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Trump Doesn't Rule Out Sending U.S. Ground Troops To Iran; Six Troops Killed In Iran War Brought Home In Dignified Transfer; Trump Wants To Be Involved In Picking Iran's Leader. Aired 8-9p ET

Aired March 07, 2026 - 20:00   ET

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

[20:00:00]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN HOST: We have seen several large explosions in the last few hours. Just a short time ago, flames were shooting into the sky after an oil refinery was bombed. An Israeli source tells CNN that targeting oil is the next phase of this war.

And tonight, we're hearing a lot more from President Trump on the possibility of U.S. troops on the ground in Iran. The president told reporters, quote, at some point, maybe, but not right now, he said. Another deadly bombing of a girl's school inside Iran. The president said it was done by Iran.

Tonight, several reports have suggested the U.S. was likely to blame. Earlier, President Trump flew to Dover Air Force Base to attend the dignified transfer of the six US Soldiers killed in Kuwait. And after the event, the president was asked if he thought he would have to attend more. His answer was, "I'm sure, I hate to, but it's a part of war."

Now with the new war, entering its second week now, the other question tonight, is Iran on the brink of picking its next supreme leader? Earlier, a senior Iranian cleric said one could be chosen in the next 24 hours. Remember, the president has said he wants to be involved in the selection.

Also tonight, as the conflict widens, brand new images of the destruction inside Beirut in Lebanon. Israel today intensified the campaign against Hezbollah, the militia that operates inside that country.

We have teams standing by in Saudi Arabia and Israel tonight. I want to start with CNN international diplomatic editor Nic Robertson who is live from Riyadh in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Nic, during his speech today, Iran's top official, security official Ali Larijani, who may very well be running Iran, said he will not let Trump go until there is retaliation. What more did you hear from the Iranian leader?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Look, I think we heard a very strong and very tough line of one, a line of resilience, a line of keep fighting. Remember, this is a man who's held senior positions within the IRGC that he and very likely has his fingers more firmly on the levers of power. His words reflect what we're seeing in actions on the ground.

On the one hand, the Iranian president says he apologizes to countries in this region that they won't, Iran won't attack them as long as they don't support the United States in the fight. The reality since he spoke is almost a doubling down in Saudi here. We've had over 16 drone attacks in the past couple of hours. Indeed, the MOD here just announced that a drone was intercepted flying towards the diplomatic quarter behind me here.

Remembering just a couple of days ago it was four drones hit the U.S. Embassy in that diplomatic quarter quite startling. So, the message Coming from this leadership in Iran, whether or not you take their words at face value, President or Larijani, the actions on the ground are what's speaking at the moment. And it appears both sides, both President Trump and the Iranian side are talking tough, talking through their guns.

There doesn't appear to be any, any meaningful diplomacy or Communications. Where 12 hours ago it seemed that might be in the air, now it doesn't. Larijani is very clear Iran is going to fight. It wants to exact a price from the United States and his language is about taking that out on President Trump, he says because President Trump killed their leader. John.

BERMAN: As I said, Nic, you're in Saudi Arabia nearby Bahrain has also been targeted over the last week. What are you hearing from them tonight?

ROBERTSON: Yes, again, they were targeted this evening and the targeting has happened all along the Gulf states again today. What we've heard from the Bahrain is saying, they said, look, we've heard what the President Pezeshkian of Iran has said. We welcome his apology. Bahrain, they say, wants diplomacy, wants peace. But the reality is Iran's actions speak louder than their words and their actions have been to strike the Gulf states.

No one in this Gulf region is taking the Iranian president's word at its face value. I don't think even before he spoke, anyone here really believed that this Iranian president had power and authority. He's a late comer to power in Iran. It was only almost two years ago that he became president when the other, the previous president had been, was died in a helicopter crash along with his foreign minister. And in somewhat mysterious circumstances.

The reality about the leadership in Iran at the moment, if it is Larijani, and that's the sort of predominant perception in the region, here is the recognition that Larijani is a part of the system. He is part of the ethos that believes dying and martyring for the cause is a glorious cause.

[20:05:04]

This was a leader who was going to the front lines during the Iran- Iraq war when Iran lost close to a million troops, literally marching them into minefields in the Iran-Iraq war. They were using chemical weapons, gas attacks on each other then. He was one going to the front lines, visiting the troops, extolling them to get into the fight. And he, through his career has been willing to sacrifice his countrymen.

The way he is sounding today sounds exactly like that. And I think that's the message that's being understood here. The question, of course, is how Saudi, how Bahrain, how Qatar, how the other countries in the Gulf region actually respond. And it is at the moment they're staying out of the fight and they're doing that because they don't want to escalate. But I think what they're faced with at the moment is an intransigent enemy, one that's willing to die for its cause and is speaking like that.

BERMAN: Nic Robertson for us in Riyadh. Nic, thank you so much for sharing your reporting all that new information.

The Israeli prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the strikes on Iran will continue, quote, "with all our might." Want to go to CNN chief international security correspondent Nick Paton Walsh, who is in Tel Aviv.

Nick, Netanyahu vowed many surprises for the next phase of this war. What else is the prime minister saying?

NICK PATON WALSH: CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I mean, it's clear from seeing the statements of military officials that they understand they are now in what they call the next phase of this. And while Benjamin Netanyahu's speech very clear to address the Israeli public to sort of buckle in for potentially the longer haul, here we are seeing that next phase involving it seems, Israeli strikes on oil depots, storage facilities for oil, for gasoline they say is used by the Iranian military. We heard talk of attack on a desalination plant from Iranian officials earlier on today. And then overnight last night, there were strikes on central Airport in the capital of Tehran, which is said to have been used for military purposes as well.

So, you might look at that change in targeting and see that the next phase perhaps involves less of a focus on military infrastructure because perhaps they've hit most of those higher value military targets. So, a sense here of Israel pushing forward, it is often hard to divine what hit inside Iran is American or Israeli firepower. But we have seen clear signals from the Israelis that they intend to shift to this, quote, "next phase."

At the same time, President Trump has offered some interesting kind of guidelines as to his thinking at this point. His comments earlier on today, referring to what Nic was talking about, the sort of quasi apology from the Iranian president that was ultimately followed up by another salvage, another salvo of missiles and drones towards the Gulf states.

He has phrased that as ultimately being the Iranians accepting that they've kind of lost and surrendering to their neighbors here. Remember, he said earlier on he'd accept nothing other than unconditional surrender from Iran. His press secretary going on to suggest that term would be something President Trump would seek to define at a moment indeed, of his choosing. Today, while he was scolding the United Kingdom for its late support for this conflict, saying that it needed now, he said that was because they had, quote, already won. And so, it is interesting to see how the president is phrasing this, talking about his desire to, for influence upon who the next supreme leader is. The really startling delay now in having a singular figure back in charge of theocracy inside of Iran.

And I think also at times, it's hard to quite work out precisely what the final strategy the White House is indeed pursuing here to bring this potentially to a close. We initially started with the notion that missiles, the navy and preventing a nuclear weapon were the key goals. That was reiterated by a White House social media post just yesterday, along with a Grand Theft Auto video accompanying it as part of their media enterprise here.

But we've since heard unconditional surrender. There was even President Trump floating the notion of ground troops, but he said, you know, that would have to be for very specific reason, almost sounding like he was suggesting that was less likely rather than more likely.

I think from the phrasing we've heard from the president over the past couple of days, the kind of context, constant reference to exactly how this might end, even though the end does not appear immediately to be in sight. It's probably clear at this stage that we're beginning to see his mind turn towards framing this as some kind of victory. The question now is with this Iranian power vacuum and the sort of spiraling fear of perhaps part of that Iranian government doing things that are somewhat out of the control of any political leadership, then I think you're into a kind of dangerous period here of unintended consequences, potentially.

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Regardless of all of that, Israel continues to aggressively pursue its war and also its war against Hezbollah to the north of where I'm standing in southern Lebanon as well, where we've been hearing of intense strikes and one more recently inside Beirut as well. So, a fast-moving conflict where the question essentially continues to grow when President Trump will decide to call this some kind of victory or are we looking for weeks in which the opportunity for that spirals out of reach. John.

BERMAN: That is the key question tonight. Nick Payton Walsh for us in Tel Aviv, thank you very much.

With us now, retired four-star general, former NATO commander, General John Allen. General, thank you so much for being with us.

We did hear from President Trump earlier today refusing to rule out using ground troops. I mean, what do you think of that refusal to rule that out? And if he were to use ground troops somewhere inside Iran, what could he possibly do?

GEN. JOHN ALLEN (RET.), FOUR-STAR GENERAL AND FORMER NATO COMMANDER: I think he's going to keep that option on the table for good reason. He wants to keep the Iranians guessing as to the long-term intentions of the president and this administration. And short of the employment of large-scale American ground forces, we could easily see that we might commit special operators on the ground for special missions and raid force activity on the ground.

So, I think the president by casually or explicitly mentioning that a commitment of ground forces is possible, keeps the Iranians guessing. But let me say that this takes the war to an entirely different level. If we put American conventional forces on the ground and where today we received tragically the bodies of six heroes brought home with all of the ceremony that they deserve, the casualties will go up very quickly if we put ground forces on the ground.

So those the commitment of those kinds of forces has to support campaign objectives, which in the end have to support political objectives. The political objective ultimately is to put ground forces on the ground, conventional forces. This takes this war to a very different level.

BERMAN: General, obviously we've seen on the map here you can see all where the airstrikes have been with the U.S. and Israel against Iran over the last several days, about a week now. My question to you, as this continues and the president promises to intensify it, what's the marginal rate of return on more strikes? What do you get from even more strikes now when the missile capacity of Iran seems to have been degraded 90 percent, the drone strikes coming from Iran down by 80 percent. What more does the U.S. get from striking Iran additionally?

ALLEN: Well, I think you can be certain that the target lists that have been developed in support of this campaign are going to be very closely monitored against the return what we call the bomb damage assessments, the return on the employment of those forces and that ordinance. And at some point, we'll determine that we have attrited whatever the capability is on those target lists to a point where we'll begin to create a measured decrease in the amount of ordinance that we commit or cease bombing those capabilities altogether.

You know, the target lists have shifted, John, since we started. You know, we began with the long range employment of precision guided weapons, standoff weapons that took down much of the early warning system, took down much of the air defense system, took down much of the capacity of the Iranians to dispute the air with American and Israeli firepower and capability. Once all of that was eliminated, that target list was essentially fulfilled.

And then we began to go in for the close in application of fires to go after specific Iranian military capabilities. Whether it was the IRGC, the IRGC navy, the conventional navy, the Iranian military, the remnants of the Iranian Air Force, and very importantly, going after the IRGC and the Basij elements and pounding them in their headquarters, pounding them in their troop concentrations, pounding them in their logistics sites, moving right down that target list until we've accomplished those objectives to include going after missile launchers and missile storage facilities and deeply buried command and control sites.

So, once we've gone down that target list and achieved those objectives, then we'll shift to potentially another target list. And Nic Robertson and Nick Paton Walsh were just reporting that it appears that we're striking economic targets now, which would be the logical next effort with where we would apply the fires in this campaign.

BERMAN: Yes, look, we can see right now a targeting of an airport inside Iran, south of Tehran right now that may be part of that attempt to hit infrastructure just very quickly. One thing the President also said, and I'm circling the kind of the Kurdish region on the border between Iraq and Iran.

The President now says he doesn't want the separatist Kurdish forces, the militias there, to try to rise up against the Iranian regime. What do you make of that?

[20:15:05]

ALLEN: I think that was the second point that he made. The first was to offer them the opportunity to come into the fight. I don't think we want them in the fight right now. The Kurds have always been pretty good allies of ours, certainly in the Kurdish regional government in Iraq. The Kurds that were able to organize to fight ISIS, Daesh in Syria. Now, the Kurdish terrorists have always been a problem for Turkey.

But by and large, the Kurdish nation, which doesn't have a country of its own, has always been a good friend to the United States in many respects. This is what I know for sure.

In the aftermath of the destruction of theocracy in Iran, the IRGC is going to seize power as quickly and as totally as it can, and it's going to exert massive oppressive force against any force within the Iranian population that seeks to oppose them or seeks to contest their control in Iran. And I think by attempting to mobilize the Kurds against this really oppressive force that we're about to see really come rolling out on the Iranian population, the president probably spared the Kurds in this regard.

BERMAN: That's interesting, Clarissa Ward, who's in the region, the Kurdish region of Iraq right now, says she kind of senses a sigh of relief among the Kurds there that they're not being asked to go in. General John Allen, an honor always to get to speak with you. Thank you very much for being with us tonight.

ALLEN: Good to see you, John. Good to see.

BERMAN: Next for us, a man who spent time in a prison in Iran reacts to the war now and who is most likely to become Iran's next leader in spite of the president's demands. The administration promoting the war with video game clips and memes. Does this endanger U.S. troops? This is CNN special live coverage. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:21:31]

BERMAN: Tonight, President Trump once again stressing the U.S. must be involved, he says must be involved in picking Iran's next leader.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: I don't want to just come back every 10

years and mostly you'll have presidents, mostly that won't do that because they don't get it. But we don't want to come back every five years or every 10 years and do this. So we pick a president who's (inaudible) leading the country and (inaudible).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: I don't know if you'd hear that, but what he basically says he didn't want to come back every five years and have to pick a new one. He wants to get the right one now.

With us now is Keon Taj Bash. He is a leading Iranian American scholar and former political prisoner in Iran who was jailed in one of the country's most notorious prisons for his pro-democracy work.

Professor, thank you so much for being with us. And I think it's safe to say that your opinions or your insight on this was no doubt shaped by what you live through in that country. Based on what you live through, what do you think it would take for whatever the Iranian leadership is right now to surrender?

KIAN TAJBAKHSH, INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS PROFESSOR, NEW YORK UNIVERSITY: Well, my experience as an Iranian-American in Iran working to promote democracy and also to work for better relations between Iran and the United States led me to be arrested and held for over a year and a half in Evan Prison, including eight solitary confinement under the IRGC. So, I was up close and personal with very senior and middle level IRGC officers.

So, my view is shaped by the fact that I saw from up front that this regime has an implacable antagonism both to the United States. That's partly why I was arrested, and also an implacable antagonism to democracy movements inside Iran. So that leads me to conclude that they are not going to capitulate very soon. They're very ideologically motivated and also that they will crack down on their protesters and people inside Iran.

And both those things, I think, should shape what the US does now in Iran.

BERMAN: So today we had something really unusual happen. You had the Iranian president, Masoud Pezeshkian, come out and say he was sorry to the Gulf nations for the fact that they've been hit by Iranian missiles over the last week, although he said they were targeting U.S. forces. But then you had Ali Larijani, who's in charge of the security services now, come out and basically say not sorry and we're going to continue to do this. Who's running the show?

TAJBAKHSH: Well, I think it shows that currently the leadership is in disarray. Not only did Larijani came out come out and contradict Pezeshkian, but soon after missiles were fired and a leading IRGC officer said that we will continue firing against our neighbors if they host U.S. bases. So, I think it's a sign that they are seriously on the back foot. They are scrambling and that there is disarray in the leadership. So, it's not clear who's making decisions. But I think also one of the

things that's happened is that there's this doctrine that the IRGC has that has allowed regional commanders, middle level commanders, to take independent action. And that's why we may be seeing this kind of contradictory behavior.

BERMAN: Again, you saw the IRGC, the worst of them, not that there is any best of them. I mean, it's really a reprehensible organization. But what would make them give up? I mean, do you think that they would ever surrender?

[20:25:10]

The President Trump says he wants to see unconditional surrender. Is this an organization based on the way you looked at them, that would ever unconditionally surrender?

TAJBAKHSH: I think -- I don't think so. I remember speaking to my IRGC officer when I was in detention being interrogated, and I said, you're picking a fight with a big military. And he said, you know, we are welcome to fight. It will show our motivation, our ideological commitment.

He said, we're not afraid of that. And so, I think that the core ideological base of the regime, which includes the IRGC, includes clerical and political elites. They are highly indoctrinated and they will hold out and dig in.

BERMAN: So, the President says he wants a say and who the next leader is. You sort of winced at that. Why? I mean, how hard would it be for him to be involved in picking the next leader?

TAJBAKHSH: You know, what President Trump said is a really dramatic escalation in the stated war aims of the war up to now. I mean, shifting from limiting Iran's capabilities, which is what we've been hearing about, to regime engineering and deciding influencing who rules Iran is a really big shift. And historically that has not worked out well as the experience in Iraq and Afghanistan showed.

So, I thought earlier on President Trump had said, I've learned those lessons. We're not going to be involved in nation building. We're just going to defang and neutralize the threats from Iran. But this shift, I think, is very worrying because ultimately the new leadership inside Iran will have to come from the balance of power inside Iran.

The best I can think of, John, is that what the President is saying is that strategically they may have come to the conclusion that neutralizing the military capabilities is not enough because the leadership in the future, if they're still committed to anti-American ideological mission, they will start rebuilding their capabilities. So perhaps the policymakers have come to a conclusion that we need to shape the leadership so that they don't come back in five years.

BERMAN: Professor, it's an honor to get to spend some time with you. Advice to NYU and Columbia students. Sign up for his class right now, because I bet you're going to learn a lot. Thank you very much. TAJBAKHSH: Thank you very much.

BERMAN: All right, next, Harry, on how veterans and military leaders feel about this war as the President teases the use of possible ground troops. Plus some Republicans continue to deny it is a war, despite the president calling it one. We're going to speak live with a Republican. Coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:32:21]

BERMAN: Tonight, the administration has added a new objective to its list of goals in Iran. President Trump says there will be no deal with Iran except unconditional surrender. This is after the administration insisted all week. The operation would be limited in scope, with the president suggesting it would only last weeks, not months. So, if unconditional surrender is now the goal here, does that mean that people will start calling it a war?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Why not authorize this war? Vote to authorize like he did with Iraq and Afghanistan.

LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): You know, that's just a ridiculous idea that Congress has to authorize a war.

RAJU: Do you think this A war right now?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, I do not.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's military action.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whether somebody wants to call it a battle, a war, a combat operation, I'm not really interested in the semantics of it.

TOMMY TUBERVILLE, (R-AL): I wouldn't call this a war as much as I'd call it a conflict. That should be very short and sweet.

MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA): Department of War has made it very clear this is a limited operation. It's an operation that's limited in its scope and duration.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BERMAN: With us now is Congressman Mike Lawler, a Republican from New York, was on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. Congressman Lawler, nice to see you tonight.

So, the president started saying it yesterday, and he said it again today that his goal here is unconditional surrender. What do those words mean to you?

REP. MIKE LAWLER, (R) NEW YORK: Well, ultimately, the objective is to eliminate the threat posed by the Iranian regime. Number one, end their nuclear ambitions. Number two, end their ballistic missiles capabilities. Number three, end their financing of terrorism.

These were part of the negotiations that they were not engaging in good faith. And ultimately, the President made the determination to take military action to eliminate these three threats. And ultimately, that is what the President is talking about when he talks about unconditional surrender. Those are the issues at hand.

BERMAN: Well, is he, though? I don't know that's so because he's also added this new condition that he wants to say in picking the next leader, the next supreme leader of Iran. So does unconditional surrender, are you sure it only includes taking away the missile program in the Navy and destabilizing the nuclear program?

LAWLER: Well, if you look at what the operation has been to date, what the focus is eliminating the threat posed by Iran's regime. And we have decimated their naval fleet, which is critical to allow for the flow of trade and oil through the Straits of Hormuz. You look at what we have been able to do in a very short period of time with their ballistic missile's capabilities, the number of missiles that they are firing has dropped precipitously over the past eight days.

[20:35:11]

And that is a positive step forward. What the President is talking about with respect to the leadership of Iran moving forward is very simple. We don't want to be back here in three, four, five years dealing with the same problem. And so, if you have the ability to influence, you know, who the next leader of the country is going to be, that is certainly something that would be on the table for discussion. We don't want to be back here. We don't want to have to continue with this threat that has been in effect for 47 years.

And by the way, just so everybody is clear, Iran has been at war with the United States for 47 years. They have been seeking to dismantle the United States to cause death and harm to not only our troops, but our allies. You see the way they are responding in this conflict right now, where they are attacking Arab states.

The fact is, Iran has been at war with the United States for 47 years. And the fact that 53 of my Democratic colleagues voted this week against declaring Iran the greatest state sponsor of terror is an absolute pathetic embarrassment to our nation. I can't understand for one moment how anybody could take that position.

BERMAN: Congressman, gas prices are at 341 a gallon. That's a national average. It's lower than it was during some points during the Biden administration after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. But it's the highest point at any time during either of President Trump's presidential terms. How high do you think the American people should be willing to accept gas prices to go as a result of this conflict?

LAWLER: Look, we want to bring gas prices down. And you saw prior to this conflict that gas prices were coming down below $3 for the first time in five years. Obviously, in this moment, there is instability in the market because of the issues pertaining to the Straits of Hormuz. It's part of the reason why the administration lifted sanctions with respect to Russian oil yesterday to try and stabilize --

BERMAN: But is it worth it?

LAWLER: -- the market a little bit. But from my bent, well, eliminating the threat from Iran is absolutely worth it.

BERMAN: So, the price.

LAWLER: The fact is, you're talking about a regime. You're talking about a regime that is responsible for the deaths of thousands of Americans, that is responsible for the deaths of Americans on October 7th with their financing of Hamas and Hezbollah and the Houthis and everyone else. This is not a regime that was ever going to stop. And they were not negotiating in good faith.

So, the administration made a decision, the president made a decision to take action and finally eliminate the threat that has been allowed to fester for 47 years. Every administration has said they would never allow Iran to get a nuclear weapon.

BERMAN: Congressman, I was asking about gas prices.

LAWLER: Never allow them to feel --

BERMAN: So do you think? So you think --

LAWLER: I understand, John. But you're trying -- you're trying to talk specifically --

BERMAN: No, no, I'm just -- I just want to know how long --

LAWLER: -- about gas prices, when we're talking about a conflict.

BERMAN: I just want to know how long do you think -- well, but the gas prices have gone up more than they've gone up in years in the last week as a result of the conflict. So, all I'm asking is how high you think because war is sacrifice, right? Any time that a country goes to war, there is sacrifice. So how much do you think that the American people should be willing to sacrifice here to win this war?

LAWLER: Look, there is short term instability in the oil markets right now. That is something the administration needs to work to get under control very quickly. That is part of the reason why they took action yesterday to lift some of the sanctions on Russian oil. To bring down the volatility in the market.

We need to increase production. Part of what you're seeing with respect to Venezuela as well is greater cooperation, which will have a positive impact on the oil markets here, too. So, there is a lot of work that needs to be done to address the volatility in the oil markets. But the bottom line here is Iran was a threat that needed to be dealt with. They were producing ballistic missiles at such a rate that it would have been almost impossible in the future to deal with the fully enriched uranium that they have stockpiled.

So, there is a lot at stake here that needed to be addressed. In my opinion, the president made the right decision. Yes, there is some volatility right now in the oil markets. But the bottom line is the threat from the Ayatollah, the IRGC and the regime needed to be eliminated. And in eight days, the United States and Israel have done a tremendous job in reining in the threat posed by the regime.

Going after their naval fleet, eliminating --

BERMAN: Yes, I think it's stats.

LAWLER: -- a lot of their stockpile with respect to ballistic missiles. That is a positive step. That is something that we should be encouraged about. And the fact that 53 Democrats voted against --

[20:40:07]

BERMAN: Congressman, and you said, I just want to -- I want to put, I want to give you some stats that back up what you say there. So, 90 percent, the Iranians are flying 90 percent fewer missiles today in the last day than they were on day one of this conflict. 80 percent fewer drones. So absolutely, they seem depleted there.

You're on the Foreign Affairs Committee, I assuming -- I assume you're privy to information I'm not privy to there. If they're down 90 percent and 80 percent in terms of how much more is there to go? I mean, is this almost over? What more are you gaining at this point by continuing this war? If you're the president, if you've already depleted them so much.

LAWLER: Look again, I think, as you heard the President and Secretary Rubio and Secretary Hegseth say throughout the week, you know, this was a several week operation that they were looking at.

Obviously, the elimination of the Ayatollah, the clerics, the leadership of the IRGC early on bodes well for being able to end this conflict maybe sooner than expected. But there is still work to do. And you want to ensure that the job is done.

Again, we don't want to be back here in five years. We want the job done, which means ensuring they cannot mass produce ballistic missiles anywhere in the country and that they are not using them against U.S. troops and, you know, military bases as well as our allies. So that is what the objective is.

Obviously, there is enriched uranium that is being stored in the country. That is something that will be discussed and under consideration as we move forward. And, you know, ultimately the objective is to end this as quickly as possible.

BERMAN: Congressman Mike Lawler from New York, we appreciate your time tonight. Thank you very much.

LAWLER: Thank you.

BERMAN: All right. Antiwar protests today across the country. Hear what Iranian Americans say now about the war. Plus, new information on the deadly school strike that President Trump is denying the U.S. is responsible for. This is CNN's special live coverage.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[20:46:51]

BERMAN: This is CNN Special Breaking News coverage of the War on Iran. The largest community of Iranian expatriates, patriots in the United States, is rallying in Los Angeles. CNN's Julia Vargas Jones was there earlier.

So Julia, how are people there reacting to the conflict?

JULIA VARGAS JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, John, like any diaspora, there is a fragmentation of ideas. But today, what we saw here in the streets of Los Angeles was a celebration, truly. People are thanking President Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel for these strikes in Iran. They see this as a pivotal moment, an opportunity for the regime to fall. But we have spoken to a variety of people here in what is known as Tehrangeles. Take a listen to what they said.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROOZBEH FARAHANIPOUR, BUSINESS OWNER: Almost the same time I'm fighting against this regime. I was antiwar activist. So that's very complicated. Of course, from the killing of the Khamenei, I am excited. I cannot hide my feeling. War with no Khamenei is better for everyone. But at the same time, I don't like the war.

JONES: So you would rather see this be wrapped up and be done now?

FARAHANIPOUR: Yes, right now, that's already. That's -- we are moving forward. Khamenei is dead. That's a good thing. Declare the Victorian leave.

JOSEPH GHADIR, IRANIAN IN EXILE: President Trump, although we're thankful to him, it probably took him a little bit, a long time and the Iranians lost a lot of light. And I think now he has to finish it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I never had so much mixed feeling in my life that I have right now because one level, I want my country to be free and liberated. On another level, I am very sad when I see so many people of my country that are still.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JONES: And John, we're here in a street where business after business has signs in English and in Farsi. Not even close to a better visualization of how split this community is. Right here we have pictures that activists say are of people who were killed by the regime in Iran with the word stop war graffiti over it. That's how fragmented it all is here in this enormous community in Southern California. John.

BERMAN: Yes, it really is very possible to have very complicated emotions all over this. Really interesting to hear from the people that you were speaking with there. Julia Vargas Jones, thank you so much for sharing your reporting.

All right. There is some breaking news happening now. We're getting word that Israel has bombed one of Iran's oil storage facilities. So, what will the impact be on perhaps the world economy and gas prices? That's next.

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[20:54:21]

BERMAN: As bombs fall on Tehran and the White House scrambles to keep gas prices down, energy infrastructure has been struck in six countries. Want to bring in CNN military analyst retired air force colonel Cedric Leighton. Cedric, thank you so much.

First, one of the things we've seen consistently is the Iranians targeting sort of gulf oil capacity on the other side of the Persian Gulf. What's the impact of that?

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: So that's actually a pretty significant impact, John. One of the things about that is one area that they did target was one of the major oil fields in Saudi Arabia. That one is the Shaybah oilfield and that Shaybah oilfield produces 1 million barrels per day of oil. And they did this with a wave of drones, basically, five waves of drones, 20 drones total, in the early morning hours this morning. And that actually was intercepted, but that drone attack was intercepted. But some of the pieces and parts that were damaged from the drones came down on the actual facility. So that's just one example of some of the more significant areas that they can hit.

[20:55:30]

Another one was the Berry oil field is also in Saudi Arabia that produces about 250,000 barrels a day. And they're trying to ramp that up to produce up to 500,000 barrels a day. That was, of course, before the war and before the attack. But these are very significant sites. And any targeting like that can have a significant impact on the economy, not only of Saudi Arabia, but of the entire Gulf region.

BERMAN: And that's as the Strait of Hormuz is being choked off, where 20 percent of the world's oil supply passes through every day. Virtually nothing has gone through in the last week. But the United States over the last six hours or so has hit oil facilities in the Iranian interior near Tehran. What's the point of that?

LEIGHTON: So the main point of that is, well, it's actually multifaceted. One of the things about it, John, is that the IRGC, the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, actually controls the oil production in Iran. And so, it's one effort is to choke off money to the IRGC and basically their first line and most lucrative line of business. And then secondly, make sure that they actually don't have the fuel to move military personnel and equipment around.

So that's the -- that's the big thing. And then, of course, there's the economic reason. If you cut off the oil, the economy basically stops working. So that's why they did that.

BERMAN: So dueling attacks on each side on oil infrastructure. Colonel Cedric Leighton, always great to see you. Thank you very much.

Very shortly, when I speak with two veterans about the president saying that ground troops are possible in Iran. Plus, we are live on the ground as the strikes intensify tonight.

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