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Slain Ayatollah's Son Named Iran's Supreme Leader; Oil Prices Jumped More Than $100, World On Alert for Limited Oil Supply; Protests and Demonstrations Held Worldwide to Commemorate International Women's Day. Aired 3-4a ET

Aired March 09, 2026 - 03:00   ET

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

[03:00:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

UNKNOWN (voice-over): This is CNN Breaking News.

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers here in the United States and all around the world, I'm Rosemary Church.

And we begin with breaking news out of the Middle East. The Israeli military is launching a new wave of strikes on Iran as U.S. President Donald Trump says he will decide along with Israel when the war with Iran ends.

Earlier we saw black smoke hanging over Tehran after Israel said it was targeting Iranian missile launch sites and regime infrastructure. Smoke also seen rising over the Lebanese capital, Beirut, where Israel says it struck infrastructure belonging to Iran-backed Hezbollah.

Meantime, sirens sounded in Tel Aviv and Haifa and emergency services were seen in central Israel after Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard says it launched missiles shortly after senior clerics named the new Supreme Leader. Mojtaba Khamenei has been selected to succeed his father, the late Supreme Leader, who was killed in a strike at the start of the war. Iran is now calling on the public to gather nationwide today to pledge allegiance to the new leader.

And we heard Sunday from the U.S. Defense Secretary who discussed President Trump's suggestion of an unconditional surrender by Iran. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAJOR GARETT, CBS NEWS CHIEF WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: President said recently there will be no deal with Iran except unconditional surrender. What does that look like, unconditional surrender? How will you know it's real?

PETE HEGSETH, U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: That means we're fighting to win. It means we set the terms.

We'll know when they're not capable of fighting. There'll be a point where they'll have no choice but to do that.

Whether they know it or not, they will be combat ineffective. They will surrender.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: CNN's Oren Liebermann joins me now from Tel Aviv with the latest. Oren, what are you learning?

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF: Well, Israel continues to carry out strikes both in Iran and in Lebanon as this war remains at an incredibly intense level. And you see wave after wave of Israeli airstrikes, and that's, of course, in coordination with the U.S. military that also continues to pound Iran.

Over the course of the past 48 hours or so, we saw Israel start going after Iran's oil production facilities and oil refineries. That is what one Israeli source said was the next phase, without detailing too much into it. But now it seems that after spending eight or nine days of the war going after the centers of power, that is, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the regime itself, they're now going after the economic and financial arms of the Iranian regime here.

This continues. We saw Israel announce strikes around the IRGC's air force headquarters, according to the Israeli military, as well as continuing to go after facilities belonging to the besieged, which falls under the IRGC.

Same on the Lebanon front where we have seen Israel continue to carry out wave after wave of strikes as they target Hezbollah. Israel is showing no signs that it has any intention of slowing down. And at least from what we see on the U.S. side of it, there's no indication that the U.S. wants Israel to slow down.

So this continues to be a war where Israel has effectively said they're going to keep attacking here until their goals are accomplished. It seems very clear they're waiting for the regime to fall, although there's no clear plan of how that would happen here as we enter a new day of war.

CHURCH: Yes, and Oren, I wanted to talk to you about that because, I mean, they talk about regime change. In actual fact, now the baton has been passed on to the son of the late supreme leader. So what's been the response there to that?

LIEBERMANN: Well, Israel had even targeted the council that was set to meet to elect the new supreme leader and had even targeted, according to an Israeli source, Mojtaba Khamenei, the son of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in a strike last week. The Israeli assessment is that he was injured in the strike but obviously not killed here.

Israel has made clear that this is unacceptable, even if they haven't said so explicitly since Mojtaba Khamenei was named. Defense Minister Israel Katz said in the first days of the war that basically they would continue to target this regime, and if it wants to vote in a successor, they'll target that successor as well. Meanwhile, in terms of who is Mojtaba Khamenei, he is as hardline, if

not more so, than his father. He has close ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. President Donald Trump even said he's completely unacceptable. So what you have here with the election or the choosing of Mojtaba Khamenei as Iran's new supreme leader is a clear indication that the war will rage on.

CHURCH: All right. Oren Liebermann, joining us live from Tel Aviv with that report. I appreciate it.

[03:05:10]

I want to turn now to CNN's Paula Hancocks. She joins us live from Dubai. And Paula, what more are you learning about attacks on various Gulf States?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well Rosemary, there's no let-up in the Iranian retaliation among these Gulf nations. Just in the past few hours, there have been a number of interceptions in Abu Dhabi, here in the UAE.

We also know in Bahrain, there have been a number of injuries as a residential area was hit by a drone: 32 have been wounded, four of them seriously, according to authorities. This happened in the area of Sitra, which is about five kilometers south of the capital. We understand it is close to energy infrastructure and there was significant damage.

Now, we have heard from a senior Iranian official saying that as the U.S. is now targeting energy infrastructure, they will do the same. To be fair, we have been seeing them do that for several days now. But we've also seen in Bahrain a fire at an energy infrastructure facility at BAPCO, the national oil company, and we're waiting to hear more details about that.

Now, in Saudi Arabia, we have heard that the seventh U.S. service member has died. It was from injuries sustained last week in an attack. So that brings the death toll of U.S. service members to seven.

We've heard that the U.S. State Department has ordered all non- emergency personnel from the embassy to go home and to leave Saudi Arabia. That joins a long list of countries where they have made that order.

And then also in Kuwait, we saw that a drone was shot down by the National Guard. They didn't say exactly where, but they did say it was at one of its sites under protection. So clearly one of the key vital facilities in Kuwait.

So what we're seeing here is absolutely no let-up in the assault from Tehran to these Gulf nations. As we see, the new supreme leader has been named. There appears to be a continuation of the Islamic regime's policies, a continuation of the former, the late Ayatollah's policies as well and his legacy.

And that is continuing, we can see on the ground here in the Gulf nations.

CHURCH: All right. Our thanks to Paula Hancocks for bringing us that live report from Dubai, I appreciate it.

Well video from Iranian state television shows celebrations in Tehran after Mojtaba Khamenei was named the new supreme leader. The assembly of experts that elected him is urging Iranians to maintain unity and pledge allegiance to the new leader. And here's what one Iranian woman had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN (through translator): It was a profound happiness. We truly didn't know whether to mourn the loss of our leader or rejoice at the selection of the new leader. Mr. Mojtaba is very much like his father. Of all the possible candidates, he was the most deserving and the one most similar.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: The White House has not yet responded after the announcement of Iran's new supreme leader on Sunday. President Trump just last week said the appointment of Mojtaba Khamenei would be unacceptable. And he's previously stated that one of the goals of the war was to wipe out Iran's Islamic regime.

Well the war continues to cause oil prices to soar, putting countries around the world on alert. Brent crude surged past $100 a barrel on Sunday. It is the first time the global benchmark has crossed that mark since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

And here's where the price sits right now. You can see that the WTI, the U.S. oil benchmark, also hit its highest level since 2022.

And CNN's Mike Valerio joins me now from Beijing with more. And Mike, what will disruptions to energy supplies mean for the world, really?

MIKE VALERIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The thing to keep in mind here is that even if the energy supply is fine where you're watching, take our friends and family members in the United States, the energy supply is not fine here in this corner of the world. In Asia, there is a disruption. The supply is threatened because around 90 percent of the energy that flows through the Strait of Hormuz is bound for where we are, East Asia.

So if there is a disruption, that means that oil producers in the United States and around the world are going to charge more because there is a greater need for oil when there is a larger scarcity of it, when there is this crisis in the making.

[03:10:00]

So that means that the stuff that we all buy from Asia, be it microchips, or Samsung T.V.s from South Korea, cars from Japan, because there is an energy disruption, it will, in theory, cost more to produce, to power the factories and to ship those items overseas. So you look at the markets here. The closing bell has rung in Tokyo

and Seoul.

Seoul down around 6 percent, the number is still settling a little bit. Tokyo down more than 5 percent.

And it just goes to show you that those effects that we were just talking about are already being felt. The fears that because energy is being disrupted, that that could slow down these economic powerhouses here in Asia and lead to higher prices.

We talked about it in this last hour and we're going to talk about it now again. We're acutely looking at Taiwan, which our CNN reporting has been able to convey to our viewers and readers on CNN.com, that Taiwan has a statutory requirement to have 11 days' worth of natural, liquefied natural gas supplies, which is one of their main sources of energy. Because when you think about it, Taiwan can't really produce its own energy.

It has to ship in so much of its energy needs. Liquefied natural gas is one of those major components.

So it is said that the cabinet of the island, the ruling party has said that its supplies are okay for March. But there seems to be a question mark for April, shoring up those supplies. About a third of it comes from Qatar, a third of it comes from Australia.

So it's not a question of a place like Taiwan not having energy, but it's a question of a severe disruption, potentially increasing prices.

One more update before we go. We just want to update our viewers. We reported it in the last hour.

South Korea's President Lee Jae-myung just a few hours ago saying that the crisis could become so acute that for the first time since 1997, he wants to implement price caps for what South Koreans pay at the gas pumps. Because from his point of view, from the government's point of view, when as we look at this situation from Asia, this could go on longer than weeks and have widespread impacts, Rosemary.

CHURCH: Mike Valero with that live report from Beijing. Many thanks, of course.

Still to come with Iran announcing its new supreme leader. We will take a closer look at the potential regional impact for the country's neighbors in the Middle East.

And the war with Iran is putting many E.U. leaders in a tough spot. We will have the latest reactions from Europe in a live report. Back in just a moment.

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[03:15:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) CHURCH: More on our top story, Israel and the United States war with Iran. Israel says it has launched new strikes on central Iran and on Hezbollah targets in Beirut. Meanwhile, Israeli air defenses are intercepting Iranian attacks.

(VIDEO PLAYING)

Sirens sound in Tel Aviv and an Iranian projectile was shot down over Jerusalem. Gulf nations are also reporting strikes today. Iran's latest barrage of strikes comes after it announced a new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, the late Ayatollah's son.

For more on the region-wide implications of this conflict, I want to bring in Ali Vaez, director of the Iran Project of the International Crisis Group. He joins us live from Geneva. Good to have you with us.

ALI VAEZ, IRAN PROJECT DIRECTOR, INTERNATIONAL CRISIS GROUP: Good to see you, Rosemary.

CHURCH: So, when Iran's supreme leader was killed at the start of this war, President Trump said the worst case scenario would be if somebody just as bad took over. And now we know that the son of the late supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, is that new leader, a man more hardline than his father. What impact will this likely have on what happens next in this war?

VAEZ: Well, Rosemary, this is absolutely a rebuke of President Trump. The Islamic Republic is signaling that after years of pressure, sanctions and now military aggression against Iran, Trump has managed to change one Khamenei with another.

And this one is more likely to be driven by hatred and not, quote, "strategic calculations," as was the case of his father. The U.S., in an attack that U.S.-Israel killed his father, it also killed his mother, his wife, his sister, his nephews, his own son. So, he's coming in with a massive personal baggage here.

CHURCH: And President Trump is now saying that he will decide, along with Israel, when to end this war with Iran. What might that mean, given the goal of regime change appears unachievable at this point, doesn't it? Will the U.S. and perhaps Israel need to make destruction of Iran's nuclear program, its ballistic missiles, its drone capabilities the main goal if they ever want to end this war?

VAEZ: Look, even today, the President has enough of a victory narrative to end this war. He can say that he killed the Supreme Leader, that he's degraded Iran's defensive capacities, that he has destroyed, once again, Iran's nuclear program. The narrative is there.

The real question is, would he truly be able to justify this war, given that, again, Iran is still standing, the regime is still standing, and now it's in the hands of another Khamenei. I'm afraid maybe this selection of Musharraf al-Khamenei is more of a provocation, which could, in and of itself, prolong the war. Because I'm sure both Israel and the United States would want to eliminate him, which might be very difficult, given how the security measures that he's going to definitely put in place.

CHURCH: And Iran says that the war is now entering a new phase, and Israel's military just announced a new wave of strikes on central Iran and strikes on Hezbollah infrastructure in Beirut.

[03:20:08]

Where is all of this going? What is this next phase?

VAEZ: Look, this is certainly on an escalatory cycle, and it is very likely that we would see both sides would actually increase their strikes on one another and take bolder and bigger risks, especially against infrastructure.

And that battle, I'm afraid, would turn the region into an absolute scorched earth. And this could go on for much longer, and its implications could outlive even a potential ceasefire several days or weeks down the road. So unless either side decides to take a step back, this is definitely going to go from bad to worse.

CHURCH: Given what we know right now, how long do you think this is going to take? How long will this war likely last, do you think?

VAEZ: So one key question here is the question of the depth of the magazine, as they say, or the degree of ammunition that either side has. We know that the U.S. interceptors are running low. What we don't know for sure is how many Iranian missiles are still at the disposal of the regime because some of the launchers have been taken out.

And Iran can continue firing drones towards the Gulf countries and also to put pressure on the Strait of Hormuz. So minimum, Rosemary, I think this is going to go on for another week or two. The max level might be for another three or four weeks, but I really doubt that it could last longer than that.

CHURCH: You don't see this as a protracted war then, as some people suggest?

VAEZ: No, its implications, again, might outlive even if the war is over. Iran might become a failed state and descend into civil strife, and then that would create a huge source of instability for the rest of the region. Or we might see frequent, smaller-scale confrontations between Israel and Iran or the U.S. and Iran in the coming months.

But this phase, the way that it is designed now, with the pressure that it has put on the world of energy markets, travel, everything, it's hard to imagine that it can go on for much longer than four to five weeks.

CHURCH: Let's hope you're right. Ali Vaez, thank you so much for talking with us and sharing your perspective and analysis. I appreciate it.

VAEZ: Thank you.

CHURCH: Well, French President Emmanuel Macron will soon be visiting Cyprus. It comes as France is now deploying warships to the Mediterranean after a drone attack on Cyprus last week.

Britain has said the drone struck one of its military bases on the island. The U.K. says it was not launched from Iran, but it was similar to the drones Iran uses.

Meanwhile, most leaders across Europe continue to walk a fine line between offering some support for the U.S. military action in Iran, while also warning of a worsening situation in the region.

And for more on Europe's response to the war with Iran, CNN's Sebastian Shukla joins us now from Berlin. And, Sebastian, it is a difficult balancing act, isn't it? So what can we expect from Europe, from Emmanuel Macron in the midst of this war?

SEBASTIAN SHUKLA, CNN PRODUCER: Yes, good morning, Rosemary. I think what we're seeing is a show of support from President Macron and from the other 27 E.U. members as well.

Don't forget, Cyprus is based in the eastern Mediterranean. There is the E.U.'s closest member to this theater of combat that's taking place in the Middle East. And as you alluded to, has been a recipient of attacks that have come from the region.

We don't know exactly where that drone was launched from, but it didn't come from Iran. But nevertheless, what the Europeans here are trying to do is show support and solidarity, which is why Emmanuel Macron, the French President, is heading there today where he will meet with his counterparts, the Cypriot President and the Greek Prime Minister, where he will say that they want to demonstrate solidarity with Cyprus, that's the quote from the Elysee Palace.

And as you mentioned, Europe here are kind of scrambling to put assets, military assets in the region, none of them to join this conflict, I hasten to add, but lots of them to act in a defensive posture to be able to protect European assets in the region and protect the European Union, Cyprus in this instance, which ironically, at the moment, is also holding the European Commission's rotating presidency of the bloc.

And so there were a host of meetings that were going to be taking place in the country this week that have now been canceled by European leaders and will all now be virtual. But the physical appearance of Emmanuel Macron is a step in solidarity with Cyprus.

[03:25:05]

And as you alluded to, the French warship, the Charles de Gaulle, has been launched, which will be in that zone very shortly, that comes alongside Italian vessels, Greek vessels, Spanish vessels that will also all be doing the same. And last night, interestingly, Rosemary, Emmanuel Macron spoke with the Iranian President, where he said, I emphasize the necessity for Iran to immediately cease its strikes against countries in the region.

Those are countries in the Gulf region. And he also reiterated again this stance that is coming clear now from European leaders, where they are not condemning the attacks that the U.S. is taking and the actions taking place against Iran, but are increasingly telling the Iranians that they need to stop the reciprocal attacks, which is Iran's nuclear ballistic programs and its entirety of its destabilizing activities in the region, which lie at the root cause of this crisis, must come to an end.

It's a show of solidarity more than anything else, Rosemary, because what the one thing the Europeans do not want is for them to be dragged into this conflict.

CHURCH: Right. And Sebastian, Iran's drones are proving to be problematic for the United States and for Israel and as a result, Ukraine's President Zelenskyy is sending a drone expert team to help in all of this. What were you learning about that?

SHUKLA: Well, Rosemary, if you think how this war is taking place, it is a use of drones and ballistic missiles. There is no country in the world who is more well-versed in handling and combating this sort of military activity than Ukraine. It's been going at this now.

It has learned how to handle Shahed drones, Iranian-made, but perhaps in this instance, Russian-built, which they're facing in the battlefields of Ukraine. They know and they have the military know-how of how to deal with this. And what President Zelenskyy is saying is that, look, I'm going to send my people from Ukraine to the Middle East to consult with you about how best you can combat these with the latest techniques that we have developed on the battlefields in Ukraine.

But there is a quid pro quo element to it, too, Rosemary, which is Ukraine wants to ensure that if it delivers military expertise in this instance, that, A, it doesn't fall off the agenda of importance for European leaders and particularly for the United States. But it also wants a replenishment of Patriot missile systems, those air defense missile systems, which are so crucially needed for Ukraine to be able to combat airstrikes that have been bludgeoning Ukraine now for years, but in particular over the last months, this particularly cold winter, have been slamming into Ukraine's infrastructure. And every time you fire one, that means there's one less to use.

And in recent months, Ukraine has been burning through them at a rate of knots. But this is very much a specialized maneuver here from Ukraine to be able to deliver some expertise to allies at a time when they have it and where people are asking for it. Rosemary.

CHURCH: Sebastian Shukla bringing us that live report from Berlin. Many thanks.

And still to come, limited flights resume from more airlines going to and from the Middle East. We will have the latest from Doha on how travel during the war is improving.

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[03:30:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

UNKNOWN (voice-over): This is CNN Breaking News.

CHURCH: Welcome back to "CNN Newsroom," I'm Rosemary Church. I want to check today's top stories for you.

Iran's President visited civilians wounded in the ongoing war with the United States and Israel. Iranian state T.V. showed him meeting with patients being treated at a hospital in Tehran on Sunday. Iran's U.N. ambassador says more than 1300 civilians have been killed in attacks since the war began just over a week ago.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says the U.S. is still investigating whether it is responsible for a strike on an Iranian school. Analysis by CNN shows the U.S. was targeting a nearby Revolutionary Guard base at the time of impact. The tragic attack on February 28 killed at least 168 children and 14 teachers.

Iranian officials have named the son of the late Ayatollah Ali Khamenei as the country's next supreme leader, according to state media. In a statement, the IRGC issued its full backing for Mojtaba Khamenei, but U.S. President Donald Trump says the new supreme leader, quote, "is not going to last long without his approval."

Iran's new leader has kept a low profile, but that's about to change. CNN's Isobel Yeung tells us more about him.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ISOBEL YEUNG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As many in Iran celebrated Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's death, others mourned it. But his second son, 56-year-old Mojtaba Khamenei, was planning to step into his father's shoes and into the heart of war with Israel and the U.S.

Mojtaba Khamenei is Iran's declared new head of state, the spiritual leader for a brutal regime his father came to embody before he was slain by Israel and the U.S. in joint strikes. Alongside his father, Mojtaba's mother and wife were also killed in U.S.-Israeli airstrikes.

MAHA YAHYA, DIRECTOR, CARNEGIE MIDDLE EAST CENTER: The signal regime is sending is continuation. We're still holding together. It's more of the same.

And in fact, we're going to become even more hardliners than we were before. All the military pressure that the country is under is not going to get us to shift position.

YEUNG (voice-over): Born in Mashhad in 1969, Mojtaba Khamenei served in the Iran-Iraq war and studied in the holy city of Qom. Mojtaba Khamenei has strong links with the security establishment, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as well as the besieged paramilitary force, relationships he's likely to foster if he wishes to rule in the same vein as his father.

But the junior Khamenei could struggle for legitimacy, even among supporters of the regime. He's not a well-known cleric and has not held government office. And a father-to-son succession may not be palatable to the supporters of a revolution that overthrew a monarchy.

But the new Ayatollah's greatest challenge is the regime's current existential threat, posed by the war unleashed by the U.S. and Israel.

[03:35:06]

Israel has confirmed the new leader will immediately be an assassination target, if he isn't won already. Trump says the U.S. and Israel have killed dozens from Iran's leadership circle since 28th of February. And they're far from finished, which complicates plans for a U.S. preferred successor.

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: Well, most of the people we had in mind are dead. So, you know, we had some in mind from that group that is dead. And now we have another group, they may be dead also, based on reports.

So I guess you have a third wave coming in. Pretty sure we're not going to know anybody.

YEUNG (voice-over): The appointment of Mojtaba suggests that, at least for now, regime change has not been successful. A new Ayatollah and a new enemy of the United States and Israel, with at least one advantage over his peers, he's still alive.

Isobel Yeung, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: President Trump isn't ruling out the use of American ground troops in the war with Iran. While speaking to reporters aboard Air Force One, he downplayed the possibility of special forces seizing enriched uranium at Iran's nuclear sites. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPORTER: Mr. President, don't you need ground troops to secure the enriched uranium at the nuclear sites?

TRUMP: We find out about that. We haven't talked about it, but it was a total obliteration. They haven't been able to get to it.

And at some point, maybe we will. You know, that'd be a great thing. But right now we're just decimating them.

But we haven't gone after it. But something we could do later.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Earlier, Axios' Barak Ravid spoke to CNN about his latest reporting that the U.S. is weighing whether to use special forces to seize Iran's nuclear stockpile. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARAK RAVID, CNN POLITICAL AND GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST, AND GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT, AXIOS: Well, obviously, this would be a highly risky and complex operation. But what I heard from people very close to the President is that getting this material, those 450 kilograms of highly enriched uranium, is one of the key things that they want to try and do during this war. I think it will depend a lot about the progress that they think they can make over the next few weeks in the air campaign they're going to go on or they're going to continue.

And obviously, in order to go on such an operation, let's say, in a place like Isfahan, which we're talking about an underground tunnel, it's a very big facility, you basically need to make sure that this whole area doesn't have any enemy combatants in it. This is not a simple thing to do.

So I think if this operation will take place, it will take place in an atmosphere in a reality where the Iranian military or the IRGC are not really functioning. We are pretty far away from that point. But I think one of the goals of the Trump administration and the Israeli government is to try and reach such a point.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Qatar Airways has resumed limited flights throughout the Middle East amid the worsening conflict. On Sunday, the airline offered flights to Oman and a handful of major cities in Europe from Doha. Some flights from those cities will also return to Doha.

Stranded travelers have been at the mercy of canceled flights, closed airspace and the danger of attacks near airports since the war with Iran began.

And CNN producer Antoinette Radford joins us now live from Doha, Qatar. Good to see you again, Antoinette. So what more are you learning about these flights?

ANTOINETTE RADFORD, CNN PRODUCER: Yes, Rosemary. So, Hamad International Airport here in Qatar is a major international transit hub. Thousands of passengers pass through here every day in normal times to get connecting flights from Europe through to Asia, all around the world.

So what that means is when the airspace closed last week due to Iranian missiles, 8000 people were stranded here. So that meant that 8000 people had to find accommodation. The Qatari government put them up over last week, but for a lot of them, they wanted to get home.

I actually ran into some of them who were near me, where I was staying, who seemed very confused about the situation. Throughout last week, we saw that the UAE had started to put on a few more flights. And we wondered here in Qatar how long it may be until our flights would resume here.

On Saturday, limited flights started taking some people back to Europe via an air corridor. They were limited repatriation flights. As you said, they then brought people back to Qatar, people who wanted to come home back here on Sunday.

[03:40:06]

And today, Qatar Airways has taken people back to Europe, back to Asia, and back to places in the Middle East. Some of these stranded passengers, returning them to their friends, their families, their loved ones today, Rosemary.

CHURCH: All right. Antoinette Radford in Doha. Many thanks for bringing us up to date on that situation, I appreciate it.

Well, coming up next, concerns are growing for the Iranian women's soccer team as the war in their country escalates, while some are now calling on Australia's government to ensure the team's safety.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: Iranians in Australia staged a show of support for their women's soccer team, whose members have been called traitors by Iranian state media.

(VIDEO PLAYING)

Expats chanted, save our girls there as the team's bus pulled away. There are fears for the team's safety after players did not sing the national anthem before a match last week. Reza Pahlavi, the son of Iran's last Shah, has joined calls for the Australian government to ensure the safety of the team. Despite those fears, the team's head coach says she is eager to return home.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARZIYEH JAFARI, IRANIAN WOMEN'S SOCCER COACH: We are very impatiently waiting to return. Personally, I would like to return to my country as soon as possible and be with my compatriots and family.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: Craig Foster is the former captain of the Australian national football team and is now a human rights activist and refugee advocate. He joins us live from Sydney. Good to have you with us.

CRAIG FOSTER, HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST, REFUGEE ADVOCATE, AND FORMER AUSTRALIAN FOOTBALL CAPTAIN: Thank you.

CHURCH: So, Craig, can you tell us a little more about what happened last week as the Iranian national anthem played before a match and why the team members' actions could put them in danger back home?

[03:45:01]

FOSTER: Yes, so this is what we know. The Iranian team played in their first match. They were silent during the anthem in a kind of replication of what the male team did at the 2022 Qatar World Cup.

And we know that then that team was reportedly coerced into then singing the anthem in the following match. The same thing occurred here. In the second match, the women were not only singing but saluting the anthem as well.

And from that moment on, we heard and we've seen that, you know, they have been labelled on state T.V. back in Iran as, quote, unquote, "wartime traitors." And there is a tremendous level of concern for their safety and wellbeing and, in fact, whether they're being able to access the relevant advice or exert their rights to get legal support or access within camp, because they certainly have not been allowed to speak to anyone outside of that environment.

CHURCH: And as we were reporting, their coach wants to return home. How do their team members feel?

FOSTER: Well, no one knows that because they've effectively been sequestered or, if you like, really held hostage. So they haven't been able to commute with anyone outside of the actual group. Now, that includes the domestic players association or the players union here in Australia, who have responsibility for any football players that come to the country.

And if there's any inference or any concern that any group is unsafe or feeling unsafe in Australia, then that group should be allowed to speak to the athletes and provide any legal services or otherwise. Also, FIFPRO Asia, which is the Asian federation of athlete representation of football players, have requested to be able to address the group individually and to provide a safe environment where they can express whether they are or are not feeling unsafe and what they'd like to happen. And that has been denied.

So the AFC, the Football Confederation, has carriage of the group at the moment because they're out of the tournament. And many people, including myself, are calling on them to make sure at the very minimum that this group is provided with independent, trusted legal access, so that if any of them are in a position where they feel that are unable to go back to Iran, or they would like to stay in Australia, or they're feeling unsafe in any way, they can express those concerns confidentially, privately and safely.

CHURCH: And what is the Australian government likely to do in this situation?

FOSTER: I think at the moment, they're certainly aware of it. They're waiting for what actions the AFC will take. I think, you know, it's good that international media are right across this story, I think that is important in cases like these.

We've had many in football, particularly with women in football, who, you know, too often, you know, have their rights violated in a whole range of ways. We've seen a number of cases in recent years. It's important that the visibility of this case has expanded so that at least the AFC and even the Iranian Football Federation understand that the eyes of the world are on these women, the eyes of Australia are certainly on them.

And there's a lot of calls here for them to be granted protection. Of course, the Australian government is very aware, like the coach, for example, some or many or even all of them may not require or be seeking protection because they do have family members and many children back in Iran. So it may be that they need to leave.

But the problem that we're having in Australia at the moment is that they're not being provided with their basic rights of any athlete should have in any global competitive environment to access any advice they so desire outside of their team environment. That's a fundamental right of all athletes and the AFC have not intervened and ensured that the players can do so and they must.

And if they're not able to allow the players to exert those basic rights, then the Australian government should step in. Because this is a tournament on Australian soil. These are the rights that all people are whether Australian or otherwise have while they're here.

And Australians feel strongly that this team should not leave until they've been provided the opportunity to let at least trusted in a private space to access that legal advice and let people know whether they feel safe or otherwise.

CHURCH: All right. Thank you so much for joining us, we appreciate you joining us here. Craig Foster, thank you.

Well, International Women's Day was celebrated across the globe on Sunday. But how did millions of people choose to mark the ongoing battle for women's rights? We'll have more on that next.

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[03:50:00]

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CHURCH: Commuters in Scotland are waking to find major travel disruption as a huge fire in Glasgow has engulfed an historic building near the city's main train station. Dozens of firefighters have been tackling the blaze, which erupted on Sunday.

This eyewitness video shows fire and smoke billowing from a building believed to be close to Glasgow Central Station. The fire service says the blaze began on the ground floor of a four-story commercial building. Glasgow Central connects regular rail services across the U.K. and remains closed this morning, no casualties have been reported so far.

The U.S. military carried out another strike on an alleged drug trafficking boat in the eastern Pacific. According to Southern Command, the strike killed six people. Officials say the boat was targeted because it was on a route used by drug traffickers.

The government has not provided any proof that the vessel did in fact have drugs on board. So far, at least 157 people have been killed in strikes by the U.S. military for suspected drug trafficking.

An improvised explosive was thrown near the residence of New York City's mayor on Saturday after opposing protest groups clashed.

[03:55:06] It happened after tensions during an anti-Islam protest boiled over. Police say a counter-protester threw the explosive. The New York City Police Department said the bomb was capable of causing serious injury or death.

International Women's Day was marked across the globe on Sunday as people came together to commemorate the ongoing battle for women's rights.

In Spain, thousands of women lined the streets of Madrid dressed in purple, where they called for further progression towards gender parity.

The Greek capital Athens saw mass participation in its Women's March, with those involved expressing their solidarity with women in conflict zones around the world.

And in Mexico City, people marched to draw attention to violence against women. Just one in 10 cases of femicide leads to a conviction in the country.

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UNKNOWN (through translator): I think there are more now, as women are more awake to demand and to make themselves heard. And I believe this is something we must continue supporting.

We should be treated the same way, with the same rights. I know we have different roles, but I believe we equally deserve rights and justice.

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CHURCH: And finally, in Chile, tens of thousands marched in Santiago in a symbolic gesture ahead of the inauguration of far-right President-elect Jose Antonio Kast.

I want to thank you so much for your company, I'm Rosemary Church. Our breaking news coverage continues next on "Early Start" with Rahel Solomon and Becky Anderson.

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