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Gulf Nations Report New Strikes After Iran's Apology; Trump Doesn't Rule Out Sending U.S. Ground Troops To Iran; Lebanon: Nearly 300 Killed In Israeli Strikes Since Monday; Protesters Across The U.S. Call For End Of War With Iran; Iran Targets U.S. Air Defenses In Arabian Peninsula; China: Must Avoid "The Flames Of War" Spreading; Communist Regime Weighs Options As U.S. Increases Pressure; Aired 12- 1a ET

Aired March 08, 2026 - 00:00   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: This is CNN Breaking News.

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers here in the U.S. and around the world. You're watching "CNN Newsroom." And I'm Polo Sandoval live in New York.

Israel, it is moving to the next phase of the war with Iran, but President Donald Trump is threatening to escalate attacks, saying that the U.S. will strike Iran very hard as the president put it. A source now telling CNN that Israel is now hitting energy resources in Iran. Some of this new video is showing a massive fire burning your fuel storage facility in Tehran. We've also seen flames and smoke rising from an oil refinery in the capital city.

Israel is also ramping up attacks on Hezbollah in Lebanon. The Lebanese Health Ministry says that an Israeli strike on a Beirut hotel killed at least four people and wounded 10 others it is now 8:00 A.M. in Beirut.

And all this comes as Iran's Gulf neighbors' report a new wave of strikes after the Iranian president apologized.

Kuwait saying that it's fending off drone and missile attacks that set fire to a fuel storage facility as well as this high-rise government building this weekend. Saudi Arabia saying that it took down at least 21 drones on Sunday morning. And in Bahrain, the interior ministry is blaming a fire at a seaport on, quote, Iranian aggression.

Joining me live now is CNN's Mike Valerio joining me from Beijing following every step of developments out of the Middle East.

Mike, what do we know about this series of strikes throughout the region?

MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Polo, we can tell you that the -- what -- what we're seeing in Kuwait seems to be the most dramatic image. We're going to start with Kuwait and then migrate to Tehran, go to President Trump and then bring it back to Beirut. A lot that you talked about in the introduction there.

So let's go to Kuwait City. That's where we've been able to confirm from Kuwaiti authorities that this 22-story high-rise was hit by an apparent Iranian drone.

So when we're entering into week two of this war and the hope certainly of the world is that this war abates, we see images like this and its confirmation that the terror continues in myriad cities across the region.

Thankfully, though, according to the initial reports, nobody killed in this exact strike. There were security guards who were evacuated. This building essentially runs the Social Security and pension system of all of Kuwait. It's in a major commercial district, but because this happens during the overnight hours when the city is paralyzed, nobody in that building as far as we can tell.

But we do have new reporting. We're not sure of the precise attack, but there are, at this hour, two reported dead in Kuwait. We're trying to pin down exactly what attack that happened in.

Let's go to the video from Tehran. This is what you mentioned in the introduction to the show. This is the Shahran oil field, northwestern Tehran. When you imagine what people in the city have been going through over the past week, and you see these towering flames, is an unbelievable picture of certainly what they are dealing with as this war continues on.

This oil storage facility, notably, was targeted last June by the Israelis during the 12-day war with Iran. And it also speaks to the reporting that we had from our colleague Nick Paton Walsh, flying from Israel a couple hours ago, that Israel seems to be changing the tenor of its attacks from military targets to perhaps the economic infrastructure that underpins the regime. So when we're looking at an oil facility, that would certainly lend credence to that line of thinking.

But we also want to bring in the American president, President Trump. He was aboard Air Force One coming back from the dignified transfer of the remains of the six U.S. service members who were killed in a drone strike in Kuwait.

And a reporter was asking the president, where is this really going, you know, paraphrasing for our conversation, Polo. And the reporter asked, how do you feel about the potential of American boots on the ground?

The president seemed highly reluctant to answer that question to even talk about the subject, but let's listen to his response. We'll talk more on the other side.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What are the circumstances where you'd send in ground troops? How are you thinking about that?

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I don't even want to talk about it now. I mean, it's -- I don't think it's an appropriate question. You know, I'm not going to answer it. Could there be? Possibly, for a very good reason. I mean, have to be a very good reason.

[00:05:11]

And I would say if we ever did that, they would be so decimated that they would be able to fight at the ground level.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VALERIO: So that's a mindset into his thinking. Again, extreme hesitation answering that reporter question, looking into the press galley on Air Force One a couple hours ago.

But we do want to bring the reporting just for a moment back to our perch. We're reporting from here in Beijing as our colleagues in the Middle East, taking a quick breather.

And from our position here in Beijing, in terms of where this is going, lest we forget that President Trump is coming here to the Chinese capital in just about three weeks to meet with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

And based on the comments that we heard this morning from China's top diplomat, Wang Yi, when he said that the spread of the flames of war must stop, all parties need to work towards that, we wonder how this will be addressed when Trump and Xi meet in Beijing on March 31st through April 2nd.

In terms of this spreading, the ripple effects, most of the oil traffic that goes through the Strait of Hormuz heads to Asia. And when we have Asian economies running low on fuel, it is perhaps a possibility that China becomes more involved in these discussions as we now enter into week two below.

SANDOVAL: So many developments. Mike Valerio, thank you so much for walking through -- walking us through every one of them.

VALERIO: Yes.

SANDOVAL: So Iran's top security official says that President Trump must pay the price for the war.

Ali Larijani telling Iranian State T.V. on Saturday that Iran will not let up until the U.S. is punished. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALI LARIJANI, SECRETARY OF IRAN'S SUPREME NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL (through translator): I must express, I think the most important problem the Americans have is that their mentality is not one that understands the West Asian region, especially Iran. Imagine, for example, in Venezuela, they did something. Then thought, for example, they could repeat it here. Whereas here, there is another form of mentality that reigns.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: And CNN is the first U.S. network to start reporting from the ground in Iran since the conflict started. Now, we should mention that we are operating there only with permission from the government.

Our correspondent Fred Pleitgen and producer Claudia Otto are reporting increased security presence in the city of Tehran. There are multiple checkpoints in the city as well as heavily armed positions that are manned by Revolutionary Guards, according to the reporting.

And just hours ago, our team also says that on the aftermath of the massive attack on that city that they continue to cover. I want to get you now to Fred's report.

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FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: There have been some massive airstrikes here on Tehran tonight. We know that in the south of the city, apparently one of the main refineries was hit.

But here from our vantage point, we can also see, I would say that that is in the western part of the city. There's also a massive fire burning there with a huge gray plume of smoke and also still fire that is illuminating the night sky. So there was clearly a major hit over there.

I have to say from our position here, a couple of minutes ago, we did hear some massive thuds would seem to be a wave of airstrikes in that location, but in some other locations in Tehran as well.

So what we're seeing here tonight seems to be one of those sustained airwaves of planes flying overhead. We heard some jets as well and then some massive attacks happening in various parts of the cities. And you can see one of the results right over there with that massive plume of smoke here in the night sky.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: Our thanks to Fred Pleitgen and his team reporting there from Iran.

And as Iranian officials work to decide who will become the country's new supreme leader, President Trump is again reiterating his desire to be involved in selecting that leader. He claims that his input will help prevent future U.S. intervention.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You said you want to be involved in the selection of the next leader of Iran. Can you talk to me about? TRUMP: Well, because I don't want to just come back every 10 years. And mostly, you have presidents, mostly, that won't do that because they don't get it.

But we don't want to come back every five years or every 10 years and do this. So we want to pick up president that's not going to be leading their country into a war.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: U.S. President Donald Trump is now blaming Iran for a strike on an Iranian school that killed more than 180 students and teachers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did the United States bomb a girls elementary school in southern Iran on the first day of the war and kill 175 people?

TRUMP: No. In my opinion, and based on what I've seen, that was done by Iran.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is that true, Mr. Hegseth, it was Iran who did that?

PETE HEGSETH, U.S. SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: We're certainly investigating it. The only side that targets civilians is Iran.

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

(END VIDEO CLIP)

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SANDOVAL: That claim you just heard from President Trump, it contradicts analysis by CNN suggesting that the U.S. military was likely responsible for that strike at the school.

Satellite imagery geolocated videos, public statements by U.S. officials, and also assessments by munitions experts, they all indicated that the school was hit around the same time as U.S. forces likely attacked a nearby Iranian naval base.

Let's bring a national security and foreign policy expert, Asha Castleberry-Hernandez. She is a U.S. -- U.S. Army combat veteran and also a former senior advisor on Middle East policy to the U.S. State Department.

Asha, thank you so much for -- for joining us tonight.

ASHA CASTLEBERRY-HERNANDEZ, NATIONAL SECURITY AND FOREIGN POLICY EXPERT: Thank you.

SANDOVAL: I'm curious, Asha, if I could just get your immediate reaction to that statement from President Trump aboard Air Force One, in which he insisted it was Iran that was likely responsible for striking that school.

I mean, what kind of questions do you have as you sort of observe this all play out?

CASTLEBERRY-HERNANDEZ: Well, my -- my big question is -- is that, is there an investigation in right now? There is an investigation. That's with the Secretary of War mentioned. So we need to see what -- what plays out as a result of that investigation.

But also what it tells you, too, is that there needs to be more better planning when it comes to targeting and also that we need to definitely avoid soft targets like schools because that would definitely make this entire process a lot more complex, more complicated when it comes to the security environment and -- and -- and create more intensity.

SANDOVAL: Yes. And to your point, Secretary Pete Hegseth was standing close to the commander-in-chief said that that investigation that you mentioned is playing out.

I thought it was interesting that he essentially did not support the statement from the president. So we'll certainly see how that plays out.

If I could now shift to another statement from President Trump aboard Air Force One in which he said that he's not ruling out the possibility of a conventional U.S. troop deployment in Iran.

As a veteran from your perspective, what would you like to see should said -- such actions be taken by the president?

CASTLEBERRY-HERNANDEZ: Well, if such actions are -- will be taken by the president, I would -- it would need to have a -- a strong political or military justification or security threat justification, like for instance, in response to a mass casualty or our many Americans who were killed as a result of this war.

But also, too, that's really, really important that there's a lot of debate going on right now is looking at the strategy behind in sending ground troops.

If we are going to look into deploying ground troops, what is the entry in exit strategy? And what we've learned in the past is that we've had commander-in-chiefs tell us, my strategic intent is to go in the 90 days, but it ends up being a year. It ends up being 10 years. So there needs to definitely be a strategy in place as far as what that looks like.

SANDOVAL: Militarily, you know, based on your experience, Asha, are there -- would there be any benefits? You're obviously taking into account those -- those measures that you just laid out.

Would there be any benefits to having either U.S. or joint forces on the ground, especially when you're talking about a regime that tends to hide weaponry underground, perhaps, you know, weaponry that's out of reach of these bunker-busting bombs?

CASTLEBERRY-HERNANDEZ: It should be considered as a last resort or last option when it comes to the -- this war here.

Iran, in terms of its terrain, it's very thick. Lots of it is unknown. You have about 90 million people. So there's a lot of complexity behind it. So, it -- it really would have to take a lot for the United States, along with a coalition to go in.

And what -- so what I would say is, as far as moving forward, we should just keep it at a maximum involving prioritizing air and naval power in this fight. And as far as ground operations, again, it's -- it's an ugly situation. It should be the last resort.

SANDOVAL: Yes, it is. And we saw, you know, the real consequences that could come, obviously, with that dignified transfer of those six service members play out over the weekend.

Asha Castleberry-Hernandez, thank you so much for your service and certainly for your perspective as well. We really appreciate your time.

CASTLEBERRY-HERNANDEZ: Thank you.

SANDOVAL: As we mentioned, the remains of six U.S. soldiers killed in Kuwait, they have now returned home to their families. The soldiers, they were part of an Army Reserve Unit from Iowa. Well, they died when an Iranian drone struck their makeshift operation center last Sunday.

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The U.S. president, Vice President J.D. Vance, and other top-camped officials, they were on hand attending that dignified transfer at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware.

And during that somber and solemn event, Donald Trump, you see him there wearing that white hat with gold USA lettering.

Well, he called it a sad day, but the president said that he expects to attend possibly more dignified transfers as, quote, a part of war, said the president.

Still ahead here on "CNN Newsroom," anger is boiling over in Lebanon as Israel ramps up its attacks there. CNN's Matthew Chance is in Beirut.

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SANDOVAL: An Israeli airstrike on a hotel in central Beirut overnight has killed at least four people and that now adds to the death toll of nearly 300 in Lebanon since Israel started its bombing campaign on Monday. Those numbers, they are coming to us from the Lebanese health ministry.

And we are also learning more details about a raid in the border region that reportedly killed at least 41 people. A resident in that village where it occurred calling it a night of hell.

Israeli commandos hunting for the remains of an airman missing for decades went into a village where a firefight with Hezbollah militants ensued. The Israeli Defense Forces says that none of its soldiers were injured during that incident.

[00:20:08]

And Lebanon has seen the most intense violence outside of Iran since the war started. CNN's Matthew Chance reporting from the capital of Beirut.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In a city on edge, tensions quickly boiled over.

At this anti-Israel rally in Beirut, anger over airstrikes on Lebanon and Iran was soon directed at us.

CHANCE: Oh. We've -- we've just been told to get out because we're not welcome here. So we got to go.

Can we interview? We're going, we're going.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (BLEEP) America. (BLEEP)

RAINA, PROTESTOR: I'm trying to tell them, no, we need to deliver our message.

CHANCE: Yes.

RAINA: So don't worry.

CHANCE: What message do you want to deliver here tonight?

RAINA: That Israel is -- is -- is all evil. We've been suffering from Israel since -- since before 1948. We support all forms of resistance.

CHANCE (voice-over): For a week now, Lebanon has been pounded. Israel says it's targeting Iranian-backed Hezbollah, after the militia launched missiles and drones to avenge the killing of Iran's supreme leader.

MAGUY CHEBIL, HOTEL OWNER: This is where it happened. It started from the roof.

CHANCE (voice-over): But the owner of one wrecked Beirut hotel in an upscale Christian neighborhood told CNN just ordinary families were her guests. No Iranian citizens and definitely no Hezbollah, who she blames for the spiraling violence.

CHEBIL: And we are not that stupid to -- to check them in. We are not that stupid. We live here. It's our home.

CHANCE: How angry are you -- CHEBIL: I am angry.

CHANCE: -- with -- with Hezbollah right now?

CHEBIL: I am angry with Hezbollah and Israel and Iran, but Hezbollah more. You know why?

CHANCE: Why?

CHEBIL: Because they are Lebanese. They should be Lebanese. They are not. They are hurting us. They are hurting our homes, our children.

CHANCE (voice-over): It's dragged ordinary Lebanese, many ordered by Israel to evacuate their homes into the Iran war. Aid workers say they're now struggling to shelter hundreds of thousands on the move.

CHANCE: We've come to this school in the center of Beirut. You can see the children's murals on the wall. But it's no longer a school, it is a camp for people who have been displaced by the fighting in south Beirut and southern Lebanon.

And in each of these classrooms, there are families who are escaping the fighting and they've come to -- to come here for safety.

"The children woke up screaming," says Ali Shams (ph), who fled the suburbs of south Beirut with his family. "We just ran, carrying them through the night," he told me. "Now, we're all homeless."

(EXPLOSION)

It's easy to see why they left.

CHANCE: We've come into what is the most dangerous part of the Lebanese capital, which is a very important stronghold of Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed militia group. It's the place where Israel has been focusing.

(GUNSHOTS)

And you can hear the gunshots outside there. That Israel has been focusing its activity, its intensive campaign of airstrikes against the Hezbollah group.

CHANCE (voice-over): The destruction is massive and plain to see. And Israel's military campaign against Hezbollah, as we found out, is still far from over.

CHANCE: OK. We've got to go because they said there's been a warning from the Israelis that there could be a strike coming in. So we've got to get out of here, Alex.

CHANCE (voice-over): Matthew Chance, CNN, Beirut.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: And the Trump administration is now using an emergency declaration to fast-track the sale of 12,000 bombs to Israel. The measure bypasses Congress, which would normally need to vote to approve any sale of weapons.

In a statement, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that it was in the national security interests of the United States, thereby waving the congressional review requirements.

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(PROTEST)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: Some sights and sounds from this weekend as anti-war protests continued cross the United States and throughout the -- throughout much of the country as the war with Iran continues to escalate.

You see some demonstrations here in New York. Also, there were some in Washington, D.C., as well as in Toronto as well this weekend.

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All of them calling on the White House to end the military action and pursue diplomacy with Iran instead. Some Iranian-American demonstrators sharing their fears of a prolonged war worried that the conflict will drag on indefinitely.

Many voicing their relief that the Islamic regime and Ayatollah leadership may have finally come to an end. Others insisting that any political change in Iran must come from the Iranian people themselves in order for it to be sustainable.

For more now, I want to bring in CNN senior political analyst and Bloomberg columnist, Ron Brownstein. Welcome back, Ron.

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Glad to be here with you, Polo.

SANDOVAL: Let's show our viewers around the world some of the polling before we start our conversation now showing about 56 percent of Americans at this point opposing military action in Iran. You see that number there strongly opposing with about 44 percent in support.

Ron, let's get your take on -- on some of these numbers and -- and how much should we read into these just a week into this war.

BROWNSTEIN: Well, as we've said before, I was talking about before, I mean, it's extraordinary to have numbers like this at the beginning of a war.

Traditionally, in most major conflicts, a majority of Americans have supported it at the outset and support has eroded over time as the costs of various kinds have accumulated. It -- it's hard to think of another example of -- of a conflict of this magnitude that began with a majority of the public opposing. And, you know, there are a lot of reasons for that. But one of them is that the president made virtually no effort to explain or justify his decision or persuade Americans why this was the right thing to do.

I think, you know, the way he went to war was in many ways as revealing that he went to war at all. This is a president who has an expansive view of presidential power and presidential prerogative.

And -- and he behaved as though convincing the country that this was an important and worthwhile thing to do was essentially unnecessary as long as he could hold his party in line.

So, you know, to some extent, he has kind of reaped what he sowed so in terms of the skepticism from the public. But as I've said before, I think it does leave him on a narrow ledge in terms of going forward.

Eighty to 85 percent of Republican voters support this. Republican elected officials are not going to confront him on it with that kind of grassroots support in their own party. But for the rest of the country, that level of skepticism, I think, leaves in -- leaves him very vulnerable to backlash if they begin to see any kind of costs, such as the increased price at the gas pump.

SANDOVAL: Yes. And let's pick up on that last point too. There is that inevitable impact on the U.S. economy that -- that we're already seeing here with fuel prices spiking, diesel prices going at an even faster pace, higher pace, I should say.

I mean, what kind of appetite is there right now among constituents of the United States, given what the president touted during the campaign of not sending the United States into another prolonged war?

BROWNSTEIN: Well, also, I mean, let -- let's kind of think about what this -- what the backdrop is for -- for all of this.

SANDOVAL: Yes.

BROWNSTEIN: He was elected. The -- the -- the biggest reason people cited for voting for him in '24 was the belief that he would bring their cost of living under control. And to this point, he has touted gas prices coming down as central proof that he was making progress on that.

Now, he -- he starts this war with most Americans feeling he has not made sufficient progress on the problem they elected to solve. And not only that, that he's not focusing on it enough, two-thirds of American in that CNN poll in January said he was not sufficiently focused on the major problems facing the country.

So now, you have a war that most Americans are skeptical of to begin with, producing a kind of pain in the pocketbook, precisely the kind of, you know, the main -- the main argument that he has been making progress.

And I've said to you before, I think Americans will see degrading the -- the military capability of Iran as a reasonable goal. But whether they think it justifies the cost, especially if this extends on in some kind of undefined pursuit of regime change, I think that is a much dicier proposition for -- for the president.

SANDOVAL: And then the president is not ruling out the possibility of a -- of a conventional U.S. troop deployment.

In your view, how do you think Americans would take to that if, of course, we get to that point? And -- and I should mention, this comes after the president said while he was flying back from that dignified transfer of -- of -- of the remains of those six service members, that he said that he was likely to attend more of these transfers as, quote, a part of war.

I mean, is this -- should Americans --

BROWNSTEIN: Yes.

SANDOVAL: -- take that as the president accepting that we could likely see more Americans lost in this war?

BROWNSTEIN: Well, certainly that -- that is the implication of that statement. I personally would be shocked if he send ground troops in. I mean, you know, the -- the president's calculations about political risk, I think, are more cautious in some ways than those around him.

[00:30:09]

You know, I -- I had a former senior official in a Republican -- national security official and under a Republican administration making me an interesting analogy literally the day this started.

This official pointed out that the president, you know, basically went to war with virtually, as we said, kind of no concern for winning consent from the Congress or the country. It was similar to what he did in Minneapolis, when he deployed this vast immigration force over the objections of local officials. So that really any kind of concern for building Democrat consensus in a small D democracy.

But when there were casualties and when there were backlash casualties of different kind, the president changed course pretty quickly.

And, you know, I think that that kind of constraint, although the analogy may seem kind of strange, it -- it -- it strikes me as pretty telling.

I would be surprised if he was willing to risk the political backlash of deploying ground troops, given how little tolerance there is for this, you know, at the outset.

Americans, I think, are -- I don't know if this will coalesce into full-scale pressure to end the conflicts along as the costs seem low. But if the costs begin to accumulate in any direction, and even gas prices over time, I do that, as I said, I think there's very little tolerance for cost in the public. He has very little cushion to work with and the --

SANDOVAL: Unfortunately, we -- we lost Ron Brownstein, but it is always a pleasure to have him on.

Ron, I know you can hear us. Thank you so much for your time.

Still -- also as the war enters its eight day, Iran's strategy in responding to the U.S.-Israeli strikes, it is fast becoming clear.

But for how long can the U.S. and its regional allies repel these Iranian attacks? We'll dive into that topic after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:35:23]

SANDOVAL: Welcome back. I'm Polo Sandoval in New York. And these are today's top stories.

The remains of six U.S. soldiers killed by an Iranian drone in Kuwait have now returned home. The U.S. president and other top officials have joined the soldiers' family at the dignified transfer on Saturday.

Donald Trump calling it a sad day, but said he expects to attend more of these solemn events as, quote, a part of war.

President Donald Trump has blasted British Prime Minister Keir Starmer for joining wars, quote, after we've already won, he said. Trump making that statement in a social media post on Saturday after the U.K. greenlit the use of two bases to bomb Iranian missile sites.

And the U.S. military campaign in Iran, it is taking a toll on Americans at the gas pump. AAA now reporting that U.S. gas prices have surged to the highest national average since August 2024.

The average price of a gallon of gas is up 43 cents in just the last week. It is currently hovering around $3.41.

And with that, let's get you now up to speed on the latest on the war in Iran, starting with this dramatic video. It shows a huge fire tearing through a government high-rise in Kuwait City.

The country's military says that Kuwait has come under a wave of hostile drones. A state news agency adding that the fire also broke out at two fuel depots at Kuwait's International Airport. A separate fire, I should say.

Earlier, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia also reported new strikes from Iran.

And -- and in Iran, a blaze has broken out near a petrol storage facility in Tehran. And this is after an Israeli source said that the country's military is now going after those sites as part of the next phase of the war.

And earlier, U.S. President Donald Trump indicated that the U.S. would escalate the war. And a senior Iranian official told CNN that his country is looking for a new U.S. -- series of new U.S. assets to strike. And Iran's strategy in responding to U.S. Israeli strikes has quickly become apparent since war broke out last weekend.

Iranian military, they have been targeting the air defenses of both U.S. and its allies along the Arabian Peninsula.

Here's CNN's Tamara Qiblawi, who's been following the situation very closely.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TAMARA QIBLAWI, CNN SENIOR INVESTIGATIONS WRITER (voice-over): Iran's war strategy is becoming clearer by the day. The apparent heart of that strategy trying to neutralize the air defenses of the U.S. and its allies in the Arabian Peninsula by striking the radars, which triggered the interceptors, which then take out Iranian missiles and drones.

In this Iranian propaganda video from 2020, Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards use a mock-up of an American air defense radar as target practice.

Now, Iran is putting those plans into action. New satellite images show us how Tehran's forces seek to erode the protective shield of its adversaries.

Here's what we know. All these components make up an American early warning system in Jordan. It's completely destroyed. A half a billion dollar radar system struck by Iran or by its allied militant groups.

This is the centerpiece of THAAD, the crown jewel of America's surface-to-air defense systems. So, what does this radar do?

First, it warns of an incoming ballistic missile. Then it sends a signal that launches THAAD interceptors out of the Earth's atmosphere, where it strikes the projectile mid-flight.

In Qatar, another radar system is hit. This one, an arresting three- phase structure worth $1.1 billion. You can see debris under one of the faces. This is the side that points north towards Iran.

In Saudi Arabia, thick smoke rises from a complex that normally shelters a THAAD radar. We don't know if the system was destroyed, but it's more evidence of Iran's designs to take out the crucial technology.

QIBLAWI: It's not just the early warning systems. It's also the interceptors themselves. One Gulf Arab source told me that the interceptors that have fended off the barrage of rockets are expected to reach critically low levels of supplies over the next week. The source describes this as a race against time.

[00:40:59]

But the Islamic Republic still has a long way to go to ensure its survival. The UAE, one of the primary targets of Iran's attacks, insists that its interceptor stockpiles remain robust.

Israel and the U.S. have clobbered Iran's weapons warehouses and launchers, causing Iran's forces to fire around 90 percent pure missiles since the start of the war, according to the Pentagon.

By throwing its might into trying to render U.S. allies in the region defenseless, Iran hopes it can expedite the end to this war and cut its own losses.

Tamara Qiblawi, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: The flames of war risks spreading. That's the new warning that's coming from China as the U.S., Israel, and Iran all double down. But can Beijing lead them back to the bargaining table? We'll discuss.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SANDOVAL: China's top diplomat is calling for an immediate end to the Iran war. And for all sides, the return to the negotiating table otherwise who won, the flames of war risks spreading.

Chinese foreign minister, Wang Yi, told reporters that this was a war that should have never happened and benefits no one.

The conflict is unfolding in a region that's essential to China's energy security. It is almost entirely shut down. The critical shipping passageway of the Strait of Hormuz, which Beijing relies on and also complicates an upcoming summit that's scheduled between the president -- between President Trump and Xi Jinping.

Joining me now is Neil Thomas. He is a fellow on Chinese politics at the Asia Society Policy Institute. Neil, thank you so much for joining us.

NEIL THOMAS, FELLOW, CENTER FOR CHINA ANALYSIS, ASIA SOCIETY: Thanks for having me.

SANDOVAL: So China, for the most part, has been pretty quiet since the -- since the start of the war, I mean, especially since it relies heavily on Iranian oil imports. So -- so, why is that in your view?

[00:45:00]

THOMAS: China has not got particularly involved in the war, and firstly, because it can't really do anything on the ground. Like its military just does not have the presence or the strength in the Middle East to do anything decisive.

And then diplomatically, in terms of not being more forceful to come out and criticize the United States, I think that's really because U.S. relations are more of a priority right now for Xi Jinping. There's a summit that's scheduled with President Trump at the end of the month in Beijing. And right now, U.S.-China relations are in a pretty stable place. There haven't been big new tariffs or export controls. And China wants to keep things that way. And Xi's giving this summit to Trump, so one of the few things he's asked for is the best way to do that.

And so it's not trying to upset the applecart there, whether that's Iran, Venezuela, or anything else that it would otherwise not want to happen.

SANDOVAL: And, Neil, if we see this conflict devolve into this sort of seemingly endless conflict with -- with no end in sight, what is at stake for China, especially as this -- you know, the longer this rolls down?

THOMAS: Energy prices are obviously the big one. I mean, China imports roughly 50 percent of its crude oil from Iran and surrounding Gulf countries. And so we've already seen oil prices are getting towards $100 a barrel.

And, you know, that's going to hurt the bottom line of China's budget. But it's not going to hurt enough to, you know, bring down the Chinese economy. And it also has strategic reserves. It's been building up for many years that can go for months and months, if, you know, worse comes to worse. And there's just no oil flowing.

So I think that the Chinese leadership are very concerned about what's going on right now. They're not alarmed yet. But if this did keep going on for -- for months and months, I think that would be a situation we might see China, considering maybe not helping to arm Iran, but sending more economic support in the way that it's helped the Russian war effort in Ukraine, not directly, but indirectly through more trade, more investment, but including for dual-use industries that helped the war effort.

SANDOVAL: So, you know, eventually, like the reality is -- is that the war may still be happening when these two presidents meet.

So when that happens, Neil, how could that factor into the conversations that will happen between -- between President Trump and -- and President Xi Jinping, especially as you point out, it's a relationship that is fairly stable at the -- at the moment, but at any point could potentially destabilize.

THOMAS: Beijing will be really hoping that President Trump doesn't try to use his trip to China as a, you know, platform to make big new announcements about the war or to direct any escalations from there.

I think that President Xi will certainly want to discuss the matter directly with President Trump and to express his reservations and his preference for -- for peace and stability in the Middle East.

But I don't think that the Chinese leadership are going to make this a decisive frontline issue for that negotiation. They want to go well. They don't want to annoy President Trump. They just want to stay out of the headlines basically in D.C., and you keep building up their own economy. SANDOVAL: Yes. You mentioned this as a frontline issue. In your view, what else will you be looking for when this meeting happens? What else do you think will be at the core of those conversations between both countries?

THOMAS: Right now, it seems like extending the truths that the two presidents agreed in Busan and South Korea, last year, looks like one of the likely outcomes. So basically, no new tariffs from the U.S., but no new export controls on rare earths from China.

There'll probably be some big announcements about Chinese purchases of U.S. energy and agricultural products. It's a big ask of President Trump.

And something to look out for that we're not sure about what's going to happen right now is whether there's any announcements about Chinese investment in the U.S. or U.S. investment in China. We know that's being discussed, but the progress there is a bit more of a question mark.

SANDOVAL: A little over three weeks before that meeting. We know you'll be watching it closely. Thank you so much for your time, Neil Thomas. Appreciate it.

THOMAS: Thank you.

SANDOVAL: And we'll be right back with more. Don't go anywhere.

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SANDOVAL: President Trump is once against suggesting that Cuba is next on his administration's agenda, after he predicts, quote, great change is coming to the island very soon.

Trump, making his prediction while speaking to a group of leaders at the Shield of America's Conference in Florida. He said that the U.S. will stand against hostile foreign influences like Cuba and the region.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: As we achieve a historic transformation in Venezuela, we're also looking forward to the great change that will soon be coming to Cuba. Cuba is at the end of the line. They're very much at the end of the line. They have no money. They have no oil.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: And the U.S. has been carrying out an intense pressure campaign against Cuba in recent weeks. And this includes an oil embargo, which is plunging the island into a dire energy crisis. And that's resulting hours -- in hours-long blackouts nearly every day.

CNN's Patrick Oppmann reports that electricity in Cuba is a rare commodity.

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PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: President Trump, on Saturday, once again taking aim at Cuba's government saying that the country is going to collapse. That the communist government here is in its final days. And that there are behind-the-scenes negotiations going on led by Marco Rubio, but that he is involved in and that he thinks there will be a deal to open up this country economically and politically very soon.

[00:55:10]

It would seem like the kind of Cold War air bluster that so many U.S. administrations have engaged in very -- with very little effect over the years.

But President Trump has brought the economy here already beleaguered to a crashing halt by blocking any oil first from Venezuela and then from Cuba's ally, Mexico, to coming into this island.

That is caused the economy here to essentially grind to a halt. You see less cars on the road. The lights are off across Cuba more often than they are on these days. We are seeing blackouts that before lasted hours, now lasting days.

People are increasingly upset at -- often at their government because life just cannot continue on under these circumstances. People's food is beginning to spoil. Many people have been sent home from their workplaces. Hotels are close -- closed down and tourism has dried up.

So while the Cuban government has said they will not negotiate in a position where they're being pressured or they essentially have a gun to their head, obviously, at this point, time is running out. They may not have any choice but to make a deal, any deal they can get.

Patrick Oppmann, CNN, Havana.

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SANDOVAL: Thank you so much for joining me in the last hour of news. I'm Polo Sandoval in New York. Our breaking news coverage continues with Ben Hunte in a moment. Don't go anywhere.

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