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U.S. Strikes Iran Nuclear Facilities In "Operation Midnight Hammer"; Interview With Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-OR); Trump Claims U.S. "Obliterated" Iran's Nuclear Sites As Tehran Warns Of Consequences; Iran: U.S. Strikes On Nuclear Sites "Crossed A Very Big Red Line". Aired 2-3p ET

Aired June 22, 2025 - 14:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:00:33]

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Happening now, breaking news.

The world waits after the U.S. strikes Iran's nuclear facilities in an unprecedented operation. So what happens next?

Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer in New York, and you're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

This is CNN's special coverage of the truly unprecedented U.S. strikes on Iran.

This hour, we're learning new details and getting more reaction, lots of it, to the truly stunning U.S. attack on Iran nuclear facilities. Codenamed Operation Midnight Hammer, the attack involved 125 U.S. aircraft, submarines and cruise missiles.

Just moments ago, some of the B-2 stealth bombers that took part in that high stakes operation returned to Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri.

Brand new satellite images into CNN show the impact of craters from massive bunker buster bombs dropped on the Fordow nuclear site by the B-2 bombers.

The Pentagon's top general saying the military's initial assessment is that all three sites had, quote, "extremely severe damage and destruction". But a full review will take more time.

President Trump called the strikes a spectacular military success, his words. Last night he addressed the nation and indeed the world, and warned the U.S. could go after additional targets if Iran doesn't make peace.

Meantime, Iran is accusing the United States of beginning a, quote, "dangerous war and violating international law", saying quote, "we have to respond".

CNN is covering every angle of this breaking news story. CNN's senior correspondent Kristen Holmes, is over at the White House for us. CNN's chief international correspondent, Clarissa Ward is in Tel Aviv for us. And CNN senior international correspondent Fred Pleitgen is in Tehran.

I want to go to Kristen Holmes at the White House first. Kristen, what more are you learning now about the president's decision to strike Iran?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well Wolf, we're learning quite a bit, actually. So we believe that these conversations first started in earnest about the United States joining Israel in an attack against Iran in the early months -- earlier in the month on June 8th, when there was a meeting at Camp David with some of his top intelligence officials.

Now, those plans before being presented to the president on that day had really been in the works for weeks, if not months.

Now, we know that when Karoline Leavitt took to the podium just on Thursday of this week and said that President Trump was giving about two weeks for Iran to come to the table before he made any decisions, that those around President Trump said that his decision had already been made. It already felt that way.

But he didn't give the final call until the day on Saturday. Now, the one thing to keep in mind here is the two arguments that President Trump, we are told, was continually making over the weeks before this attack actually happened, which were one, can this strike be decisive enough to take out these nuclear facilities? And two, if doing this made it -- if it was possible to do this and then not get brought into a longer-term war or conflict in the Middle East. He cares very deeply about not being embroiled in some kind of long-term conflict in the Middle East.

Now, the first part of this, his advisers said, yes, that they could have because of these bunker busting bombs, that they could take out these fortified nuclear sites.

Of course, we're still waiting on a full damage assessment there.

And the other part of this, there's a lot of concern, not just among his advisers, but among republicans as a whole and really, the country as a whole, that this is going to get us tied up into a longer-term conflict.

The other part of this is whether or not Iran will retaliate. We have seen a number of posts from president himself, as well as the secretary of Defense, calling on Iran not to retaliate, but they are certainly preparing for that.

They have moved ships, they have moved planes, they have brought more blood into the region in case of a retaliation. But right now they are waiting to see the next moves. President Trump believing that if they have weakened Iran the way that they say they have, that Iran will come to the negotiating table, which is the ultimate goal.

[14:04:52]

BLITZER: All right. Kristen Holmes reporting from the White House for us. Kristen, thank you very much.

I want to go live right now to Clarissa Ward, our chief international correspondent, who's joining us live from Tel Aviv. Clarissa, Israel is firing more missiles this morning at Iran, various targets in Iran. What are you learning about these strikes?

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is interesting, Wolf. We've now heard the IDF for the first time comment publicly on what they assessed to be the results of those three U.S. strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities just in the last hour.

We heard them assess that it was a deep impact, these are their words and a significant hit that is not quite the same thing as we heard from President Trump who described it, I believe, as total obliteration.

But nonetheless, the IDF says it is continuing to assess what the full scale of the damage might be, what the result of that damage may be.

And they also talked about their own strike on an Iranian missile engine production site. Some 2,000 or more than 2,000 kilometers away from here in Israel. They say that this is the furthest target that they have struck.

And also when the IDF was asked about whether Israel would continue to strike targets in Iran or whether it would pause now to see what Iran's response might be and whether there may be a chance for diplomacy to start to play out.

They said, quote, "we have our goals to achieve and we will continue to achieve them." So the implication there is that these strikes will continue.

Of course, this is a two-way street, so to speak, Wolf. This morning we heard the air raid sirens just after 7:00 a.m., a large barrage of missiles. You could literally feel the impact of those that made landfall from here in our hotel, striking a residential area.

Our colleagues were on the scene, considerable amount of damage, several buildings destroyed, or at least partially destroyed.

Remarkably, no -- no deaths reported, 20 light injuries as a result of those strikes because we see now Israelis really ensuring the minute they hear those alarms, they head to their nearest shelter.

But we have seen the home front command in the wake almost immediately after. In fact, those U.S. strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities reinstate the highest level of protective measures they had tried earlier on over the past few days to start a phased approach to reopen the economy. But now no going to work, no going to school, no gathering in large

numbers in public. And essentially the advice to stay near home or shelter unless you need to go out, Wolf. BLITZER: Yes, those Iranian missiles hit the Ramat Aviv area of Tel

Aviv, which is considered a relatively high-end part of the city. But the destruction was really, really devastating.

Clarissa Ward, thank you very, very much for that update.

I want to go to CNN's Fred Pleitgen for us. He's on the ground in Tehran, and he had a chance to speak to the spokesperson for Iran's foreign ministry, who called the U.S. strikes against Iran a betrayal of diplomacy. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ESMAIL BAGHAEI, SPOKESPERSON FOR IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY: Now we are facing a situation after 2 or 3 months of negotiations, five rounds of negotiations with Trump administration, suddenly we came under a surprise attack by Israel.

Instead of Americans trying to rein in Benjamin Netanyahu, now they are joining hands in attacking Iran's nuclear

installations. That would be a detrimental blow to international law, to the United Nations, and by the way, the United States is a founding member of the United Nations. The United States is a permanent member of the Security Council, the United States is the headquarter of this organization.

Now they are attacking a non-nuclear weapon state in collusion with each other, and I think that would have detrimental consequences for international law, for international peace and security, and for the generations to come.

FRED PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: What is going to be Iran's response?

BAGHAEI: I'm not going to talk about our reaction. This is for our military people to decide. But what is completely sure is that Iran is entitled, under Article 51 of the U.N. charter to exercise its right of self-defense. And we will do that for sure.

PLEITGEN: President Trump came out in a statement after the attack called on Iran to make peace and also threatened that there would be an even tougher response if Iran fires back. What do you say?

BAGHAEI: I think this is complete bullying. You attack a country and then threaten it again with more attacks.

[14:09:45]

BAGHAEI: I think this is a manifestation of systematic, institutionalized, bullying at the global level.

PLEITGEN: How does this inflame tensions in the Middle East?

BAGHAEI: It is unprecedentedly dangerous because now everyone thinks, perceives this as a success for Benjamin Netanyahu in dragging the United States into his war. And I think the whole region is alarmed. We have very good relations

with our neighbors, Islamic countries, Arab countries. They have been unified, condemning this act of aggression by Israel and by the United States.

No one knows what will happen next, but what is sure is that the responsibility for the consequences of this war must be borne by the United States and by its ally, Israel.

PLEITGEN: Is this the end of diplomacy between the U.S. and Iran?

BAGHAEI: Diplomacy never ends. That's a rule, that's a principle for Iranians. We have never left the negotiating table.

But now, I think what is written we are witnessing a betrayal of diplomacy by the Trump administration.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Fred Pleitgen reporting from Tehran. Fred, thank you very much.

Still ahead, Iran's Revolutionary guard says its response to the U.S. Strikes will, quote, "cause deep regret", Close quote.

So how is the U.S. preparing for possible Iranian retaliation? We have details. That's next.

[14:11:13]

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BLITZER: Welcome back to our special edition of CNN NEWSROOM.

More than 125 aircraft, decoy B-2 bombers, 30,000-pound bombs, bunker busting bombs, all involved in the U.S. strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities named Operation Midnight Hammer.

Listen to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Dan Caine lay out the unprecedented timeline.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEN. DAN CAINE, CHAIRMAN OF THE JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF: At midnight, Friday into Saturday morning, a large B-2 strike package comprised of bombers launched from the continental United States.

As part of the plan to maintain tactical surprise, part of the package proceeded to the west and into the Pacific as a decoy, a deception effort known only to an extremely small number of planners and key leaders here in Washington and in Tampa.

The main strike package comprised of seven B-2 spirit bombers, each with two crew members, proceeded quietly to the east with minimal communications. Throughout the 18-hour flight into the target area, the aircraft completed multiple in-flight refuelings. Once over land, the B-2s linked up with escort and support aircraft in a complex, tightly-timed maneuver requiring exact synchronization across multiple platforms in a narrow piece of airspace. All done with minimal communications.

At approximately 5:00 p.m. Eastern standard time last night and just prior to the strike package entering Iran, a U.S. submarine in the Central Command area of responsibility launched more than two dozen Tomahawk land attack cruise missiles against key surface infrastructure targets at Isfahan.

As the Operation Midnight Hammer strike package entered Iranian airspace, the U.S. employed several deception tactics, including decoys as the fourth and fifth generation aircraft pushed out in front of the strike package at high altitude and high speed, sweeping in front of the package for enemy fighters and surface to air missile threats.

As the strike package approached Fordow and Natanz, the U.S. protection package employed high-speed suppression weapons to ensure safe passage of the strike package with fighter assets employing preemptive suppressing fires against any potential Iranian surface to air threats. We are currently unaware of any shots fired at the U.S. strike package on the way in.

At approximately 6:40 p.m. Eastern standard time, 2:10 a.m. Iran time the lead B-2 dropped two GBU 57 massive ordnance penetrator weapons on the first of several aim points at Fordow.

As the president stated last night, the remaining bombers then hit their targets as well, with a total of 14 MOPs dropped against two nuclear target areas.

All three Iranian nuclear infrastructure targets were struck between 6:40 p.m. and 7:05 p.m. Eastern time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Those MOPs that he's talking about, MOPs, massive ordnance penetrator bombs, the bunker buster busting bombs, 20,000 -- 30,000- pound bombs that can go deep underground and destroy what's there.

Let's discuss what we just heard -- these developments, very dramatic developments, and get some insight into this attack.

Joining us, retired U.S. Air Force Colonel Cedric Leighton. He's a CNN military analyst.

Colonel, thanks once again for joining us.

Pretty unusual for a chairman of the Joint Chiefs to go into such specific details about a very sophisticated military operation. At least that's my impression. What do you think?

[14:19:52] COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Yes, I agree, Wolf. It was interesting because last night the president didn't really go into very much detail.

But General Caine, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, outlined this timeline right here. And basically, as he said, starting in the midnight hour on the 21st of June, these aircraft flew from Whiteman Air Force Base, flew east. There was a decoy that flew west toward Guam.

But the actual mission went to the east, and that was the key thing right here, because by the time they got there. So we're talking about 18 hours later, their time on target, 1840 or so, 18 hours, 40 minutes, 1900 hours Eastern time. That's where they started striking these targets.

So the details are quite extensive. And it allows us to really see the kinds of things that they actually were doing when it came to striking these three main targets in Iran.

BLITZER: Iran has warned, Colonel, as you know, that warned the U.S. to expect a major Iranian response. What do we know about U.S. military presence in the region and what kind of military capabilities does Iran actually have, together with its proxies? And they still have proxies in the region to cause damage to U.S. troops based in the Persian Gulf, elsewhere in the Middle East -- about 40,000 U.S. troops.

LEIGHTON: That's right Wolf. About 40,000 U.S. Troops, most of them right here in this area of the Persian gulf. This is, of course, directly across that body of water from Iran itself.

What that means is that when it comes to the Iranian missile ranges, what you see here is that they can actually go into any of these areas without any particular trouble, and they can, in essence, affect all of this area, plus some of their longer-range missiles, of course, can go as far as Israel and even to points west into Europe if they needed to. But these are the kinds of missiles that could potentially become part of any Iranian response.

However, most of them appear to have been eliminated by their use against Israel, and also by the fact that the Israelis have gone in and destroyed a lot of those launch sites.

BLITZER: I was fascinated, Colonel Leighton, by the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, General Caine, going into detail about the so-called decoy operation that was started to try to misguide the Iranians.

Talk a little bit about that.

LEIGHTON: So one of the key things with decoy operations, Wolf, is that what they need to do is they need to, in essence, confuse the radars that are really holding watch over this part of Iran right here.

So the Israelis had gone in and they had destroyed a large portion of Iran's enemy air defenses and the associated radars.

What the decoys did when the aircraft flew into these areas of Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan, what they ended up doing was they ended up confusing any remaining radars to make them think that the targets, the aircraft that we're coming in were actually different from the actual B-2 strike package.

So when that B-2 strike package came in, this is a graphic of the B-2 and what it can do, what it actually did was it came into these areas right here of the Fordow site. This is one of the target sites, but this was really the most important one because you can see these tunnel entrances here, the centrifuges buried underneath the mountain and this support building.

Well, what ended up happening here was when you look at the areas that are part of the before picture, we'll use the June 20th image for that. And everything looks fairly much intact right here.

But if you take a look and see what happened on the -- image of the 22nd, you can see that all of these areas are actually gone and destroyed.

So either they're destroyed or they're damaged in one way or another. A lot of the tunnel entrances were, in essence, eliminated. and that is one of the key things that they did. Those decoys enabled this mission to take place.

BLITZER: Yes, a lot of bunker busting bombs were dropped on those facilities, causing presumably a lot of destruction.

Colonel Cedric Leighton, thanks very much for your analysis.

(CROSSTALKING)

BLITZER: And coming up, Senator Jeff Merkley will join us live. Why he says the U.S. strikes on Iran were, quote, "a wrong decision on all counts", his words.

We'll be right back.

[14:24:07]

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BLITZER: We're following our top breaking news story out of Iran, where the U.S. military struck three key Iranian nuclear facilities overnight. Iran says the U.S. airstrikes crossed a very big red line and promises to retaliate against U.S. forces in the region.

President Trump is calling for peace in the Middle East, but also is warning that any Iranian counter strikes will be met with, quote, "greater force".

Joining us now is Democratic Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon, a key member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Senator, thanks so much for joining us. What is your initial reaction

to the overnight airstrikes carried out by the U.S. military against these Iranian nuclear facilities?

SEN. JEFF MERKLEY (D-OR): Well, Wolf, a great frustration and disappointment that President Trump had not utilized the two weeks to conduct consultations with Congress, to conduct additional diplomacy. Realize that U.S. intelligence has repeatedly found that Iran had not made a decision to develop a nuclear weapon, and that the Israeli foreign minister had made it clear that they had set back the program two to three years already.

So there was plenty of room for Trump to continue the strategy of diplomacy to achieve the two key objectives that the United States and the world would like to see.

MERKLEY: One of those is that there would be no nuclear weapons program in Iran. And second of all, that Iran would quit funding militias throughout an arc in the Middle East.

[14:30:00]

But Trump abandoned that to be another Republican president, taking us into another war in the Middle East with great peril that could create an escalating cycle of a much, much broader conflict.

BLITZER: Congressman Himes, the ranking Democratic member of the House Intelligence Committee, one of the members of the so-called Gang of Eight, said he found out about the strikes on Twitter.

Listen to this. This is what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. JIM HIMES (D-CT): I learned about this strike last night on Twitter, which, as you point out, is an uncomfortable thing for the ranking member of the Intelligence Committee, particularly given the fact that the whole premise here is that something changed, right? That, you know, Prime Minister Netanyahu made a reference to new intelligence. There was some mention of it this morning.

So bad enough that we weren't informed, but, you know, unconstitutional that we didn't have the opportunity to debate and speak as the representatives of the people on what is one of the most consequential foreign policy things that this country has done in a long time.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Senator Merkley, what do you make of the Trump administrations decision not to inform senior Democrats about the upcoming airstrikes?

MERKLEY: It's just a totally creating a partisan frame for what should be a bipartisan discussion. Those members of the Gang of Eight are all very, very careful with any advance briefing that they get, and its part of the recognition that there's a relationship between the executive branch and the congressional branch that involves informing Congress about key decisions regarding conflicts around the world and the use of our forces.

I do want to stress, though, that now is the moment where Trump has another decision to make. We don't know where this will head with type of retaliation against the United States, and therefore what type of additional conflict we may be involved in and how it will spread. But Trump could make the decision now to bring Israel and the United States into a ceasefire for a two to three-week period to pursue, and -- well, first break that cycle of escalation. And second, pursue those two key goals of Iran, ending its support of militias throughout the arc and making sure it does not have a nuclear program.

BLITZER: The Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson is strongly defending President Trump's actions to bypass congressional approval because of a, quote, imminent danger outweighed the time it would take for Congress to act.

Have you seen any proof, or have you been briefed at all on any new intelligence about what's being described as an imminent danger?

MERKLEY: No, this is a complete fiction. It's a defense of the president. But it's been very clear that Iran had not attacked or threatened a U.S. facility or our property. They had not made the decision to develop a nuclear weapon.

And they have enriched, to be sure, enriched uranium beyond the point of civilian use. They've gone from the 3 to 5 percent level for civilian use, up to 60 percent enrichment, and they have about 1,000 pounds of it. That's a significant factor.

But the reason that that enrichment occurred is because President Trump, in his first administration, pulled us out of the diplomatic deal with Iran, in which they had huge amount of inspections and every path to a nuclear weapon had been blocked through diplomacy, not through war. So, it's unfortunate that Trump's decision in his first administration set the scene now for this challenge.

BLITZER: Senator Jeff Merkley, thanks so much for joining us. We'll continue this conversation to be sure.

MERKLEY: Thank you very much, Wolf.

BLITZER: And just ahead, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is warning about Iranian, quote, sleeper cells in the United States. We'll discuss the threat with the national security official who served in the George W. Bush administration.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:38:28]

BLITZER: We're back with our breaking news coverage right now. The U.S. says it has obliterated Iran's nuclear sites with its attacks on three key facilities, but this question still remains, does Iran still have nuclear capabilities left?

I want to discuss this and more with national security expert Michael Allen. He served on President George W. Bush's National Security Council.

Michael, thanks very much for joining us.

Concerning the success of this U.S. attack, I want you to listen to what the defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, said this morning. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETE HEGSETH, DEFENSE SECRETARY: The battle damage assessment is ongoing, but our initial assessment is the chairman said, is that all of our precision munitions struck where we wanted them to strike and had the desired effect, which means especially in Fordow, which was the primary target here. We believe we achieved destruction of capabilities there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Michael, do you see anything significant remaining of Iran's nuclear program right now? Is there enough for Iran to move forward and still build a nuclear bomb?

MICHAEL ALLEN, SERVED ON BUSH'S NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL: Well, they have definitely been sacked for a loss here in terms of their ability to manufacture fissile material, which is in this case, of course, enriched uranium. I don't know if they have another third centrifuge facility or maybe one that's hidden elsewhere inside of Tehran or Iran somewhere. So that's a big concern. We're going to have to rely on the intelligence community to tell us that over time.

[14:40:02]

There's also the possibility that the Iranians were able to spirit away some of the HEU that they had previously enriched to 60 percent.

Now, if they don't have centrifuges to further enrich it, maybe this is something that we can live with for the time being. So, it's not that I doubt what the secretary said. I think as far as we went last night, we were successful. But the intelligence has its limitations and it is possible there are other things that will be very interested in in the future to see whether Iran has them hidden somewhere.

BLITZER: The former secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, says, in his words, the real concern right now is Iranian sleeper cells retaliating against U.S. targets right here on U.S. soil. Do you see that as a real possibility, Michael? And what could that look like?

ALLEN: I do see it as a possibility. The Iranians have tried to do this several times, including by hiring proxy forces on the Internet, of all places. Now, the FBI was also in those chat rooms, was able to intercept this, if you will, and make arrests before anything tangible materialized. But I think that's the way Iran would prefer to do it. Recruit people

that aren't directly involved in the Iranian intelligence services. Try and get them to blow something up here in the United States. I don't think they'll succeed. I think internally here, the FBI has its act together, and were watching all the right places here and overseas to try and thwart such an attack.

But we definitely cannot rule it out. And we know that's on Iran's ideas of things that they want to do.

BLITZER: The Department of Homeland Security issued a bulletin today warning of a, quote, heightened threat environment here in the United States. And that includes the potential of cyberattacks, lone wolves. How concerned should all of us be about this right now?

ALLEN: Well, I don't think it should affect our everyday activities and the rest, but its something that the government needs to focus on. Not only the department of homeland security and their relationships with state and local across the country, but to me, it again comes back to intelligence. It comes back to has the national security agency, which is the premier eavesdropping agency here in the United States.

Are we up on networks, if you will, inside of Iran? Do we know what they're planning externally? Are they going to try to hit one of our embassies overseas?

I think they'll certainly try and hit some of our bases overseas, but we need to be trying to figure out what they're up to or what they might do if they came to the United States long before they get here.

So, I hope that we're able to get up on them quickly so that we can nip it in the bud if we see it materialize.

BLITZER: Michael, what is your assessment right now of Iran's military capability to actually make good on its threats against the United States?

ALLEN: So I think they still have a significant number of short range ballistic missiles, which I think most experts agree could be targeted at U.S. bases there in the region. Now, of course, our U.S. military has anticipated that. Thats why we have three carrier strike groups in the vicinity. Thats why we have F-35s in several air wings there to try and intercept all of this stuff that they might try to hit us with.

I worry that one might get through, but I'm also open to the possibility that they don't try to hit us this way, because they know that's the quickest way to invite the United States to get back in more forcefully is to land a punch that kills U.S. soldiers. That would drag us in a little bit more, but I know we would want to hit them back so hard that they would go in reverse.

BLITZER: Michael, I want you to watch how Vice President Vance responded today when asked if the U.S. is now at war with Iran.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

J.D. VANCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're not at war with Iran. Were at war with Iran's nuclear program. We had a narrow window of opportunity. We might not have been able to carry out this attack six months down the road. It would have been irresponsible, I think, for the president not to take the action that he did.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: Would you use the word war in assessing where the U.S. and Iran are right now? How do you see this developing?

ALLEN: So, I don't know that it's a war in the sense of the War Powers resolution. And because we have such a history in this country of presidents being able to take quick, quick strikes when the element of surprise is very, very important. But I think just the everyday taking a look at what we did to Iran, it's certainly an act of war per se. I understand it when the Iranians say that they get to now act in self- defense. I think that makes sense legally here.

So, it's more than us being at war with a nuclear program. We took very serious steps against them.

[14:45:01]

And I understand if they feel like they need to try and retaliate, they shouldn't because I think the United States military would really go after them hard. But I think that's the best way to look at it.

BLITZER: Michael Allen, thanks so much for your expertise. Appreciate it.

ALLEN: Thank you.

BLITZER: And coming up, Secretary of State Marco Rubio is now calling for direct talks between the U.S. and Iran. But is diplomacy even still an option?

We'll discuss that and more when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[14:50:07]

BLITZER: Welcome back to our breaking news coverage of the U.S. airstrikes on Iran. More than 125 U.S. aircraft were used in an operation. The defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, claimed -- obliterated his word, obliterated three key Iranian nuclear facilities.

In response, the Iranian foreign minister accused the U.S. of crossing, quote, a very big red line.

Joining us now is David Sanger, White House and national security correspondent for "The New York Times". He's also a CNN political and national security analyst. David, thanks for joining us.

First of all, what do you make of the Iranian reaction to these truly unprecedented, historic U.S. strikes against nuclear targets in Iran?

DAVID SANGER, CNN POLITICAL AND NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Well, Wolf, thanks for having me.

I've been surprised a little, Wolf, at how restrained the Iranians have been so far. I mean, they've done condemning comments. They've, you know, said we will pay a price, but we haven't heard from their leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. We barely heard from their president. Their military seems in some disarray.

Now, I'm not sure you can take any solace from that, because it's pretty clear to me that what's could be coming may be an asymmetric attack, could be cyber, could be terrorism, could be something different. But in any case, I would have expected a more furious attack. And I'm wondering whether or not they're sort of sitting back wondering whether it's better to make the United States look like the aggressor here.

BLITZER: Yeah, the Iranians today attacked various targets in Israel, but avoided any targeting of U.S. military facilities in the Persian Gulf region or elsewhere in the Middle East, where the U.S. has about 40,000 troops.

President Trump and members of his cabinet. David, are emphasizing, still emphasizing a message of diplomacy. Listen to what Secretary of State Marco Rubio had to say earlier today.

Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARCO RUBIO, SECRETARY OF STATE: This is not a war against Iran. This is -- this is very simple. You know, 67 days ago, the president of the United States sent the Iranians a letter and it said, you're not going to have nuclear weapons. You're not going to have a militarized nuclear program. Let's negotiate. I want to do this diplomatically. I want to do this peacefully.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Iran, the bully of the Middle East, must now make peace. If they do not, future attacks will be far greater and a lot easier.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: So, David, what do you make of that? Is there really still a diplomatic possibility here?

SANGER: Well, you know, it's interesting. Secretary Rubio called for resumption of negotiations. You heard that from some of the European leaders in the statement that they just issued. But I'm not sure it's clear right now what it is they're supposed to be negotiating for.

Are they asking the Iranians, the Iranians, to give up the -- what's left of their uranium enrichment program? I mean, the three major sites, there are many smaller ones have already been bombed. Are they asking them to basically agree never to rebuild them? Are they asking them never to retaliate? Are -- it's just not clear to

me what the demands are now, because clearly the demand that they were putting out a few weeks ago, which is that Iran join an enrichment consortium outside of its own soil with Arab neighbors, that probably is not sort of high up right now on the Iranian list of issues they've got to go deal with.

BLITZER: What is your understanding, David, of the concern in the White House right now, that we could potentially be looking at a prolonged military conflict with Iran?

SANGER: I think it depends in great -- to great degree, how the Iranians act in the next days, weeks and months. I hear two concerns. One of them is not get dragged into a prolonged conflict, not let Prime Minister Netanyahu sort of set the agenda here.

Well, the president made pretty clear he was willing to go back in and do more if he thought it was necessary, given the Iranian reaction. I thought that was notable in his statement last night. I think the other thing I've heard concern about is they just don't know what it is they hit. There was not -- there's not been a very good deep battle assessment or battle damage assessment done at this point.

I'm not sure you'll ever get one that you could trust for Fordow, because it's so shut down and I'm not sure who's going to get in there.

[14:55:01]

Natanz seems to be pretty well-crippled. It was even before the U.S. hit, because the Israelis had been there.

And the big mystery, the big mystery, Wolf, is what happened to that bomb grade uranium that was stored at Isfahan, the other site that was hit, the third site. It was hit only with tomahawk missiles. And we don't know whether or not the material was still there at the time it was struck.

BLITZER: David Sanger, thanks so much for joining us.

SANGER: Thank you, Wolf.

BLITZER: And coming up, President Trump claims the U.S. obliterated, his word, obliterated Iran's nuclear facilities. Is that true? How the U.S. is assessing the damage. We have details.

That's next.

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