Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Gulf Nations Report New Strikes After Iran's Apology; CNN Speaks With Tehran Shop Owners As Business Takes A Hit; U.S. Gas Prices Continue To Climb Amid War With Iran; Iranian Officials Working To Select New Supreme Leader; China Urges U.S. To "Manage Differences" Ahead Of Summit; Iranians React To Destruction Of Morality Police Center. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired March 08, 2026 - 01:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:00:21]

BEN HUNTE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, wherever you are in the world, you are now in the CNN Newsroom. I'm Ben Hunte in Atlanta.

Israel is moving to the next phase of the war with Iran, launching a new wave of strikes. The military says it's targeting military sites across the country. A source tells CNN that Israel is also hitting energy resources in Iran. New video shows a massive fire burning near a fuel storage facility in Tehran. We've also seen flames and smoke rising from an oil refinery in the capital.

Israel is also ramping up attacks on Hezbollah in Lebanon. The Lebanese health ministry says an Israeli strike on a Beirut hotel killed at least four people and wounded 10 others. It comes as Iran's Gulf neighbors report a new wave of strikes after the Iranian president apologized. Kuwait says it's fending off drone and missile attacks that set fire to a fuel storage facility and a high-rise government building too. Saudi Arabia says it took down at least 21 drones on Sunday morning.

And in Bahrain, the interior ministry is blaming a fire at a seaport on "Iranian aggression." Well, our team is of course covering all angles of this war. CNN's Mike Valerio is standing by in Beijing for us. But first, let's go to Paula Hancocks joining me live from Dubai. Paula, you are tracking all of the latest developments across the region for us. What can you tell us about what's happening right now?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Ben, we'll start in Iran, seeing what's happened there over the past 12 hours or so. Now we have continued to see the Shahran oil refinery in Iran burning. This, according to sources, was something that the Israeli military struck. We know that they also struck it in June of last year as well during that 12-day war.

Now we are hearing from a military source that they are intending to target these -- the energy infrastructure in Iran. They believe this is what's helping the IRGC. They're trying to target any infrastructure which is allowing the Iranian military to continue with their attacks.

Now we also heard from the Israeli military that they have surprises in store for Iran. It's a very similar message that we heard from the Israeli prime minister as well, Benjamin Netanyahu, who spoke on Saturday. He also said, we will destabilize the regime and enable change.

He was saying what the U.S. president had been saying at least seven days ago, that they're trying to create the conditions for the Iranian people to take control. But of course, many civilians as well as military being caught up in what is happening in Iran as the death toll continues to rise.

Now, Israel believes that they have almost complete control of the skies above Tehran. Now on the other Israeli fronts, we know that there have been more airstrikes in Lebanon. In Beirut, for example, there was a hotel that was hit. Now this wasn't in the southern suburbs, which are considered to be a Hezbollah stronghold.

This was in the heart of Beirut, at least four people killed there. And we know that dozens were killed yesterday on Saturday when there was a commando raid into Lebanon trying to find the remains of a long lost airman. So Israel is continuing on that front as well.

Now, when it comes to here in the Gulf, we have some very mixed messaging from Iran on Saturday. We heard from the Iranian president, Masoud Pezeshkian, that he gave a personal apology to his neighbors saying that they would not be attacked so long as attacks did not come from their soil.

Now, very quickly, this was clarified that there would still be targeting towards U.S. military bases, political centers. And as we know, it has gone far beyond that. Now, this really does show that the Iranian president, despite being part of this three-member leadership council, does not control the IRGC as far as we can tell. It certainly doesn't appear as though he has influence on those individuals who are firing the missiles and the drones.

As we have seen in Abu Dhabi this morning, further interceptions we saw last night here in Dubai. One person was killed as they were driving in their car. A piece of debris from an interception fell on them. We also know that in Dubai Marina, a building was hit. Many buildings nearby also evacuated.

[01:04:55]

Now, in Kuwait, a 22-storey building was hit by a drone. Very dramatic images out of there. As you can see, the fire burning overnight. We understand there were no injuries in that particular strike, according to officials. But two border security personnel have been killed. Unclear exactly where that individual, those individuals lost their lives. Iraq has had drone attacks into Erbil.

Saudi Arabia as well, a number, in the early hours of Sunday morning. So despite hearing from the president that the neighboring countries would not be attacked, it is very clear that the opposite is happening at this point. In fact, here in the UAE, we saw an extremely rare intervention and public statement from the leader, the UAE leader, calling Iran the UAE's enemy.

So a very dramatic change from Mohammed bin Zayed there in the past. We have seen the UAE and others had been trying to lobby the U.S. president not to attack Iran. They had also been telling the U.S. they couldn't use their air bases and their airspace if they were going to carry out military action, hoping that would distance themselves from what is happening.

It's clearly not the case. The UAE, for example, has been the hardest hit so far by Iranian missiles and drones. Ben?

HUNTE: OK, well, thank you so much for that update, Paula. Appreciate it. Mike, over to you. President Trump says he will escalate the war. What have you been hearing?

MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So, you know, Benny, I watched the tape. It's about 15 minutes of President Trump talking to reporters on Air Force One, coming back from the dignified transfer of the remains of the six Americans who were killed in Kuwait.

And it's interesting. He talks a lot about what he doesn't want, Benny, the president of the United States. He doesn't want Kurds fighting. He doesn't want Kurds joining the war effort, which seems to be a reversal from his prior position, certainly a reversal based on CNN reporting. Doesn't want British aircraft carriers joining the fight. He says, "We don't need them."

Doesn't want blame assigned for the United States perhaps misfiring and bombing a school in Iran near military sites as well. Doesn't want blame assigned for that. And he doesn't, at this moment, appear to want American ground troops joining the fight in the war effort against Iran.

His answer was pretty interesting. You can sense a reluctance that he perhaps is feeling right now. So let's listen to it. And we're going to talk more about it on the other side.

HUNTE: I don't think we actually have that.

VALERIO: And we don't have it. Hey, sorry about that, everybody watching with the delay. OK. Hey, but you know what? We do have this, Benny. Again, sorry, apologizing for the long delay for a signal bouncing around. So what he said essentially was he doesn't anticipate, he didn't even want to be asked the question of ground troops perhaps participating. But I do have the radom right here. It was interesting in the next couple seconds, he was asked by a reporter, Benny, what do you think about the possibility of ground troops securing the enriched uranium at nuclear sites in Iran?

This was a slightly different answer. We want to read it to you because it was kind of noisy and Air Force One difficult to hear what the president was saying. He said, we're going to find out about that, the possibility of American troops securing Iranian uranium. We haven't talked about it, but it was a total obliteration of Iran. Iran hasn't been able to get this nuclear material. And at some point, maybe we, the United States, will.

We wouldn't do it now, using troops to get that nuclear material. Maybe we do it later. So very interesting as the world tries to figure out where the president's headspace is, and as the president of the United States comes to where we're broadcasting from, to Beijing in about three weeks' time, to talk about a whole slate of issues with Chinese leader Xi Jinping, Xi will probably, you know, among the agenda, raise this issue of where the war is going, considering a huge percentage, upwards of 90 percent of the energy shipments that go through the Strait of Hormuz have a destination of Asian ports.

So where the headspace is, where this is going, is certainly key. He also said on Air Force One, in terms of the timeline, "Whatever it takes," as we enter now, week two, Benny.

HUNTE: And the team's telling me that you can also tell us a bit more about what happened in Oslo, the U.S. Embassy.

VALERIO: That's right. So Oslo, the embassy there, western part of town, there was an explosion reported around 1:00 a.m., minor damage, and police are searching for suspects. There were eyewitnesses who were wrapping up their evenings in the heart of town, in the capital of Norway, when they heard this large explosion.

[01:10:09]

But according to our reports from our CNN affiliates in Norway, only minor damage to the consular section entryway of the embassy. But police in Norway, in Oslo specifically, are still canvassing who could have done this. Still no suspect description at the moment. So certainly in terms of when we're talking about the ripple effects of this war, be it the dialogue in Beijing, what is happening in protests across the United States, European capitals, Oslo is now added to the list, Benny.

HUNTE: OK, well, thank you so much for that update too. Mike Valerio, appreciate it, and Paula Hancocks too. Thank you.

U.S. President Trump is claiming that Iran is responsible for a deadly strike on a school in Southern Iran. At least 168 children and 14 teachers were killed in the attack on the very first day of the war. President Trump said, based on what he's seen, the strike, "Was done by Iran," and he called Iranian munitions very inaccurate. His claim contradicts analysis from CNN, other media outlets, and experts too, that suggested the U.S. military was likely responsible.

CNN previously reported the strike happened around the same time that American forces likely carried out a strike on a neighboring Iranian naval base. CNN is the first U.S. network to start reporting from the ground in Iran since the conflict began, and we're operating there only with government permission. Our correspondent, Fred Pleitgen, and producer, Claudia Otto, are reporting increased security presence in Tehran. There are multiple checkpoints in the city center and heavily armed positions manned by Revolutionary Guards. And just hours ago, our team reported on the aftermath of a massive attack on the city. Here's Fred.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: There've been a massive amount of airstrikes actually here tonight in Tehran, and in fact, one of the things that we saw, heard, and felt here from our position was a huge amount of really heavy thuds that were not very far away from us. Also, when we went outside, you heard jets in the air, so clearly there was a sustained aerial campaign going on.

I would say for about an hour or an hour and a half that hit several targets, not just in the south of Tehran, but also in the east and the west of Tehran as well. We saw huge plumes of smoke billowing over the city, especially in the western part and the southern part, and it seems as though some of the oil infrastructure was hit there by either U.S. or Israeli jets. Certainly, that's what it looked like. There was fires burning.

There was thick black smoke coming up into the night sky. What we're hearing from Iranian state television is that apparently oil storage facilities in the south of Tehran, large oil storage facilities, have been hit. It's unclear how big exactly the damage was, but certainly from our vantage point, it looked as though it was very, very big.

And then also in the east of Tehran, apparently there was also an oil infrastructure that was hit there as well. The other thing that we're hearing is that in sort of one of the satellite towns around Tehran, that apparently there, also an oil facility was also hit in the town of Karaj. There were also massive airstrikes going on there as well.

So clearly a very busy night here, obviously in the skies above Tehran, but also for the folks here on the ground, obviously having to witness all this. And having been in the town here in Tehran today and yesterday, you do hear airstrikes very frequently. When you're going out on the streets here, there's definitely very often the case that you hear those thuds from those bombs that are coming in.

You hear jets overhead. That certainly is something that has almost become a daily part of life for the people who are enduring this. We went around Tehran to some of the commercial districts today. We went into some shops and spoke to people. One was a dairy shop. The other was a fruit shop.

I would say that right now, business is not screeched to a halt here in the city, but it is certainly reduced by a great deal. I would say about maybe 20 percent of the stores are open. A lot of them are shut down. And the folks that we spoke to said right now for them, it's extremely difficult. The one dairy shop that we were at, there was an airstrike very close to that a couple of days ago, and they said it was absolutely terrifying. There were a lot of people who were wounded as part of that airstrike.

But they also say that right now, their sales are obviously down by a great deal because so many people have left the city. This on top of the fact that, of course, Iran's economy was in big trouble even before all of this started. So the prices have been rising. People in general were buying less, and now you have even less customers coming. And the store owner told me, look, he still has to keep the shop open because obviously dairy products are a daily necessity of life.

But right now, for a lot of the people who are in the city, it certainly is very difficult to get by. And one other thing that we need to point out is when you go around here, one thing that really sticks out is the amount of security checkpoints that you have to go to. You're driving in your car, all of a sudden a checkpoint will pop up. Cars will be stopped, cars will be searched.

[01:15:02]

So clearly, the authorities here want to show that they're still in control. And that's one of the reasons why they have those checkpoints in variant places that also change location as well, pop up in the way. And then obviously a lot of people get checked, get their I.D.s checked, get their trunks searched as the authority is here, obviously right now on high alert with the situation continuing.

HUNTE: Iran's top security official says the U.S. is stuck in a, "Quagmire of its own miscalculations." In an interview broadcast on Iranian state T.V., Ali Larijani said Donald Trump must, "Pay the price." And he says Iran will not back down until the U.S. is punished.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALI LARIJANI, SECRETARY OF IRAN'S SUPREME NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL: I must express, I think the most important problem the Americans have is that their mentality is not one that understands the West Asia 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)

HUNTE: Trump sharply dismissed Larijani's pay the price threat, telling "CBS News" that the Iranian has already been defeated. And adding, "I have no idea what he's talking about, who he is, I couldn't care less."

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 that selection process. He claims his input will help prevent future U.S. intervention.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You said you want to be involved in the selection of the next leader of Iran? Can you talk to me about that?

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Well, because I don't want to just come back every 10 years, and mostly you'll have presidents, mostly, that won't do that because they don't get it. But we don't want to come back every five years or every 10 years and do this. So we want to pick a president that's going to be leading their country into a war.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTE: The U.S. military campaign in Iran is taking a toll on Americans at the gas pump. AAA reports that U.S. gas prices have now surged to the highest national average since August of 2024. As Iran targets some of the world's largest oil exporters in the Middle East, Kuwait has become the latest Gulf nation to reportedly cut back on its oil production output.

The country's national oil company claims the precautionary move is in direct response to the ongoing attacks and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. It didn't specify the scope of that reduction, but noted that output levels could be restored only once conditions allow. In February, Kuwait produced more than 2.5 million barrels of crude oil per day.

For more, let's bring in Amena Bakr. She's the head of Middle East Energy and OPEC Plus Insights for Kpler, and she's in Dubai. Thanks so much for being with me. I'll get straight into it. Oil prices have absolutely surged since this war began. People are feeling out of the pump already.

Markets are clearly nervous about supply as well. What is the single biggest factor that's driving all of that volatility right now?

AMENA BAKR, HEAD OF MIDDLE EAST ENERGY & OPEC PLUS INSIGHTS, KPLER: I think the markets are finally realizing how serious the closure of the Strait of Hormuz is. You have 20 million barrels normally flowing through that strait. I think markets initially didn't react to it. Oil prices were kind of stuck in the 80s. And finally, I mean, I think that the penny dropped and we saw the surge happen at the end of last week.

And I expect when markets open on Monday, again, this realization to sink in with exactly what you said right now, that many Middle Eastern producers in the region are cutting back their production. Iraq cut back its production around 1.5 million barrels per day. And then we have a cut from Kuwait. The blockage in Hormuz, if it's not resolved very quickly, will easily see oil prices move into the three-digit territory.

HUNTE: We are seeing so much attention focused on the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's most critical oil choke points. How much of the global oil supply is actually at risk if shipments there do stay disrupted?

BAKR: Well, as I mentioned, 20 million barrels normally flow through the Strait. That's 20 percent of the global supply. Currently, I mean, with our ship tracking, we're not seeing -- traffic is basically at a standstill. Hormuz has turned into a big parking lot for vessels. So the issue is really global here. This war isn't just regional. It's one that has an impact on the global economy.

Asia is very exposed. I mean, apart from China, which has extensive stock levels, I think everybody else is very exposed.

HUNTE: We are also hearing that some Gulf producers are trying to reroute exports or use storage outside of the Strait. How much flexibility do countries like the UAE or Saudi Arabia really have to keep oil flowing now?

[01:20:11]

BAKR: The UAE and Saudi Arabia are very, I mean, they're the best placed for a crisis like this. You have the East-West pipeline in Saudi Arabia that has a capacity to move 7 million barrels a day from the East to the West and export out of a port called Yanbu.

And they've been doing that. They've been utilizing that pipe. We think that the Yanbu ports could handle maybe something like 5.5 million barrels a day of exports. Same with the UAE, they can bypass the Strait and export through Fujairah. And they have been doing that. They released a statement yesterday saying more shipments are being diverted to Fujairah.

And that, again, is something like 1.8 million barrels a day of exports being diverted. But for the rest that are locked, I mean, especially Iraq, Kuwait, I mean, they're relying really on their storage and that's running out. And we do expect further cuts.

HUNTE: OK, we'll leave it there for now. But Amena Bakr, thank you so much for joining us. And I'm sure we'll be speaking again very soon. Appreciate it.

BAKR: Thank you.

HUNTE: OK. Still to come, Iranian officials are working to decide who will become the country's next supreme leader. We'll bring you a closer look at where that selection process currently stands after this break. See you in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:25:16]

HUNTE: CNN is the first U.S. network to start reporting from the ground in Iran since the conflict began, and we're operating there only with government permission. Our senior correspondent, Fred Pleitgen, and producer, Claudia Otto, just filed this new report on a black rain strikes on Iran's fuel storage areas.

PLEITGEN: This is what Tehran is waking up to this morning. The sky above the city is covered in very thick black clouds. You can see that everywhere. That's the west of the city over there and this is the north of the city. Normally if you look to that direction you could actually see the Alborz Mountains. But now all of that is also covered in clouds. That comes after major airstrikes in the south and the west of the city happened last night where oil installations were hit. Oil storage facilities apparently also a refinery might have been hit as well. And now you can see this morning that the sky is still very dark. We saw thick black plumes of smoke in the sky yesterday. There were massive fires in the south of the city. But I want to show you something else because it's also raining. But you can see that the rain, the rain water is actually black, also saturated, it appears, with oil. And then if we look over there, you can see that the water that's running down here also is black. So that's what's coming down this morning. This sort of oil filled rain that we have right now on the Iranian capital after the strikes took place.

HUNTE: A member of Iran's assembly of experts says a new supreme leader could be chosen within the next 24 hours. While no selection has taken place yet, according to state media, the senior Cleric said all 88 officials are impatiently waiting for the right conditions to hold a session where they will pick the next leader. CNN's Isobel Yeung has all the details for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ISOBEL YEUNG, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Now that Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei has been killed in U.S. Israeli airstrikes, Iran's clerical regime is quickly deciding who is going to succeed him. This is obviously a very big role. It's the most powerful position in the Islamic republic and one that Khamenei has occupied for nearly four decades, ruling over Iran with a brutal iron fist.

Whoever is appointed matters because it's going to answer one key question. Is this a regime that's going to double down on Khamenei's repressive policies or will it take the chance to recalibrate? These are the top contenders for the position. First up we have Mojtaba Khamenei. He's 56 years old, he's the second son of Khamenei and has strong links with the revolutionary guards as well as the besieged military forces which is important if he wants to continue ruling in the same vein as his father had been.

He's been branded as the front runner but father to son succession goes against the ideals of the regime which overthrew a hereditary monarchy in 1979. We also have Alireza Arafi, a confidant of Khamenei. He was appointed to senior and strategically very sensitive positions and is part of the clerical establishment. He's also part of the three-member leadership council which is currently running Iran.

He's apparently very tech savvy, fluent in English and Arabic and is generally seen as more of a moderate but he's not known as a political heavyweight and doesn't have close ties to the security establishment. Then you have conservative clerics like Mohammad Mehdi Mirbagheri or Hashem Hosseini Bushehri, less known publicly but reportedly more close to conservative elements or the former head of the judiciary Sadiq Larijani whose brother Ali is currently the powerful national security head.

Outside of those runners the picture gets a little bit more complicated with the likes of Hassan Khomeini, the grandson of the founder of the Islamic Republic who has traditionally been seen as closer to reformist factions of Iranian politics but obviously also carries religious and revolutionary legitimacy. His younger brother Ali has also been making headlines recently leading some analysts to suggest that he's positioning himself. And finally, there's the potential of the system to pivot and go for someone like Hassan Rouhani, the former president, who hails from more moderate camps of Iranian politics but is still very close to elements of the security establishment to take the realms.

Whoever is appointed as the next supreme leader is going to need the backing of the IRGC or at least portions of it, and they'll need to act quickly to consolidate power amongst the various elected and non- elected officials that have been ruling the country so far. On top of that, their appointment could be short lived as this person could be a clear target for Israel and the U.S.

U.S. President Donald Trump has weighed in to speculation, saying that several of the people his government had viewed as potential leaders are now dead, he said. I guess the worst case would that we do this and somebody takes over who's as bad as the previous person. He says, we don't want that to happen.

[01:29:58]

HUNTE: Like two octaves. An Israeli strike on a hotel in central Beirut overnight has killed at least four people, adding to the death toll of nearly 300 in Lebanon since Israel began its bombing campaign on Monday. Those numbers are coming in to us from the Lebanese health ministry. We are also learning more details about a raid in the border region that reportedly killed at least 41 people.

A resident in the village where it occurred called 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 Israel Defense Forces says none of its soldiers were killed.

China has largely remained on the sidelines as the Iran war has unfolded, but now its top diplomat is speaking out and warning of what could happen if the fighting continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HUNTE: This is a war that should never have happened and benefits no one. Those words from China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi. He's calling for an immediate end to the Iran war and urging all sides to return to the negotiating table. Otherwise, he warns, the flames of war risk spreading.

Chinese President Xi Jinping is set to host President Trump at a summit in Beijing in just a few weeks, and CNN's Steven Jiang is in Beijing for us and joins us now. Thank you so much for being with me, Steven. China's Foreign Minister says the U.S. should help manage differences ahead of that big summit. You were at that news conference. What more did he say?

STEVEN JIANG, CNN BEIJING BUREAU CHIEF: Yes, I actually asked a question about the potential impact of this U.S. war with Iran on the planned visit by President Trump to Beijing later this month. Now, he didn't answer the question directly. Here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[01:35:05]

WANG YI, CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTER (through translator): This year is indeed a big year for China-U.S. relations. The agenda for high-level exchanges with the U.S. is on the table. What is required is for both sides to make thorough preparations to create a conducive environment to manage existing differences and to remove unnecessary disruptions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JIANG: So, the underlying message here, according to many experts, is Xi Jinping still welcomes and anticipates Donald Trump's visit, which, of course, is very important given how tumultuous relations have been between the two countries since Trump's return to the White House. But as you mentioned, the biggest question on top of many reporters' minds this year is, of course, Iran.

And on that, Wang Yi really didn't say anything he hadn't said before, he used the same lines he had been using for days. So, if you were an official sitting in Tehran, what you get from Beijing is diplomatic, rhetorical, moral support, but really nothing in terms of concrete commitments, let alone direct military assistance.

This is, of course, being watched very closely given how closely Beijing had been trying to pull Tehran into its orbit in recent years, given the increasing isolation that regime faced from the West. But, of course, Beijing's response after the military strikes broke out so far had been, according to many, a cold calculus. They obviously needed Iranian oil. They are the biggest buyer of Iranian oil exports.

But don't forget, they also have a lot more extensive investments and economic interests in other Gulf countries. They also need a safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz for their other energy and chemical imports. So, from Beijing's perspective, a lot of people think taking out a supreme leader from with this kind of military operations is probably less of a concern than, say, a pro-democracy, a protest movement toppling regime in -- the regime in Tehran.

Not to mention, there is also always that cliche, the perhaps still true kind of calculus from Beijing that any time U.S. strategic focus and military assets are tied down outside of its own backyard, it's a net plus for them. So, ultimately, Ben, this issue just seems to rank below Chinese leader Xi Jinping's top priorities, which do include, as we mentioned, stabilizing relations with Washington. Ben?

HUNTE: OK, Steven Jiang, thank you so much for that update. We appreciate it.

Some airlines operating across the Middle East are slowly restoring flights as the war of Iran continues to disrupt global travel. Major international carriers, including the UAE's Emirates and Etihad, are running limited flight schedules to help stranded passengers return home. Tens of thousands of tourists and expats were evacuated from the region this week.

Qatar Airways has opened special relief corridors from Doha to several European cities, and that's despite their closed airspace. And EL AL, Israel's national carrier, says it will begin allowing passengers on outbound flights starting on Sunday. Peter Greenberg, travel editor for CBS News, joins me for more on these impacts. Peter, thanks so much for being with me. I'll get straight into it.

We're going to start with the scale of this disruption, if that's OK. We're talking about hundreds of thousands of passengers stranded worldwide and more than 20,000 flights cancelled since the war began. Just how chaotic is global aviation right now?

PETER GREENBERG, TRAVEL EDITOR, CBS NEWS: Well, remember, when we talk about these passengers being stranded, they're not just stranded in the Gulf. They're stranded throughout the world in 90 separate destinations because they connected on those airlines through the Gulf. So getting them back means they would have to go back through those locations. That's where the problem is.

The good news is, as you just mentioned, airlines like Qatar have already started flights from about six different European capitals on one-way flights from those capitals back to Doha. The other reason why they're doing it, they need to repatriate their own airplanes that have been stuck on the ground for nearly a week.

They're going to start doing that again with Etihad in Abu Dhabi and with Emirates in Dubai. But we're talking about a total of about 24,000 flights that were cancelled, about 600,000 people displaced. This will get settled in the next three or four days as the airspace begins to open up.

With the U.S. claiming air supremacy over the skies of Iran, that gives them the cover, literally, to be able to reopen those airspace. The other problem, though, is not the airspace, it's shipping lanes. Those are still closed. They're going to figure out that when they insurance cover for those carriers.

HUNTE: For travelers who already have trips booked to the region, what do you think is the smartest move right now? Should they wait for the airline to cancel, or should they cancel themselves and then risk only getting a credit?

GREENBERG: Well, that's the problem with any flight. If you wait for the airline to cancel, your rights are preserved. You'll get an immediate and full refund back to your original form of payment. But if you preemptively cancel, especially on a foreign carrier, the U.S. carrier, you may only get a credit, but you may not even get a refund. So it's a sort of a game of chicken on any situation in which you don't want to be the first to blink.

[01:40:08]

Way to doubt. Remember, if an airline cancels the flight, your rights are preserved. If you cancel the flight, you risk losing all your money. HUNTE: You mentioned it before, but we are starting to see some limited movement again. But do you think they are real signs of recovery or just airlines trying to reposition their planes and their crews?

GREENBERG: It's actually both. But the minute they start opening up those flights for limited service, they're going to only do it during daylight hours, obviously three hours at a time, four hours at a time when those windows open.

If that works, you'll see probably a full recovery in terms of the open air space by Tuesday or Wednesday of next week, unless other incidents prevail. But right now, that's the plan.

HUNTE: OK. Peter Greenberg, thank you so much for joining us. We appreciate it.

GREENBERG: You got it.

HUNTE: In Iran, mixed reactions from those who have suffered at the hands of the morality police after an airstrike destroyed one of its buildings. We'll hear from them after the break. See you in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HUNTE: This is the scene of destruction in Tehran earlier this week, after an airstrike wrecked the Gisha Street complex, one of the main centers for Iran's infamous morality police. Countless civilians were imprisoned, abused and humiliated there. As Jomana Karadsheh reports, its destruction has triggered a range of emotions from those who endured cruelty at the hands of the morality police.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They terrorized Iranian women for decades, the regime's enforcers of so-called morality. This week, one of the most notorious morality police centers in Tehran was hit in a strike. In text and audio messages from inside Iran, women shared with us their relief when they heard that place is no more.

[01:45:04]

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm crying because I'm so happy to know that it doesn't exist. And I'm crying because I remember the way I was insulted and pushed around in that building.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I will never forget that one of these officers took a handkerchief that had been lying on the ground and rubbed it on my face and wiped my makeup off.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Our time there was deeply traumatizing. I always thought about how I would go there and take my revenge if the government fell. I'm experiencing so many conflicting emotions at this time. KARADSHEH (voice-over): These satellite images from before and after the strike show the damage sustained by the Gisha Street complex that also housed other regime security apparatus.

Fatemeh Mosadegh says state security held her there twice. Hearing the news brought back a nightmare she's tried for years to leave behind in Iran.

FATEMEH MOSADEGH, IRANIAN ACTIVIST: I was in the little cell. I have a friend. She was in the next room. And we tried to be calm with the sound of crying to each other. Yes, she shouted me cry louder. I want to hear you. Sorry.

KARADSHEH (voice-over): Fatemeh, a women's rights activist and mother, was locked up in that compound twice, the second time for 16 days of interrogations accused of working with foreign states. She says she was threatened with physical and sexual abuse that many detainees face.

KARADSHEH: The moment when you heard that it was hit, how did you feel?

MOSADEGH: Too complicated. I'm not happy. I don't like war. But at the same time, I think, oh, there is no place like that for my people, for me to be tortured.

KARADSHEH (voice-over): For the regime's victims, seeing the walls that once caged them now crumble brings a complicated release of emotions.

Thank you, Israel. A woman filming this video says her house was damaged in a strike here, but it's OK, she says, happy to sacrifice it for the young people who were killed by the regime.

This is what was hit in that strike, a base used by government security forces. This video from 2022 during the Women Life Freedom uprising captured the savagery that emanated from that base. About a dozen agents who operated out of that place surround an unarmed protester, ram him with a motorbike, beat him with batons. And then this.

That young man who miraculously survived is Pouria Alipour. That terrifying night forever etched on his face. In a message, he told us, I am happy to see the destruction of this criminal base. This regime must be destroyed so a new Iran can rise. Pouria, like other victims, says he's happy to see these strikes take out the centers of the regime's repression.

But at the same time, it's painful knowing innocent Iranians are also paying the price. Soroush Khazaei is one of those Iranians. The 29- year-old visual artist was killed in a strike that targeted a regime security building near his family's home.

One of more than 1,000 civilians killed so far in this war, according to activists. It's the bitter cost that comes with this measure of long-awaited justice for the regime's countless victims. Jomana Karadsheh, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[01:49:13]

HUNTE: We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HUNTE: The remains of six U.S. soldiers killed by an Iranian drone in Kuwait have now returned home to their families. The U.S. President, Vice President and other top officials attended the dignified transfer at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. CNN's Michael Yoshida tells us more.

MICHAEL YOSHIDA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A somber and solemn day here at Dover Air Force Base. This is the place where our heroes come home. The dignified transfer happening of six U.S. service members who were killed in a deadly Iranian drone strike in Kuwait. President Trump, the First Lady, Vice President Vance and others watching as these service members returned to the United States.

We are learning more about each of them. Captain Cody Khork, a 34 -- 35-year-old from Florida, he had felt a calling from an early age to serve, described as having great leadership and care for his team. Also, Sergeant Declan Coady, a 20-year-old from Iowa who had wanted to go on to be a commissioned officer.

Also, Sergeant First Class Nicole Amor, 39-year-old mother to a fourth-grader and a high school senior. Her husband spoke with her just hours before the deadly strike. He said, "She was almost home." Also, Sergeant First Class Noah Tietjens, a 42-year-old devoted husband and father who stood out for his professionalism and mentorship. Major Jeffrey O'Brien, a 45-year-old husband and father of three, he had served in the reserves for nearly two decades. And finally, Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert Marzan, described as a loving husband, father, brother, uncle, and friend.

All of these U.S. service members, they were assigned to the 103rd Sustainment Command. That's an Army Reserve unit out of Iowa. And we're told that four of them had developed an especially strong bond and kinship, as they had previously served together in the same unit back in 2019 in Kuwait.

[01:54:57]

Now, this transfer happening, them all have returned home here at Dover Air Force Base. And for those who know this area, as you drive up towards the base, there's an overpass with the message, all gave some, some gave all, the weight of that message never clearer than on days like today. These six service members being honored and remembered for their service and their sacrifice.

Outside Dover Air Force Base, I'm Michael Yoshida. HUNTE: President Donald Trump is once again suggesting that Cuba is next on his administration's agenda after he predicts, "Great change is coming to the island nation very soon." Trump made his prediction while speaking to a group of leaders at the Shield of America's conference in Florida. He said the U.S. will stand against hostile foreign influences like Cuba in 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's 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)

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

Anti-war protests continue across the United States and elsewhere, too. Demonstrators gathered in New York, Washington, D.C., and Toronto this weekend, calling on the White House to end the military action and pursue diplomacy instead. Some Iranian-American demonstrators shared their fears of a prolonged war. Many voiced their relief that the Islamic regime and the Ayatollah's leadership may finally be at its end. Others insist that any political change in Iran must come from the Iranian people themselves.

I'm Ben Hunte in Atlanta, and I'll be back with our breaking news coverage shortly. Stay with CNN. See you in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)