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Israel Starts New "Wide-Scale Strikes" in Iran; Seventh U.S. Service Member Killed in War with Iran; Interview with Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-FL). Tehran's Skies; U.S. Ground Troops; Inspired By ISIS; Iran's propaganda machine. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired March 08, 2026 - 16:00   ET

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

[16:00:40]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

JESSICA DEAN, CNN ANCHOR: You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. Hi, everyone. I'm Jessica Dean here in New York.

We do have breaking news to bring you. U.S. Central Command saying a seventh U.S. service member has passed away from injuries received during the Iranian regime's initial attacks across the Middle East. CENTCOM adding the service member was seriously wounded at the scene of an attack on U.S. troops in the kingdom of Saudi Arabia on March 1st. CENTCOM says the individual's identity is being withheld until 24 hours after the next of kin has been notified.

Meantime, the Israeli military announcing it has begun a new wave of attacks against the Iranian regime targeting -- targets in Tehran and elsewhere in that country. An Israeli source telling CNN the country is striking oil storage sites in Iran as part of the next phase in the war. CNN's team in Tehran reported seeing blackened rainwater this morning after the fuel sites were hit. And all the while Iran is continuing its attacks across the region.

Bahraini authorities saying Iran struck a desalination facility. Those plants are crucial infrastructure across the Gulf region as they provide between about 60 percent and 90 percent of drinking water. But Bahraini officials saying to CNN that water supplies have been unaffected by that strike.

I want to bring in CNN's Jeremy Diamond, who is joining us now from Tel Aviv.

Jeremy, the Israeli government saying that we are now entering into the next phase of all of this. What more are we hearing from them tonight?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right. And Israeli sources indicating to us that these strikes that we're seeing on oil depots inside of Iran are part of a new phase in Israel's military operations against the Iranian regime. Steps intended to further destabilize and weaken this regime as the Israeli government pursues a campaign of regime change in Iran.

We saw overnight these stunning images of parts of Iran engulfed in massive flames, skies blackened with smoke after the Israeli air force struck a fuel depot in Tehran. This is fuel that is distributed to regular consumers as well as to military entities, according to the Israeli military. They say that this is intended to deepen the damage to the military infrastructure.

And the Israeli military's chief of staff, General Eyal Zamir, saying that Israel intends to continue to further dismantle the regime and its military capabilities. And he warned of additional, quote-unquote, "surprises" that the Israeli military will have in store for Iran.

But certainly the fact that they are now going after infrastructure targets in Iran is not something that we had really seen in the first week of this campaign and that does seem to be a part at least of the next phase of this war.

DEAN: And, Jeremy, we also know that Israel is striking in Lebanon, pushing back against the strikes from Hezbollah, which of course is an Iranian proxy in all of this. What more do we know about these new strikes?

DIAMOND: Yes, we've seen this second front in Israel's war with Iran really heating up over the course of the last few days. Today, two Israeli soldiers were actually killed by Hezbollah fire in combat in southern Lebanon. And we've seen the Israeli military escalating its strikes in Lebanon.

Of course, a couple of days ago, they issued these evacuation orders for a huge swath of southern Beirut, the Lebanese capital. Hundreds of thousands of people forced to flee. Today, we learned of a precision strike that the Israeli military carried out on a hotel in the Lebanese capital that killed, according to the Israeli military, five senior Iranian Revolutionary Guard, Quds Force commanders, and these are the officials according to the Israeli government that were responsible for coordinating between the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps and Hezbollah's forces in Lebanon.

And of course, we've been reporting the fact that Hezbollah appears to be much more directly controlled by Iran now, particularly in the wake of the killing of its longtime leader, Hassan Nasrallah, over a year ago. And so we are seeing as Israel is not only going after Hezbollah's commanders, but also going after Iranian commanders who are in Lebanon and one strike today killing five of those senior commanders -- Jessica.

[16:05:08]

DEAN: All right. Jeremy Diamond for us live in Tel Aviv. Thank you so much for your reporting.

I want to bring in research director at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Dana Stroul. She's also the former deputy assistant secretary of defense for the Middle East.

Dana, are you there with us?

DANA STROUL, RESEARCH DIRECTOR, THE WASHINGTON INSTITUTE FOR NEAR EAST POLICY: I'm here.

DEAN: There she is. Hi, Dana. Thanks so much for being here with us. We were just hearing from our colleague Jeremy Diamond there about this new phase of the war, striking this oil infrastructure in Iran. We also get the news from CENTCOM that there has now been a seventh confirmed service member death in this war.

What is your assessment as to where we stand today, nine days into this?

STROUL: Well, first, when looking at what the United States and Israel are doing in Iran, I think there's some clear phases. They together established air supremacy over Iran within 48 hours and then basically it was a race against time to get as much of the missile production, missile storage and missile launchers taken off the field so that they could not attack the Gulf and Israel. And we did see a pretty significant drop in those missiles.

The drones have been clearly much more problematic for U.S. air defenses, as well as those as those of our Gulf partners. And now they are turning to more of the regime infrastructure. So command and control nodes for the Revolutionary Guards, more senior leader targeting. And what's clear I think about the objectives is that they've shifted from just decimating the military and nuclear infrastructure of the Iranian regime to going after the command and control. And this is regime -- beyond regime weakening. It's regime collapse.

DEAN: Yes. And so as we move ahead, I think there is one big looming, well, there's a lot of questions, but one of the central questions here is, how does this end? Where are we going long term with this? And I'm curious if you think at this point -- do you think Israel and the United States' long term goals here are aligned? And what can that potentially tell us about where we're ultimately going?

STROUL: Well, first of all, I think that President Trump and his Cabinet officials have not clearly articulated what the end state is for the United States. So if you listen to the Secretary Hegseth- General Caine press conference, General Caine was really careful and specific with his language. He said the military objectives are to eliminate Iran's ability to project power across the Middle East so that means nuclear missiles and terrorism.

So our military has a clearly defined objective. But for President Trump, it keeps shifting. And for Prime Minister Netanyahu of Israel, he has been very clear that this is to create the conditions for regime change. And of course, that can mean different things for different people. Just replace the guys at the top, transition to democracy. And again, we haven't heard very clearly from either country exactly how they're going to move from air power to something that completely eliminates the ways in which Iran has menaced the region for so many decades. DEAN: Right. And you're hitting on another key point, which is exactly

like if that is where we're going, how do you get there by air power only?

STROUL: Well, I think the answer is you don't get there by air power only. Of course, there's all sorts of nonmilitary tools. If the Trump administration was serious about actually empowering the Iranian people to have a say in the future of Iran, it's not military airstrikes only, first of all. And second of all, we've seen them sort of like throw spaghetti at the wall about other ways in which this change could be brought about.

There were rumors of supporting Iranian Kurdish groups. There's been rumors of trying to speak to regime insiders. So at this point, what's clear is that they don't really have a strategy or a policy for day after Iran, and I would have hoped they would have done that work before they started this war.

DEAN: Yes, and here in the U.S., the polling suggests this war remains unpopular with Americans broadly. You've also written that this is a very different situation in Israel and what the Israelis think about all of this. Obviously, they live in a very different place than we do in terms of geography. Explain that and how public perception also plays a role in how long this war will or could go on.

STROUL: Well, first of all, I think it's important to remember that in both Israel and the United States, both are going to have elections at some point this year. And the leaders of both countries themselves are not polling very well, Trump in the United States and Netanyahu in Israel.

[16:10:02]

But this war has been rather unifying for the Israeli people. There's nobody that questions the idea, the notion that Iran is existentially trying to challenge Israel. And I think there was an understanding that after last year's 12-day war, in June of last year, there was going to be a return to war with Iran this year because the regime was undeterred from its strategy of destabilizing the Middle East and was working to rebuild its missile program.

But we haven't heard a lot of explanation from President Trump to the American people about the imminent threat to Americans from Iran. And so I think a lot of people were taken by surprise. And look at what's happening and it looks extremely chaotic and like uncontrolled escalation and more casualties of Americans -- brave American service members I think is going to spark a lot more questioning here at home about why we're involved in this war at this time.

DEAN: Yes. A lot of questions out there.

Dana Stroul, thanks for being with us. We appreciate it.

And we're going to have more of our breaking news. Still ahead, President Trump now backing away from a plan to use Kurdish forces to fight the regime inside Iran, fueling new questions over the administration's strategy in Tehran. Marc Caputo from Axios will join us with some new reporting he has on the thinking there.

Plus, the war is estimated to cost taxpayers more than $890 million a day. So how will Congress respond when the Pentagon asks for more money? Democratic Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz joins us next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:16:13]

DEAN: CENTCOM is reporting a seventh U.S. service member has died as a result of the U.S. and Israeli war with Iran, dying after injuries suffered on March 1st in Saudi Arabia.

I want to go now to Nic Robertson, who is there on the ground in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Nic, what more can you tell us?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, we've spoken to the Saudi MOD, Ministry of Defense here, to try to get a few more details to add into the picture that CENTCOM has given us, that this service member was severely injured on the night of 1st of March, the first night of the war, the first sort of Iranian salvo. But the Ministry of Defense in Saudi Arabia refers us back to CENTCOM because he is -- the person is a U.S. service personnel.

At the moment we don't know if it's male or female. We do know CENTCOM saying that they will not be announcing a name, at least for the next 24 hours while they form -- inform next of kin. That is usual. What is perhaps unusual in this circumstance is that this service member has been injured in Saudi Arabia seven days ago. We don't know where they've been treated. We certainly weren't informed here through the Saudi MOD or CENTCOM that a soldier had been so seriously injured here.

We don't -- neither do we have details if any other service members were injured alongside this service personnel, and neither do we have information about where this service personnel was. What we learned a few days ago, earlier in the week, in the case of those six U.S. service personnel who were killed in Kuwait, we learned about where they were, that they were working in a logistics facility that some people described as not having a lot or adequate protection from missile strike.

Here in Saudi Arabia the Iranians have been firing both ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones, and the perception that the Saudis have been giving is that most of those were intercepted. It's probably worth noting that today is the first day that the Saudis have acknowledged a missile impacting, causing civilian deaths on the ground here. Two people killed, 12 injured in that strike just outside of Riyadh also.

DEAN: All right. Nic Robertson, with the very latest there from Saudi Arabia. Thank you so much for your reporting.

I want to bring in Florida Democratic Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz.

Congresswoman, thank you so much for being here with us. I do just want to first get your reaction to this news we're getting that there is a seventh U.S. service member who has died as a result of their injuries.

REP. DEBBIE WASSERMAN SCHULTZ (D-FL): I mean, that is an incredibly tragic thing to hear. And I mean, it's just another example of the really serious concerns that President Trump has had no clear goals that he's articulated. They seem to shift every day, for the outcome that he desired, that he's planned in this war. It has been chaotic. There was no day after plan. They don't seem to have planned for Iran's retaliation, not just against the United States but our allies.

And I mean, there needs to be clarity here. I am someone who is, you know, for making sure that we can degrade Iran's ability to get a nuclear weapon, prevent them from ever having one, from using ballistic missiles against its enemies.

[16:20:01]

But the lack of clarity and chaos and unfortunately the massive increase in costs that Americans are going -- are starting to deal with really make this war extremely unfortunate and the worst part about it is the loss of life that Donald Trump appears to have shrugged his shoulders and dismissed.

DEAN: This week, the House failed to pass a measure that would have restricted the president's war powers after a similar vote failed in the Senate Wednesday. The House is now out for a week after the Trump administration briefings with lawmakers on the potential need for more funding. And several Democratic lawmakers are suggesting they would block any potential request for more funding for the Pentagon. Where are you on that?

WASSERMAN SCHULTZ: Well, I'm a senior member of the Appropriations Committee, Jessica, as I think you know, and I will certainly always make sure that our military service members have the resources they need to make sure that we can accomplish our goals. I would like and had President Trump come to the Congress with an authorization for use of military force, as he is required to under the law, then we would have had clarity on those goals.

Even after a classified briefing, that clarity did not come. We have seen Americans -- I've had so many calls to my office from constituents who are stranded in a country in the Middle East. There was no plan to evacuate Americans. They seem to -- they seem to be saying, or it was obvious they planned this for months. But making sure that this operation was executed smoothly and with preparation for the best possible outcome and the least amount of impact on Americans is where they have obviously fallen short.

For President Trump to, you know, really be cavalier and just basically say that the result of war is going to be inevitably the death of service members, American service members, when he has not articulated clear goals is unacceptable. DEAN: But, again, just to nail down on this, if they did request more

funding for the Pentagon, where would you be on that? Would you approve that?

WASSERMAN SCHULTZ: Well, I don't know how much more clear I could be. I will never abandon and not support resources for our service members who are in the midst of battle. So I have consistently supported making sure that our service members have the resources they need. President Trump didn't even plan for having -- for them having the resources they need, the munitions.

And I've spoken to defense contractors and, you know, all this week. Clearly they are running out of munitions. They don't have enough for what they need to prosecute whatever the goals are. I wish they were making it more clear. If they spoke and consulted with Congress, we would have voted on the clarity that comes from that consultation and been more prepared. But I will always make sure that my vote is cast to support the resources that our troops need in the field.

DEAN: And I hear, I hear your concern in what you just said in munitions and making sure that that the servicemen and women have what they need to do, what they need to do, and that the U.S. has what it needs to protect itself and do what it needs to do. How serious of a concern do you think those depleted munitions are?

WASSERMAN SCHULTZ: From the information that I've had this week, Jessica, from the defense contractors and military experts, it appears that despite that the president keeps and his administration keep insisting that, you know, we have enough resources to, you know, continue indefinitely, that doesn't appear to be the case. I have been -- I have had serious concerns from folks in the defense industry that they -- there isn't, there aren't the resources necessary and that we are going to need to really ramp things up quickly, but that there isn't the time and real time to be able to be sure that those resources will be available.

Again, poor planning really add insult to injury as a result of the lack of coordination with Congress that the Constitution requires. Gas prices now exponentially going up. In the last week in Florida gas per gallon has gone up 50 percent on average in my state. We are going to see grocery prices and other massive price increases because of the difficulty of shipping of goods around the world.

It is incomprehensible to me that there wasn't more planning and forethought and coordination that went into this attack. And I say all that as someone who absolutely wants to see that Iran is neutered, that their regime is no longer able to kill its own people, threaten our allies including Israel, and that our service members not be in harm's way. But it seems like there is some serious incompetence that has been a part of this planning because of the lack of planning.

[16:25:09]

DEAN: All right. Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, thanks for your time. We really appreciate it.

WASSERMAN SCHULTZ: Thank you. Good to be with you.

DEAN: Still to come, two Israeli soldiers killed along the Lebanese border, marking that country's first military deaths since this war with Iran began more than a week ago. We will have an update on this when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DEAN: In Tehran, residents are now dealing with the aftermath of Israeli strikes on key oil storage sites. Video geolocated by CNN shows the massive fire and smoke plume at a facility just outside of the city. It's just one of several oil facilities that were hit and are still burning as of this morning.

Senior International Correspondent Fred Pleitgen is in Tehran. We do want to note CNN can only operate in Iran with the country's government approval. Here's Fred.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FRED PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's an absolutely apocalyptic scene here. We've just made it to the Shaqron oil depot, which was attacked last night in a massive wave of airstrikes. We heard those going on for about an hour, maybe an hour and a half, with massive thuds and then explosions that we could hear.

And that thick, black plume of smoke. We saw that last night. And now, we're actually seeing it up close. What we're also seeing is that some of those destroyed storage tanks are still on fire. There's still flames originating from them.

You can also see here that the area around here is also completely destroyed. There's people here actually working on this electricity pole to try and get the electricity back. And then this tanker vehicle here also, that is right in front of the gate, has been completely destroyed as well.

The front gate of the facility, also in complete ruins. The facility appears to be completely in ruins now, after these massive airstrikes. And, again, still on fire, still burning. And you can see that thick, black smoke through the entire city, across all of Tehran.

It's been raining this morning in Tehran. There was oil mixed into the rain. So, this is definitely a massive incident that is still going on.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DEAN: All right, Fred Pleitgen there in Tehran. Thank you so much.

The Israeli military reporting two Israeli soldiers were killed in southern Lebanon this morning. The first military deaths reported for them in this latest conflict.

Meantime, Israeli tanks have been seen along the border, as those forces, combat forces, allied with Iran. Lebanon's health ministry says at least four people are dead after an Israeli drone hit a hotel in Beirut this morning. The Israeli defense forces saying it conducted a precise strike on key commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard who operated there in Beirut.

CNN's Chief Global Affairs Correspondent Matthew Chance is in Lebanon with more.

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jessica, Lebanon continues to be wracked with violence. So, it's now left nearly 400 people dead and more than a thousand injured in the past week alone, that's according to the Lebanese health ministry.

The Iranian-backed Hezbollah militia, which is based here in Lebanon, says it hit Israel with more salvos of rocket and drone attacks. While Israel says it has carried out more than 100 air strikes on Hezbollah- linked targets in the past day alone.

In one overnight attack, a hotel in central Beirut was struck, killing at least four people. The Israeli military says it carried out a precise strike on members of the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps which were based in Lebanon.

But all this, as a mass movement of people gathers pace across the country, as hundreds of thousands in Hezbollah strongholds in southern Lebanon, the Bekaa valley and Beirut have been ordered by Israel to leave their homes to make way for military action. That's placed enormous strain on the authorities, who say they're struggling, even with the help of international aid groups, to provide food and shelter for the displaced.

Lebanese armed forces are also under pressure, amid calls for them to do more to curb the military activities of the heavily-armed Hezbollah, which many people here now blame for plunging Lebanon into this crisis and dragging it into the Iran war.

Jessica, back to you.

DEAN: All right. Matthew Chance with the latest. Thank you very much for that.

President Trump has a big decision on the horizon. Does he send American troops into Iran? We're going to have more on his thinking here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

[16:33:55]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DEAN: President Trump has not ruled out putting U.S. troops on the ground in Iran. Here he was speaking with reporters aboard Air Force One last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Could there be? Possibly, for very good reason, have to be very good reason. And I would say, 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)

DEAN: Joining us now is Marc Caputo, Senior Politics Reporter at Axios. Marc, always good to see you. You have some new reporting on how Trump is weighing whether or not to put troops in Iran. What is your sense of his thinking right now?

MARC CAPUTO, SENIOR POLITICS REPORTER, AXIOS: His thinking is it depends on how you define boots on the ground, right. If you think of boots on the ground as infantry, as special operations forces that are engaging in a hot war, going from door to door and conducting hot military operations, think Fallujah, I was told, that's not what Donald Trump is thinking.

Donald Trump, however, has considered, the Pentagon has considered. There are discussions about sending a special operations or special operations-related military unit or detachment eventually to help secure the -- this alleged nuclear material that's in Iran.

Now, they wouldn't do this alone because this takes scientists to go along so they would have scientists with them. They could conduct these operations with Israeli special forces or related sort of military operators.

[16:40:00]

CAPUTO: But, to be clear, this isn't a clear plan. This isn't definite. And this is just one of the things that's being discussed.

It does make sense, however, because Donald Trump had laid out, essentially, four goals that the U.S. military would accomplish with this war in Iran. One of them is to destroy Iran's nuclear capabilities and its aspirations.

And a way to do that is to make sure you have all of the enriched uranium and the uranium that could be used to make a bomb. And in order to do that, you actually have to get it.

And to get it, you can't just sort of waltz into a country, especially a war-torn country. You would have to have military operators, special operations and the like. So, that's been part, and a major part, of some discussions that have gone on behind the scenes.

DEAN: And as these discussions are happening, who is the president listening to right now? Who is his inner circle on this, that he's actually taking advice from or counsel from?

CAPUTO: His inner circle is sort of remarkably stable across various arenas, whether it's Cuba, Venezuela Ukraine or here. So, here, you had it on the negotiating side. Jared Kushner, son-in-law. Steve Witkoff, his business associate and friend.

And he always has Marco Rubio by his side. Pete Hegseth, the Department of War Secretary, Department of Defense secretary. Dan Caine, the Chair, the General from the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Susie Wiles, his Chief of Staff. And Vice President J.D. Vance. Vance has been a little more sort of anti-war in these sorts of things, to be very clear. But Donald Trump decided to go ahead.

Now, that having been said, you also have the CIA director, John Ratcliffe, and the director of national intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard. They sort of round out that very tight circle of advisers. And there's not much information that necessarily flows out of them.

As you know, and as anyone's seen, if they've been paying attention to the news, Donald Trump picks up his phone when reporters are calling him. And he's not just talking to reporters. He does talk to outside advisers and the like. So, who those exactly are we're not sure. I can just tell you what the government picture looks like.

DEAN: Right. And, look, there were some in those -- in the list of people you named, notably as you just said, Vice President J.D. Vance, who had urged caution in launching this war, who was a little more hesitant around it. Is it your sense that all of those people are aligned, at this point, and all kind of, I guess, singing from the same songbook as it were?

CAPUTO: That's what we've been told. Now, the picture that generally sort of emanates out of the White House is Donald Trump was a little more hot to go to war than a lot of his advisers were.

But, nevertheless, in order to be at the table, you have to share the presidents thinking. And when the President had made the decision to go to war, everyone voted for it, so to speak. I don't think there was an actual formal, official let's go to war, yay or nay and holding a hands or a casting of ballots.

But we haven't detected anyone who was in that circle who said, look, hell no. We can't do this. If we do this, it's going to be a disaster. Those conversations, if they did happen, they're not leaking out. So, I don't think they happened but it's possible.

DEAN: Yes. All right. Mark Caputo, always good to talk to you and get kind of what you're hearing and reporting on from the inner circle. Thank you so much for being with us. We appreciate it.

CAPUTO: Thank you.

DEAN: Stay with us. The New York police Department saying one of the devices thrown during a protest Saturday outside the mayor's home here in New York City was a real improvised explosive device. Details on that and the arrest made just ahead, here in the CNN NEWSROOM.

[16:43:32]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DEAN: New tonight, multiple law enforcement sources telling CNN two men suspected of throwing an improvised explosive device near the New York City mayors' mansion have admitted to being inspired by ISIS. That device was thrown during dueling demonstrations between anti- Muslim protesters and counter-protesters. CNN's Gloria Pazmino is following these new developments. The key development here, Gloria, about these two admitting they were inspired by ISIS. What more are you learning?

GLORIA PAZMINO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Jessica. And a total of six people, I should say, were actually arrested following this incident, which unfolded outside of the mayoral residence, here in New York City, on Saturday. The NYPD is working with the FBI through the joint terrorism task force to investigate this incident and we are still waiting to learn more about charges for those who were arrested.

Now, CNN law enforcement sources also telling us that the two suspect that -- suspects, that were arrested in relation to these incendiary devices, have admitted to being inspired by ISIS. This all unfolded yesterday afternoon right outside of Gracie Mansion, where there was a planned protest. A so-called anti-Islam protest which was planned by right-wing influencer and pardoned January sixth rioter, Jake Lang. That demonstration drew about 20 people or so. And then, a counter- demonstration drew over 100 people.

Now, this took place not only outside of the mayor's residence, but also during the holy month of Ramadan. And, of course, Zohran Mamdani is the first Muslim mayor elected here in the -- in the city of New York.

Now, the two groups were separated but tensions flared. At one point, one group deploying pepper spray on the other group. And it was during the back and forth in that chaos that one of the counter-protesters threw out these ignited devices through the air, landing at the feet of the crowd that was gathered there as well as police officers.

[16:50: 08]

PAZMINO: Now, NYPD police commissioner, Jessica Tisch, confirming earlier today that following an investigation into these devices. They were found to be designed with the intent of exploding and causing serious injury.

They were constructed, she said, with what is suspected to be a homemade explosive material. Here she is talking about the investigation. Last night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JESSICA TISCH, COMMISSIONER, NYPD: Based on preliminary examination and x-ray imaging, the devices, which were a bit smaller than a football, appeared to be a jar wrapped in black tape, importantly, with nuts bolts and screws, along with a hobby fuse that could be lit.

As of now, there is no indication that this is related to the ongoing hostilities in Iran but the investigation is still ongoing, given the heightened threat environment.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAZMINO: So, that last point is important, given the situation in Iran and what the suspects have said about being inspired by ISIS. We also heard from Mayor Zohran Mamdani earlier today, reacting to this incident saying, in part, quote, "Such hate has no place in New York City. It is an affront to our city's values and the unity that defines who we are."

He also thanked the police department for investigating. And I should mention that there were no injuries to the mayor or the first lady at the time, during that demonstration there yesterday -- Jessica.

DEAN: All right. Gloria Pazmino, thank you for your reporting.

Still to come here, how Iran's propaganda machine is working at full steam, during the conflict with the U.S. and Israel. Stay with CNN.

[16:51:51]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DEAN: Tonight, millions of Iranians are living in constant fear, facing a total Internet blackout, with zero access to outside sources on what's happening in this war.

CNN's Nada Bashir shows us how Iran's propaganda machine is hard at work, even as the attacks from Israel and the U.S. intensify.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NADA BASHIR, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran rages on, a war of narratives is also playing out. While some U.S. officials are attempting to downplay the scope of this latest deadly military offensive, --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're not at war right now.

BASHIR: -- the Iranian regime's propaganda machine is in full swing, portraying a resolute image of strength. Despite days of intense bombardment, by the U.S. and Israeli militaries, and the death toll within Iran already surpassing 1,000, according to one human-rights group.

(on camera): Propaganda has long been a powerful tool in the Iranian regime's arsenal. The state media has been working around the clock to inflate the success of the regime's counteroffensive, framing attacks on U.S. and Israeli assets in the region as being on an unprecedented scale. But how accurate is this framing?

(voice-over): Iran's counterattacks have been significant in both scope and impact, successfully targeting military, diplomatic and civilian infrastructure in the region. But misinformation has also been rife from the outset of this war. Iranian leaders have, for example, portrayed attacks on Israel as having completely decimated cities and key military assets.

(UNIDENTIFIED MALE): Regime is (INAUDIBLE.)

BASHIR: One parliamentary representative claimed that all Israeli security and intelligence centers were being struck by Iranian missiles. And in this social media post from Iran's secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, Ali Larijani, he claims that more than 500 U.S. soldiers have been killed in just the last few days. In reality, six U.S. service members are confirmed to have died during this war so far.

A.I.-enhanced images have also circulated across social media, including an A.I.-manipulated image claiming to show a destroyed American radar installation in Qatar. The unverified claim was also shared in an article by the "Tehran Times" newspaper. It is false claims like this that have spread doubt amongst international audiences over the veracity of attacks both inside Iran and beyond.

MAHSA ALIMARDANI, ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR, WITNESS: With A.I., we have this concept of the liar's dividend. The liar's dividend is basically the term of art for the benefit that accrues bad actors when they sow public uncertainty. And they, basically, question if anything can be real.

BASHIR: Iranian state media has also, as expected, been highly selective in its coverage. Take, for example, the devastating attack on Iran's Minab Elementary School, which killed more than 100 young girls, according to state media. The widespread coverage of the aftermath and the mass funeral held for the victims is a stark contrast from the regime's response to the thousands reportedly killed earlier this year during anti-regime protests.

ALIMARDANI: When the burials of, you know, the hundreds of girls was done, they had aerial shots of the burials. They had tons of footage and photography of the mass kind of crowds attending the funerals and the burials.

[17:00:02]

ALIMARDANI: Then, you have -- like, compare it to the deaths of the protesters in January, where people couldn't get even the bodies of their children. And they weren't allowed to have --