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Trump Signals He Will Escalate War: "Iran Will Be Hit Very Hard!"; Israel Says New Wave Of Strikes Carried Out Against Iran Today; Iranian President: Tehran Will New Surrender. Aired 1-2p ET

Aired March 07, 2026 - 13:00   ET

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

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[1:00:46]

WOLF BLITZER, CNN NEWSROOM ANCHOR: Happening now here in the CNN Newsroom. There's breaking news, quote, "Iran will be hit very hard!" direct quote. A fresh warning today from President Donald Trump. Plus, an Iranian senior cleric now saying only a few moments ago a new supreme leader in Iran could be chosen in the next 24 hours. And later this hour, President Trump will attend the dignified transfer of six U.S. service members who lost their lives in a drone strike in Kuwait during the early stages of the war with Iran.

Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington. And we're following major developments, including the breaking news. A new threat of escalation from President Trump as the war with Iran enters its second week. The president warning today that, quote, "Iran will be hit very hard," end quote. And he vowed to go after areas and groups of people that were previously not considered for targeting by the U.S.

Dramatic footage shows huge explosions and fires at Tehran's busiest airport after Israel launched a new wave of attacks overnight. Israel says it used more than 80 fighter jets to carry out these pre-dawn strikes in Iran. The IDF says it hit 16 Iranian military aircraft at the airport.

And those attacks are happening as Iran's president delivered a remarkable national address earlier this morning. He said his country will never surrender just a day after President Trump said he wouldn't negotiate with Iran without a, quote, "unconditional surrender" by Iran. The Iranian president also apologizing to those Gulf neighbors, saying Tehran would stop striking those countries as long as no attacks on Iran originated from those nations.

And all of this happening as President Trump is set to attend the dignified transfer of six U.S. service members killed in the conflict. And that's taking place at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware this hour. We'll have extensive coverage of that.

My colleague and friend, CNN anchor Erin Burnett is live in Tel Aviv and she'll be joining me for our special live CNN coverage over the next three hours. Erin, first of all, bring us up to speed on the situation where you are.

ERIN BURNETT, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Wolf, well, you know, you talk about the escalation over in Tehran and those pre-dawn attacks that filled the sky with smoke and fire. Here, we had alerts. But I will say, Wolf, important there were fewer today than we saw yesterday. But one thing that stands out is everyone tries to understand what this war's objectives are and what that might mean for where it goes next.

The streets here bizarrely and eerily deserted. It is a war zone. It is a war. But, of course, it raises the questions on how long that can continue here and across this region.

Wolf, one other thing is I'm going to bring in Jeremy Diamond, who's with me here in Tel Aviv in just a moment. You mentioned that news out of Tehran, the state affiliated news agency Fars reporting that one of the clerics of the 88 who's going to be responsible for selecting the next supreme leader said to state television.

I want to give the full quote here because it's perhaps very important. He said, Ayatollah Mostafavi, "We have firm hope that with divine success this work will take place within the next 24 hours." The last time, of course, there was a shift in the supreme leader all the way back about 40 years ago. It happened within 24 hours. And here we are almost we are now a week past, more than a week past the Ayatollah being eliminated and still no supreme leader.

Obviously pressure now coming from within. So, we're watching that because that could be very significant.

All right. As promised, Jeremy Diamond is here with me in Tel Aviv. And Jeremy, you know that news matters. The leader of the UAE speaking out for the first time, referring to Iran as an enemy, obviously also significant, all of these things.

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And the question is whether any of these regional dynamics that we're starting to see play out will either cause the situation to escalate further or whether we could see a potential off ramp start to develop here. And especially inside of Iran. We've seen some conflicting signals about who exactly is in charge, whether or not there are some fissures that are starting to show between Iran's political leadership and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. So these are all key questions, but it certainly doesn't change the game plan for the United States and Israel at this moment as both countries are continuing to carry out extensive strikes across Iran.

[01:05:12]

In Iran over the course of the last 48 hours, the Israeli military has struck more than 300 targets. Overnight, they carried out one wave of strikes that was especially broad with 80 plus fighter jets going in at the same time to strike everything from ballistic missile launchers to Revolutionary Guard Corps targets and much more. And meanwhile, we're still watch this activity in Lebanon as the Israeli military carried out this overnight raid where they killed at least 41 people. According to the Lebanese Health Ministry, this was an operation where they were trying to rescue the remains of a deceased airman who went over the skies of Lebanon in 1986. Actually, his body has been missing for more than 40 years. The Israeli military carrying out this operation and it seems to have been very deadly and it did not result in them actually retrieving that body. There was crossfire, apparently between the Israeli military and Hezbollah forces there as well.

BURNETT: Tragedy there. And I know they say up to 300, according to Lebanese sources, right? People are dead there in addition to now, what, 1200 in Iran. All right, Jeremy Diamond, thank you very much.

And to go to Iraq now, which has also become an important focus of this war. Drone attacks sparking fires and warehouses belonging to two very important U.S. firms that operate there. The oil drilling company Halliburton and KBR, which is an oil services company, right?

So right at the heart of the global economy, that attack was in the port city of Basra, crucial to oil exports. And it targeted a compound housing employees and this is according to Reuters reporting. And it happened just hours after the United States Embassy in Baghdad warned Americans to leave Iraq.

They said that some hotels up in the north and the Kurdish part of the country could be a target of pro-Iranian militias. Well, they had a heads up, but not much because within a couple hours of that warning, a drone exploded near a hotel in Erbil in Iraqi Kurdistan. It's in fact the capital of that region. And contractors, Americans, members of the military have all been using hotels in that area.

A pro-Iranian Islamist militant group in Iraq claimed responsibility for that specific attack. And our Clarissa Ward is in Erbil. She's obviously been to that site. She's our chief international correspondent.

And Clarissa, what are you hearing now about this warning, that explosion and what the risk still is for Americans and hotels, really, hotels, the only place for so many Americans where You are to go.

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: So it's interesting, Erin, just In the last two hours, there have been at least two U.S. airstrikes on the bases of these Iran backed militias in the Iraqi city of Mosul. A number of casualties as a result of those strikes. And these are the groups that these militias that have just been hammering U.S. targets throughout the region, but they have also been hitting targets here in Iraqi Kurdistan.

Now, you mentioned those hotels. There are so many contractors, Erin, who were working for U.S. companies on U.S. bases for U.S. oil fields who have been moved away from those installations or bases, who are being put up temporarily in hotels. And I should say it's not just one or two. They're in pretty much every hotel you find here in the city of Erbil.

And yesterday, effectively this alliance of pro or Iran backed Iraqi militias declaring that these hotels are now a target and will continue to be a target as long as they are hosting American citizens. Now, we know that the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad has urged Americans to depart Iraq. They have issued some guidance as to some of the routes that people could try to take because obviously the airspace here is completely closed, Erin. They have said that you could try to go by land to Jordan or potentially to Turkey, but still many Americans and contractors of other nationalities as well, still trapped here. And of course, for the leadership of Iraqi Kurdistan, this whole situation poses a profound dilemma.

They do not want to be involved in this war. They cannot afford the risk that the Iranian regime will retaliate if they support the U.S. That the U.S. will change its mind about what the strategic objective or what the necessary outcome of this war. I spoke to one leader here who said one day President Trump says it's regime change. The next day it's not regime change.

And so, as a result, they're trying to walk this very fine line of appeasing their interests, obviously have a very warm and good relationship with the U.S. but also not wanting to incur the wrath of Iran. And particularly, Erin, with regards to these Iranian Kurdish opposition forces who are based here in Iraqi Kurdistan, who have made it known that they would like to launch some kind of a ground operation inside western Iran.

[01:10:17]

And as a result of which we have seen continued drone and missile strikes on those camps. Again, just ratcheting up real concerns that this could pose a real challenge not just for Iraqi Kurdistan, but for the whole of Iraq as a cohesive state, Erin.

BURNETT: All right, thank you very much, Clarissa. As I said in Erbil in Iraqi Kurdistan for us. And coming up in just minutes, CNN reporting finding that the CIA is working behind the scenes to arm Kurdish forces to try to foment an insurgency inside Iran. So, is this strategy one of strength or desperation? We're going to go through it in detail. You're in the CNN Newsroom on this breaking news Saturday.

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BLITZER: After getting hit by a new round of Israeli strikes today, Iran fired right back at Israel with drones and missiles. CNN is the first U.S. network allowed into Iran since the start of the war. Our senior international correspondent Fred Pleitgen and his team, they are in Tehran right now.

We should note CNN can only operate in Iran with government approval. Here's Fred's report from the streets of Tehran.

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FRED PLEITGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There's been a lot of airstrikes here on Tehran today. A lot of the shops here are closed and have been closed since the military confrontation started exactly a week ago. I'd say about 20 percent of the shops might be open.

So, what we've done today is we've gone to a couple of shops, spoken to the shopkeepers and also some customers just to see how they're faring.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voiceover): We are definitely worried about our lives, but we have no other choice. This is my occupation and it's about providing daily food stuff. We cannot close the shop. We have to go to work. But with fear, while not knowing what may happen.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voiceover): Everyone is scared. Those are bombs. It's no joke. When there's a bombing, everyone thinks of how they love their life.

I'm not saying we're not afraid. Of course we are. Anyone who says they're not afraid is lying because every human being values their life.

PLEITGEN: A drastic decline in customers at this fruit shop as well.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voiceover): Our sales now are about a quarter or a fifth of what they used to be. 70 or 80 percent of our customers are businesses. When the war broke out, all of the companies, foreign and Iranian, closed down.

PLEITGEN: Now, the people here, of course, have already also heard that President Trump has vowed to continue to hit Iran hard, as he put it, as he demands what he calls unconditional surrender, while at the same time the leadership of this country has said unconditional surrender is out of the question.

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BLITZER: And our thanks to Fred Pleitgen, whose insider. Ron, thank you for that excellent report.

I want to discuss all of this and a lot more with the former deputy assistant secretary of state under President Obama, Joel Rubin. Joel is with me here in The Situation Room. Joel, thanks very much for coming in.

JOEL RUBIN, FMR. DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE: Thanks, Wolf.

BLITZER: When you see that report, what's your immediate reaction?

RUBIN: Immediately, first of all, the people on the ground, we always have to remember that in wars it means people die. And so, for our service members who were killed, we should think of them as well as the people in Iran.

But what it also means is that we have to be planning right now for the post conflict scenario, not just the military strategy, which clearly is working and it's quite effective, but also the phase four, as you call it, in the government. What is happening post conflict? Who are we organizing with to potentially take leadership? And how will the people of Iran not suffer deeply from a post conflict scenario?

BLITZER: Trump has said now that there won't be an end to this war until Iran accepts an unconditional surrender.

RUBIN: Right.

BLITZER: Is that likely?

RUBIN: The Iranian leadership psychology is completely opposed to that. But that does not mean it is impossible. There are ways to compel that. There are ways to measure whether they will have essentially lost their capacity to fight, to then determine that they have capitulated. But the psychology right now in Iran, there is a political leadership vacuum. There is infighting in different factions. So, nobody wants to come out looking soft.

So, you'll hear even Pezeshkian, who's seen as a bit of a moderate in Iranian politics, taking a hard line because he too, wants to survive another day.

BLITZER: Yes. Because if he takes a softer line, he could be --

RUBIN: He's gone.

BLITZER: Yes. I want to quote from a story that's in the Wall Street Journal. I assume you saw it. And it says this. It talks about how Republican Senator Lindsey Graham traveled to Israel recently and coached the country's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, on how to lobby President Trump for action in Iran.

Graham says Netanyahu then showed intelligence to Trump that persuaded him to strike Iran. What do you make of that?

RUBIN: Well, you know, it brings up a lot of concerns because when we have independent senators, members of Congress freelancing out of regular order, out of the process, out of engaging with their colleagues, we can have misinformation and we can also have decision making based upon lack of full information.

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So, Sarah Graham, we have to say honestly, has been an Iran war hawk for decades. This is not new information. But I really hope that the president and his team didn't just engage him and that he did speak to the leaders of the Armed Services committees in both chambers and really get input into whether or not we should be going to war, because freelancing by members of Congress can lead to bad outcomes.

BLITZER: Well, we'll see what this led to. The president also told our own Dana Bash that Cuba is going to fall soon. What do you think about that?

RUBIN: The president's clearly feeling it right now, Wolf. You know, after Venezuela and Iran, maybe he believes the waving a magic military one is the way to solve all of our problems around the world. Now Cuba is in crisis, the fuel crisis caused in part by our

successful takeover of Venezuela's oil infrastructure, that is having an impact. So, Secretary Rubio, this is a chance for him to step in and to find a way to move it diplomatically into a path that aligns with our interests without having to use our military always as our war, as our weapon of choice.

BLITZER: As you know, there are thousands and thousands of Americans in the Middle East right now who are desperately searching for some way out of the Middle East so they can be safe. State Department says it's trying to help. And Trump has praised the State Department's evacuation efforts, saying that they're very good. But a lot of people are wondering, are these efforts so good?

RUBIN: Well, you know, Wolf, if I worked as a career officer at the State Department years ago, when we invaded Iraq, and in the months leading up to it, there was a variety of planning taking place, including what to do for evacuations and how to take care of the American citizens. I feel like this administration is finally pulling it together, but it was not ready or prepared to get our people out if they wanted to get out.

But right now, good. Keep it going. Civilian aircraft. We should be offering up military aircraft as well if American citizens want to get out. But this is something that should have been thought through for months before this, this actual attack.

BLITZER: It looks like it only started. They only started thinking about it after this war --

RUBIN: Exactly.

BLITZER: -- was already underway. And Joel Rubin, the former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, thanks very much for your service.

RUBIN: Thanks, Wolf.

BLITZER: Thanks very much for joining us.

RUBIN: Appreciate it.

BLITZER: Appreciate it very much. And coming up, a somber moment as the remains of U.S. troops killed in Iran's retaliation return home. We'll take you to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. That's coming up.

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BLITZER: And happening now. President Trump arriving at the Dover, Delaware U.S. Air Force Base just a few moments ago. You can see the video of him walking down those plane stairs. He's going to be attending what's being described as the dignified transfer of six U.S. soldiers who lost their lives in a drone strike in Kuwait during the early stages of this war with Iran. It's been going on now for a week. The vice president, JD Vance, the first lady, Melania Trump, and

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth are also expected to attend this Dignified transfer.

CNNs Michael Yoshida is joining us now. He's over at Dover. Michael, tell us what we can expect to see this hour.

MICHAEL YOSHIDA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, Wolf. It's a very somber and solemn day here at Dover Air Force Base as we await that dignified transfer. You mentioned those six service members killed in that Iranian drone strike in Kuwait. This Dover Air Force Base, this is the place where our heroes, they come home.

We are learning more about these six service members. We know 35-year- old Captain Cody Khork from Florida. He felt a calling to serve from a very early age. Those who knew him described him as having great leadership characteristics, caring for his team.

We also know about Sergeant Declan Coady at just 20 years old from Iowa, had been speaking with his family throughout the weekend before this strike, had wanted to go on to become a commissioned officer. Also Sergeant First Class Nicole Moore, 39 year old mother to a fourth grader, also a high school senior. Her husband saying they spoke just hours before this strike and that she quote, "was almost home."

Also, Sergeant First Class Noah Tietjens, 42-year-old devoted father and husband. Also, Major Jeffrey O'Brien, described as being a loving husband father of three, had served for nearly two decades. And also Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert Marzan, 54 years old, a loving husband, father, brother, uncle and friend.

Again, these the six service members that are being remembered and honored today. We've heard from those who knew them. Here's what one had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK MADSEN, CHILDHOOD FRIEND OF CHIEF WARRANT OFC. 3 MARZAN: He would do anything for you and family and friends meant the most to him. Tomorrows not promised so you got to tell people you love him whenever you can, especially the people that are close to you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YOSHIDA: And these service members all part of an Army Reserve unit out of Iowa. And when you talk about that desire to serve, that kinship that they had developed, we know four of them actually had previously served together as part of the same unit back in 2019 in Kuwait. Now all six returning home here to Dover Air Force Base. That dignified transfer set to happen momentarily.

Again, these servicemembers being honored and remembered for their service and sacrifice. Wolf.

BLITZER: And they should be honored and they should be remembered to be sure. Michael Yoshida at the U.S. Air Base at Dover, Delaware will have extensive coverage of the dignified transfer that's coming up this hour.

[01:30:10]

Coming up, as well, Israel is now taking a leading role among U.S. allies in this conflict, including attacking nearby Lebanon. We'll go back live to Tel Aviv, where bomb sirens have just gone off, telling people there to seek shelter. Stay with us. You're in the CNN Newsroom.

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ERIN BURNETT, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Welcome back. We're here in Tel Aviv. Broad-scale wave of overnight strikes against Iran, where we are right now, just about 8:30 p.m., and we just got alerts on our phone. The way it's been working here is you get an alert on your phone, and then anywhere from one to eight minutes, that really depends on the amount of warning. Sirens usually blare, and that is when they anticipate missiles coming in, which we usually can see. And there we go.

OK. So, you can hear those sirens. So, that means we have a minute or two. So, while we do that, I'm here with Eyal Hulata. I just want everyone to know that's who's here with me. I'm going to be talking to him as we walk. 23 years with Mossad, also head of the National Security Council here in Israel. So, let me just un-mic and get the other microphone. Microphone here. OK.

EYAL HULATA, FORMER ISRAEL NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER, FORMER HEAD OF ISRAELI NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL AND SENIOR INTERNATIONAL FELLOW, FOUNDATION FOR DEFENSE OF DEMOCRACIES: That's a little adventure.

BURNETT: So, you can hear me. So, this is something obviously you're used to. I will say, Eyal, as we're walking, we haven't had as many of these today as we did yesterday.

HULATA: Right.

BURNETT: But this is obviously -- we have this, and then usually we can see on the horizon when missiles come in.

HULATA: Right.

BURNETT: And we often see the interceptions, and some obviously do break through. So, we're -- how would you describe where we are right now, though? I mean, we've had fewer of these than yesterday, but the tempo has come down.

HULATA: Right. So, I mean, it's -- I mean, overall, we're doing, I think -- we're making a lot of progress by way of the damage happening in Iran compared to what's happening here.

BURNETT: Yes.

HULATA: It's a little bit funny to say this when we're having sirens and we're walking into a shelter, but this is actually the fact. As you say, there are fewer missiles coming. The rate of interception are way higher. There is some wreckage, of course, just, you know, because of things falling from the sky. Thank God no casualties in many days now.

And this is -- I think it means Iran will do whatever they can to continue to fire. Iran will never allow themselves not to be in a position to fire the last shot. Otherwise, it means they lost. So, they will try to do this, and they will disrupt our lives. But is this making progress on their -- that's the main question, of course that we all must ask.

BURNETT: And we're coming in here where -- Neville is holding our camera. So, we're in a stairwell now. And I will just say -- I ought to explain to people the way buildings are built here.

HULATA: Yes.

BURNETT: The center of them, the core where their stairwells are, are built, obviously, with the expectation that this sort of situations could come. So, you come into the center of the building because the exterior of the building is what could be destroyed.

HULATA: This is something to know about Israel. We have actually -- because we've been in this situation for so long, we've invested a lot of money and a lot of resources to make sure that the people in Israel will be as safe as we can when things start --

BURNETT: Literally through how you -- and that's part of the reason. If anyone looks at the skyline along the water, it's very concrete. But there's a reason for that.

HULATA: The reason is that --

BURNETT: It's not about aesthetics.

HULATA: I mean, we know that this can happen, right? I mean, this -- we've been fired at from multiple directions. Each house, new house in Israel, like for decades, have to have a shelter in it. And in the last 20, 30 years, the level of the shelter needs to be ready to deal with the kind of things that we're facing now.

BURNETT: OK. So, when I was watching today and there were sirens, and I looked outside before going into stairwell, beautiful day, weekend, not a single soul visible.

HULATA: Right.

BURNETT: OK. That's here. You have people pulling back in terms of economic activity across the entire Gulf. Skies closed over Iraq, Tehran. There is a human question here of how long it can continue to be completely and utterly shut down. And that refers to the Strait of Hormuz, to oil, to airspace, to economies, to human lives.

HULATA: Right. So, of course, war is damaging, right? It's disturbing, naturally. And this has been disturbing a lot of people in many countries, right? You mentioned the Gulf. They're getting more barrages than we are here. The UAE are getting hit with bigger numbers and drones and missiles and all the rest. Of course, the question is how long can this last?

Well, first, this decision will be made in Washington. All right. I mean, I think President Trump is fully cognizant in this. And I think that as the accumulation of damage in Iran is going up, and it is, the success of the operation in Iran is significant and is growing every day. I would assume that it's a matter of, I think, days, not weeks, where the balance will shift in the sense that we understand that there is diminishing return of every day, that this continues. Iran is weak. And the incentive to bring this to an end, I think, will increase as it comes.

BURNETT: You spent 23 years in Mossad. You were head of the National Security Council here.

[13:40:00]

I'm just looking at one important development out of Iran to try to get some context on, and that is one of the clerics, that would be the guardians to choose a new supreme leader, is cited in state media in Iran, Fars Agency, saying, we need to get this done, essentially, and putting a 24-hour time frame on it. But it's taken them a week. What do you read into that?

HULATA: So, I think the situation of the regime in Iran and the decision-making is fractured significantly. They've said since supreme leader was killed that they will appoint a new supreme leader very fast, as you say. And it has been a week now.

BURNETT: They didn't do it.

HULATA: They didn't do it. And then there were rumors that they will appoint Supreme Leader Khamenei's son, Mojtaba Khamenei as his successor, which actually makes very little sense when we're talking about this kind of regime. This is nepotism. This shouldn't happen like this. But in any case, this is where they're at. I think there is a strong conflict between the clerics and the hardliner in the military as to what will be the best way to try and keep Iran strong in the region. Otherwise, it is going down even more and more, which I think it is.

I mean, I know it's hard to view this when, again, we are in a shelter. There have been American casualties. Oil prices are going high. But the world's largest terror sponsor country is being degraded in a way that they're not even able to define who their new leader will be. And I think overall, when this ends, this is going to be good for the stability of the region.

BURNETT: So, the Iranian president, Pezeshkian, a person who had done meetings with reporters in the West. I met with him in September, right? He had -- I know he was, relative to Iranian politics, seen as somewhat of a more reformist, at least an apologetic character for some things. And people say he's not really in charge. He's weak. So, he comes out today. He says, I'm sorry to the Gulf. As long as you don't attack from our -- you know, let Americans attack off your bases, we won't attack you. And then there's been attacks since then.

So, some people say, well, that's because he doesn't have any power. But he also referenced specifically that their command and control is not functioning and that there are some military units who are not hearing what they're being told.

HULATA: Yes.

BURNETT: OK. What is the state of the Iranian military's operation right now? When they're firing missiles here right now, is that being done from the top, or is that being done because three weeks ago they were told they should keep doing that? Do you know?

HULATA: So, I think IRGC still have some level of command and control. And I think it's more that Pezeshkian doesn't really have any authority over IRGC than anything else. Because, as you say, he promised that there will be no firing at all. And there have been 10 rounds of barrages on the UAE alone today since he said that, right, to a point where Mohamed bin Zayed comes out and says that the UAE are strong and they're not going to take it anymore and they have to put their act together, calling these people to be resilient.

BURNETT: He's the leader of the United Arab Emirates.

HULATA: The president of the United Arab Emirates, a very brave man, right, the leader of the Arab Emirates together with President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu. This is really serious. I think Pezeshkian doesn't speak for the true decision-makers of Iran. He might try to do this. I remember your interview with him in September. I think he was trying to make the West believe that he's actually in control and that there is someone that is normal that can be dealt with. But he's not calling any of the important shots in Iran.

BURNETT: So, the IRGC is calling the shots?

HULATA: IRGC are calling the shots. They have their ranks. Ali Larijani, which was given authorities, he's - Ali Larijani was the national security adviser, the top adviser to Supreme Leader Khamenei. I think in that realm, this is what they're trying to do. And I think what's more important for them at the moment is to make sure that they are not seen as weak, that they hold their position. But they are weak. They're weaker than people think, except that, you know, when the audience sees us now at the shelter, they might get the idea that maybe it's in reverse. But actually, they're firing less and less every day.

BURNETT: All right. Eyal Hulata, as I said, former security adviser here in Israel and also 23 years in Mossad. Wolf, let's send it back to you in Washington from Tel Aviv.

BLITZER: All right. Erin. Excellent work, and thank Eyal for me as well. I'm looking, and all of our viewers are seeing, Erin, right now, these live pictures from this major street in Tel Aviv. It's a Saturday night. Normally, as you know, and I've been to Tel Aviv many times, Saturday night in Tel Aviv, the streets would be packed. People would be walking. They would be going about, and it's empty right there. So, when the sirens go off, everybody sort of heads into a stairwell or a shelter where you are right now, as we saw you do with Eyal?

BURNETT: They do. You know, Wolf, I think there's two interesting things to say there. One, yes, even if you're downstairs in a lobby of a hotel, people will come in off the street, and so the basement, you know, that's full with toilet paper supplies and things for the kitchens will be just jammed with people. Some of them coming off the streets, you know, people, various states of dress, OK, they all come in. So, people observe it.

But there's a second point I'd make, Wolf, and that is that the streets aren't crowded to begin with. Most things are closed. It is in sort of this war pause right now where kids are not at school and businesses are not open.

[13:45:00]

And that's why the streets aren't crowded to begin with. Most things are closed. It is in sort of this war pause right now where kids are not at school and businesses are not open, and that's also keeping the streets empty as well. So, it's a double whammy, I'd say, Wolf.

BLITZER: Yes, it's not just Tel Aviv, it's all of central Israel right now especially, but it's also hitting Haifa and even Jerusalem, there are sirens going off from time to time. Erin, good luck over there. Stay safe. We'll be in close touch with you. Appreciate your excellent, excellent reporting. And I know you're going to try to be with us for the next few hours as well. And we'll take a quick break. We'll be right back.

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[13:50:00]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- people around me. We're all stuck between not knowing whether to be happy or sad.

LEILA GHARAGOZLOU, CNN REPORTER: With U.S. and Israeli airstrikes reshaping Iran by the day, it's nearly impossible to hear from voices inside the country. Some Iranians have sent CNN voice memos despite a partial internet and communications blackout. To protect their privacy, we've distorted their voices.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The hardship here is, if we want to talk about the impact on the people, is that there is no internet. We cannot get any news. They have no idea when an attack is going to take place. What I've heard is people say, we just know that something is coming at us in the sky. We don't know if it's ours or theirs.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: Those were voices of Iranians speaking to CNN from inside the country. And right now, President Trump is warning. He's preparing to escalate this war and warning that Iran is about to be hit, in his words, very hard. Soon, the Dignified Transfer remains taking place for the six U.S. service members who were killed in Kuwait this past week.

Tim Naftali is joining us right now. He's a CNN presidential historian, former director of the Nixon Presidential Library. His latest piece for The Atlantic magazine is on the killing of Iran's supreme leader by the U.S. Tim, thanks very much for joining us. President Trump has warned Americans to expect the possibility there will be more U.S. casualties. This is the first time Americans will be seeing fallen U.S. service members being brought home in this war. How does the president need to acknowledge, you think, this moment?

TIM NAFTALI, CNN PRESIDENTIAL HISTORIAN, FORMER DIRECTOR, NIXON PRESIDENTIAL LIBRARY, AND SENIOR RESEARCH SCHOLAR AT COLUMBIA'S SCHOOL OF INTERNATIONAL AND PUBLIC AFFAIRS: Well, I think the president of the United States, as our commander in chief and as our head of state, needs to be clear about the objectives of this war. He has his -- his explanations of the objectives have changed. And just yesterday, he accelerated and told us that it's an unconditional surrender of the Iranian regime. Is that truly the objective? I think that's very important because it's very unsettling to have a shift in the objectives of a war that has already taken American lives.

The second thing is, I think the president of the United States, even though he's not committed to international norms, should see the value of the United States remaining the principal leader for freedom in the world. And he should explain to the American people clearly why he decided to end a taboo, if you will, about killing a foreign leader.

I'm not suggesting that any tears be shed for Ayatollah Khamenei, not at all. But I think the president, as our head of state, should explain why he did it and might actually share a little reluctance about that decision because it's a decision that shouldn't be taken lightly.

And finally, I hope the president will discuss collateral damage, which is our way of saying civilians killed in Iran by mistake. We may have been involved in the killing of those children. And if we were, he should just acknowledge it, not to say that the war is wrong, but that in war, people who should not die do die.

I think it's important because in the end, we want to continue to be the good guys in the world. We're going to be doing a service to the world if we can end this terrible Iranian regime. But how we end it is as important as the goal of ending it, I believe.

BLITZER: Good point. And you argue that the killing of the supreme leader of the ayatollah, Ali Khamenei, has opened a Pandora's box of sorts. Just elaborate a little bit on the potential consequences as you see them.

NAFTALI: Well, in the Cold War, the United States and the Soviet Union did not try to kill each other's leaders. Indeed, CIA intelligence officers and KGB intelligence officers also didn't try to kill each other. That's not the same as not killing each other's agents. But the fact of the matter is there was an understanding that in our international system, it's very destabilizing to kill the leader of a great -- of an important power, regional or superpower.

American presidents, any president, with the new technology and the new intelligence gathering capabilities that are on display in this war, will find it easier to make the decision, technically, to kill a foreign leader. I think this requires a lot of thought because you can destabilize the world if leaders think they might be killed.

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Now, in the case of President Trump, it looks as if the Iranians targeted him. And that's a reason for President Trump to focus on that as the reason he killed Khomeini. But to say that we have a right to kill leaders we don't agree with or who pose a threat to us, I believe opens the door to more international stability because there are other countries like Russia, perhaps China, that would very much like to kill more foreign leaders. I'm not saying they haven't tried, but this really widens the aperture, makes it easier for them to undertake it, and not bear huge costs internationally.

BLITZER: Our CNN presidential historian, Tim Naftali, thanks very much for your analysis. We always appreciate it.

And our special coverage of the war with Iran will continue in just minutes. Up next, we'll have live reports from inside Israel, Iraq, and Saudi Arabia as attacks continue today across the Persian Gulf and the Middle East. Stay with us. You're in the CNN Newsroom.

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