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IDF Says New Wave Of Strikes Launched Against Iran; Trump Doesn't Rule Out Sending Ground Troops To Iran; Gulf Nations Report New Strikes After Iran's Apology. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired March 08, 2026 - 03:00   ET

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

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[03:00:00]

BEN HUNTE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello. I'm Ben Hunte in Atlanta. Let's get straight to our breaking news out of the Middle East.

Israel and the U.S. are ramping up pressure on Tehran as the war enters its second week. Israel's military says a new wave of strikes is now underway targeting military sites across Iran. We are just learning that Israel's Air Force hit a number of Iran's F-14 fighter jets at the Isfahan Airport. A source tells CNN that Israel is also hitting energy resources in the country. 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.

U.S. President Donald Trump is threatening to escalate attacks. He says he does not want to involve the Kurdish Armed Forces in the fight, but he's not ruling out the possibility of U.S. boots on the ground. While speaking to reporters on Air Force One, President Trump also talked about what's next for Iran's leadership.

We are having a few issues, but we're going to keep on going. All of this 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. We are also getting reports of attacks in the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.

Of course, we are following this story from all over the Middle East and Paula Hancocks is in Dubai for us. But, first, let's go to Oren Liebermann in Tel Aviv. Good to see both of you. Thank you for being with us.

Oren, you are tracking the latest developments across the region for us. What can you tell us about what's happening right now and how this conflict has been evolving?

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF: Well, in short, it has been escalating and continues to do so. Israel now targeting oil refineries, fuel storage facilities in what an Israeli source tells us is the next phase of Israel's war in Iran, in combination with the U.S., this in an apparent attempt to go after the economic and financial arms of the Iranian regime. Meanwhile, there are still continued strikes. For example, the Israeli military says they struck F-14 Tomcats of the Iranian regime in Isfahan. Those are aging U.S. fighters that were given to Iran decades ago. So, again, you still see them going after targets of the regime, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and more.

We did have overnight one round of incoming at about 7:30 in the morning, so right about an hour and a half ago. So, even now as we wake up here to day nine of the conflict, and after Israel and the U.S. have gone after ballistic missile arrays and launchers, Iran has still retained at least some capability of firing back, and we have seen that day after day.

All of the indications from both the U.S. and Israel are that there is no interest in trying to find a spot to deescalate as they attempt to keep going after the regime in what very much appears to be a clear effort to topple the regime. In fact, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke yesterday and in a recorded statement, he tried to speak to the Iranian people, saying, it's almost your time, meaning it's almost your time to step out and overthrow the regime.

That, of course, is the key question here, because there doesn't appear to be any effort, any plan from the US or from Israel to topple the regime or plan for whatever it is that's supposed to come next. So, that's one of the key questions we're watching on as we see both countries just continue to work down their target list across Iran.

Meanwhile, still seeing fighting across the border on both sides, that is Israel and Hezbollah fighting across the border in Lebanon, so that continues there, and our crew was up in the north over the course of the past 24, 48 hours, they heard that fighting, saw the incoming fire and the outgoing fire. So, that border is very hot as well.

HUNTE: Okay. Oren, thank you so much for that.

And Paula Hancocks, I can see that you are inside before you are outside, right? Has something changed?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Ben. Just in about the last ten minutes or so, there has been another emergency alert here in Dubai telling people to take shelter because of potential incoming missiles or drones. Now, we have heard one interception a fairly far away from our location here, but this is the edict. This is the warning. You get inside, you stay away from open spaces.

And we have been seeing here in the UAE almost it feels an increased amount of emergency alerts.

[03:05:06]

We saw just about an hour ago in Abu Dhabi, there were a number of interceptions overhead on last evening, Saturday evening. We saw one person killed as debris from an intercepted missile or drone hit the car that they were traveling in. We also saw Dubai Marina. This was one of the buildings that took damage and many of the surrounding buildings were evacuated as well. So, we have been seeing continued significant incoming here in the UAE, by far the largest and most significant impacted of all the Gulf nations.

Now, we did hear some conflicting messages from the Iranian president, Masoud Pezeskhian, on Saturday in the morning. He personally apologized in what we believe was a prerecorded message, saying that they would not be targeting their neighboring countries unless there was fire coming from those neighboring countries.

Now, for some, that was seen as a sign that that the Gulf nations and other nations neighboring Iran would not be targeted anymore. That is clearly not the case, suggesting that Pezeshkian does not have control over the military, or at least those who are in control of the drones and the missiles.

So, we have been hearing some conflicting messages out of Iran, suggesting that that the command -- the chain of command is not as clear cut as it may appear to be. He said he was speaking for the three leadership council, the three member leadership council, but, clearly, the IRGC, those in charge of the arsenal have a different idea.

And we have been seeing across the Gulf over the last 12, 24 hours sustained drone and missile attacks in Kuwait, for example, there was a 22-storey building that was hit. We understand that this was the Social Security headquarters in Kuwait. So, it doesn't appear to be linked to the U.S. in any way. Kuwait also saying that they had targeted the fuel storage supply at the international airport.

Two border security personnel, we understand, have been killed over the past 12 hours. In Saudi Arabia, they've had a couple of dozen drones, it appears, in the early hours of Sunday morning. Bahrain, there's a fire at a facility in the seaport there. And in Qatar, we understand that the leader has spoken to the U.S. president about what is happening, and he has warned that the ongoing escalation could have, quote, dangerous repercussions for the world, pushing the U.S. president to go back to diplomacy. That's certainly the message coming from these Gulf nations.

And on Saturday we also saw an extremely rare appearance and an interview by the UAE leader. He really doesn't do interviews, but he did call Iran the UAE's enemy. That's a remarkable change from the rhetoric we have seen in the past, also saying that the response from the UAE should not be perceived as weakness, that the UAE is strong. All of the Gulf nations continue to say they reserve the right to retaliate. There's no public change in what they say that they are doing when it comes to this war. But Iran is consistently or continuing to say that if they see attacks coming from these Gulf nations, these neighboring nations, then they will continue to retaliate. Ben?

HUNTE: Okay. Paula, thank you so much for that.

Oren, I'm going to come back to you. We understand that you were at an anti-war protest yesterday. Can you tell us what you saw there? And what are you hearing from people on the ground as this conflict enters its second week? LIEBERMANN: Ben, you're right, we attended an anti-war protest in Tel Aviv's HaBima Square. It was, and the protesters acknowledged this, a small protest, maybe 50, 60, 70 people. And they were gathering there in defiance of home front command instructions, which said -- which say that you can't have more than 50 people in a group. But for them, it was important to come out. Fully aware they are though that the vast majority of the countries supports the U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran and supports the war.

So, as they stood there, we had a chance to talk to a few of them and we asked them, why come out here? Why try to make this point when virtually everyone around you in Israel supports this war? And one of the points made by Ofer Cassif who is an Israeli lawmaker was that, look, every protest movement starts small. But for them, it was important to be out there first to show the world that there is this voice. And, second, to show others with these feelings and they believe these feelings will grow across the country as this war begins to drag on, that it's important to come out and to get that voice out.

[03:10:02]

And interestingly, Cassif pointed to the beginning of the Gaza war back in October, when the anti-war movement was incredibly small. But we then fairly rapidly saw that grow into hundreds of thousands on the streets of Tel Aviv, calling for an end to the war and calling for a hostage deal to end that war within just a matter of months or even weeks. So, that's why they decided to come out.

Now, they were met by counter protesters, including right wing provocateurs who shouted at them, held up U.S. and Israeli flags. In fact, one of those called the protesters useful idiots. None of that deterred the minority anti-war protesters. Again, they know they're not a vast majority of the country here. Perhaps they never will be. But for them, it was important to get that voice out to show the country and the world that there is a group here who opposes the U.S. and Israeli war on Iran and opposes the effort to topple the regime.

One of the other questions I asked Cassif, or one of the other issues that came up as we were talking, he said, look, the ayatollah leads a murderous regime. And it's not like he's in favor of them. He's happy to see that regime or the ayatollah removed, but he said, it's not for the U.S. and Israel to intervene in Iran to do that. These are questions up to the Iranian people. So, it was interesting to hear his perspective and we will certainly hear as we are on day nine, see if that movement grows.

They had come out one time earlier in the week. That was an even smaller number, 15, 20, something like that, perhaps not even that many. So, we'll see where this movement goes, and if it grows from here, but especially when you see the majority of a country support a war, it was a noteworthy perspective to hear on the ground in Tel Aviv. Ben?

HUNTE: Thank you, Oren.

Paula, I'm going to come back to you, if I can. We're hearing about Iran's top security officials saying that U.S. President Donald Trump must, quote, pay the price for waging war with Iran. Can you just tell us a bit more about that, because those were very scary word, aren't they?

HANCOCKS: Well, certainly, in wartime, Ben, you're going to hear some pretty strong rhetoric from both sides. We've been hearing very similar from the U.S. president, Donald Trump. He was asked about those words from Larijani on Air Force One. He said he didn't really care.

But what we've heard from Larijani as well is that that he believes that President Trump has made a miscalculation, believing that what they're doing in Iran right now could be based on what they did in Venezuela. He brought that up saying that they have made a miscalculation, that it is not the same situation. And we have been hearing from Iranian officials all along that it is a very different situation. Iran is a very different country. They will not respond in the same way as we have seen in other countries.

So, what we're hearing from inside Iran at the moment is a fairly disjointed message, depending on who you listen to. You have Masoud Pezeshkian, the president, apologizing to neighboring countries, saying that they're not going to strike them anymore unless they see strikes coming from these countries. He then clarified those comments somewhat suggesting that there will continue to be U.S. military assets and U.S. targets being targeted in those countries. And then you hear from the military, you hear from Larijani, and it is far more bellicose. It is far more hard line things being said that that we are hearing.

So, it's not a consistent message coming from Tehran at this point, potentially pointing to the fact that a number of the leadership have been killed by these U.S. and Israeli strikes, the ayatollah, that the supreme leader was killed right at the beginning of this war. But what we are hearing from Larijani is obviously trying to project strength project the fact that they will not be divided, and that, as he said, Trump himself will pay a very dear price. Ben?

HUNTE: Okay. Paula Hancocks and Oren Lieberman, thank you both so much. We appreciate your reporting. Please stay safe.

Onwards, CNN is the first U.S. network to start reporting from the ground in Iran since the conflict began, we're operating there only with government permission.

Our Senior International Correspondent Fred Pleitgen and Producer Claudia Otto just filed this new report on the black rain that's falling in the capital following airstrikes and fires at Iran's fuel storage areas.

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FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: 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.

[03:15:02]

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 those strikes took place,

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HUNTE: The remains of six U.S. soldiers killed by an Iranian drone in Kuwait have now been 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 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, quote, 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 Three Robert Marzen, 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.

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 clear 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 Mike Yoshida.

HUNTE: Okay. We will be right back.

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[03:20:00]

HUNTE: The U.S. embassy in Oslo was hit by an explosion in the early hours of Sunday. Norwegian police say the blast caused minor damage, but no injuries were reported. It is unclear if this is linked to the war in the Middle East, but multiple U.S. diplomatic and military buildings across the Gulf have come under attack by Iran.

U.S. President Donald Trump is threatening to escalate attacks in Iran. He says he does not want to involve the Kurdish Armed Forces in the fight, but he's not ruling out the possibility of U.S. boots on the ground.

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

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: I don't even want to talk about it now. It's -- I don't think it's an appropriate question. You know, I'm not going to answer it. Could there be possible 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.

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HUNTE: The United Nations is warning the war with Iran could unleash a potential humanitarian crisis. A U.N. official told CNN an estimated hundred thousand people may have left Iran in the first two days of the conflict. A new organization is now worried about impacts beyond Iran. In Turkey, the government has drawn up plans to prepare for a potential refugee influx, including building a buffer zone near the border with Iran and erecting tent camps for refugees.

Meanwhile, residents say getting basic necessities, like food and petrol, has now become more difficult.

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OZGUR YASAR, TURKISH CITIZEN: There's no shortage of food, but there are real long queues. The same goes for gas, diesel, and gasoline. People wait in line for a very long time. Actually, they wait for two to three hours, then you can get enough for yourself. And when you go to the bread queue, they only give you three loaves of bread a day, or sometimes not even that much. (END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTE: Let's bring in former CNN Senior International Correspondent Arwa Damon. She's the founder and president of the International Network for Aid Relief and Assistance. Arwa, it's so good to see you. Thank you for being with me.

The U.N. is warning of a humanitarian crisis with so many people on the move across the region. What are you seeing on the ground in Turkey right now?

ARWA DAMON, FOUNDER AND PRESIDENT, INARA: You know, at this stage, we're not seeing all that big of an influx, nothing that's going to resemble the sort of influx that Turkey is potentially preparing itself for. But it's important to keep in mind that even though we're not seeing that just yet at this stage, that doesn't mean that it's not going to happen.

And actually one of the big sort of challenges that people who are on the other side of the bombs face is that in all of the military planning and all of these scenarios that keep being battered about in terms of what could quite possibly happen next, a lot of which are really half-baked when it comes to the actual strategy and logic that is behind them.

[03:25:19]

We still do see a very severe lack of preparation when it comes to the humanitarian front. It's not really an aspect that is often, if at all, incorporated into any sort of military offensive, which is quite striking given that, historically speaking, you know, a people's stability, a people's ability to access things like food, water, basic medical care really does play into any sort of post-conflict stability.

That being said, we are seeing mass movements when it comes to places like Lebanon with the Norwegian Refugee Council saying that there at least 300,000 people have been forced to flee their homes. And we need to keep in mind what that means. That means complete and total panic and chaos, and people walking, carrying their children, you know, dragging their suitcases, whatever it is that they quite possibly can. And then there's, of course, the impact on populations that are refugee populations already. Remember, a place like Lebanon is host to a significant number of Syrian refugees. Turkey is as well.

And then within Iran itself, we have a country that is also hosting one of the world's largest refugee populations, a vast majority of which are Afghan. And among those who have either been forcibly returned back to Afghanistan, or those who have fled since the bombing began, there are a grave number of concerns when it comes to how is it that they are actually going to provide for themselves within Afghanistan itself.

And so what we see very clearly right now at this stage is beyond the sort of bombing and military, you know, space that this U.S.-Israeli offensive on Iran has created, we're also seeing a humanitarian one. HUNTE: Well, you mentioned there that a wave people has not hit Turkey just yet, but Turkey does already host one of the largest refugee populations in the world, including millions of Syrians. How prepared do you think the country actually is to cope with another wave of people?

DAMON: Look, I mean, on the one hand, Turkey does unfortunately have the ability and the experience to be able to spin up, you know, fairly quickly if it does get the support that it needs from the outside. Turkey is another one of those countries that is, as you mentioned, they're hosting a massive refugee, you know, population without really getting the financial support that it actually needs to do so. And that is going to potentially be one of the biggest challenges, especially if this is, you know, dragged out as long as it is potentially expected to be dragged out.

And the other challenge, of course, is not just in terms of, you know, hosting a refugee population, but then also trying to figure out exactly what that is going to mean for the future. There are grave concerns throughout the entire region that a lot of these, you know, displacements that we're seeing, not necessarily from Iran itself, but from Lebanon, for example, are going to end up being permanent. And that is going to cause a severe sort of instability factor for all who are involved.

And adding to Turkey's list of concerns is not just, you know, the concern vis-a-vis a potential, you know, Iranian refugee population that could end up here, but it's also some of the comments that have been coming out of Israel. Obviously, you know, Turkey has been one of the countries to come out at the forefront of very, very harsh criticism of Israel going back to what was happening in Gaza or what has been happening in Gaza for the last two and a half years.

And then you have Naftali Bennett, the former prime minister's comment, who granted is not a member of the current government, but still when he comes out and says something along the lines of Turkey is going to be the next Iran, that does also cause, you know, great waves of concern here in terms of where is this going next, exactly what is Israel thinking and how far will America let Israel go.

HUNTE: Yes. There is also a humanitarian angle that I don't think is getting much attention. Iran hosts quite a large Afghan refugee population. If instability forces more of them to leave, what does that mean for the Afghan families who wanted safety and schooling and work in Iran? Where do they go now?

DAMON: Well, that is, you know, one of the many tragedies in all of this. And it's also worth noting that over the last sort of year, year and a half, Iran has actually been forcibly returning close to a million Afghans who were sheltering in Iran.

[03:30:00]

And this goes back to the 12-day war where Iranian authorities came out and basically accused Afghans of colluding with Israel that set off this wave of force deportations. And we have to keep in mind that when that happens, it's not like Afghanistan is a country that is capable of reabsorbing a population. It is a country that is in complete and total shambles obviously under the rule of the Taliban that never has and most certainly at this point in time is not receiving sufficient humanitarian aid or assistance. And the vast majority of the population lives under the poverty line.

Now, since the 1980s, you know, Afghans have been going to Iran and since, you know, the U.S. led invasion of Afghanistan and then what happened afterwards with the Taliban retaking over, waves and waves of Afghans went to Iran, some of them looking for work, but some of them, and actually a fair number of them, families who actually wanted to give their girls a chance at an education. Because as we all know, the Taliban government in Afghanistan does not allow girls to go to school after the sixth grade.

Now, these families who are having to return to Afghanistan, either because of this forced displacement or right now because they are quite simply seeking some measure of safety, are going to find themselves in conditions where, by and large, they won't be able to access work. They will struggle to find any semblance of humanitarian assistance. And there are girls who are older than, you know, the grade -- the age that you would be to go to school above grade are not going to be able to access an education. And that is absolutely devastating and gutting.

We also need to keep in mind that the majority of the Afghan population in Iran lives in these sort of impoverished neighborhoods on the outskirts of the capital, Tehran, and in other areas, buildings that are rather decrepit. And so when these bombs, you know, shake the capital, they're not just shaking a lot of these older buildings. They're actually bringing them down. And that is what we're hearing from, you know, some Afghans that have returned to Afghanistan because they had to flee Iran and have been speaking to the media there.

HUNTE: Well, we'll leave it there for now. But Arwa Damon and Istanbul, thank you so much and I'm so glad that you are doing the work you're doing that our team actually set up this chat as well, really, really important stuff. So, thank you.

Okay. Still to come, the latest on the U.S. and Israeli war with Iran, including China's stark warning. That is ahead.

See you in a moment.

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[03:35:00]

HUNTE: Welcome back. I'm Ben Hunt. Let's take a look at 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 joined the soldiers' families in a dignified transfer on Saturday. Donald Trump called it a sad day, but says he does expect to attend more solemn events as, quote, a part of the war.

Donald Trump also told reporters that U.S. ground troops could possibly be sent to Iran, but he says there would have to be a, quote, very good reason. He also gave a rambling answer about whether U.S. troops would be sent to secure enriched uranium at Iran's nuclear sites. Trump saying, at some point, maybe we will, but we wouldn't do it now.

Flights have begun taking off in Israel at its main airport resumes departures. On Sunday, Ben Gurion Airport sent out its first outbound flight since the war with Iran began. Officials say around 2,000 travelers will fly out of Israel on 40 flights on Sunday.

Qatar's leader says the ongoing war in Iran will have dangerous repercussions for the world unless it's resolved through diplomacy. The country's news agency says, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani spoke with us President Donald Trump on Saturday. The Qatari emir added that his country won't hesitate to defend itself.

Qatar is home to the largest U.S. military base in the Middle East. The country has been the target of a barrage of missile fire from Iran.

Well, CNN's Antoinette Radford is live in Doha for us this hour. Antoinette, thank you so much for being with me. Can you just bring us up to speed on the missiles that were fired at Qatar overnight, please?

ANTOINETTE RADFORD, CNN PRODUCER: So, the latest here from Qatar, Ben, is at 1:30 this morning the Ministry of Defense said ten ballistic missiles and two cruise missiles were fired from Iran to Qatar. Of the ten ballistic missiles, six were intercepted, two landed in Qatar's territorial waters, and two actually made landfall here, but they landed in an uninhabited area, so there were no injuries recorded. Both of the cruise missiles were intercepted.

Here on the ground, we last got an alert to our phones of elevated danger at around 6:30 last night. I heard three very loud intercepts taking place, but overnight we haven't heard much more.

As you mentioned, the other thing we did hear overnight was that the emir of Qatar spoke with U.S. President Donald Trump and stressed how important it is to try and use diplomacy to find a solution to this. As you said, he warned that this could have dangerous consequences on global security and peace. He also said, as you mentioned, that Qatar will not hesitate to defend its sovereignty and defend itself against any incoming attacks.

Now, that's particularly poignant right now, because yesterday, the Iranian president, Masoud Pezeshkian, actually apologized to Gulf states for Iranian strikes on them. He then walked that back throughout the day and said that as long as U.S. base continue to be in Gulf states, Iranian attacks will continue.

Now, for people on the ground, it's hard to say what that really changes, whether that shifts the dial at all. But for more than 8,000 stranded travelers who are here, who are looking to leave yesterday, six Qatar Airways flights took off to London, Paris, Madrid, Frankfurt, and Rome. Those flights have returned this morning, as well as coming back from Bangkok. Ben?

HUNTE: Okay. Antoinette Radford, thank you so much for that. We appreciate it. Please stay safe out there.

Ahead of a planned presidential summit in Beijing, China's top diplomat is calling for an immediate end to the Iran war and for all sides to return to the negotiating table. Otherwise, he warned the flames of war risk spreading. China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi told reporters, this is a war that should never have happened and benefits no one.

CNN's Steven Jiang is in Beijing for us. Steven, China's foreign minister said the U.S. should help manage differences ahead of the summit. How have people been reacting to those words so far?

[03:40:00]

STEVEN JIANG, CNN BEIJING BUREAU CHIEF: Yes, Ben. But, you know, let's go back a little to his comments on Iran, because that was really top of the minds of most reporters at that press conference. And he really didn't say anything he hadn't said in terms of reiterating a lot of these positions and key lines that he had been saying for days.

So, if you are a senior official sitting in Tehran, what you get from China is rhetorical, diplomatic, moral support, but not a lot of concrete commitment, certainly not direct to military assistance. That, of course, is being watched very closely because China, of course, has been calling Tehran one of its strategic partners. In recent years, Beijing have been pulling Tehran closer and closer to its orbit as that regime faced increasing isolation from the west.

But ever since the war broke out, China has been what could be described as very pragmatic. But some adolescents have also used a term based on a cold calculus, because, obviously, they need Iranian oil. It is the biggest buyer of Iranian oil exports and also has investments there. But don't forget, China has a lot more extensive economic interest, including investments in countries outside of Iran. It also needs a safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz for its energy and chemical imports from other countries in the Gulf region.

So, China, what it has been doing is, you know, offering a lot of these rhetorical support, but other than sending a special envoy to the region, it really has not provided a lot of things on the concrete front. But this is also part of the reason why a lot of people think ultimately the issue of Iran ranks fairly low, below the top priorities on the list of Chinese Leader Xi Jinping as he prepares for that very anticipated summit with his U.S. counterpart, Donald Trump, as you mentioned.

So, I asked the foreign minister if the U.S. war with Iran would have any potential impact on Donald Trump's visit to Beijing later this month. Here's what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WANG YI, CHINESE FOREIGN MINISTER: 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, even though he did not answer the question directly, the underlying message, according to most (INAUDIBLE) is Xi Jinping still welcomes and anticipates Donald Trump's visit of Beijing, which, of course, is also very important given how tumultuous bilateral relations had been since Trump's return to the White House. Ben?

HUNTE: Okay. Steven Jiang, thank you so much. I appreciate it.

Onwards, Israel is partly switching tack in its strikes on Iran and starting to go after its oil infrastructure. Still ahead, we look into what kind of targets could be next on the U.S. and Israeli wish list.

See you in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:45:00]

HUNTE: Iran's oil facilities took a hit overnight as Israel moved into what it called its next phase of the war while U.S. President Donald Trump indicated he could expand operations in Iran. Well, earlier, CNN National Security Analyst Alex Pitsas explained what's been struck so far and what targets could be next.

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ALEX PLITSAS, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: The White House laid out four clear objectives earlier this week. They tried to clarify what the U.S. military objectives were, and the Pentagon sort of backed that up in their statements as well, and so we've seen four things that they're after. So, one was sinking of the Navy, so 47 boats have been sunk. The second was the ballistic missile program. The Israeli said today there's about 120 launchers left, in their opinion. The third are the proxies, and then, finally, fourth are the nuclear sites.

So, if we look at what we see here in the very beginning of the operation, right, we saw some targeted strikes around Tehran, we saw leadership and then we've seen a lot of strikes in this area here on sort of the western portion of the country. And they went after first intelligence-driven targets, leadership, and then the retaliatory capabilities, ballistic missiles and drones. Now, they're moving to infrastructure bases and the security forces.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: This is a strike right now. We have video of an airport strike inside Iran, not far from Tehran, but also we're getting word that these oil depots there were hit. What's the goal there, hitting Iran's oil infrastructure when, to an extent, sort of the impact on the oil industry is something that's, you know, having a backlash in the United States?

PLITSAS: Right. So, the oil infrastructure that the Iranians have been targeting in some of the GCC countries, the Gulf countries that we've seen, you know, so whether it's over, you know, trying to target, you got the UAE, you know, Qatar, Bahrain, you know, Kuwait here as we're looking, and then obviously Saudi Arabia, there's a concern that they're going to go after production. The Strait of Hormuz here, we've got all the oil sort of choked because the boats are not transmitting because of security reasons.

What was struck tonight in Tehran seems to be oil depots that were storage, which at least, according to the United States, is being used for military purposes to fuel vehicles.

BERMAN: And ground troops, let's talk a little bit more about ground troops, to pull this map back up. And, obviously, we don't want to reveal any secrets that any of us may be privy to or not. But how would the United States use ground troops if they're not, by the way, going to arm the Kurds and have the Kurds come in from Iraq?

PLITSAS: Sure. I'm purely speculative just based on the objectives of the mission and what we're seeing here on the map and find the president's comments, which were just played a moment ago. He said, look, they would have to be decimated to the point where they couldn't really fight us on the ground.

If we look at the map again here, what we see is we just highlighted where we have struck. What we haven't really talked about is where we haven't struck. So, it's this entire area of the country really hasn't been hit.

And so if the intention really is by the president to go with regime change, the people in the security service are the ones with the guns. The people on the ground don't have, any of your average civilian. So, you'd have to target all the security services in that area. So, you'd have to work your way across. That's a big scenario for troops.

You could also see surgical targeted U.S special operations missions provided that that was necessary. There is no real ability to occupy the country, 90 million people. It's massive, and we simply don't have the troops deployed. They're literally not there.

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HUNTE: President Donald Trump is once again suggesting that Cuba is next on his administration's agenda after he predicted a, quote, 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 Americas 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.

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HUNTE: Well, the U.S. has been engaged in 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.

CNN's Patrick Oppmann has more on how the Cuban government is weighing its options.

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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.

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 has 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 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 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.

HUNTE: We will be right back.

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HUNTE: The Israeli military says it launched a fresh wave of attacks across Iran on early Sunday. A huge fire has been raging near a petrol storage facility in Tehran. Look at those pictures. That is after an Israeli source said the country's military is now going after those sites as part of its next phase of the war, my goodness.

Residents of Tehran woke up this morning to blackened rainfall that appeared to be saturated with oil after major refineries were hit, according to a CNN team reporting on the ground.

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 surged to the highest national average since August of 2024. The average price per gallon is up 43 cents in just the last week and is currently hovering around $3.41. And many Americans remain anxious that more price hikes could still be on the way.

The prize per barrel of crude oil is soaring in value as Iran targets the world's largest exporters in the Middle East, and a crucial Strait of Horus remains effectively shut down. WTI Crude is trading at nearly $91 a barrel, and Brent Crude at $92.69.

Okay. That's all I've got for you. Thank you so much for joining us. I'm Ben Hunte in Atlanta. There is more CNN breaking news coverage with Lynda Kincade right after this break.

See you next week.

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