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War With Iran; Dubai Media Office Reportedly Confirmed That Debris From An Aerial Interception Fell Onto A Vehicle. Aired 9-10p ET

Aired March 07, 2026 - 21:00   ET

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

[21:00:47]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN Breaking News.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Good evening, I'm John Berman in New York. We do have breaking news in the war with Iran. New video is coming in of Iran's retaliation. Just a short time ago, CNN obtained this footage of smoke rising from behind a building in Dubai. The Dubai Media Office reportedly confirmed that debris from an aerial interception fell onto a vehicle. No word yet if anyone was injured in that incident.

Now inside Iran, we have seen a wave of new strikes on the capital, Tehran, after President Trump said Iran would be hit "very hard." We have video of an oil refinery on fire. This is from just a short time ago.

As the war tonight enters its second week, the President today said -- today was at a dignified transfer of the six fallen servicemembers who were killed in Kuwait last Sunday. The President after the ceremony called today a sad day as he honored each fallen hero. He then spoke with reporters on Air Force One about the possibility of US troops being deployed on the ground in Iran.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: What are the circumstances would you send in ground troops? How are thinking about that?

DONALD TRUMP, UNITED STATES PRESIDENT: I don't even want to talk about it. I don't think it's an appropriate question, and I'm not going to answer it.

REPORTER: Could there be? Possibly, but for very good reason. There would have to be very good reason. I would say that if we ever did that, they would be so decimated that they wouldn't be able to fight at the ground level.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: I want to go right to CNN chief international security correspondent Nick Paton Walsh, who is in Tel Aviv. Nick, give us the latest. NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes. John, an awful lot moving tonight. We've just heard from the Lebanese Public Ministry of Health, four dead after a strike hitting a hotel in Beirut, along the coastline just slightly up from the area that the Israel Defense Forces have declared an evacuation zone. But this a relatively upscale hotel which seems to have been hit by a drone.

Now, we can't totally clarify that the IDF are referring to the same incident when they say in the press release issued literally minutes later that commanders, key commanders of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, that their Quds Lebanese Corps commanders were hit in this particular strike. No other public instance they could potentially be referring to as far as we know, but clearly different parts of Beirut now being hit as Israel intensifies its strikes in the southern suburbs of Dahieh in southern Lebanon as well.

And also says too, that in its strikes on Iran, it's moving to "a new phase" at a time when we've seen strikes on a key airport in Tehran, the Iranian capital, normally civilian, but apparently, say some officials here, having military purposes as well. Desalination plants, Iranian officials say, being hit too, a suggestion I think, from this change possibly infrastructure now possibly being targeted.

Oil depots also being hit as well, that we may be seeing the Israelis moving to a different target list, perhaps because most of the military things they were looking for may now have been struck. But a fast moving series of blasts and our team on the ground there in Iran reporting earlier on this evening a significant wave of explosions.

BERMAN: And we understand, Nick, also a continued series of drone strikes in the region. What are you hearing on that front?

PATON WALSH: Yes. Look, this continues to persist. I mean, I can't stress how extraordinary it is to find Iran continuing to hit its Gulf neighbors, the ones who many of them publicly were against the US Israeli maneuvers against or attack on Iran. So today, further reports of drone strikes, potentially Bahrain, Kuwait, other areas, too.

And that comes a matter of hours after Iran's president, Masoud Pezeshkian, said that he wanted to apologize for those countries. He said that they would try not to refrain from assaults like that going forwards, provided they weren't attacked.

[21:05:08]

I mean, remarkable that we would hear that kind of statement literally a matter of hours later, followed up by missile and drone strikes across so many of those Gulf states. At the same time, we've heard from one of the more sort of preeminent figures inside of Iran, key security official, Ali Lariani, a man well-known on the international stage and with some truck with hardliners, certainly inside of Tehran. Quite a hard line speech, clearly aiming at being a voice of unification within the hardliners and the political elite inside of Iran.

But key that he says Iran wants its revenge ultimately, that it will retaliate in kind for the death of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader killed by Israeli airstrikes over a week ago now, essentially saying they might try, if we read between the lines here, that they might try and do the same to President Trump. Now, that also obviously far away from the notion of this conflict calming down.

But at the same time, President Trump has, over the past 24 hours, talked about unconditional surrender being something he wants from the Iranians to find it a matter of hours ago as perhaps the Iranians' "crying uncle," to quote, or having nobody left around to declare that they would indeed surrender.

President Trump also today referred to the comments from Iranian President Pezeshkian about apologizing to the Gulf states for the attacks against them, referred to that as a kind of surrender as well. And also whilst some scathing comments, posting some scathing comments about the United Kingdom's slow military assistance for the US campaign here refer to how the war had "been already won."

So a lot I think, from what we're seeing from the US president suggesting that he is thinking about framing parts of this as a victory, talking about wanting surrender. But at the same time, we see so much moving at this stage, particularly from what seems to be Iranian hardliners behind these drone attacks, that suggest there's an awful lot of unintended consequences swirling now that make possibly finding some kind of resolution here further away than perhaps hearing President Trump's persistent references to surrender, victory and how they've already won slightly further out of his reach, John.

BERMAN: Yes. And domestic politics at work inside Iran as well, no doubt. Nick. Paton Walsh in Tel Aviv tonight, thank you very much for all of your reporting. All right.

With us now, CNN national security analyst Alex Plitsas. Alex, thank you so much for being with us. I actually want to take a look at what Iran has done, and even been willing been doing over the last 24 hours, because we just saw footage of, you know, of things on fire in Dubai right there.

There's word of attacks on Bahrain today, new drone strikes on Kuwait as well. So what does it tell you? If the number of drone strikes and missile strikes from Iran are down 90 percent, 80 percent from day one, if they're still getting through even in smaller numbers, what does it tell you about Iran's capability?

ALEX PLITSAS, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: So that they're down but they're not completely out. So we know from the Israelis earlier today that they expect about 120 ballistic missile launchers left. But the bigger problem, like you said, is the drones, not only for these localized drugs that we're seeing here, but then also, as you mentioned, sort of through the Straits of Hormuz and the economic issues that's causing at the moment, sort of snarling traffic.

BERMAN: With the Strait of Hormuz, you know, we hear one of the things President Trump says is he wants to escort ships maybe through it. How easy or hard is that? And we should note, this is a strait 20 miles wide but the shipping lane itself is just two miles wide. There's this very narrow path.

Twenty percent of the world's oil passes through here on a daily basis. I mean, it's a lot.

PLITSAS: It's certainly a lot of oil. But as you mentioned, there's a couple, as we're looking through here, you've got a couple of shipping lanes that go through here sort of side by side with some strategic choke points. Kharg Island here, and then you've got Oman in the UAE and, you know, come across the coast of Qatar here, Bahrain.

And these are the GCC states we've been talking about that have largely been getting struck in retaliation from the Iranians, which they claim are military sites. The GCC leaders have pushed back and said, absolutely not. The reason this is problematic, the US is largely energy independent from this oil. We get maybe 1.5 million barrels a day.

Vast majority actually goes east. It goes towards Asia, towards China and towards India in those markets. And so as a result of that, right now --

BERMAN: Right here and all the way through that way.

PLITSAS: Precisely. And there's about $25 billion worth of cargo held up right now. And you get about 20 million barrels a day that come through the straits. And speaking to some of the oil brokers, you know, some of the private ship owners may take the risk even if the US insurance program isn't ready, some of the Chinese and Greek ship owners may actually underwrite that.

If they go in, their max capacity is about 4 to 5 million barrels a day. So it's only 25 percent. The storage tanks are largely full about 20 million barrels. Now, you got backed up. It could be a couple of weeks. You got about 7 to 10, maybe 14 days before this turns into a crisis. Oil, potentially 100, 250 a barrel. This is a significant problem.

BERMAN: That's interesting that you put that time frame on it because it gives you a sense of how the President might be thinking. If this becomes an oil crisis in 7 to 10 days, that may be a constraining factor in how long the US is willing to take this.

The President said something interesting. To circle this region, but try to circle this region right here because this is where there's a significant population of Kurds, Iraqi Kurds, Iranian Kurds. Also you have Kurds up here in Syria and Turkey as well.

[21:10:10]

The President said today he does not want to see Iranian Kurds basically take up arms against the Iranian regime right now. What's the significance of that statement?

PLITSAS: So there were some leaks that there were ideas that the US or Israel was going to be arming Kurds, whether that be Kurds, as you're mentioning here. I'm just going to clear this for a second for the viewers. We can take a peek.

This is the third largest ethnic group in the Middle East that has no -- that's not their own country. So roughly a third of Eastern Turkey here up in here, this portion of Iraq, and then down into here in Iran for the most part, a little bit in Armenia, a couple of pockets, right? This is larger Kurdistan, right?

And you've got about 10 million that live here along the border, along the Iranian border. And so the thought was you've got different ethnic groups that make up. So you have Baluchis on the border here with Pakistan, right. You have Azeri as well from Azerbaijan here, you have the Kurds.

So there's different ethnic pockets besides ethnic Iranian, Persian speaking folks that are here. And so, the goal was, hey, is it possible to arm some of these groups and help start a ground movement? Because you can't really solve regime change completely from the air.

The military objectives have been laid out are very clear. You can blow up missiles, you can sink boats, right? You can do -- you can do away with a nuclear program. But regime change is something that requires either somebody on the ground or requires a political transition. And without a ground force that the US doesn't intend to send right now, there was a thought that might happen.

The President seems to have pulled back from that. That caused a lot of consternation in the region.

BERMAN: It was certainly super high risk for the Kurds. I mean, super high risk.

PLITSAS: Yes.

BERMAN: You're talking about a population 8 million, 9 million, 10 million out of a country of 90 million there. What would happen to them, the repercussions after that, I think that was one of the concerns there for the Kurds, certainly.

Alex, great to see you. Thank you very much for that.

PLITSAS: Pleasure, John.

BERMAN: Coming up, two veterans join me live on the White House promoting the war through video game clips and memes, and also the discussion about the potential for ground troops, plus the danger of Russia giving Iran intelligence about US forces and bases.

This is CNN special live coverage.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[21:16:43]

BERMAN: So on Air Force One tonight, President Trump blamed the deadly strike on an Iranian school that killed at least 168 children and 14 teachers on Iran. That is despite reports and some independent analysis that points the finger at the United States. I want you to listen to this exchange.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: Did the United States bomb a girl's elementary school in southern Iran on the first day of the war and kill 175 people?

TRUMP: Based on what I've seen, that was done by Iran.

REPORTER: Is that true, Mr. Hegseth? It was Iran who did that?

HEGSETH: We're certainly investigating it. The only side that targets civilian is Iran.

TRUMP: We think it was done by Iran. Because they're very inaccurate, you know, with their munitions. They have no accuracy whatsoever. It was done by Iran.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: With me now are two Iraq war veterans Paul Rieckhoff and former Congressman Peter Meijer. I want to point out that Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. He backed President Trump up on almost anything, right? He did not 100 percent agree with President Trump there that, yes, it was Iran who bombed the Iranian school.

He said, we're investigating there. So, Paul, what did you think of that?

PAUL RIECKHOFF, IRAQ WAR VETERAN: It doesn't look like they're on the same page. And I think it's very important that they get on the same page. I think Hegseth response is actually more appropriate that they're investigating the situation. They're going to get to the bottom of it. They need to find out.

Because truth is always the first casualty of war, and if Trump gets ahead of his skis and is not telling the truth, the world's going to find out. Especially if we want to contrast ourselves with the brutal regime that can't be trusted, America's commander in chief needs to be trusted, especially if it comes to casualties on the American side and civilian casualties, especially when they're kids.

BERMAN: What do you think of the President's initial response there?

PETER MEIJER, IRAQ WAR VETERAN: I think the President was reacting to what we had seen on social media. And you get this back and forth where you have the initial blush and then you have a follow on. In a lot of ways reflected a similar pattern with what we saw in some of the early days of the Israel's invasion into Gaza and their attacks post October 7th, where there were actually strikes that were not Israeli, they were fallen missiles, they were inadvertent on the Hamas side of the House.

There was a lot of speculation on social media that could have been the case. I think what we've seen in terms of the initial analysis and both from the independent side and where leaks are suggesting the US military investigation is going, is that was not the case in this. It was a tragic.

But what we see in conflict, an inadvertent strike, whether or not that was a database that should have been updated or is just a fit of signature.

BERMAN: Unusual to see Secretary Hegseth there, though, not immediately jump and say, you know, rah-rah, the President is right.

MEIJER: And kudos to him for saying like, hey, you know --

RIECKHOFF: That's because Kristi Noem fired a couple of days ago.

BERMAN: All right. Let me ask you both, and you guys were both on the ground in Iraq, obviously. When the President today once again refused to rule out ground troops inside Iran, what's your reaction to that?

MEIJER: I think we are looking far too often at this conflict right now in Iran with the reflections what Iraq looked like, right? You obviously had the mission accomplished speech, you had a relatively quick fall of Saddam Hussein's regime, followed by years, years of devastating insurgency.

And so, when we talk about nation building, it's are we trying to do the same thing? Are we going to repeat the De-Ba'athification. And on the Democratic side, that's twinned with frustrations that you know, oh, you're not calling -- you're either calling for regime change, you're not calling for regime change.

[21:20:11]

If you're not calling for regime change, although the regime is undemocratic and we should be pushing for that, you know, there's a lot of mixed signals and mixed messaging. But the reality with this conflict is, we will probably need troops on the ground in some limited capacity.

BERMAN: Are you OK with that?

MEIJER: I'm not OK with an invasion, I'm not OK with an occupation. I'm not OK with anything that is focusing on a massive continuing force. But the reality of what we may be trying to do with neutralizing some of the nuclear stockpile in terms of uranium that's already been enriched, there are things you cannot do from the air.

But it's very different from a targeted, specific in and out special operations mission versus what we saw in Iraq and Afghanistan, where you're there to stay, hold and build.

RIECKHOFF: Yes. Here's the bottom line, most -- everybody's not OK with this, except for Trump and a small group of his loyalists. The American public does not want boots on the ground. The American public is not behind this operation or war in Iran. They're not behind a lot of what he's doing lately, but he's all gas and no brakes and not slowing down.

I think it's important to underscore Congress only voted on this about five days after it happened. So he continues to be going all out, and there are no circuit breakers, there are no guardrails. He's doing whatever he wants with the most powerful military the world has ever seen, and nothing is stopping him.

So if he wants boots on the ground, he's going to do it, even if 80 percent of the American public doesn't want it.

BERMAN: The congressman has a point here in the sense that it may be that to dismantle the Iranian nuclear program, which does have, I think, broader support than a lot of other aspects of this. You probably do need --

RIECKHOFF: Oh, yes.

BERMAN: You can't do it from the air.

RIECKHOFF: But does that mean we should do it, right? I mean, intentions are different than outcomes, and taking out the regime is a good thing, but what does it produce and what happens next? We got to Iraq and saw what happens when you don't have a plan for afterward.

And if you want to win over the Iranian people and get them to stand with you can't kill kids and lie about it, right? That's very, very important that they get the Iranian people on their side. And that's going to be a tough sell right now if there's no security.

And who's going to do the security? Is it going to be just American boots on the ground? Are they going to be Israeli troops, NATO troops? The Kurds was an idea a couple of days ago. It doesn't seem like they have a clear plan that they can articulate to the American people to include the cost, which is what the American public is most concerned about.

MEIJER: But this is also the strategy on the US side. It is the decapitate and delegate approach that we saw in Venezuela. Now obviously Venezuela, their boots on the ground for approximately two hours, that was it. Now, we're reopening and reestablishing diplomatic relations.

Venezuela, very different from Iran in a number of contexts. But that is obviously where this administration, I think, is trying to be very diligent in responding to the reality, how the regime --

RIECKHOFF: You think they're very diligent?

MEIJER: How the regime reacts, how they react --

RIECKHOFF: I do not think they're being diligent.

MEIJER: -- entirely operative on what their next cards.

RIECKHOFF: I think they're being everything but diligent. They're not being precise in articulating their goals and their outcomes and --

MEIJER: Yes, that is the challenge.

RIECKHOFF: Yes, that is the challenge. That's why maybe they should have thought about not doing it all again. I'm sorry?

MEIJER: It's a loop all over again. You are trying to say like we, yes, we have a general thrust, we have a general.

RIECKHOFF: So let's do this, but how long can boots go on --

MEIJER: How long can we --

BERMAN: Go ahead.

MEIJER: No, I think we both agree that we do not want to see a continuing or enduring presence of American forces which within Iran, 100 percent. And I think this administration also is very contingent that they do not want to see that. Now, Donald Trump will take nothing off the table at any point.

If you read the "Art of the Deal," all of this was foreseen years ago. He has been incredibly, incredibly detailed on his negotiating strategy. We're seeing that in Iran, we saw it in Venezuela. But the reality is, a lot of it's going to be dictated by what we see on the ground. Not in terms of truth, I will say, but in terms of the reality.

BERMAN: I will say one difference between everything that was written in the "Art of the Deal" and this is, this is war. I mean, you're dealing with American lives here. And there is a human cost to this for sure. And when you're talking about something like --

MEIJER: And a cost to non-action as well.

BERMAN: Absolutely.

RIECKHOFF: But the cost is now overflowing throughout the region and hitting over a dozen countries. Venezuela wasn't firing rockets and Shahed drones to the neighbors. So the lid is blown off here, and the question is, do we even have the capacity to rein this in? We have the capacity.

BERMAN: Can we just all agree that regime change is now a stated goal of the US administration?

RIECKHOFF: It's one of many stated goals they've had. They've had a bouncing ball of stated goals over the last couple of years of days.

MEIJER: The regime was the ayatollah. The ayatollah is gone. Obviously, there are still echelons and institutions below him. I mean, the man is dead.

RIECKHOFF: The man is gone but the institution remains.

MEIJER: And the question is, can you reorient that institution? It is not about, you know, now we're going and doing a 180. It's about a game of degrees day by day.

RIECKHOFF: This is what -- this is all what we heard 20 years ago, you and I. This is like a reunion here at CNN because all of us were here 20 years ago. We heard the same thing around Afghanistan, the same thing around Iraq, and that ended up dragging on for 20 years.

And that is what the American people are most concerned about, the financial cost of a billion dollars. That's secondary to 20 years of American caskets coming home, which is what we saw last time.

BERMAN: What's to keep? You know, one of the things we've heard, General Caine has done a good job, I think, briefing the American people on the military, right, metrics of this war. A 90 percent decrease in missile shot from Iran since day one. An 80 percent decrease in drones launching from Iran.

[21:25:06]

What's to stop tomorrow, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday? President Trump saying, we did it, or we did enough and the regime has changed, right? Whether it's the full regime change he wanted, it may not be it, but what's to stop from saying, mission accomplished?

MEIJER: And that's the whole point of the calibration, is what are the intelligence assessments saying could be accomplished if we continue on the path of Iran versus is this potentially the best we're going to get in terms of shifting and neutering the threat that they were posing to the region? And again, that is where I think it's very difficult because they can have rhetoric that's out there that, you know, is all nice to try to hold them to.

But if the reality on the ground is shifting and changing, and frankly, this was the problem with Iraq, is we had rhetoric that was stated of, oh, it's going to be we're going to implement democracy. We have all these wonderful human rights ambitions that we want to throw out there. And all of a sudden we baked ourselves into being there for years to oversee things that, frankly, we never truly believed in that because it was all about makes right. And now we have an administration who recognizes reality.

BERMAN: Let's talk about the memes, shall we? What do you think of the videos that the White House has? Really why --

RIECKHOFF: I'll tell you what I think.

BERMAN: Yes.

RIECKHOFF: I think they're ridiculous. I think they're juvenile. I think they are inappropriate. I think they have a casual and almost celebratory approach to the cost of combat, to the fact that men and women are in harm's way. I think it's created by a demographic of people in the White House who are trying to reach that same group of demographic, people who are playing video games and watching UFC.

But the problem here is the rest of the world is watching and we don't look serious. This should not be coming from the White House account to the world.

BERMAN: Is there a risk to US troops in this? Is it put people in harshness?

RIECKHOFF: I don't think so. I mean, I -- you dig the videos, you think they're good? You feel proud about that.

MEIJER: Not to divulge things that may have been discussed off camera, but, like, man, I'm like, I -- there were far lower resolution versions of this that I downloaded on Kazaa and Limewire in like 2003. I mean, this is a typical hype video. It is showing what we can do.

You know, If I'm the Iranians, I don't see that and say, oh, these guys aren't serious. I say that and say, oh boy, I do not want to give them more footage. There are additional soundtracks they could loop in the background. And now with all of the AI --

RIECKHOFF: And add SpongeBob? They're adding SpongeBob. They're adding Mortal Kombat, you know, videos. I mean, this is ridiculous.

MEIJER: What was painted on the T walls outside of American bases in Iraq --

RIECKHOFF: And that wasn't appropriate either. And the videos that we had in Iraq weren't appropriate either. And you wouldn't show the humor, you wouldn't show them to your mom and you wouldn't show them to your kids, and you certainly wouldn't broadcast them from the White House. But these guys are doing that.

BERMAN: All right. Let's -- one more subject here if I can get it in here. Congressman, you know, you did serve and you have run for office several times. So what gas prices, right? How do you like to be running for office right now with gas prices going up the way they are?

RIECKHOFF: We're still below where were in the post-Russia invasion of Ukraine.

MEIJER: That's $5 in June of --

BERMAN: No question about trading but it's higher than ever been that at any point either Trump presidency.

MEIJER: Yes.

BERMAN: Higher than when he took office.

MEIJER: I know. I mean, I think this is showing the perils of if you have an administration that believes in the Green New Deal, this is exactly where they want to see things going, right? Higher gas prices --

BERMAN: This is not what the Trump administration want to see.

MEIJER: Hundred percent. I think that the Trump administration has a very serious challenge which is a lot of their foreign policy objectives are not going to be immediate short term payoffs, Venezuela being the exception. And the crazy thing about Venezuela is the approval for the operation of Venezuela in the US, it's about 20 points lower than the approval for that operation in Venezuela.

The Venezuelans, 75 percent think countries on the right track, fantastic. The challenge that the Trump administration has is a lot of the things that they're implementing are solutions to long term problems where you will see the payoffs in the medium to the long term, but there may be short term consequences. You see this on tariffs and trying to re-industrialize and trying to bring manufacturing back.

It hurts in the short term, great in the long term. And that's also the challenge here. If we can have Iran not be within the Russia China axis now that Venezuela is out of that, that is a massive weakening that is forestalling a great power conflict in the next 3, 5, 10 years.

BERMAN: How will the President sold that to --

RIECKHOFF: The president made the case.

BERMAN: Has you ever heard the President make the case you just made?

MEIJER: No, it's not really.

RIECKHOFF: It's a good thing you're not running for Congress because that wouldn't do very well with most of the American people. No, I think the reality is that the gas prices hurt, right? And I think there's another reality here.

He has now conducted military operations in eight different countries just in the last year. There hasn't been congressional approval on any of them. There hasn't been popular support.

BERMAN: There won't be congressional for the next day.

(CROSSTALK)

RIECKHOFF: It's really important. He also conducted operations in Ecuador this week, right? And the American public didn't approve that. Congress didn't approve that -- hold on.

And before they even voted on Iran, he was already in. And now he's talking about going into Cuba. So are they going to have a War Powers Act on Cuba before or after he hits Cuba? He is all gas, no brakes, and nothing is stopping him. And that should alarm all Americans.

MEIJER: Not talk about going into Cuba. Talking about --

RIECKHOFF: He literally said he's going to.

MEIJER: Putting pressure on the regime, focusing on Cuba. Cuba's next. Cuba's the next to fall. And honestly, somebody would get paid off and that regime will shift. But the Ecuador operation, that was not unilateral. That was with Ecuadorian Special Operations. That's something we've been doing for the past two decades.

RIECKHOFF: And a lot of Americans didn't even know it happened until we just mentioned it.

BERMAN: Right. MEIJER: Good. They should be more --

RIECKHOFF: They shouldn't know?

[21:30:07]

MEIJER: No, they should be aware. I'm glad we're mentioning it. This is wonderful to have partnered operations against cartels.

BERMAN: Peter Meijer, Paul Rieckhoff, great to see you both. You have a lot to talk about. I suggest heading out to the bar. You guys can finish this conversation.

RIECKHOFF: We're all friends.

BERMAN: Go have a great drink there. Glad to spend the night. Thank you. Appreciate it.

RIECKHOFF: Thank you.

BERMAN: Next, the war is taking a significant turn as we learn that Russia is giving Iran intelligence about US forces and bases. Congressman Eugene Vindman will be with us next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[21:35:00]

BERMAN: Today, President Trump was on hand at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware as the US military held a dignified transfer of the six US soldiers killed in Kuwait nearly one week ago. My next guest was also there today. He was able to personally meet with the families of the fallen service members.

Congressman Eugene Vindman, a Democrat from Virginia is with us now. He was on the House Armed Services Committee and is retired US army colonel. Congressman Vindman, thank you so much for being with us. Just talk to us about that ceremony today. What was it like to be there?

REP. EUGENE VINDMAN (D-VA): Well, it was a tremendous day of loss, recognizing the loss for the families obviously involved, the six families, and the dozens of relatives that were there, including young children and for the American people. And there were also six wounded that for all 12, their lives are permanently changed. And it's a real tragedy and it's a human cost.

This is a war. It's not a war of memes, it's a war where American blood and American treasure, billion dollars a day as being expended every single day. And I want to know, and I think the American people deserve to know, what the goal is, how does this end?

BERMAN: Congressman, one of the things we've learned over the last few days is there are reports that Russia is providing targeting information to Iran. What should the United States be doing about that? The President's been asked about it, the secretary, they sound like they're not overly concerned.

VINDMAN: Well, look, it's outrageous and it's also not the first time. If you think back to the Yemen operations, there were also reports that the Russians were providing targeting data for vessels in Yemen. It should come as a surprise to no one that the Russians are not our friends.

Maybe a surprise to the President and his senior administration, but Russia has been an adversary. They have threatened our partners and our NATO allies, and they threaten our very interests. And so, I think it's time that we recognize that we hold the Russians accountable.

There's a sanctions package that is one vote, one signature away, a discharge petition from imposing sanctions on Russians. And I hope that we -- when we get back next week, that we can get one Republican to buck the party, buck the President, sign it, and so we could advance that and hold the Russians accountable.

BERMAN: On the subject of Russia, obviously, Iran is a key Russian ally. Venezuela, the Maduro regime was an ally to Russia. Cuba, which the President keeps on saying is next, is a Russian ally. Aren't some of the administration's actions over the last several weeks weakening some of Russia's friends and perhaps weakening Russia as well?

VINDMAN: Well, potentially unless we get back down in another war in the Middle East, in which case we are distracted from where our interests lie, which is countering or opposing Russia and the pure competition that we have with the Chinese as well.

So are we, you know, are some of these actions potentially contrary to Russians demands or interests, maybe. But a long term war where we're bogged down for another, you know, 20 years in Russia actually serves their interests.

BERMAN: Congressman, I have to let you go, but very quickly, you're on the House Armed Service Committee. You're probably privy to more information than I am. I mean, how much more of a threat do you think Iran is? How much have they been diminished?

VINDMAN: Significantly. In fact, we've received briefings this week that actually, in my opinion, are alarming. I think they still have a significant arsenal of drones and rockets, and missiles, and they've been treated to some degree. But they have a significant arsenal. And I don't think we've seen the end of strikes across the region from Iranian drones and missiles.

BERMAN: Congressman Eugene Vindman from Virginia, we do appreciate your time tonight. Thank you very much.

VINDMAN: Thank you.

BERMAN: Coming up, as Iran threatens to "stab America in the heart," what are the threats to the homeland? The President's response when asked if Americans should fear attacks on US soil.

[21:39:24] (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BERMAN: So tonight, as President Trump vows to escalate the war in Iran, questions are growing about what's at stake internationally and domestically. In an interview this week with Time magazine, when asked whether Americans should be worried about retaliatory attacks at home, the President said, "I guess, but I think they're worried about that all the time. We think about it all the time. We plan for it. But, yes, you know, we expect some things. Like I said, some people will die. When you go to war, some people will die."

With us now, CNN global affairs analyst Kim Dozier, CNN national security analyst Alex Plitsas.

So look, I mean, when you hear -- heard it (inaudible) today threaten the President directly and the United States directly, giving you the sense it's a long term thing, how much of a threat, perhaps for terror around the world or domestically do you think there is?

KIM DOZIER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: We have always been told, I have always been told by officials like Alex that there are Iranian sleeper cells in we don't know how many capitals. And just as a case in point, just yesterday the Department of Justice announced that the man who was trying to hire someone to kill President Trump back in 2024, Pakistani Asif Merchant, was found guilty by a federal jury.

[21:45:13]

And he had been trained by the IRGC in Pakistan. He'd flown to the United States, tried to find someone here to hire them to do the job, but the person he tried to hire went to the FBI. That's the only way they rolled him up. How many other Asif Merchants are out there just waiting to launch a plot?

BERMAN: Answer the question, Alex. I mean, how concerned are we? How many are there out there?

PLITSAS: I mean, I'm extremely concerned in general terms, right? Not to be alarmist, as if there's a particular threat here in the US that we're aware of, but you and I were talking about this earlier this week. I mean, we saw cells of individuals linked to the IRGC, that's the Quds Force, that's affiliated with the Iranian security services that were rolled up in the UK, in Qatar, and in Azerbaijan.

And they were either conducting surveillance or intelligence collection in preparation, either for sabotage or for potential terrorism. And now we saw the bombing today. We still don't know who did it, but outside the US Embassy in Oslo, it looks like there was a bombing up by the gate. And we were saying, right, you know, one times an instance, two times a coincidence, three times as hostile enemy action.

It is clear that they have initiated a global campaign. How far that reaches is unknown at this point.

BERMAN: Is it your sense that this is the type of campaign that would or could continue even if the regime itself in Iran is severely destabilized, diminished, beaten?

PLITSAS: I mean, I guess it really depends on the individuals involved. And if they've got five ounces of common sense, they would say, hey, you know, torch my commo plan, forget it. You know, blend in my civilian cover plan, and I'm going to live here and, you know, be fine. But if you have hardcore committed individuals, you know, that's a different story.

Now, in speaking to John Miller, who's our chief, you know, law enforcement intelligence analyst, John will tell you that, you know, over the years, we've had, you know, covert officers undercover come in from Iran. They've either staked out or looked at future targets or attempted to recruit individuals locally to conduct like, you know, potentially assassination operations.

President Trump, there was a plot against him. I mean, even a distant in Brooklyn, I mean, I live an hour and 15 from here in a very sleepy, you know, small town in Connecticut. And they sent, you know, hit men up there, basically to do surveillance on a university campus where she was supposed to give a speech.

And the last piece I'll give you on this, you know, Kim and I were talking. The former deputy attorney general, Lisa Monaco, had access to the President's daily brief on and off for almost 20 years is what she said in different positions at a speech she gave at a counterterrorism forum. And she said she has never seen the Iranians so emboldened leading up to the election about a year ago than she had in previous years. They've just -- they're out to do things on US Soil.

So I'm very confident the FBI and the Joint Terrorism Task Forces are on top of this. But it is absolutely something to be concerned about.

BERMAN: Kim, final word.

DOZIER: They are now all the more determined to carry something out because we've hit them so hard. And the fewer weapons they have to use in a conventional war, the more likely they are to try to hit us back asymmetrically, especially in the United States.

BERMAN: Well, desperation can be a powerful motivator. Let's hope this is all being taken into account. Kim Dozier, Alex Plitsas, it's great to see you tonight. Thank you both for your help on all of this.

PLITSAS: Thanks.

BERMAN: Next, the solemn goodbye to America's fallen.

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[21:52:54]

BERMAN: Earlier today, families of the six US Army Reserve soldiers who were killed this week in Kuwait watched as their loved ones were brought home. President Trump, the First Lady Melania and the Vice President JD Vance were all in attendance at Dover Air Force base in Delaware. CNN's Michael Yoshida was there.

MICHAEL YOSHIDA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: John, a somber and solemn day here at Dover Air Force Base. Of course, this is the place where our heroes come home. In this case, the dignified transfer involving six US servicemembers killed in that Iranian drone strike in Kuwait. President Trump, the first lady, Vice President Vance and others watching these servicemembers return home and we are learning more about each of them.

Captain Cody Khork, a 35-year-old from Florida who from an early age felt a calling to serve, described as having his great leadership and care for his team. Also Sergeant Declan Coady, a 20-year-old from Iowa who had wanted to go on to become a commissioned officer. Sergeant First Class Nicole Amor, 39-year-old mother to a fourth grader and a high school senior. Her husband spoke with her just hours before the deadly strike saying she was almost home.

And Sergeant First Class Noah Tietjens, a 42-year-old devoted husband and father who stood out for professionalism and mentorship. Major Jeffrey O'Brien, a 45-year-old husband and father of three. He had served in the reserves for nearly two decades. Also Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert Marzan, described as being a loving husband, father, brother, uncle and friend. All were assigned to the 103rd Sustainment Command. That's an Army Reserve unit out of Iowa.

We know several of them. Four of them had an especially close bond and kinship. They had actually served together in the same unit in Kuwait back in 2019, now all have been brought back to the United States. And for those who may be familiar with Dover Air Force Base, as you drive up towards the base there is an overpass with the message, all gave some, some gave all.

The way to that message never clearer than on days like today. These six servicemembers remembered and honored for their service and their sacrifice. John?

[21:55:10]

BERMAN: Michael, thank you so much. Thank you for telling us about them. We do honor their service. We'll be back in just a moment.

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