've had Israel's horrific war on Gaza. You've had Israel's attack, invasion, and occupation of parts of Lebanon and of Syria. All of that is in the backdrop as the region looks at what's happening in Iran.

Again, no sympathy for the regime. I think a huge amount of criticism for the regime, not least because of how it engaged in Syria, how it engaged in Iraq, and how it engaged in Lebanon. But the idea that vigilante action could be justified in this sort of fashion, I think, really sends a shift down the spines of regional leaders.

BRUNHUBER: Yes. I'll have to leave it there, but always great to get your take on all this. H.A. Hellyer, thank you so much.

HELLYER: Thank you.

BRUNHUBER: Conservative strategist and commentator Steve Bannon had lunch with U.S. President Donald Trump in the White House on Thursday. That's according to a source who spoke after Bannon lashed out at Trump over the possibility of U.S. strikes on Iran.

But as Donie O'Sullivan reports, many conservatives are pushing back against U.S. involvement in the Middle East.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TUCKER CARLSON, HOST, "THE TUCKER CARLSON SHOW": This isn't a regime change effort, and why not just say that? But, oh, you're a Holocaust denier for saying that. Stop.

Let's have a rational conversation about what our aims are here.

DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): That's Tucker Carlson, the war skeptic today. CARLSON: We learned today for certain that Iraq has weapons of mass

destruction and has chemical and biological weapons. And the question remains, what do we do about it? And neither you nor any other Democrat I know has an answer to that question.

O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): This was Tucker Carlson back when he co- hosted CNN's "Crossfire" in 2003.

CARLSON: Senator Worthy, the president last night, summed up, I thought, well, the rationale for going into Iraq later this week. Here's what he said.

GEORGE W. BUSH, THEN-U.S. PRESIDENT: The danger is clear. Using chemical, biological, or one-day nuclear weapons obtained with the help of Iraq, the terrorists could fulfill their stated ambitions and kill thousands or hundreds of thousands of innocent people in our country or any other.

The United States and other nations did nothing to deserve or invite this threat. But we will do everything to defeat it.

O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Back then, Carlson was a strong supporter of America's war in Iraq.

UNKNOWN: The question here is the President's credibility. He wants to lead us into war, and the majority of his countrymen and women are worried that he's lying to us, and for good reason.

CARLSON: That is not the question. The question is, there's a lunatic with weapons that could kill the civilized world. What do we do about it? And I await an answer.

O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): It was a position Carlson would come to regress.

DAVE SMITH, COMEDIAN AND PODCAST HOST: When the war drums were beating for Iraq, there was just nothing like what we have today. I mean, like the biggest shows in cable news, they were all for it. They were all--

CARLSON: I was for it. I was for it until I went to Iraq in 2003. I immediately apologized, I would say, in my defense.

And I feel very stung by what happened in Iraq, if I'm being honest. Possibly because, unlike you, I guess, I supported it. And I saw us get drawn into it in a way that nobody anticipated.

And I saw the cost, just a month, $3 trillion? And the cost on so many levels to the United States was just so profound.

O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is warning Iran could have a nuclear weapon within months. U.S. intelligence, however, suggests Iran is years away from having a nuclear bomb.

CARLSON: Can you feel the frustration of people, including your voters, every American, at the emphasis on foreign countries and the threat we supposedly face, a lot of which is fake, obviously, over the kind of slowly unfolding tragedy of what's happening to our country?

O'SULLIVAN (voice-over): Carlson is a frequent supporter of Israel. But Senator Ted Cruz did not appreciate Carlson's questioning of the Netanyahu government's policies toward Iran.

CARLSON: How many people live in Iran, by the way?

SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX): I don't know the population.

CARLSON: At all?

CRUZ: No, I don't know the population.

CARLSON: You don't know the population of the country you seek to topple?

CRUZ: How many people live in Iran?

CARLSON: 92 million.

CRUZ: OK. Yes.

CARLSON: How could you not know that?

O'SULLIVAN: And you can see now how much of this debate is really playing out in the world of podcasts and online video streams. The MAGA-verse, as it is called, all these pro-Trump MAGA media influencers, really growing in influence.

Back to you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[03:45:02]

BRUNHUBER: The Trump administration and the L.A. Dodgers are now at odds after federal agents were seen gathering near the team's stadium. We'll have that story and more coming up.

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BRUNHUBER: A federal appeals court is allowing U.S. President Donald Trump to keep control of thousands of members of California's National Guard. The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals granted the President's request to temporarily lift a lower court ruling that required him to relinquish that control.

[03:50:07]

President Trump reacted on Truth Social shortly after Thursday's ruling, calling the decision a big win. It extends a pause the court put in place while the legal battle plays out. About 4000 National Guard members were called in to beef up security in Los Angeles amid unrest over President Trump's immigration enforcement.

And the Los Angeles Dodgers say they blocked U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from entering Dodgers Stadium on Thursday morning. But the Department of Homeland Security says the agents weren't from ICE and their presence, quote, "had nothing to do with the Dodgers." The dispute comes as the city has seen an influx of federal agents and protests against President Trump's aggressive immigration agenda.

CNN's Natasha Chen has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NATASHA CHEN, CNN U.S. NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Protesters gathered outside of Dodgers Stadium ahead of Thursday night's game. This has been a buildup of two weeks of anxiety and for some, resentment against the Dodgers for having stayed silent, in their opinion, about the immigration raids happening throughout Los Angeles, affecting a lot of the immigrant community that make up such a big part of the Dodgers fan base.

Now, these feelings really bubbled up and reached a fever pitch Thursday morning when federal agents were spotted at Dodgers Stadium in tactical gear and unmarked vans wearing masks. The Dodgers organization said that agents showed up asking for permission to enter their parking lots and were denied entry.

Now, we also heard from the Department of Homeland Security after that, saying that that was not ICE at all, claiming that it was Customs and Border Protection, that it was not related to any operation or enforcement, and that it had nothing to do with the Dodgers. In fact, DHS said that CBP was here briefly on the grounds because of a car malfunction.

So a couple of different messages going on here. Overall, it's clear that the community is extremely rattled by the presence of federal agents and also at odds in some ways with the team about what they are saying or not saying about the current climate in Los Angeles.

Natasha Chen, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Donald Trump is extending the deadline for TikTok to be sold or be banned in the U.S. for 90 days. He signed an executive order on Thursday. The new deadline is September 17th.

In a statement, the company said it's grateful for Trump's support. TikTok says more than 170 million Americans and 7 million U.S. businesses use the platform.

SpaceX's Starship exploded on the launch pad on Wednesday night. It's not clear what caused the blast, but SpaceX says it's just part of the process. Still, people who live nearby aren't happy.

CNN's Ed Lavandera explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The shockwave from this explosion registered as a small earthquake. The blinding glow of the massive fireball lit up the night sky. It wasn't a rocket launch, but the unexpected eruption of SpaceX's Starship.

Elon Musk dismissed the catastrophic scene as, quote, "just a scratch." Rene Medrano described it as Armageddon.

RENE MEDRANO, LIVES NEAR STARBASE: It felt like a bomb went off, like a big bomb went off.

LAVANDERA: What do you call this place?

MEDRANO: Emirates.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): In April, Medrano showed us around his home, which sits about 10 miles from the SpaceX Starbase facility.

LAVANDERA: And from here, you can see the rocket launches?

MEDRANO: We can. If you get right over here.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): Medrano and other South Texas residents have become increasingly critical of SpaceX. He says Wednesday night's explosion rattled his home.

MEDRANO: It really is disturbing. It's messing up our backyard is what it is. And then for this to happen, I mean, how can someone not be frustrated?

LAVANDERA (voice-over): The explosion looked like a storm captured on weather radar. That plume you see emerging is smoke and debris emanating from the test site.

SpaceX says a pressurized tank on the spacecraft experienced a, quote, "sudden energetic event igniting several fires." The company said there were no injuries and no hazards to nearby residents.

CNN senior space and science reporter Jackie Wattles says Musk and SpaceX do not see this as a major setback.

JACKIE WATTLES, SR. WRITER, CNN SPACE AND SCIENCE: SpaceX has always kind of taken this approach of setbacks come, engineers work around it, identify the issue, and then they get a new rocket on the pad and keep working towards that goal.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): In fact, Musk recently highlighted SpaceX's ability to quickly build Starship rockets and continue testing.

ELON MUSK, FOUNDER, SPACEX: We can produce a ship roughly every two or three weeks. We're aiming for the ability to produce a thousand ships a year, so three ships a day.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): The last three Starship rocket test launches have ended in explosive failures. A few broke apart just minutes after launching. In January, a Starship rocket broke apart over the Caribbean Sea.

Musk often jokes that success is uncertain, but entertainment is guaranteed.

[03:55:02]

WATTLES: Starship is the vehicle that's supposed to carry the astronauts down to the lunar surface in 2027, so I do think at this point there is a lot of gut checking going on behind the scenes about whether or not you can reach that timeline.

LAVANDERA (voice-over): The mishaps do raise questions, though, about when the Starship rocket will be able to move cargo and astronauts into space safely.

Ed Lavandera, CNN, Dallas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BRUNHUBER: Well, that wraps this hour of "CNN Newsroom." I'm Kim Brunhuber. M.J. Lee picks up our coverage with "Early Start" after a quick break.

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