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Pezeshkian Vows to Stop Attacks on Gulf Neighbors; Iran Retaliates against New Wave of Israeli Airstrikes; Iranian President Says Never Surrender; Trump to Decide When Iran Surrenders "Unconditionally"; Analysis Suggests U.S. Responsible for Deadly Girls' School Strike; Disruptions at Strait of Hormuz Surge Oil Prices; Tornadoes Hit Central U.S., Killing Eight. Aired 5-6a ET

Aired March 07, 2026 - 05:00   ET

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

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): This is CNN breaking news

LYNDA KINKADE, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hello and welcome to all our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Lynda Kinkade, live in Atlanta. We're following breaking news in the Middle East one week after the United States and Israel launched sweeping strikes on Iran.

ELENI GIOKOS, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): And I'm Eleni Giokos, live from our Middle East programming hub here in Abu Dhabi. Lynda and I will take you through the next hour of news from around the world.

But I want to start with Iran, where the president says his country will never surrender as its military trades new strikes with Israel. It comes after U.S. president Donald Trump demanded Iran's unconditional surrender in a televised address on state TV.

Masoud Pezeshkian said, quote, "They will take their dreams of our unconditional surrender to the grave."

He is also apologizing to Arab Gulf nations. He says Iran will stop striking its neighbors unless attacks originate from those countries. But it's not clear when that will happen. Iranian state media reports that a combined missile and drone attack was launched toward Qatar as well as Bahrain today.

Israel says a new wave of strikes against Iran is underway after a night of heavy bombardment in Tehran as well as surrounding areas. The Israeli military says it used more than 80 fighter jets to carry out that attack.

And video shows Tehran's Mehrabad Airport on fire, although it is not clear if the airport was struck directly. U.S. Central Command says American forces have now hit more than 3,000 targets inside Iran. That includes ballistic missile sites and command posts of Iran's Revolutionary Guards. We've got our reporters standing by, covering all the angles for us

this hour. We've got Paula Hancocks, joining us from Dubai, and we've got CNN's Jerusalem bureau chief, Oren Liebermann in Tel Aviv.

Oren, I want to start with you. And Israel announcing a new wave of attacks targeting Tehran but also Isfahan. And Isfahan really important on the nuclear front. Give me a sense of the their objectives in terms of targeting certain critical infrastructure inside Iran

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF AND CORRESPONDENT: I'll come to that in one second. But I'll just point out that, a moment ago, we saw one of the U.S. Air Force tankers that has refueled U.S. fighters over the course of the past seven days, coming in for landing at Ben Gurion International Airport.

It flew right behind us here on its way to the runway there. There were at least nine of those stationed at the airport before the U.S. and Israel launched the operation, now one week ago on Saturday morning. So almost exactly a week ago at this point.

And we saw it coming back from refueling U.S. fighters over Iran, once again, as the operation continues. And as the U.S. has made clear, it will continue and expand the strikes it's carrying out in Iran, as you pointed out.

We have some more details about Israel's latest wave of strikes in Iran, where they say more than 80 aircraft were used to target Tehran and Isfahan. We have seen Israel now repeatedly and continually go after Tehran, any arm of the Iranian regime they consider a legitimate target that they're going to go after, as well as Isfahan.

Isfahan, as you pointed out, is significant because that's where one of the nuclear facilities is located that the U.S. and Israel targeted back in June.

Now it's unclear right now if that's the target that Israel is going after once again or if there are other elements of the Iranian regime or the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps or other arms of the government there that Israel is targeting at this point.

But in terms of the target, it is an incredibly broad set of targets, basically any arm of the of the regime. They said earlier today they targeted the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' military university, where their officers trained there. So they're simply working their way down an expansive target list in coordination with the U.S.

The U.S. says -- Central Command says they have now targeted more than three -- or carried out more than 3,000 strikes. The -- Israel says they've carried out more than 2,500 in some.

What you see here is a massive, massive and crucially, ongoing and escalating operation after every part of the Iranian regime, to basically try to destroy what looks like very much all of it.

Now Iran has been able to fire back. In fact, we got a warning just a short time ago, probably about 30 or 45 minutes ago, that an Iranian ballistic missile was incoming.

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That set off alerts here, as well as sirens in Modi'in, which is city -- which is a city a bit east-southeast of us, as well as I believe, Jerusalem. So Iran has been able to still get off and fire ballistic missiles, maybe not in large numbers.

But we also had three of those incoming sirens overnight. So Iran able to still fire here. And as we have seen, able to still fire at the Gulf countries. I'll take you to Israel's northern border for just a quick second, where my colleague, Jeremy Diamond, was there just yesterday and saw effectively close proximity fighting there.

Israeli artillery targeting Hezbollah targets just about a kilometer away. Hezbollah able to fire anti-tank missiles as well as drones at northern Israel. So the fighting there intensifying as well as Israel has made clear that that, too, will escalate with evacuation warnings for the entire southern part of the country, the capital of Beirut and more.

GIOKOS: Yes, Oren, a really good point there. And yes, it is now a week since Israel launched a preemptive strike on Iran. And what we've seen since then is thousands of ballistic missiles as well as drones that have come our way here in the Gulf, including in the UAE.

And, Paula, interestingly, you had Masoud Pezeshkian earlier this morning saying that, you know, they plan to stop targeting Gulf states and also apologizing to their neighbors.

But just this morning, we saw missiles coming through into Abu Dhabi and Dubai; those were intercepted. We had alerts in Qatar and Bahrain, Saudi Arabia. Take me through the latest here.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, first of all, looking at the interceptions, the incoming, we do know that that there were a number of Gulf nations that have been targeted overnight. Saudi Arabia has really seen more than it has seen in the past seven days. We know their oil infrastructure was targeted.

The Prince Sultan air base as well, which is where U.S. military jets have in the past been stationed. We also know here in the UAE, as you say, this morning, there were emergency alerts and there were interceptions.

Now we know there was an impact at the Dubai International Airport or at least in the vicinity. We don't have clarification on exactly where. But it was enough to halt operations out of that airport for about half an hour.

We did hear from Emirates, saying that, for security reasons, they had to stop those operations. We saw on Flightradar as well the planes in the air were avoiding that particular area. Now we did speak to a passenger inside the terminal, actually, a former CNN colleague. Let's listen to what he saw

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Shortly after 9:00, we were at the terminal three at Dubai International Airport. And there was a large impact. A lot of smoke could be seen from the glass. It seemed to be within the airport perimeter.

But obviously in these situations, it's quite difficult to tell. There were vibrations, reverberations. What was extraordinary is that the Dubai authorities within the airport reacted. There was professionalism, there was calm, there was no panic. The passengers showed no panic, either, that I could see.

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HANSLER: Now on to that statement from the Iranian president, Pezeshkian, it appeared to be prerecorded. The statement was published at about the same time that we were hearing these alerts of incoming in the UAE.

But he did say that he personally apologized to the Gulf nations. He called them his brothers. He said we need to solve this with diplomacy rather than fighting.

Also saying that the three-member leadership council had ruled on this and decided they would not target the Gulf nations unless they saw fighting coming from the Gulf nations from the territories themselves.

Now it is -- appears to be some kind of a de-escalation certainly in this region if, of course, it is followed by the armed forces. We will have to wait for the hours and days ahead to see whether or not this message actually filters down to the individuals who are firing these missiles and these drones.

We did hear from Iran at one point, that they had more of a decentralized military at this point, because they were well aware that the leadership may be taken out and they wanted to make sure that the military lower down was able to continue to retaliate, continue to act without the orders from above.

So it will be interesting to see whether or not that message does reach those on the ground.

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GIOKOS: All right. Paula Hancocks in Dubai, thank you so much.

And CNN is the first U.S. network to start reporting from Iran since the conflict began. Our correspondent Fred Pleitgen and producer Claudia Otto were in Tehran during the latest strikes. We note that CNN operates in Iran only with government permission. Here's Fred.

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FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Time and again, we've heard major airstrikes. In fact, earlier today, we were at a hospital that was hit, that was damaged when there was an airstrike in the vicinity.

And while we were on the ground filming there, we heard more airstrikes not too far away from us. So it is a pretty constant thing here on the ground in Tehran, also major strikes, of course, overnight happening last night as well.

And you can feel that the city here is a lot emptier obviously, than it would normally be a lot of people have decided to leave the city simply because it appears to be so dangerous., of course, while a lot of targets have been struck here, a lot of civilians have also been wounded. Some civilians have been killed on the ground here as well.

The authorities today telling us, I was speaking to the head of the Iranian Red Crescent, saying that many, many people have been wounded and have been killed as these strikes have been going on.

So this is clearly something for a lot of folks here on the ground obviously very concerned about the situation. And you can really hear the thuds of those incoming strikes almost constantly.

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GIOKOS: Well, as we've been reporting, Iran's president says his country will never surrender as its military continues to trade strikes with Israel and launch retaliatory attacks at a number of Gulf nations, seen as U.S. allies.

The defiance from Iran's president comes less than 24 hours after U.S. president Donald Trump set a tough new demand for ending the war.

Mr. Trump says, quote, "There will be no deal with Iran except unconditional surrender."

He told CNN's Dana Bash on Friday that Iran's leadership has been, quote, "neutered" and that he's looking for new leadership in Iran that will treat the U.S. and Israel well. He reiterated that he must be involved with choosing Iran's next leader.

In the meantime, Iran is being led by an interim leadership council. President Trump says he's open to having a religious leader in Iran and he's not worried whether or not Iran becomes a democracy. As for what an unconditional surrender looks like, here's the White House spokesperson.

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LEAVITT: What the president means is that when he as commander in chief of the U.S. Armed Forces, determines that Iran no longer poses a threat to the United States of America and the goals of Operation Epic Fury has been fully realized, then Iran will essentially be in a place of unconditional surrender.

Whether they say it themselves or not.

(END VIDEO CLIP) GIOKOS: Well, joining me now from Berlin is Ali Fathollah-Nejad. He

is the founder and director of the Center for Middle East and Global Order.

Great to have you with us, Ali. Much appreciated for your time.

ALI FATHOLLAH-NEJAD, FOUNDER AND DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR MIDDLE EAST AND GLOBAL ORDER: Thank you.

GIOKOS: I want to take -- I want to take a look at what president Trump had to say around, you know, he doesn't care whether Iran turns into a democracy or not. He wants to have a hand at the new leadership.

It pretty much points to the picture, there was no real plan in terms of what regime change would look like.

So what is your understanding of what's happening internally in Iran in terms of this leadership shakeup and perhaps the internal crisis that Iran is facing?

FATHOLLAH-NEJAD: Well, I think, first of all, what president Trump said is quite problematic, of course. And it reflects his desire potentially to seek a Venezuela-style outcome in Iran, which is, you know, highly questionable.

And on the other hand, when it comes to the succession of Ali Khamenei, the longtime ruler of Iran, we have no certainty whatsoever.

There have been reports that were then denied by people inside the system, that the Assembly of Experts that is tasked with electing the next supreme leader has chosen the late supreme leader's son, Mojtaba, as the next leader.

This could be a plausible you know, alternative, plausible option, because he has been a very powerful figure in the shadows in the last years. He has been basically running the institution of the supreme leader or he has been a very powerful figure within that institution, which is a parallel government inside of the Islamic Republic.

And he would you know, he would constitute a kind of very problematic continuity.

GIOKOS: OK, interesting. We also heard from Masoud Pezeshkian. You know, he was saying, we don't want to strike our neighbors anymore. He apologized. He also said, you know, forget about unconditional surrender. That's not going to happen. So we're talking about pretty much signs of trying to ensure the survival of their regime.

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What is -- what do you think the Iranian -- I mean, it's interesting rhetoric and narrative coming through from Iran right now.

What do you think they're trying to achieve by sending this message to Gulf nations? FATHOLLAH-NEJAD: Well, what Iran's president Masoud Pezeshkian has said is quite ironic because, just a few days -- just a few minutes after his, you know, statement was released, the Qataris intercepted missiles coming from Iran.

So this suggests that we may have the case of a disrupted command and control structure inside of the Islam (ph) republic, that independent kind of military units of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard, that are in control of Iran's missile program, are acting on their own, on pre- received directives before the war.

In case of an existential threat to the Islamic Republic, which is the case, in the event of a joint Israeli-U.S. strike or -- and/or in the event of the supreme leader being killed, that they are going to lash out against everyone in order to raise the costs of the Arab Gulf states.

So to push them, to push Trump to end the war but, obviously, this Iran strategy has quite backfired. There's a lot of anger in the Arab Gulf states. So it has clearly backfired. And Pezeshkian was trying to calm the tensions.

GIOKOS: OK. So we also know that the United States has said that they've struck more than 3,000 targets within Iran. That's according to CENTCOM.

What kind of impact would that have on Iran's military capability?

The reality is here in the UAE we've seen -- we've still seen strikes and drones coming through, intercepted, as well as ballistic missiles. But it's definitely not what we saw a week ago when hostilities started

FATHOLLAH-NEJAD: Well, if you add to that number, the number of Israeli strikes, you're going to end up with a lot of, you know, with a lot of attacks, aerial attacks on Iranian facilities, military infrastructure.

So this is, you know, quite heavy bombing of regime assets. And this is, of course, having a very clear effect on the command and control. So those disruptions are probably going to remain so and the regime going to be very weakened by that.

But the great -- but the important question here is, is it going to collapse in the wake of such an aerial campaign or not?

GIOKOS: All right, Ali Fathollah-Nejad, thank you so much for your time. Good to have you on the show.

Well, Iran is reportedly getting intelligence from abroad that can be used to target U.S. troops.

Still ahead, who is providing Tehran with information that can potentially cost American lives?

We'll bring you that update right after this short break. Stick with CNN.

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KINKADE: Welcome back. I'm Lynda Kinkade.

Russia is not playing a neutral observer in the war in Iran, according to multiple sources who spoke with CNN. They say U.S. intelligence shows that Moscow is supplying Tehran with intelligence about the location and movement of U.S. ships, planes and troops.

After the report came out Friday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told FOX News that it doesn't matter. CNN's Kristen Holmes later pressed her to explain that statement.

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KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: You just said on FOX that it doesn't really matter if Russia is giving Iran information about military assets.

Why doesn't it matter if U.S. military is being put in danger by Russia?

And is that what the president believes as well?

KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: What I meant, Kristen -- and thank you for giving me a chance to make it very clear -- is that it clearly is not making a difference with respect to the military operations in Iran, because we are completely decimating them.

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KINKADE: Iran's president says his country will never surrender despite a demand from Washington to do exactly that. On Friday, president Trump said he would accept nothing less than an unconditional surrender to end the war.

In response, the Iranian leader said that's a dream that the U.S. can, quote, "take to the grave."

In a separate statement to CNN, Mr. Trump also said Iran doesn't have to become a democracy. He said he's not opposed to a new religious leader as long as he treats the U.S. and its allies well.

Earlier, Mr. Trump called on Iranians to take over their government and gain their freedom. For more now, we're joined by CNN's Gabe Cohen in Washington.

Good to have you with us, Gabe. So president Trump said the conflict could last for maybe five weeks, maybe even longer.

What exactly are the U.S. objectives and how will success be measured?

GABE COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Lynda, you touched on a lot of it there. I mean, first, I would point back to that Truth Social post from Friday, where president Trump said there will be no deal with Iran except unconditional surrender.

Where he once again indicated that he and his administration want a significant role in picking Iran's new leaders. And on Friday, he told CNN that they have already, quote, "neutered" Iran's leadership and they want replacements that are going to treat the U.S. and treat Israel well, whether or not that's a democratic state.

Remember, Trump has already said that a lot of their picks that they would have considered to take over have been killed over the past week. Trump also told Axios in an interview that unconditional surrender could be that the Iranians announce it.

But it could also be when they can't fight any longer because they don't have anyone or anything to fight with. And that gets at another key goal of this operation, which is destroying Iran's military capabilities, its missile arsenal, its navy, making sure the country can never obtain a nuclear weapon.

And making sure that they can't and won't support militant groups across the region. We have seen the U.S. military touting progress toward that, over the past few days, even in the past few hours.

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They put up a post saying they had hit more than 3,000 Iranian targets so far over the past week, including 43 ships. They have destroyed command centers and bases, too.

What we don't know is when exactly the administration would consider that mission accomplished. But the narrative here, what they keep saying publicly, is that, so far, this is a huge success, at least by their standards.

KINKADE: So Gabe, has the White House signaled how it plans to manage a potential economic fallout, including a surge in the price of oil and market instability?

COHEN: Yes, look, there's a lot of concern about that, a lot of concern about inflation and particularly about those energy prices. Gas prices right now at their highest level in nearly a year.

And Trump has indicated that the Navy might even get involved to escort oil tankers through the currently paralyzed Strait of Hormuz. They're considering offering government-backed insurance for those oil tankers in the Persian Gulf.

And Trump has said look, oil prices they may increase for a while. But again it is all about how they are communicating right now. And they are saying that, after this, hopefully this is a short-term pain and that then prices are going to drop even lower than they were before, than they were before the war.

But look, so far, this administration keeps saying that the economy right now is strong, that it is robust and that it can weather the impacts of what they are hoping will be a short-term conflict.

Remember they started out saying this would be 4-5 weeks. The hope, though, is it doesn't get drawn out. That is when economists think this could really strain millions of Americans.

KINKADE: All right. CNN's Gabe Cohen, staying crystal (ph) for us from Washington, D.C., thanks very much.

Well right now, rescue crews are searching through the rubble for possible survivors after a deadly Russian air strike in northern Ukraine.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says seven people were killed, 10 others injured after a missile hit a residential block in Kharkiv overnight. He says some people may still be trapped under the debris and rescue operations are underway.

Mr. Zelenskyy also says Russia has launched more than 500 drones and missiles overnight, targeting energy infrastructure across Ukraine.

Well, still to come, we return to our breaking news out of the Middle East. What the Iranian president is saying about surrender and attacking its Gulf neighbors. That next.

Plus European leaders are looking to protect allies without getting drawn into the war in the Middle East. We'll have a live report from Rome for the very latest. Stay with us. You're watching CNN.

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GIOKOS (voice-over): Welcome back. I'm Eleni Giokos, live in Abu Dhabi. I want to take a look at today's top stories.

Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian is vowing to never surrender as the war against Iran enters its second week. He's refusing to bow to pressure from U.S. president Donald Trump, who is demanding Tehran's, quote, "unconditional surrender."

President Trump tells CNN he's looking for new leadership that will treat the United States as well as Israel well.

The United Nations secretary general is warning that the war in Iran could spiral out of control. Antonio Guterres said the attacks are causing harm to civilians in the region and pose a grave risk to the global economy. He has called for an end to the fighting and urged for serious negotiations to take place. Iran's president has announced that Tehran would stop striking its

Gulf neighbors unless attacks originate from those countries. He also apologized to those nations in an address on Saturday. It is not clear when the attacks will stop.

After the address, interceptions continued over the United Arab Emirates and sirens rang in Bahrain. CNN's senior producer Bijan Hosseini joining us now from Doha, Qatar.

Bijan, the interesting address there by Masoud Pezeshkian. And, you know we spoke a little earlier. You had alerts as well in Doha. The question is just how centralized the government is, how much communication he has with the IRGC and how that message will look down and when it will take effect.

BIJAN HOSSEINI, CNN SENIOR PRODUCER: Yes, a remarkable conference there from Iranian president, not only saying Iran will never surrender but, as you mentioned, apologizing to the Arab Gulf nations for attacking them. Let's take a quick listen to that apology and then we can talk about it afterwards.

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MASOUD PEZESHKIAN, IRANIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): We do not intend to attack neighboring countries. As I have repeatedly said, they are our brothers. We must work with our friends in the region hand in hand to bring about peace and stability.

And I'm hopeful of that with the decision that we have made in the temporary leadership council that was announced to the armed forces, that, from now on, there should be no attack on neighboring countries or missile strikes unless they should wish to attack us from those countries.

I think we need to solve this with diplomacy rather than fighting and having conflict with neighboring countries

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HOSSEINI: The irony is, right around Pezeshkian was making those comments, we know that Qatar was intercepting what they called a missile attack, according to the ministry of defense. We received alerts on our phone, telling us to shelter, that the security threat level had been -- had been elevated -- I'm sorry.

It was only about 20 or 30 minutes after that message that we got word that it had been eliminated and that those interceptions took place. We also know that alerts rang out all across the UAE and Abu Dhabi and Dubai and parts of Sharjah there, a couple of hours before these comments were made.

And we know that sirens have been sounding all morning in Bahrain. We know that Saudi Arabia, just today, intercepting 20 drones that they say were on their way to the Shaybah oil field, a massive oil and gas facility out in the empty quarter in this vast area of desert and Saudi Arabia. That oil facility owned and operated by Saudi Aramco. And we also know that they intercepted three missiles that were headed

toward Prince Sultan air base. So obviously, these comments coming from the Iranian president but no real changes on the ground here in the Gulf.

GIOKOS: Yes, exactly. So we wait to see.

[05:35:00]

Bijan Hosseini in Doha, thank you so much for that update. Good to have you on.

Well, Iran is warning other countries to not get involved in the war with the U.S. and Israel. Iran's deputy foreign minister says if European countries join against Iran, those countries will become legitimate targets for retaliation.

He says Tehran warned other Gulf states before the war started that if the U.S. attacks Iran -- the Iran, then Iran would target U.S. bases and assets in the region. Meanwhile, French president Emmanuel Macron is emphasizing the need to contain the escalation in the region.

We've got CNN's Barbie Latza Nadeau, who's in Rome and joins us now with more on the European reaction to the war.

Barbie, really good to have you on. And I want to give -- I want to get a sense if Europeans are split in terms of, you know, getting involved as Iran threatens retaliation, should they see any other countries you know, become embroiled in this war.

BARBIE LATZA NADEAU, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. You know, I mean, it's very difficult to get Europeans to agree in the best of times. And this is certainly not the best of times. So you've seen a lot of differing reactions to the situation.

There are about 40 U.S.-run bases across Europe. You know, we've got several here in Italy. Some of them are command centers. Some of them are very strategic in terms of what they could do that, you know, they could -- we could fly missions from and things like that.

And so you've got reactions, different, different priorities. We've seen Italy, Greece and France send even naval assets to help protect Cyprus and Turkiye. We've seen a very strong no from any, you know, from France in terms of using any of the -- or from Spain, I'm sorry -- in terms of using any of the U.S. bases in Spain to launch any missions.

So you've got varying degrees of cooperation, let's say. But we've also seen some diplomatic efforts. Now the foreign minister of Germany had this to say. Let's listen to his words of caution.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHANN WADEPHUL, GERMAN FOREIGN MINISTER (through translator): Iran's behavior is absolutely irresponsible. We have clearly condemned it, including yesterday. And a joint statement by the foreign ministers of the European Union

and the Gulf Cooperation Council states, it is completely unjustified that Iran is attacking uninvolved states that did not participate in the attacks against Iran.

This applies to the Gulf Cooperation Council states, to Cyprus and to Turkiye. It is irresponsible and likely to cause an escalation that must be avoided at all costs.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NADEAU: Now it's important to note, though, that Germany does have the highest number of U.S. bases, so, of course, they feel vulnerable as well. Now we know here in Italy and in France that the U.S. has not asked permission to use the bases located here.

But we also know that both of these countries have said that they would consider it and that there are protocols in place should the U.S. want to use any of the bases here. But it's a very worrying time across Europe. Everybody is very concerned.

We're even seeing drops in tourism and things like that here in Italy, because people who might be coming can -- just can't get here. So it's a very widespread situation and it doesn't look like it's going to be resolved anytime soon. Eleni.

GIOKOS: Yes, the ripple effects certainly being felt far beyond this region. Thank you so much, Barbie Latza Nadeau in Rome for us.

The White House has not ruled out that U.S. military forces carried out the strike that hit a girls' elementary school in the southern Iranian town of Minab on Saturday. Iran's state media says at least 168 children and 14 teachers were killed. CNN's Isobel Yeung has more on the analysis of the bombing.

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ISOBEL YEUNG, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Nearly a week after a strike killed scores of students in Iran's Minab, it seems more and more likely that was responsible. A new satellite image shows an Iranian Revolutionary Guards base and an elementary school in southern Iran.

Here you see craters in several of the buildings, including the school. They were hit in their exact centers, suggesting precision strikes. Experts say a wall separates the school and the base. Satellite images from December show dozens of people in what appears to be a handball court at the school.

Reuters now reports that U.S. military investigators believe U.S. forces were responsible, though they haven't yet reached a final conclusion.

N.R. JENZEN-JONES, DIRECTOR, ARMAMENT RESEARCH SERVICES: It paints a picture of multiple simultaneous or near simultaneous strikes. And it looks like these were delivered with explosive munitions, probably air delivered.

I think the most likely scenario in this case is that it's a U.S. or Israeli airstrike gone awry. It's probably a targeting failure somewhere in the targeting cycle, an intelligence failure.

YEUNG (voice-over): The Israeli military say they weren't operating in the area.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: To date, we've hit over 2,000 targets.

YEUNG (voice-over): American military officials say they carried out extensive strikes in this area and released this map showing strikes in southern Iran. The base and the school in Minab are located here.

PETE HEGSETH, DEFENSE SECRETARY: We, of course, never target civilian targets.

[05:40:00]

But we're taking a look at investigating that.

JENZEN-JONES: The damage we've seen is quite significant. It's unlikely it was something like an air defense missile fired by the Iranians, for example.

YEUNG: When we try to assess who is responsible for airstrikes, we typically try to examine the weaponry fragments left behind. But in this instance, there's an Internet blackout in Iran. It's been really difficult to obtain that. And so this investigation is still not conclusive -- Isobel Yeung, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GIOKOS: In response to CNN's findings, a U.S. military spokesperson said, quote, "It would be inappropriate to comment, given the incident is under investigation."

The war in the Middle East has thrown energy markets into chaos. Oil prices are rising, causing quite a bit of havoc on the international markets. After the break, I'll be speaking to an American businessman, who thinks the hikes are just a temporary fluctuation. We'll be back after this.

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GIOKOS: Oil prices are surging as energy traders worry about the effect of the shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz. U.S. crude oil prices, get this, they jumped 36 percent this week. That's to around $91 a barrel. And that's the largest weekly increase since U.S. crude futures started trading in 1983.

WTI $91; Brent crude, just over $93. Meanwhile, the international benchmark, as you can see, rising as well. There is a lot of concern about not only the supply constraints but also the critical energy infrastructure that has been hit.

Qatar announcing force majeure on gas production and all downstream products. To get a little bit of insight on how this could potentially affect American consumers, joining us from New York, John Catsimatidis. He is the founder and CEO of Red Apple Group. It's a conglomerate and it also owns regional refining and gas stations around the country.

John, really good to have you with us thank you so much for waking up so early. You're looking at these oil prices.

[05:45:00]

WTI and crude, you know, increasing dramatically. Most of the analysts I've spoken to say it's going to hit triple digits, whether we like it or not.

Are you seeing an impact right now in the cost of fuel in your refinery?

The way that you're selling it?

And importantly, at your gas stations?

JOHN CATSIMATIDIS, FOUNDER AND CEO, RED APPLE GROUP: Well, don't forget we're in America and we are following the leaders. And right now the leaders are the international oil companies that are creating the problem.

And here in America, we have zero interruption of supply. We get all our products through our pipelines, through Canada. And it's no interruption. We have unlimited supplies in North America and there's zero problem.

And there's -- with the Strait of Hormuz, the Strait of Hormuz has not been open in a year. I mean, the only thing that was open for the Strait of Hormuz is for Russia, which had a -- how do we say it in America?

A pass because nobody, you know, the Houthis, the Hezbollah, whoever did not interrupt the Russians.

(CROSSTALK)

GIOKOS: So John, I -- you know there's 20 million barrels of oil. So, John, there's 20 million barrels of oil per day and 20 -- and that accounts for around 20 percent of global oil and gas output. And downstream products and cargo that comes in and out of this region.

This isn't just you know, a small thing. This is -- has global ramifications.

So my question to you is, as we see these Brent prices and WTI rising, is that having an inflationary impact already on the prices that you're seeing at your refinery and at your gas stations?

Has there been any feed through?

CATSIMATIDIS: Well, the prices are up but we're playing follow the leader because what -- we're following the global leader right now and the global leaders are in Europe and in the Far East and the -- in the Arab countries. And the prices are up but, don't forget, it's a one- month problem.

The problem will go away. And it looks like president Trump has said the Strait of Hormuz will be open. And they're going to have American destroyers following any ships that are going through. And if anybody tries to interrupt those ships or fire at those ships, those people will be -- how do you call it in America?

Leveled.

And, you know they -- if they want to commit suicide --

(CROSSTALK)

GIOKOS: -- this is important.

CATSIMATIDIS: -- let them attack one of those ships.

GIOKOS: So John, because this is important, I think American consumers are looking at this and they -- and they're wondering whether this is going to cause some kind of inflation.

You also own a lot of grocery stores. When we see an uptick, you said, follow the leader in terms of the oil price. You can't avoid that.

If it lasts longer than four weeks, that -- that's the timeline that president Trump has put on -- let's be realistic here.

Is it going to have an impact on the U.S. consumer if it lasts longer than that?

CATSIMATIDIS: Well, you want the truth, the absolute truth and nothing but the truth, as we say in America, it lasted four years between 19 -- 2021 and 2025. Well, you know, if it -- if it lasts one month, it doesn't mean anything. And a month is an outside date.

It's going to last a lot less than a month because the United States, Israel and its allies, all the neighbors -- Saudi Arabia has unified the Arab world. You -- the European community is unified. They do not believe any lies.

Don't forget, it's 90 years, 90 years since Adolf Hitler lied to everybody.

Does anybody really believe the current president of Iran?

I don't believe him. They haven't told the truth. They've never told the truth.

GIOKOS: Well, OK, John, I appreciate your time. Thank you so much.

I mean, just in the meantime we know that critical energy infrastructure has been struck here in Gulf nations. You know, critical producers and the -- Qatar has announced force majeure on gas production.

We know that Iraq is starting to pull back on its production. So the situation right now, of course, traders are looking at very carefully and looking at supply demand dynamics. Remains to be seen how long this will last. John, I thank you so much for your time.

[05:50:00]

Much appreciated.

All right, we're going to a short break. We'll be right back after this. Stick with CNN.

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KINKADE: Welcome back. I'm Lynda Kinkade.

A local reporter for a Nashville Spanish language news channel was arrested by immigration officials on Wednesday. Her attorney says the ICE agents did not have a warrant for her arrest.

But lawyers for the Department of Homeland Security say they did file one and claimed that her visa had expired. Estefany Rodriguez was sitting in her car with her husband when ICE agents detained her.

The car had a press logo identifying her as a journalist. Rodriguez immigrated to the U.S. legally from Colombia back in 2021. She's been sponsored by her husband, who is a U.S. citizen. Her attorney says she's currently in custody at an immigration detention facility.

At least eight people have been killed in destructive tornadoes that tore across the central part of the United States. The National Weather Service here tracked this tornado near Three Rivers, Michigan, on Friday. A homeowner also filmed tornado as it moved through Union City

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Holy ...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There goes a house.

[05:55:00]

KINKADE (voice-over): Officials say at least four people were killed and 12 others injured in Michigan. Multiple homes and barns were also damaged or destroyed a round of storms killed two people in Oklahoma a day after a tornado killed a mother and daughter.

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BARACK OBAMA, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Jesse didn't just speak to Black folks, he spoke to White folks and Latinos and Asian-Americans and the First Americans. He spoke to family farmers and environmentalists. He spoke to gay rights activists when nobody was talking to gay rights activists and blue-collar workers.

And he gave them the same message that they mattered, that their voices and their votes counted. He invited them to believe. He invited us to believe in our own power to change America for the better.

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KINKADE: It was a powerful and emotional service that was former president Barack Obama there, honoring the late reverend Jesse Jackson in Chicago on Friday. The joyful music-filled service traced reverend Jackson's journey from a child of the Jim Crow South through his fight for civil rights to his role as a political powerhouse in D.C.

Former Vice President Kamala Harris and former presidents Bill Clinton and Joe Biden also took to the stage to reflect on Jackson's influence and his legacy Jackson died on February the 17th. He was 84 years old.

I'm Lynda Kinkade in Atlanta we have plenty more of our breaking news of the conflict in the Middle East. In just a moment. Do stay with CNN for more.