Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
New Strikes as Israel-Iran Conflict Enters Second Week; Israel Slams Iran at U.N. Security Council Meeting; Thousands Gather in Iran to Protest Israel; Trump Says U.S. Shouldn't Have to Meet NATO Spending Target; Cuomo and Mamdani Lead in Crowded NYC Leadership Race; Israeli Prime Minister Says Conflict with Iran to Last "As Long as It Takes"; Flights Paused to Some Countries amid Israel-Iran Conflict; Combs' Former Assistant Testified on Friday. Aired 5-6a ET
Aired June 21, 2025 - 05:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[05:00:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
LYNDA KINKADE, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hello and welcome. I'm Lynda Kinkade.
Ahead here on CNN NEWSROOM, new strikes in Israel and Iran as protesters flood the streets of Tehran, where they're directing their anger.
President Trump is clarifying the two-week deadline he set for deciding on U.S. involvement in the conflict.
And the U.S. Director of National Intelligence responds to claims that she's out of step with the president after she said she's -- after he said that she's wrong about Iran's effort to get a bomb.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Live from Atlanta, this is CNN NEWSROOM with Lynda Kinkade.
KINKADE: An Iranian official says the latest round of Israeli airstrikes targeted Iran's nuclear research complex in Isfahan. Iranian state media says a strike on a residential building in the city of Qom killed two people and injured four others. The city is close to Iran's Fordow fuel enrichment plant.
In Israel, people took shelter from the latest Iranian missile launches. Iran is denying Israel's claim that it's been forced to cut back on missile launches because of dwindling stock. A senior Iranian official tells CNN that Iran is using more advanced precision missiles and doesn't need to fire as many of them.
In Holon, just outside of Tel Aviv, a building caught fire. Israel says it was hit by shrapnel from an intercepted missile.
And on Friday, European diplomats held talks with Iran in Geneva, hoping Iran will return to nuclear talks with the U.S. Well, president Trump says his decision on whether or not the U.S. will strike Iran could come in less than two weeks. CNN's senior White House correspondent Kristen Holmes, has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: President Donald Trump stopping to talk to reporters about the conflict between Israel and Iran on the way to his New Jersey golf club in Bedminster.
Saying this about calling Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and asking him to stop the fighting for at least a brief period to bring Iran to the table.
TRUMP: Well, I think it's very hard to make that request right now if somebody is winning. It's a little bit harder to do than if somebody is losing. But we're ready, willing and able and we've been speaking to Iran and well see what happens.
HOLMES: And now this, of course, again, was in response to the Iranians saying that they would talk to the U.S. directly about diplomatic conversations about a possible nuclear deal but only if the U.S. got Israel to stop its attacks on Iran. So it doesn't sound like that's going to happen.
Now President Trump was also asked about this two-week period. He said it was enough time to get people to come to their senses but also said that was the maximum amount of time indicating that something could happen in terms of U.S. involvement before the two weeks was over.
And one more interesting thing to point out that happened is he once again went against his director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, who back in March said that Iran was not developing a nuclear weapon, saying she's wrong emphatically she is wrong.
Of course, we have been reporting that there has been somewhat of a rift, at least from President Trump, when it comes to his DNI, because he believes that she is, quote, off message -- Kristen Holmes, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Iran says a U.S. strike against it would violate the United Nations charter. Iran's ambassador to the U.N. addressed the U.N. Security Council Friday. He said Iran would, quote, "exercise its right to self-defense."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AMIR SAEID IRAVANI, IRANIAN AMBASSADOR TO THE U.N.: Madam President, Iran has exercised its inherent right to self-defense under article 51 of the U.N. charter. Our response has complied fully with international law, including humanitarian law. We have taken all necessary precautions to protect civilians.
Iran will continue to exercise this right as long as the Security Council fails to discharge its primary responsibility under the charter and until the Israeli aggression is fully and unequivocally terminated. (END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Israel's ambassador lashed out at his Iranian counterpart when he took the floor after him. He accused Iran of pursuing what he called a genocidal agenda, adding that the Iranian ambassador is not a diplomat but a wolf pretending to be one. The Israeli representative also said his country is doing everybody's bidding by striking Iran.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DANNY DANON, ISRAELI AMBASSADOR TO U.N.: We are doing what this council should have done long ago.
[05:05:00]
We are acting when international community hesitated. We are stopping a threat that endangered the entire world. Though our homes, our families and our children are under threat, we will not stop. Not until Iran's nuclear threat is dismantled.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Iran's foreign minister is in Istanbul today. The foreign ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation are meeting there. These are pictures, live pictures from there right now. They're focusing on Israel's strikes against Iran and the war in Gaza.
Well, in the past hour, I spoke about that meeting with Sanam Vakil, the director of the Middle East and North Africa Programme at Chatham House. She told me the countries taking part in it have a clear priority.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SANAM VAKIL, DIRECTOR, MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA PROGRAMME, CHATHAM HOUSE: Well, I think right now for the countries of the Middle East, the number one priority is to push for de-escalation, if not a ceasefire, and encourage all pathways back to the negotiating table.
The worst possible outcome for the region, all Arab states and Turkiye, includes the war spreading and involving counterattacks or strikes across the Middle East.
So this meeting today in Istanbul, bringing together the Organization of Islamic Countries, is a very strong signal and important to see what communiques come out that the region stands opposed to this war and is looking for de-escalation.
KINKADE: You've written extensively about Iran's domestic political landscape.
Is this conflict likely to strengthen the regime, particularly in light of Israel's suggestions that it could lead to regime change in Tehran?
VAKIL: Well, obviously, this is a conflict, a war that is still very heated. And it's hard to see how, in this moment, the Iranian structure will change. I think it will change inevitably, because it was always on the course of change with Iran's supreme leader being 86 years old. Change was coming.
But regime change with an aerial operation from another country isn't likely in the cards. What I think the Israeli government is trying to achieve is to weaken and destabilize the Iranian government in the hope that there is unrest and fragmentation inside Iran.
And in this moment, that is also unlikely. The Iranian government, of course, is trying to build solidarity inside, using rhetoric and trying to build momentum, calling this a national struggle.
And Iranians from across the spectrum, of course, feel very angry that they are being subject to war. It doesn't mean that they have suddenly legitimized their government.
But we have to wait and see how things unfold. It's very dangerous for Iranians themselves. Obviously, the regime is in a very fragile and difficult situation. But the spillover effect of unrest in Iran for the region is also dangerous. And that is what's driving this meeting in Istanbul.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Well, the U.N. nuclear watchdog says there's no firm evidence that Iran has an active nuclear weapons program. The agency's director general, Rafael Grossi, spoke about that Friday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RAFAEL MARIANO GROSSI, DIRECTOR GENERAL, IAEA: We have confirmed that Iran does have, even now, enough material for several warheads.
But this should not be equated with a nuclear weapon. We do not have, at this point, if you ask me, at this point, any tangible proof that there is a program or a plan to fabricate to manufacture a nuclear weapon. There are different scattered activities here and there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Iran has filed a complaint at the U.N. against Grossi, accusing him of failing to condemn Israel's military action. According to an Iranian news outlet, the complaint also took issue with his approach to what Tehran calls its peaceful nuclear activities.
Thousands of people in Tehran and other Iranian cities are venting their anger over Israel's attacks on their homeland. CNN's Fred Pleitgen is the first Western journalist to enter Iran since this latest conflict began. He reports from Tehran.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Massive crowds have turned out here in central Tehran to protest against Israel's strikes against Iran. [05:10:00]
But also against the policies of the Trump administration as well.
Many of them were chanting "death to America," were chanting "death to Israel." We saw them burn American flags and burn Israeli flags.
"We will punch the United States and Israel in the mouth," he says.
"Trump, you are threatening my leader," this woman says. "Don't you know my nation believes death is sweeter than honey?"
"What do you have, Israel?" he says. "You have nothing. You are occupiers, unreligious. You're killing people, killing women. You kill everyone. You're terrorists."
So you can see that anger here being voiced by many of the folks who are walking here in this protest.
Whereas the Iranian government has said that as long as the Israelis continue their bombing campaign of sites here in Iran, there will be Iranian missiles flying toward Israeli territory.
They're calling on President Trump to try and end this direct confrontation. Otherwise, they say, there could be a direct military confrontation between Iran and the United States.
The Iranians say it's not something they want but they also say it's something that they're ready for -- Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Tehran.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Still ahead, the Israel-Iran conflict is driving up global oil prices. Russia's president shares how oil producing countries in OPEC are responding.
Plus, U.S. president Trump and his Director of National Intelligence are at odds over Iran's nuclear weapons capabilities. We'll have the details next.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:15:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
KINKADE: Welcome back.
Israel says it has shot down several drones in a fresh wave of Iranian attacks. New video out of Israel also shows a building on fire in Holon, near Tel Aviv. Officials say it was hit by shrapnel after a missile was intercepted. No injuries were reported there.
Iran's state media reports that Israel targeted the country's largest nuclear research complex overnight. The facility in Isfahan has been struck by Israel before. An Iranian official says there was no threat of hazardous materials leaking out. But it did warn people to avoid the area.
Russian president Vladimir Putin says the group of oil producers, known as OPEC+, is increasing their output due to the conflict between Israel and Iran. But it's doing so gradually.
Iran is the third largest oil producer in OPEC and analysts fear that hostilities could disrupt supply and increase prices. Mr. Putin told the St. Petersburg Economic Forum on Friday that his conflict has driven up oil prices but not enough for OPEC to intervene.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VLADIMIR PUTIN, PRESIDENT OF RUSSIA (through translator): We see that the current situation in the Middle East related to the conflict between Iran and Israel has led to a certain increase in prices.
Well, this growth, in the opinion of our experts, is not significant. Well, what it is now, $75 per barrel and it was $65. It rose by $10 and has stabilized at this level.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: U.S. President Donald Trump and his Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, appear to be at odds over Iran's nuclear program. Back in March, Gabbard told Congress that Iran wasn't building a nuclear weapon. Mr. Trump disagrees, telling reporters, quote, "she's wrong." CNN's Tom Foreman explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TULSI GABBARD, DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE: The IC continues to assess that Iran is not building a nuclear weapon.
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard and her boss, President Donald Trump, appear at odds over what she said in March about Iran's nuclear aspirations and what he is saying now.
TRUMP: My intelligence community is wrong. Who in the intelligence community said that?
REPORTER: Your director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard.
TRUMP: She's wrong.
FOREMAN: As Israel and Iran pound each other. Sources tell CNN the clash between Trump and Gabbard has been heating up.
GABBARD: I recently visited Hiroshima in Japan.
FOREMAN: Ever since Gabbard went, off message and released this video just last week, which some close to Trump saw as a swipe.
GABBARD: Political elite and warmongers are carelessly fomenting fear and tensions between nuclear powers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tulsi Gabbard.
FOREMAN: Back when Gabbard was a Democratic congressmember seeking her party's presidential nomination, she hammered Trump's ideas about U.S. relations with Iran.
GABBARD: He has not put the national security interests of our country first.
FOREMAN: But as a member of the military who had served in Iraq, she gradually warmed to his largely anti-interventionist message.
GABBARD: President Trump has pledged to end wars, not start them.
FOREMAN: Late last year, she turned Republican and endorsed Trump. He picked her for his intelligence chief, despite questions about her dealings with the now deposed dictator of Syria and all seemed fine.
TRUMP: Most of you know Tulsi, she's a fantastic woman.
FOREMAN: But now Gabbard is under scrutiny for the way she is handling her job for spending too much time polishing her own public image and for how she is dealing with Trump and Trump with her.
STEVE BANNON, FORMER TRUMP WHITE HOUSE CHIEF STRATEGIST: Why was Tulsi Gabbard not invited to the Camp David meeting all day?
TUCKER CARLSON, FORMER FOX NEWS HOST: You know why.
FOREMAN: National Guard commitments reportedly kept her away from a key meeting on the Mideast battles but that did not keep big name Trump supporters from asking if she's lost his confidence.
Louisiana Senator John Kennedy reportedly said she obviously needs to change her meds.
And although U.S. intelligence has said Iran may yet be years from having a nuke, the White House is sending a much more alarming message.
KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Iran has never been closer to obtaining a nuclear weapon.
FOREMAN: Gabbard insists the media is misreading her take on Iran and there is no clash with Trump. The vice president has stepped up to defend her, too. But there are whispers swirling around her at the White House. And usually that's not good news -- Tom Foreman, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Well, president Trump says the United States should not have to pay 5 percent of its GDP to support NATO.
[05:20:05] He has repeatedly said all NATO countries must meet that defense spending threshold. But on Friday, the president said the U.S. shouldn't have to pay anything now since it's been supporting the military alliance for so long.
Mr. Trump has repeatedly made that false statement that the U.S. was paying nearly 100 percent of the NATO budget. He is expected to attend a NATO summit next week.
U.S. vice president JD Vance was in Los Angeles Friday, defending the administration's use of the National Guard in response to protests against immigration raids by ICE.
It comes after the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals allowed a pause on a lower court ruling, that president Trump should give up control of the thousands of troops that have been federalized in L.A. The vice president tried to say state and local officials weren't doing their jobs.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
J.D. VANCE (R-OH), VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If you enforce your own laws and if you protect federal law enforcement, we're not going to send in the National Guard because it's unnecessary.
But if you let violent rioters burn great American cities to the ground, then, of course, we're going to send federal law enforcement in to protect the people the president was elected to protect.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
Vance also seemed to take a swipe at California Democratic senator Alex Padilla, who you see right here. He was removed from a news conference held by Homeland Security secretary Kristi Noem last week.
Vance called Padilla "Jose" instead of Alex, although he served alongside him in the U.S. Senate. The vice president's spokesperson responded with what appeared to be a bit of sarcasm, saying he must have mixed up two people who have broken the law.
The Palestinian activist, who has been at the center of a long-running deportation fight, is now free. Mahmoud Khalil was released from an immigration detention center in Louisiana on Friday more than three months after he was arrested on Columbia University's campus. Here's what Khalil had to say after his release.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAHMOUD KHALIL, PALESTINIAN ACTIVIST: Although justice prevailed but it's long, very long overdue. And this shouldn't have taken three months. There's no right person who should be detained for actually protesting a genocide, for protesting their university.
Columbia University, that is investing in the genocide of the Palestinian people. (END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: A judge ordered Khalil's release on bail after finding he's not a flight risk or a danger to public safety. He was required to surrender his passport and is prohibited from traveling overseas.
Khalil was one of the first migrants arrested in the Trump administration's immigration crackdown, targeting student activists.
Well, this Tuesday is primary Election Day in New York and recent polls show former New York governor Andrew Cuomo and state assemblyman Zohran Mamdani is leading the crowded field. CNN's Gloria Pazmino takes a look at the state of the race to lead America's biggest city.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It has become a quick-paced and dramatic race here in New York City in the past few days. Zohran Mamdani, the state assemblyman, has significantly closed the gap between him and Andrew Cuomo. And many of the polls show them neck- and-neck.
Now Andrew Cuomo got the endorsement of congressman Jim Clyburn just a few days ago. And I think that really shows as an example that this campaign here in New York City and this race has become about a debate that we're seeing play out on the national stage.
Whether Democrats should run more to the left or to the center and whether their proposals are speaking to voters, including many here in New York City, who peeled away from the party and voted for president Trump in this last election.
Now Andrew Cuomo has mounted a comeback bid. As you remember, he resigned from office in 2021 after being accused of sexual harassment. But he says that he's got the experience. His campaign has received a lot of support, including from establishment Democrats like Congressman Clyburn, as well as Greg Meeks.
He has also gotten a lot of support from the city's labor unions. Now he told me that this race is not just about him getting back into public office again. He said he believes he has the record and particularly the experience to stand up to Donald Trump. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDREW CUOMO, NEW YORK CITY MAYORAL CANDIDATE: And we need someone who has experience and competence and a proven track record of getting things done. You know, I believe in on-the-job training, just not for the mayor of the city of New York, right?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PAZMINO: Now that on-demand training comment, that's a dig at Mamdani, who has only served three terms in the state assembly. He is a relatively young lawmaker here in the city. But he has gotten a lot of attention and there's a lot of energy around his campaign, particularly from the city's youngest voters.
Mamdani is a Democratic Socialist.
[05:25:00]
And if he is elected, he would become one of the youngest people ever elected mayor in the city's history. He would also become the first Muslim mayor.
Mamdani has spoken out on behalf of Palestinian human rights and has gotten a lot of criticism, especially in the past few days, after he defended the use of the slogan, "Globalize the intifada," which he said he believed is a rallying cry for Palestinian human rights.
Here's what he told me about that, as well as his proposal to significantly increase funding for the city's anti-hate crime initiatives. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ZOHRAN MAMDANI, NEW YORK CITY MAYORAL CANDIDATE: I have shared my opinions with New Yorkers over the course of this race, opinions that always come back to a belief in universal human rights and that means taking on anti-Semitism and Islamophobia.
And we have ensured that our focus in doing so is not just talking about it but tackling it by committing 800 percent increase in funding for anti-hate crime programs.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PAZMINO: Early voting took place over the last two weeks. Hundreds of thousands of New Yorkers have already cast their ballot. Primary day is on Tuesday. And the general election, which, by the way, will include the incumbent mayor, Eric Adams, who is running as an independent, will be held in November.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Well, Israel and Iran are trading deadly missile strikes. Ahead, see how ordinary citizens are responding to that danger.
Plus, the U.N. is again warning of an impending famine in Gaza with aid supplies limited by Israel. Some Palestinian families say the deep hunger is driving people to turn on each other. We'll have their stories coming up next.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:30:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
KINKADE (voice-over): Welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Lynda Kinkade, live from Atlanta. Good to have you with us. Let's check some of today's top stories.
An Iranian official says the latest round of Israeli airstrikes targeted Iran's nuclear research complex in Isfahan. Iranian state media says a strike on a residential building in the city of Qom killed two people, injuring four others. The city is close to Iran's Fordow fuel enrichment plant.
European diplomats made little headway as they tried to convince Iran to return to the negotiating table with the U.S. They met with Iran's foreign minister in Geneva on Friday.
Officials say Tehran is refusing to talk to Washington while Israeli strikes continue. They say if both sides paused their attacks, the talks could be possible.
The U.S. president's two-week window to decide if he'll order strikes on Iran could be shorter. President Donald Trump now says the timeframe, which he announced Thursday, is the maximum. He's suggesting it could make up his mind sooner.
Mr. Trump also says it would be hard to ask Israel to stop its military campaign right now, while it's ahead.
CNN's Nic Robertson was in Haifa, northern Israel, as an air raid warning sounded. This is what he saw.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: And we're going underground now.
LEONID REZNICK, HEAD OF EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS, HAIFA MUNICIPALITY: We're going underground.
ROBERTSON: Into this bunker.
REZNICK: Exactly. It's a bomb shelter bunker.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): It's Haifa's war room.
ROBERTSON: It's very quiet in here right now.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): Almost 24 hours since the last missile strike.
REZNICK: We are trying to let the people at least to go to their houses to buy something and to be a little with the families.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): We don't know it then but they'll soon be running back here. Haifa's missile response and resiliency in their hands. Back out on the streets, people enjoying the lull until the sirens go off.
ROBERTSON: People are running for the shelters. The sirens have just gone off. It's the middle of the afternoon here and everyone's going to try and take shelter. ROBERTSON (voice-over): Iranian missiles have killed three people here in the last week.
ROBERTSON: We're just going to follow the people where they're going to a shelter.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): It's a desperate rush.
ROBERTSON: So we've followed everyone and this is where we've come to. It seems like it's an underground car park underneath a shopping mall.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): Life on hold. People with babies and pets waiting, scouring their phones for news of what's happening above ground. A week of missile strikes taking its toll.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My first time here.
ROBERTSON: Really. Why now?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I just couldn't stay at home anymore. I was too scared.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): And with good reason, while were underground, a missile struck about a mile away.
ROBERTSON: Just arriving on the site less than an hour after the blast. You can see here water pouring out, the damaged cars here as well. This is a scene of the aftermath of a strike here. And it's -- looking at the damage, it's big. Just turning the camera over here, you can see here the building has been blasted, rubble everywhere.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): Already, the rescue teams coordinated by the war room on site. Sniffer dogs to locate those trapped in the rubble. Drones to scour the debris. Then the rescue teams looking for unexploded missiles. The city's mayor, who runs the war room, one of the first officials to arrive. Where is diplomacy not working fast enough?
ROBERTSON: President Trump waiting two weeks to make a decision, what do you think about that?
MAYOR YONA YAHAV, HAFIA, ISRAEL: It's too much.
ROBERTSON: Why?
YAHAV: Because we have no time. You see what's going in the middle time?
ROBERTSON: Well, there's more destruction.
YAHAV: They have to sit now and negotiate and design a treaty. It's not a big deal and do it.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): Israel's foreign minister next on the scene. For him, a deal with Iran nowhere near in sight. ROBERTSON: And what's your understanding of the diplomatic talks between the Iranian foreign minister and the European foreign ministers in Geneva?
Are they making progress?
What is your assessment of what's happening there?
SA'AR: Well, frankly, I was always skeptical with regard to diplomatic talks with the Iranians because they are misleading. And even until now, we hadn't heard anything from them which hints they want to change direction.
ROBERTSON (voice-over): By morning, the roads here will be open again, the path to lasting peace still blocked -- Nic Robertson, CNN, Haifa, Israel.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
[05:35:00]
KINKADE: Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu says he won't back down in the conflict with Iran.
On Friday, he visited a location where an Iranian missile struck earlier in the week. And addressing reporters there, Netanyahu says he is determined to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: As long as it takes, that's the answer. As long as it takes, because we face an existential danger, a dual existential danger, one from 20,000 such rockets, 20,000, not one. This is one rocket, one missile and the other is, of course, atomic bombs in the hands of these. This mad regime.
Iran is the preeminent terrorist regime in the world. It must not -- cannot have nuclear weapons.
That is the purpose of Israel's action to save itself from the Iranian threat of annihilation. But by doing so, we're saving many, many others.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
KINKADE: The United Nations is again sounding the alarm about the pervasive hunger and dire humanitarian crisis in Gaza as Israel's war with Hamas drags on.
The U.N. says the enclave is on the brink of famine and civilians continue to come under attack while they attempt to access scarce food supplies that Israel allows in. CNN's Paula Hancocks has more. But we need to warn you. Her report includes material that may be distressing to some viewers. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Mohamed al-Darbi is 12 years old. He has a message for the world.
MOHAMED AL-DARBI, GAZA RESIDENT: We in Gaza have no flour, every day, 24 hours. They tell us there are trucks coming and we come and find nothing. We eat this sand, we have no food, we have no food. We have no flour, we have no food. Have mercy on us. We have no food.
Have mercy on us, mercy, we are eating sand instead of bread. A loaf of bread costs 20 shekels -- $5.70 -- a loaf this little.
HANCOCKS: Mohamed walked eight hours with his father to a flour distribution point in Gaza city. He finally collected two kilos of flour but thieves attacked him and stole it.
He says, I saw the journalist filming and I asked him to pass on my message to the world that I was robbed and I ate sand because I had no flour and I was so depressed.
Mohamed's mother says she uses old dried bread used for animal feed, soaks it with water and bakes it over and over to feed her children.
His father says people are killing each other over a bag of flour, 5 or 6 individuals attack each other because people want to eat and they have become monsters. Due to the lack of food.
Mohamed and his family only two of tens of thousands of starved Palestinians risking their lives to feed their families.
Dozens have been killed by Israeli fire this week as they waited for aid. Hundreds since Israel lifted an 11-week blockade on Gaza in late May, allowing a trickle of aid in, according to the Palestinian ministry of health. The Israeli military says it operates to minimize harm to those seeking aid while maintaining the safety of its troops.
The United Nations warns the entire population of Gaza, more than 2 million people face impending famine without a drastic increase in aid -- Paula Hancocks, CNN, Abu Dhabi.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Well, still to come on CNN, global air traffic has been disrupted by the ongoing conflict between Iran and Israel. And now more airlines are suspending flights to the Middle East. We'll have that story next.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[05:40:00]
(MUSIC PLAYING)
KINKADE: Welcome back. I'm Lynda Kinkade.
Israel and Iran have been trading blows in new military strikes as their conflict enters its second week. An Iranian official says the latest round of Israeli strikes targeted Iran's nuclear research complex in Isfahan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE (voice-over): Now this video shows the Iranian city of Qom. Iranian state media say a strike there and a residential building killed two people and injured four others. The city is close to Iran's Fordow fuel enrichment plant.
Iran is denying Israel's claim that it's been forced to cut back on missile launches because of dwindling stock. A senior Iranian official tells CNN that Iran's using more advanced precision missiles and doesn't need to fire as many of them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Farzin Nadimi is a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy and joins us now live.
Good to have you with us. Thanks for getting up early.
FARZIN NADIMI, SENIOR FELLOW, WASHINGTON INSTITUTE FOR NEAR EAST POLICY: Good to be with you. Thank you for your invitation.
KINKADE: So I want to ask you first about Iran's attacks on Israel, because, despite Israel's impressive interception rate of reportedly neutralizing 90 percent to 95 percent of incoming Iranian projectiles, a small but persistent percentage still gets through.
Given that what is Iran's strategic objective?
Is it this symbolic retaliation?
Is it testing Israel's defense systems or is it part of a larger effort to deter aggression and a signal strength?
NADIMI: Well, Iran has already done the testing and they are trying to change the behavior of Israel to compel Israel to stop its very effective air campaign against Iran, Iran's nuclear and military, especially missile projects and infrastructure.
And to do that Iran relies on its missile force. Iran's missile force has been in development for decades and for various specific reasons of attacking Israel and dismantling Israel's infrastructure since early '90s.
These works by saturating Israeli defenses and they improve their accuracy of the missiles so they could actually target those strategic objectives in Israel with as few missiles as possible. In fact, that has been the case.
But they have different types of missiles with different degree of accuracy. Some of them are saturating missiles. They carry cluster warheads, which have been in use against Israel in recent days. That includes residential areas, to create as much effect as possible against air bases, against populated areas.
But also they do have some very accurate missiles that aim to use against very specific political military or infrastructure targets.
[05:45:06]
They usually use a combination of these missiles. Originally they tried to saturate Israeli defenses. Now they are with the Israeli air campaign. And their stocks and they do not know how long this campaign is going to take. So they decided to cut back and use fewer missiles.
KINKADE: Yes, that's certainly the case right now. They are cutting back.
I want to ask you about the damage that Israel has inflicted on Iran's nuclear facilities during this current wave of strikes.
In your assessment, where has Israel fallen short and what capabilities remain untouched and operational?
NADIMI: Well, it seems that Israeli air campaign has been very comprehensive and they have been trying to leave nothing untouched.
They have been going after military units. They have been going after missile program. They're both solid propellant missile programs, liquid fuel missile industries. There's research and development sites there, there are storage sites, there are missile bases. And actually moving transporter launchers.
And anything in between. They are going after all ammunition factories and also those anti-tank missile factories that have -- that Hezbollah have been using for several years against Israel to great effect.
So -- and with regard to nuclear projects, they have been destroyed. They have been bombing and destroying centrifuge factories and every, every important element of Iran's enrichment program --
(CROSSTALK)
KINKADE: And just to just to interrupt you for a moment, we are just getting this news that Israel says it has eliminated the Iranian Quds Force commander Saeed Izadi, an Iranian commander of the elite Quds Force.
So I mean, certainly some of those strikes are quite calculated, very strategic. The Israeli prime minister, though, has publicly stated that he doesn't want to just dismantle Iran's nuclear capabilities. He's also hinted at the possibility of regime change.
Do you believe either of those goals are achievable?
NADIMI: I just wanted to mention that Fordow is the next endpoint and Israel very much hopes that the United States will join Israel in attacking Fordow. But they are confident that they can, pay for (ph) those quite, quite effectively with their existing weapons.
With regard to the regime change, well, I think that we have to make a distinction between regime change and regime collapse. It's -- even though this campaign might not, might not lead to regime change in Iran but it very much could if, if staged (ph) effectively, smartly, it could lead to a regime collapse under its very own weight.
And then the Iranian people can exploit the situation to build up another, more friendlier political system. That is a distinction that I think needs to be made.
KINKADE: OK. Farzin Nadimi, we appreciate your analysis. Thanks so much for your time this morning.
NADIMI: Thank you.
KINKADE: Well, global air traffic continues to be disrupted due to the ongoing conflict between Iran and Israel. Now three commercial airliners are pausing some flights from the U.S. to the Middle East. CNN's Pete Muntean explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PETE MUNTEAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Airlines tell me they're doing this not because they have some special window into what's happening in the Middle East but because of the unpredictability of missile fire there.
You've probably seen the dramatic video that shows missiles being launched from Iran from on board a passenger jet.
Here is the latest. United Airlines is pausing flights between its major Newark hub and Dubai indefinitely. American Airlines is suspending flights between Philadelphia and Doha in Qatar through June 22nd, it says. And Delta Air Lines says, it has suspended flights between New York's JFK and Tel Aviv until the end of August.
But you kind of have to consider these expiration dates as something of a suggestion because President Donald Trump said on Thursday that he would decide on a strike on Iran in two weeks' time.
So these timeframes set by airlines are really a bit of a moving target. Airlines are getting pretty used to this right now. They pulled down flights to Tel Aviv from the U.S. during the October 7th attack on Israel and service between the U.S. and Israel has been spotty in the 20 months since.
Last month, both American and United Airlines canceled flights between the U.S. and Delhi in India when clashes broke out with Pakistan. It's a good example of the bind that airlines are in right now.
Flights from the U.S. to the Middle East are pretty long. The United to Dubai flights about 14 hours long. So if that flight could not land, it would need to carry extra fuel.
[05:50:02]
But that means the plane could only fly about half-full of passengers. So it doesn't make great business sense for airlines.
Remember Ben Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv is closed right now due to the conflict with Iran and no U.S. airline operates flights in and out of Iran.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Pete Muntean there.
We're going to take a quick break. We'll be right back with much more news. Stay with us.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
KINKADE: Welcome back.
The jury in the Sean Diddy Combs racketeering and sex trafficking trial could begin deliberations sometime next week.
Prosecutors and defense attorneys are expected to wrap up their cases by Wednesday in closing arguments that could take place as soon as Thursday. The jury heard testimony from two witnesses on Friday, as CNN's Kara Scannell reports from New York.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KARA SCANNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Sean "Diddy" Combs' sex trafficking and racketeering trial is nearing a close, after six weeks of testimony and nearly three dozen witnesses, prosecutors could rest their case as soon as Monday.
On Friday, prosecutors called their final witnesses, including Brendan Paul, who was one of Combs' former assistants. Paul was arrested for cocaine possession the same time that Combs was searched by federal authorities last year.
Now Paul said that he didn't tell law enforcement that the drugs belonged to Combs out of loyalty.
[05:55:00]
He testified on Friday that he had bought drugs for Combs between 5-10 times.
That included ketamine, cocaine, ecstasy and marijuana. He also said that he was reimbursed by Combs' security guards. This all goes to the prosecutions charge of racketeering conspiracy.
Now Paul also testified that he helped set up for the hotel nights where the alleged sex trafficking took place and cleaned them up. But on cross-examination, he said he never saw anything inappropriate taking place. Now on Friday, the jury also heard from a law enforcement agent who served as a summary witness for the prosecution, all relating to the alleged sex trafficking of Combs' former girlfriend, who testified under the pseudonym "Jane."
The jury saw text messages from Combs, where he was arranging for male escorts. They also saw some cash payments by the escorts.
Now that agent is back on the witness stand on Monday. The defense team said that they expect a call. Just a handful of witnesses and that they could rest their case Tuesday or Wednesday. The judge said closing arguments could begin as soon as Thursday -- Kara Scannell, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KINKADE: Hawaii's Kilauea volcano put on quite the fireworks show yesterday. Take a look at this close-up video of the latest eruption on the Big Island.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE (voice-over): At its peak, the lava reached about 1,000 feet. Plumes of volcanic smoke soaring about 20,000 feet high.
Well, fountains of lava have been erupting occasionally since late December. So far, nearby populated areas have not been threatened. And since those earlier fiery scenes, the eruption hit pause as white smoke billowed from the crater. Tremors in the region have also decreased.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KINKADE: Well, thanks so much for joining me this morning. I'm Lynda Kinkade. For viewers in North America, stay with us for "CNN THIS MORNING." And for viewers elsewhere, "AFRICAN VOICES: PLAYMAKERS" starts in just a moment. I'll see you same time tomorrow.
