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Top Iranian Official: Tehran Will Not Negotiate with U.S.; Trump: War with Iran Could Last 'Four to Five Weeks'; Conflict in Middle East Disrupts International Travel; Sources: Trump Administration to Brief Lawmakers on Iran Strikes; Explosions Heard in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha; Oil Surges, Stock Futures Sink as War Disrupts Crude Supply. Aired 12-1a ET

Aired March 02, 2026 - 00:00   ET

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

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

[00:02:38]

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome. I'm Jim Sciutto in Washington. As we enter day three of the U.S. and Israel's ongoing war with Iran, things developing quite quickly throughout the Middle East and expanding, with Iran's top national security official saying just moments ago that Iran, quote, "will not negotiate with the U.S."

Many countries have ordered evacuations from a number of places around the region, including villages in Lebanon, where a new front in the conflict is opening. Lebanon state media reports the government is due to convene an emergency meeting in the coming hour.

Israeli forces have been attacking Beirut while also expanding their attacks on Tehran. Just hours ago, the IDF confirmed it had struck senior Hezbollah terrorist -- terrorists in Lebanon's capital.

In Israel, at least ten people have been killed, more than 200 injured since it launched its military operations against Iran. Tehran has released this video of what it says are tunnels storing drones, weapons that it says it used to hit U.S. bases in the region, among other targets.

On Sunday, President Trump told "The New York Times" that the conflict with Iran could last, in his estimation, 4 to 5 weeks. It's the first time he's given any timeline for this war.

However, the White House has warned that the conflict could even last longer, and the president is saying that it could cost more American lives.

As of now, we know that three U.S. service members were killed in action in Kuwait on Sunday. Those are the first U.S. troop casualties since the start of what President Trump has called Operation Epic Fury.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: Sadly, there will likely be more before

it ends. That's the way it is. Likely be more. But we'll do everything possible where that won't be the case.

But America will avenge their deaths and deliver the most punishing blow to the terrorists who have waged war against, basically, civilization.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SCIUTTO: CNN's Ivan Watson joins us now live from Hong Kong. And Ivan, as you know, one of the concerns leading into this conflict was that it would expand. And now we can say it has expanded. There are multiple new fronts in this war.

[00:05:04]

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's expanding, and there does not seem to be an off-ramp.

I mean, when you see this statement coming from Ali Larijani, one of the most senior officials surviving at this time in the Iranian regime, head of the National Security Council, saying, we will not negotiate with the United States and going on to say, quote, "With his delusional actions, President Trump has transformed his self-made slogan of 'America first' into 'Israel first,' and sacrificed American soldiers for Israel's quest for power," while also vowing revenge for the killing of Iran's supreme leader on Saturday.

It looks very much like Iran is going to continue to fight back against the combined U.S. and Israeli aerial onslaught.

We are getting reports of missile strikes near a hospital in North Tehran, in the Iranian capital, the Gandhi Hospital, with eyewitnesses telling Reuters that patients were being evacuated amid serious damage to that hospital.

The Iranian Ministry of Health saying that several missiles also struck near the Abuzar Hospital in the city of Ahvaz. So, it suggests there is a cost of this conflict to the civilian population in Iran, as well.

The wider conflict, Jim, the Kuwaiti air defense saying -- announcing that they shot down a number of incoming projectiles, with explosions being heard in Kuwait. That's just one of the many Gulf countries that have been wrapped up in this conflict, as airports and high-rise buildings have been hit by Iranian drones and missiles in now, the last 48 and growing hours. Now, in the third day of this growing regional war.

And very important to point out Lebanon has now become a front in this conflict, with Hezbollah announcing that it launched overnight, from Sunday into Monday, drone attacks on what it said were military installations near the Northern Israeli city of Haifa and Israel, retaliating sometime before 3 a.m. in the morning with a series of explosions in the Southern suburbs of Beirut and an announcement for at least 52 settlements in the South of Lebanon to be evacuated, with bombing reported there.

And this triggering scenes of panic and chaos, as now Lebanese in the middle of the night started fleeing the Southern suburbs and Southern Lebanon, as well.

That's setting up another potential friction point, because you have the Lebanese prime minister saying that the perpetrators of these attacks on Israel will be punished. The -- it's setting up the potential for a conflict between Hezbollah, this Iran-backed Shiite militia in Lebanon, and the Lebanese government, which has condemned Hezbollah's attacks on Israel -- Jim.

SCIUTTO: Ivan Watson in Hong Kong, thanks so much.

Julia Benbrook, she's here in Washington covering the president.

Julia, can you explain, as you listen to the -- well, a litany of interviews that President Trump has done on the telephone with a number of journalists, giving somewhat conflicting reads as to what U.S. intentions are here, U.S. end games are here.

Can you -- and in your conversations with White House officials, can you explain to us what the U.S. objective is and how long it's in it?

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Still a lot of questions here. We know what President Donald Trump has been saying, but as you pointed out, these have been in phone calls with reporters that are calling in to him. They've been briefed. There's not a lot of space for follow- up.

And just the consistency that you would see in a formal briefing, which we have not seen, that type of a press briefing from him. In fact, when he arrived back at the White House tonight, he spent the weekend at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida. That's where he monitored those joint U.S.-Israel strikes against Iran.

But when he got back, there were, of course, shouted questions from reporters trying to get his attention. He chose not to talk at that time.

Also, on Air Force One, we often see him come back, sometimes doing 30-, 40-minute conversations with reporters there. That did not happen tonight either.

So, lots of questions. And most of his communication has been on social media. The eight-minute video where he announced that these strikes had taken place. He encouraged the people of Iran to try and seize control of their government once the U.S. military operations concluded.

He announced also on social media that Iran's supreme leader, the ayatollah, had been killed. He put out a warning to Iran that, if they retaliate, that the United States is only going to continue to up the ante and push back.

[00:10:16] And then, of course, those interviews with different reporters and different types of information.

And his most recent video that he put out on Truth Social seems to be planned and scripted. In it, he said that the operation was one of the largest, most complex, most overwhelming military operations that the world has ever seen.

And then he said that combat operations will continue at full force until objectives are achieved, but again, doesn't go into full detail of exactly what those objectives are and where that line would be.

Now, we do expect to get a briefing from the Pentagon tomorrow at 8 a.m. That will be one of the first times we have heard top officials speak on this -- Jim.

SCIUTTO: Julia Benbrook, thank you so much.

Again, we've been talking about ripple effects from this war, and there are certainly ripple effects in the economic sphere. The war's impact on global oil markets and stock markets has been swift. Oil futures have surged in the initial trading. You see them up there, well above five, 6 percent.

As for Wall Street, U.S. stock futures are in the red to start the trading week. In the Asia Pacific markets, they're also in negative territory right now.

The conflict also making international travel at major airports in the region just nearly impossible. And that, of course, has ripple effects beyond the region.

Key airports in the UAE sustained damage in some of those strikes. That includes Dubai, where these videos from social media show the chaos at the airport there. It was struck by an Iranian drone.

I want to go back to Hong Kong, where Kristie Lu Stout has been following these developments. What's your best sense of just how deep the jitters are in the stock markets, but also oil markets, as well?

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR/CORRESPONDENT: You know, Jim, this conflict has triggered a global aviation shock that we haven't seen in years. You know, we're seeing these regional major airport hubs in the Middle East closed or restricted. Major airlines are canceling or rerouting flights.

You have scores upon scores of passengers who are stranded overseas. In fact, in the last few hours, we heard from the foreign minister of Australia, who confirmed over 100,000 Australian residents are now stuck overseas as a result of this very kinetic situation across the Middle East.

I want to share with you again the social media video of the situation inside the Dubai International Airport after reported Iranian strikes, where -- we bring up the video. You'd be able to see -- I'm not sure if that's the correct video, but I'll describe it to you. In the Dubai airport, there was smoke rising through the passageways

-- there you have it -- passengers there, crews rushing to evacuate, rushing to safety.

Dubai International Airport also reporting four staff members were injured. And this is significant, because this airport is the world's busiest airport in terms of international passenger traffic.

Now, one passenger expressed shock and dismay when her flight to Dubai was rerouted and forced to go back to its origin city of Qingdao. I want you to listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ZIYING ZHOU, FLIGHT TO CHINA TURNED BACK: And at first I was just really shocked, because I never thought things like this, like war, would be kind of so close to me. I always just thought it's something that is just something you read in the news.

But then actually getting on a long-haul flight and almost made it, like kind of halfway there, and then started to turn around all the way, it was just really shocking.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STOUT: Now, airspace has been closed across the Middle East region. If you look up the latest dynamic refreshing mapping data from FlightRadar24, you would see that the skies above Iran, above Iraq, UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait and elsewhere are virtually empty.

And meanwhile, there is a lengthening list of international airlines that are canceling flights. Let's bring up the list for you. And they include Etihad. They include Qatar, Lufthansa, Air France, Air India, British Airways, Virgin Atlantic, Air India [SIC], Turkish Airways, Cathay Pacific, as well.

In fact, Hong Kong's flagship carrier says it has canceled all flights -- that's cargo and passenger -- to the region, citing concerns over safety: safety of crew, safety of passengers, as well.

Now travelers, again, hundreds of thousands of travelers are now stranded across the world, with that new line coming in from the Australian foreign minister, 115,000 Australian residents are stranded overseas, stuck everywhere from Dubai, Daca (ph), Paris, airports across India and elsewhere.

As for when they'd be able to get home, that remains an open question -- Jim.

SCIUTTO: You know, Kristie, the thing about international travel, right, that's -- that's a lot of business, right?

STOUT: Yes.

[00:15:02]

SCIUTTO: We're talking about the broader effect on business, but also people's personal lives, vacation travel, et cetera.

And I was thinking, in particular, that the Dubai airport, as you know --

STOUT: Yes.

SCIUTTO: -- how much air traffic goes through there, not just in the region but around the world. A quite deliberate effort, it seems, by Iran to expand the impact from this war and whether it will expand the pain, right, well beyond the region.

STOUT: And the impact is being felt well beyond the region. The travel chaos in the Middle East having repercussions all around the world.

Again, to reiterate, Dubai, the world's busiest airport in terms of international passenger traffic. But aviation analysts point out the obvious here. It's not just passengers that are being displaced, but also aircraft. Also crew, as well.

Aviation experts are also pointing out, in addition to the kinetic situation across the Middle East, you also have the other geopolitical flashpoint, which is the tension and the clashes between Afghanistan and Pakistan.

So, any escalation on that front, any additional escalation in the Middle East is going to have far-reaching effects on aviation, on tourism, on logistics, on global business, as well -- Jim.

SCIUTTO: Yes. Got to be watching the markets closely.

STOUT: Yes.

SCIUTTO: Kristie Lu Stout, thanks so much.

STOUT: You got it.

SCIUTTO: Still to come, sources tell CNN that the Trump administration will soon face members of Congress who expect to hear an assessment, an explanation, perhaps a plan for the war with Iran. We'll have more after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:20:02]

SCIUTTO: The Trump administration is expected to brief the so-called Gang of Eight and other top lawmakers on the Iran strikes later on Monday.

Sources tell CNN the U.S. secretary of state, Marco Rubio, had notified the Gang of Eight, which is made up of members and leaders of the relevant committees in the House and the Senate, but that Rubio did not offer a full legal justification for major U.S. military action.

Sources tell CNN that the full House and Senate will get a briefing on Tuesday. Lawmakers, including some Republicans, have denounced the Trump administration for launching a massive assault on Iran without seeking congressional approval.

Joining me now is Sydney Kamlager-Dove, a Democrat in the House and a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee.

Thanks so much for taking the time this evening.

REP. SYDNEY KAMLAGER-DOVE (D-CA): Thanks so much for having me.

SCIUTTO: So, first of all, I'm told by one lawmaker that this discharge position -- petition, rather, that's been working its way through will likely come before Congress on Thursday, followed by a vote.

Do you believe that -- that it has the votes to pass, then forcing a vote on -- on congressional approval for further military action?

KAMLAGER-DOVE: I hope so. I would hope that Congress would want to reclaim and retain our sole authority to be the entity that can declare war and snatch that from the president.

You know, as we've known in the past, especially with the Venezuela resolution, the administration was working the phones, asking Republicans to continue to abdicate their responsibility I can only assume that that's happening right now.

And hopefully, Republicans will stand firm with Democrats in reminding the president that it is our authority to send this country to war, to send men and women into war, risking their lives for us.

SCIUTTO: Given that we're already at war, it appears, why wasn't there more urgency in Congress to move more quickly? And, by the way, not just among Democrats, but the handful of Republicans who have also expressed -- who have expressed their opposition?

KAMLAGER-DOVE: Well, I think the real question is, if this war is justified, why hadn't this administration been sending cabinet members and officials to Capitol Hill every single day, talking to us about the imminent threat; letting us know why we're at risk; sharing with us a plan about going to war; giving us a timeline; letting us know what the cost would be; letting us know how many of our men and women would be going into battle?

I would think that, if you were going to send a country into war, you would want all of those questions answered, and that they would have been coming to us every single day saying, let's talk to you. Let's talk to you, because we know that you have the only authority to authorize this kind of war. That hasn't happened.

We've been fighting about health care. We've been fighting about inflation. We've been fighting about accountability in the DOJ and Homeland Security. And not once -- not once -- has Secretary Rubio or any other official said, Oh, and by the way, there's some serious things going on in Iran. We need to talk to you about it, because we need your support. SCIUTTO: Prior to ordering military action, President Trump said at

the State of the Union that Iran was soon developing a missile that could strike the U.S. Intelligence assessments reported afterwards, said that's not true.

There were claims from the Trump administration that Iran was preemptively going to attack U.S. bases in the region. There were reports on intelligence assessments that say that was not true.

You're well aware of the deep damage done by the lies told about Iraq's weapons of mass destruction prior to the invasion. Do you see some repetition here, some history repeating itself with the way the administration has tried to justify this military action?

KAMLAGER-DOVE: Absolutely. And we know from past experience that regime changes don't go well for us.

If the administration wants to say that this is a preemptive war, then nothing about this war should be ambiguous. And yet, no one has any answers to very important questions that we are all asking.

I mean, I was out today and, you know, I have a nephew who's going to be graduating from the Marines and, you know, is he going to get called up? And if he calls me and says, "Hey, Auntie, why am I going to war?" what kind of answer am I going to have to give him?

SCIUTTO: Yes, it's fair. I've got kids asking me the very same question.

Congresswoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove, we appreciate you joining us this evening and staying up late with us.

KAMLAGER-DOVE: Thanks so much.

SCIUTTO: Well, in just the past few minutes, CNN teams have reported hearing loud blasts in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Doha; also hearing sirens over Bahrain. And sirens went off in Jerusalem, where our next guest is just back from taking shelter.

[00:25:05]

Yaakov Katz is a senior columnist at "The Jerusalem Post," author of the book "While Israel Slept," senior fellow, as well, at the Jewish People Policy Institute.

Thanks. Thanks so much for joining us and given where you are and what you're going through right now.

YAAKOV KATZ, SENIOR COLUMNIST, "THE JERUSALEM POST": Thank you, Jim.

SCIUTTO: So, tell me, as you're there experiencing these strikes yourself, having go -- having to go into shelter, like so many people in the state of Israel, but also around the region here, what is your best read of Iran's capacity to continue to retaliate to the degree that they have been? KATZ: Well, I would never undermine what Iran is capable of doing. We

see their ability, even already 48 hours into this war, an operation -- joint operation by Israel and the United States, still ability to engage in 7 or 8 different fronts at the same time.

They're able to fire missiles to Israel, which is the greatest distance of their missile capability at the moment; but also to closer targets, whether in Bahrain or the UAE, Saudi, Kuwait, et cetera.

So, they still do have what we should not underestimate, is this still sizable missile capability. Yes, it has been degraded. It's not the same volley or barrages that we might have seen during the 12-day war back in June, but it still is an amount that has the ability, as we saw just last night, a missile landed not too far from where I'm sitting here in Northern Jerusalem, wounded about 5 to 7 people.

There were 8, 9 people who were killed in a suburb of Jerusalem yesterday when a missile struck there. And of course, there have been strikes and people hurt and killed in other Arab countries throughout this region.

So, this definitely is still an Iran with the capability to wreak havoc and destruction throughout the region.

SCIUTTO: You say the main objective of this campaign is the country's leadership. Now, President Trump said in an interview today -- well, Sunday -- that the leaders he had in mind to replace the supreme leader and others killed are dead, as well.

I mean, that's a problem, right? If the strikes are killing people that the U.S. president thought he might be negotiating with.

Do the U.S. and Israel -- did the U.S. and Israel have the same goals, objectives as they went into this war?

KATZ: Jim, I don't see any daylight right now between Israel and the United States. On the contrary, I think what we're seeing is probably the closest illustration of what this alliance looks like when Israel and the United States, when you have fighter jets from both countries, hundreds flying together in the same airspace, refueling one another, coordinating intelligence.

As we now have learned, the intelligence for the elimination of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader, was provided by the CIA and was carried out by the Israeli Air Force.

I mean, that is exactly what a military, diplomatic, and a close relationship between two very intimate allies looks like. Exactly that.

So, I don't see any daylight. I think that both countries understood they're going towards a decapitation operation. In the beginning, it was to eliminate the leadership to create that vacuum and, hopefully, lead to a more moderate leadership. Whether some of those people were caught up in that initial strike, that still remains to be seen.

But there's other people, Jim, who can take over Iran, hopefully, and those people can lead and steer that country in a new direction.

SCIUTTO: The president saying he's still open to negotiation, at least. Is Israel open to negotiation with Iran?

KATZ: Israel -- Excuse me, Jim. Israel has been clear since the beginning that they are definitely open to a deal, but it is a deal that has to be, I'll call it, all-encompassing. It has to put a complete stop, like we've heard from the United States, to all nuclear enrichment, to everything that has to do with a nuclear weapons program.

Marco Rubio said just this past night that the -- America is not against a civilian nuclear program for Iran, but nothing that can look like a military program. It has to put brakes on the ballistic missile program that we're seeing now, what this is able to do not just to Israel. Look at Dubai International Airport. Look at Saudi Arabia. Look at what's happening in Kuwait and other countries.

And of course, Israel wants to see a stop to the proxies. I mean, just last night, Hezbollah, right, Iran's greatest proxy in Lebanon, fired a barrage of rockets into Northern Israel and drones, of course.

I mean, this is exactly what Israel wants to see end. No more proxies, no more nuclear weapon program, and no more ballistic missiles. So, if a deal can get us all that, I think Israel would grab it.

SCIUTTO: The president is asking, or at least encouraging the Iranian people to rise up against their own government. That, as you know, is a dangerous thing to do. We saw how many thousands were killed in recent weeks in protests.

[00:30:04]

Is that part of Israel's plan, too? To get the Iranian people to bring down the government themselves? Do you expect that to be a realistic possibility?

KATZ: You know, it's a real tough -- it's a real good question. It's a very difficult question.

Because there's only so much that any superpower like America, even joined by Israel, can do in -- in -- from the air. There's only so many targets. There's only so much weakening of the regime that you can do and only so many people that you could potentially take out, and targets.

But you need somebody on the ground to physically go into those offices and grab the reins of power. And that requires a leap, a big leap of faith.

The Iranian people, the brave Iranians. This is how it all started, Jim. Let's not forget.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

KATZ: They took to the streets to fight for what you and I take for granted: basic freedom, liberty, civil rights, the ability to talk to one another like we are right now. They don't have that. And therefore, we have to hope that they can do that. But it's not going to be simple.

And I want to believe that responsible countries like the United States, like Israel and others, are -- are helping also on the ground. We probably don't know about it. We shouldn't know about it. Hopefully, it's being done covertly. You have a lot of experience in this field, Jim.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

KATZ: But, you know, if they are, they should be supplying and supporting those opposition groups as we speak to get somebody there to -- to follow up with that -- with that winning move, hopefully, which can be bringing down the ayatollahs and replacing it with a new government.

SCIUTTO: Yaakov Katz -- Katz, we appreciate you joining, and I hope you don't have to head back into the shelter.

KATZ: Thank you.

SCIUTTO: And we will be back with more on our breaking news story right after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:35:17]

SCIUTTO: This is a war that seems to be expanding very quickly. And just a short time ago, our teams in the Middle East reported loud blasts in several cities, including Dubai. And that's where our Paula Hancocks is standing by.

Paula, tell us what you heard, what you're seeing there.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Jim, we have just heard and witnessed another wave of incoming missiles or drones from Iran.

As we were driving to our location here, we heard two loud explosions above us. We could see interceptions of two projectiles that were coming in.

We also know that, in Abu Dhabi, just an hour down the road, there has been a loud explosion heard, as well.

So, there is no letup in the retaliation that we're seeing from Iran here in the UAE. We understand a similar situation in Doha, in Qatar. They have also seen another wave coming in just this morning in the last 20 minutes or so, and also in Bahrain.

So, as I say, there is no letup. We are seeing the -- the interceptions, the air defense systems working in the UAE. They seem to be working well across the Gulf nations. But some are still getting through.

Hundreds of drones and missiles have been intercepted, we're hearing, from the Ministry of Defense here in the UAE.

The one this morning, there wasn't an alert before it to -- to alert residents to -- to take cover. That's fairly hit-and-miss. There has been in the past telling people to -- to get inside a building, no matter where you are, just make sure that you are under cover.

Now, we also know that there have been some high-level talks among the leaders in the Gulf nations about what is happening. There was a virtual meeting of the GCC leaders, and they have come out with a joint statement condemning Iran for targeting the Gulf nations.

They say it is a dangerous escalation. It violates the sovereignty of multiple states, calling it reckless and destabilizing behavior.

Here in the UAE, we know that the Iranian ambassador was summoned, as well, presumably being told a very similar message.

There is anger among the governments here. They had said that the U.S. was unable, or many of them had said the U.S. was unable to use their bases, to use their airspace in order to carry out this attack. They had been lobbying hard the United States president, to try and convince him not to go ahead with these strikes against Iran.

They believed that that would show that they had distanced themselves from what is happening right now. But it has not. We are seeing an unprecedented retaliation from Iran against these Gulf nations.

And the leaders of these nations are extremely angry, some of them saying they reserve the right to retaliate, should this continue. And Jim, as of now, it is continuing.

SCIUTTO: So, Paula, in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, in the UAE, who is providing the missile defense? Is that a combination of their own resources and the U.S. military, or is it primarily the U.S. military?

HANCOCKS: Well, here in the UAE, they actually have among the strongest air defense systems in the Middle East, with the exception of Israel, of course.

They have worked very closely with the U.S. military over a number of years. We know that THAAD is operational here, or certainly we heard that it was coming last year.

We -- we know also that --that there is cooperation with the U.S. military on the ground. There's the Al-Dhafra Military Base, for example, that often has a strong U.S. presence. Likely not at the moment.

We know the U.S. military moved a lot of their personnel to other areas in the weeks coming up to this strike.

And a similar situation across the Middle East. These Gulf nations have security alliances. They have pacts with the U.S. military. They -- they consider themselves to come under the -- the security umbrella of the United States.

And certainly, a lot of the assets that they have, a lot of the technology is in conjunction with the U.S. It is U.S. material, although there is an increasing homegrown industry in the defense industry here in the UAE, in Saudi, as well -- Jim.

SCIUTTO: Paula Hancocks, keep yourself and your team safe there. Thanks so much for joining.

[00:40:04]

And we'll be back with more news of this expanding war in the Middle East right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SCIUTTO: We are hearing reports of new explosions in a number of cities in the Middle East: in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, in the UAE, Doha in Qatar, as Iran has said, it is expanding its retaliatory attacks across the region.

As we follow that news, I'm joined now by Ali Safavi. He's a member of Iran's Parliament in exile. It's known as the National Council of Resistance of Iran. He's president, as well, of Near East Policy Research, a consulting firm here in D.C.

Thanks so much for joining, Ali. We appreciate it.

ALI SAFAVI, MEMBER, NATIONAL COUNCIL OF RESISTANCE OF IRAN: Thank you very much. And good morning to you, Jim.

SCIUTTO: We're hearing a lot of encouragement from the U.S. president and hopes, it seems, that the Iranian people will, in effect, finish the job against the regime and help bring this regime down. Is that a practical -- is that a realistic hope for the U.S. to have at this point?

SAFAVI: What I can say is that, obviously, the Khamenei -- Khamenei -- Khamenei's deaths marks the end of the religious tyranny ruling Iran for the past, I guess, 47 years.

[00:45:00]

But I think change in Iran has to come from the ground by the Iranian people and by the organized, structured opposition to this regime.

If past is prologue, aerial campaigns will not bring about regime change in Iran.

So, in that context, of course, you have a very strong and potent resistance movement inside Iran. In fact, yesterday, the president- elect of the National Council of Resistance and the NCRI announced the formation of a provisional government which, once in Iran, will hold free and fair elections to elect a constituent assembly that will draft the future constitution of the republic. But I think one thing is clear: that we are now on the march to

bringing freedom to the people of Iran. And the Iranian people have demonstrated, during the January uprising and four other uprisings since 2017, that they want a democratic republic devoid of religious tyranny and monarchical dictatorship.

SCIUTTO: And many of them, of course, paid with their lives for challenging the regime in those protests.

There are some -- in some quarters here in the U.S., there is excitement for, quite public support for Reza Pahlavi as a potential new leader from Iran; of course, the son of the late shah of Iran, who was removed from power in 1979 by the Islamic Revolution. Is Reza Pahlavi the right person to lead Iran?

SAFAVI: Well, I can tell you that Reza Pahlavi is a relic of the past. He draws his fame from his father's infamy. And his platform for the future of Iran, if you read it carefully, it concentrates the power of the legislature, the judiciary, and the executive branch in the hands of one man, Reza Pahlavi.

So, this is a dictatorship, branded differently. Recall that the Iranian people, over the past 120 years, have fought against four dictatorships. Reza Pahlavi's grandfather, Reza Pahlavi's father, Khomeini, and Khamenei.

So, they're not about to change this regime after 100,000 dissidents who have been executed, including my own brother, to hand over the future of Iran to another dictator.

And when it comes to any game plan for the future of Iran, Reza Pahlavi doesn't even have a seat on the bench. What has he done over the past 47 years, aside from living a lavish life in Washington?

Whereas our movement, the NCRI and the MEK, have had 100,000 of their members and sympathizers executed, including 30,000 in the 1988 massacre ordered by Khomeini.

SCIUTTO: Right.

SAFAVI: And interestingly, just last Monday, last Monday 250 MEK fighters launched a daring assault on Khamenei's compound, the one that the U.S. attacked on Saturday. They -- we lost 100 fighters. In fact, 100 were killed or arrested, but 150 retreated successfully.

And of course, as we speak, the resistance units of MEK are active in different cities of Iran, as they have been throughout January. And of course, in previous uprisings.

SCIUTTO: Yes.

SAFAVI: So, if anybody is looking for change in Iran, it is not about exiles, and it's not about a soundbite. It is about being on the ground in Iran, willing to pay the price, and working with the Iranian people.

SCIUTTO: Right.

SAFAVI: And I think any future for Iran must not have any traces of dictatorship, whether it is monarchical and clerical. Let me also say that during the protest in --

SCIUTTO: Yes. Well, one can hope --

SAFAVI: -- 20 -- 2016 --

SCIUTTO: One can hope that the Iranian people get a chance to make -- to make their own choice for their leaders. Ali Safavi, we do appreciate you joining this evening.

SAFAVI: Thank you very much, Jim. I'm really thankful for the opportunity.

SCIUTTO: Well, as we continue to cover the war against Iran, we are hearing of new reports of explosions in multiple cities around the region. We're going to bring you details. Please do stay with us.

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[00:53:23]

SCIUTTO: Among the many ripple effects of this war are those impacting the financial markets and the trading day on Wall Street. While it is still hours away, global markets are open, and they're offering a preview of how a war with Iran could impact the financial week ahead and perhaps beyond.

Asian markets, they remain in the red. Airline stocks posting losses as airport closures and airspace disruptions have left travel in chaos.

Fear and uncertainty already taking a toll on the U.S. markets, as well, with the Dow, S&P 500, and NASDAQ futures all down across the board.

To get an assessment of the broader economic impact, I want to bring in Taimur Baig. He's a chief economist, managing director of DBS Bank Limited. Taimur, thanks so much for joining.

TAIMUR BAIG, CHIEF ECONOMIST/MANAGING DIRECTOR, DBS BANK LIMITED: How are you doing?

SCIUTTO: So, when I look at the markets, I mean, for instance, Dow futures, they're down just below a percent. I mean, that's down. But it's not exactly a market crash here.

The Asian markets, they're down -- they're down a bit more at this point.

Do you see market panic or more just trepidation at this point?

BAIG: It's a very well-priced invasion, if you will. The markets have been expecting the U.S. to strike for a couple of weeks now, and hence the reaction is muted.

Even over the last two weeks, the run-up that we've seen in oil prices still seems to suggest the markets' view that this shall pass pretty soon.

So, the question is around that "pretty soon" part. If we start gathering evidence that the conflict will be protracted, that the U.S. assets would be stuck there for much longer than a couple of weeks, then I think we will have another wave of market reaction.

[00:55:07]

Right now, the pricing is modest for a relatively small-scale conflagration. Not doing something to affect the asset prices of American companies or European companies, for that matter.

SCIUTTO: I imagine there's a great deal of attention on two bodies of water right now: The Strait of Hormuz, but also the Red Sea, because there have been some threats to oil traffic through the Strait of Hormuz but also concern that the Houthi rebels in Yemen might enter the war and, again, begin attacking shipping there.

I imagine those two pressure points would have a broader economic impact.

BAIG: Absolutely. So, on the Red Sea, there is an alternative. You can just go the old-fashioned way around Africa, through South Africa's Cape of Good Hope and come up, avoid that. Costs a bit of money, but it can be done.

The Straits of Hormuz is a unique chokepoint, and therein lies two facets of that story. First is the crude oil supply. A huge amount of crude goes through the Straits of Hormuz. Some mine here or some missile attack there could cause serious disruption, if not outright closure of that.

But more important is the liquid natural gas, LNG part of the story. Because that is really unique to that part of the world. Twenty percent of the world's supply come from Qatar alone. If that cannot go out, we'll see gas prices go up for sure.

Crude oil, maybe a little less so, because there are many alternatives other than that part of the world for crude oil supply.

SCIUTTO: We'll be watching closely. We know the U.S. president very concerned about gas prices, in particular.

Taimur Baig, we appreciate you joining and walking us through the markets.

BAIG: Thank you.

SCIUTTO: I'm Jim Sciutto in Washington, and I will be right back with more of our breaking news coverage of the expanding war with Iran, right after a short break.

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