Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Four Sites Impacted, Six People Wounded in Iranian Missile Strikes at Tel Aviv; Oil Prices Dropped, Stock Markets in the Green following Trump's Announcement of Pausing Strikes to Iran's Power Plants. Aired 3-3:45a ET

Aired March 24, 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)

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

We are following the latest wave of Iranian strikes on Israel and you are looking at live footage of the aftermath of a missile attack on Tel Aviv, where Israeli officials say there are at least four impact sites and six people wounded so far. Police say search and rescue teams are on the ground at several of the impact sites as well as bomb disposal experts. The IDF had warned earlier this morning of missile launches from Iran.

So let's bring in CNN's Paula Hancocks. She joins us live from Dubai. Paula, what is the latest that you're learning about these missile attacks on Tel Aviv?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rosemary, the latest we have from authorities in Israel is that there have been four sites where there has been a point of impact. Unclear at this point whether it is a projectile that hit its target or whether it was debris from an interception.

We do know from authorities that they believe six people have been injured but not serious injuries. We're waiting for an update on that. You see from the images from Tel Aviv itself that there has been damage to some buildings, to streets.

You see fires being put out by the emergency services that are on the ground at this point and they are carrying out searches as well to check there are no more injured people.

Now, what we see at this point is a number of impact points. It's not clear what munition was used by Iran. We have in recent days and weeks actually been seeing Tehran using cluster munitions, which is a munition which effectively detonates into smaller bomblets before it hits its target so it is spread across a much wider area.

And of course it is far more difficult for air defense systems to be able to intercept as well. So this is what we've been seeing as a trend from Tehran hitting targets in Israel.

So we have been seeing a number of these missiles getting through the air defense systems over recent days. The IDF says that they do have a 92 percent interception rate.

But when some do get through, like they did over the weekend, we do see some high numbers of injured in the cities of Arad and Dimona over the weekend where there were interceptions that failed. We did see more than 150 people being injured.

Now, we do have the latest figures as well from Israeli authorities when they're talking about the injuries saying that more than 120 have been injured over the past 24 hours, two of those in critical condition.

We are, though, seeing Israel continuing its bombardment of Iran. They have said that in recent hours they've targeted the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps main headquarters in Tehran, also saying that they have been targeting military buildings in the vicinity of that as well.

We did hear just a couple of days ago from Israel's defense minister, Israel Katz, saying that their attacks were going to increase significantly over the coming week.

Now, when it comes to this attack in Tel Aviv, we had heard several hours ago from the Iranian authorities through state-run television, a semi-official Fars news agency, saying that they had what they called something special planned, that they were going to carry out attacks on Tel Aviv and also on regional allies of the United States. Now, whether this is what they were planning is unclear at this point, but we have been seeing interceptions in a number of Gulf nations as well, Kuwait, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia overnight.

So, despite the fact we're hearing from the U.S. President that negotiations are underway, something which Tehran denies, saying there are no such talks between the U.S. and Iran, but we are seeing a continuation of the fire going in both directions. Rosemary.

CHURCH: Our thanks to Paula Hancocks, bringing us that live report from Dubai. Many thanks.

[03:05:01]

Well, this comes as President Donald Trump declared a five-day pause on striking Iran's power plants on Monday. He claimed the two countries have been talking.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: We have major points of agreement. I would say almost all points of agreement. Perhaps that hasn't been conveyed.

The communication, as you know, has been blown to pieces. They're unable to talk to each other. We're doing a five-day period, we'll see how that goes. And if it goes

well, we're going to end up with settling this. Otherwise, we'll just keep bombing our little hearts out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: But state media is reporting that Iran's foreign ministry says there's been no dialogue. A senior adviser to the Supreme Leader says the war will continue until Iran receives full compensation for damages.

Meanwhile, a Pakistani official tells CNN Islamabad is ready to host talks involving Iran, the U.S. and Israel. And oil prices dropped sharply after the President's announcement to postpone strikes on Iran's power plants.

Brent crude, the global benchmark, fell nearly 11 percent on Monday to just under $100 a barrel. Now it has crept back up above $102.

CNN's Eleni Giokos is in Dubai for more on all of this. Good to see you, Eleni.

So oil prices dropped, stock markets soared on word from President Trump that he's pausing these strikes on Iran. A lot of mixed messages, though, on possible talks. What are you learning?

ELENI GIOKOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, a lot of oscillating rhetoric, frankly, and a lot can change in the matter of a few hours. And I think it's very indicative in terms of what we're seeing on the stock market front.

We had a bit of reprieve yesterday after the messaging that they're going to push back any attacks on Iran's power plants, which, of course, would have been very escalatory. And now we're seeing oil prices once again ticking up because nothing has changed in the Strait of Hormuz, it is still effectively closed.

We have seen also a lot of damage to critical energy infrastructure across the Gulf States as well. You've got to tally up those numbers. And frankly, the damage to oil supply and a lot of destruction in that oil supply chain has already been made.

We don't know how long that will last, but effectively, there's major concern of what happens in the day after and whether there is potentially some kind of off ramp that can be secured by the end of the week. Markets are not entirely convinced.

But I think it's also very important to know that here in the UAE, we've seen incredible damage to very critical infrastructure, specifically in Abu Dhabi and ADNOC being a really major player in the UAE. The ADNOC CEO, Sultan Al-Jaber, had a very strong message in terms of what this means, not only for the region, but also how the Strait of Hormuz is the lifeblood -- is the oxygen for the oil sector. And it's not just about oil being passed through and carrying through around almost a fifth of the world's oil supply, but also those important downstream products.

I want you to take a listen to his message in Ceraweek in the United States.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SULTAN AL JABER, CEO OF ADNOC: Let me be absolutely clear.

Weaponizing the Strait of Hormuz is not an act of aggression against one nation, it is economic terrorism against every nation. And no country should be allowed to hold Hormuz hostage. Not now, not ever.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GIOKOS: And that's effectively what we've seen. Iran has weaponized the Strait of Hormuz. It is weaponized militarily as well as financially, inflicting pain across the world. President Trump clearly not wanting to see that impact domestically because Americans really do vote on the cost of living.

And that's a really important element for President Trump, especially heading to the midterms.

In the meantime, what does the next few days look like? How much of Iran's military capabilities have actually been degraded as we're in now the 25th day of this war? And you're seeing those strikes in Israel.

We also heard in Kuwait that some power lines were taken out because of debris falling on critical energy infrastructure there. And it's really just an interesting scenario that's playing out because it shows what kind of devastation it can have if we do start seeing strikes specifically on energy infrastructure, on power plants, Rosemary.

And that's just another element over and above what we're seeing in the Strait of Hormuz and what we're seeing with oil supply shocks taking hold of everyone around the world.

CHURCH: All right. Our thanks to Eleni Giokos bringing us that live report from Dubai.

Displaced Lebanese who fled Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon are vowing to return to their villages despite roads being cut off. The IDF has been ramping up strikes on homes and bridges along the Litani River to try to sever Hezbollah supply lines.

[03:10:07]

CNN's Nick Paton Walsh brings us a closer look at what the people there are enduring.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Something familiarly awful is happening here. Israel said leave to the town of Nabatieh two weeks ago. Now life is ground out of its streets.

PATON WALSH: This extraordinary devastation just helps explain how the south is being emptied. Ultimately a strategic part of the Israeli campaign here and those blasts distant.

PATON WALSH (voice-over): Even higher up still no calm.

PATON WALSH: They deal with the constant noise of jets around them here but also just overnight intensification of airstrikes. And because they're up on the hill here they feel and see everything. And of course the injured from it come into here as well.

DR. HASSAN WAZNI, GENERAL DIRECTOR, NABATIEH GOVERNMENT HOSPITAL: All strikes we hear here.

PATON WALSH: You hear everything up here?

WAZNI: Everything, yes, we hear everything. Like yesterday was horrible. Yesterday many, too many strikes.

PATON WALSH (voice-over): There are fewer people below so fewer patients than at the start.

HUSSEIN NADAR, NURSE, NABATIEH GOVERNMENT HOSPITAL: Once we've got nine children together have been injured. Three of them died and the rest lost their families. Eighteen people martyred in that strike, all civilians.

PATON WALSH (voice-over): The burns unit treating a rescue worker who ran headlong into the carnage.

AHMED AWADA, RESCUE WORKER (translated): When we moved towards it, the missile hadn't exploded yet. But the building was full, more than30 or 40 people. We started evacuating them, and so on.

Eventually, the missile went off.

PATON WALSH (voice-over): And doctors' families have moved in as it's safer here.

UNKNOWN: Are you getting scared here?

UNKNOWN: No, I don't get scared.

UNKNOWN: She isn't getting scared. I stay strong for my kids. So they don't feel fear.

Everything changed for them. They used to have a playroom. They played in the garden, rode their bicycles.

Here, there's nothing.

PATON WALSH (voice-over): To the south, near Tyre, where we also filmed with Hezbollah's permission, life, too, is being squeezed out.

Sunday, Israel warned twice it would blow up all the bridges to the south, sparking panic. Which one would they hit first?

PATON WALSH: There's a shouting warning about the jets, which we've been hearing over the last half hour now. This one particularly, though.

PATON WALSH (voice-over): This, the force used. And they would hit it twice again later.

Yet more isolated now in Tyre is the entire village of Majdal Zoun, who we met earlier, and fled their homes to this school.

YOUSSEF SHUHEIMI, MAYOR OF MAJDAL ZOUN: 50 families, 51 families. About 240 persons.

PATON WALSH (voice-over): Five of the men dead, two girls here without fathers, who sleep with their grandmothers here, but are still girls.

SHUHEIMI: I want to tell you a secret.

SHUHEIMI (translated): They were fighting but they made up.

PATON WALSH (voice-over): Although Zainab keeps pushing Yasmin's arm away still.

UNKNOWN (translated): We built a secret bakery her and me. We can show it to you. It was ruined by the cats.

PATON WALSH (voice-over): A million are forced from their homes in Lebanon and into anger. Imagination where these girls hide from horror even in the mud.

Mohamed is 16 and worldly.

PATON WALSH: What do you think of Trump?

UNKNOWN: Not good.

PATON WALSH: Not good.

UNKNOWN: Bad.

UNKNOWN: Very bad. Very not good.

I hate him. He's so bad. And we know that about the Epstein.

PATON WALSH: Yes. The Epstein files.

PATON WALSH (voice-over): But no calm here either.

PATON WALSH: So they say that four days ago they got what must have been a fake warning, a telephone call to the people here to get out as quickly as possible. So they say they ran out down here as fast as they could and hid down on the beach for five hours until the threat had passed.

PATON WALSH (voice-over): The city's old ruins sit silent and powerless as it keeps getting new ones.

Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, South Lebanon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Still to come, the latest details on a deadly plane crash in Colombia.

[03:15:04]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: At least 64 people were killed when a Colombian Air Force plane crashed shortly after takeoff with 128 people on board.

A video geolocated by CNN shows the moments just before the C-130 Hercules aircraft went down. A first responder says the plane likely suffered an impact near the end of the runway. Video shows the wreckage engulfed in flames.

The plane went down in a rural field just two miles from the airport in Colombia's southern Amazon region. Almost everyone on the plane was Army personnel, apart from two national police officers and 11 Air Force members.

[03:20:09]

Dozens were injured, several of them had to be transferred to nearby hospitals. Colombia's defense minister says authorities are investigating what caused the crash, adding there's no indication of foul play.

Federal investigators are now on the ground at New York's LaGuardia airport after a deadly runway collision Sunday night. The National Transportation Safety Board says multiple teams are sifting through the wreckage and examining every angle of this accident as part of the investigation.

Authorities say the pilot and co-pilot were killed when the landing Air Canada jet struck a Port Authority fire and rescue truck attempting to cross the runway while responding to a separate incident. One of those pilots has been identified as Antoine Forest. His family members have expressed his love of flying and FAA officials describe both pilots as young men at the start of their careers.

CNN's Shimon Prokupecz has more on the collision.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SHIMON PROKUPECZ, CNN SR. CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: New video shows a moment of a deadly collision between an Air Canada plane and a fire truck at LaGuardia airport. Ten seconds after giving the truck permission to cross the runway, the air traffic controller frantically warns it to wait.

TOWER: Stop truck one, stop. PROKUPECZ (voice-over): But it was too late to stop the collision that

killed two pilots and injured dozens.

TOWER: JAZZ 646, I see you collided with the vehicle just hold position. I know you can't move. Vehicles are responding to you now.

PROKUPECZ (voice-over): The Air Canada plane was going 104 miles an hour when it hit the truck. Passenger Rebecca Liquori described the moments just before the crash.

REBECCA LIQUORI, AIR CANADA PASSENGER: You heard the pilot try to brake like he was trying to prevent the collision that occurred. And as you heard the brake, you just, a couple seconds later, it was just a very loud boom and everybody just jolted out of their seats. People hit their heads, people were bleeding.

PROKUPECZ (voice-over): 41 passengers and two crew members went to the hospital. The port authority said 32 people have already been released. Many ended up sliding off the plane's wing to exit safely.

One of the flight attendants was found alive outside the plane, still strapped to her seat, according to a law enforcement official.

LIQUORI: It was a very harrowing scene. We were all emotional and it was just very scary.

PROKUPECZ (voice-over): Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy tried to reassure travelers at a news conference at LaGuardia on Monday.

SEAN DUFFY, U.S. TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY: It's incredibly sad. It's troubling. And I just want to let America know that we are working our hearts out to make sure that when people travel, whether by rail or car or by air, that they travel safely.

PROKUPECZ (voice-over): The collision shut down New York City's second largest airport for more than 14 hours, leading to hundreds of canceled flights. This comes as there's already been significant travel disruptions and delays resulting from the government's partial shutdown.

GOV. KATHY HOCHUL (D-NY): Let's acknowledge the tremendous stress, particularly in recent days, that our airline workers are under. And as we come through here, know that this is an ecosystem which is not self-sustaining.

PROKUPECZ: It's really tough times here, and certainly for many of the victims here and the people who were aboard the plane, who really just took action to try and save each other to get off that plane.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHURCH: Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents are expected back at 14 different airports across the U.S. on Tuesday. The Department of Homeland Security declined to answer how many agents were mobilized.

They're supposed to help the understaffed TSA, which is experiencing a massive number of call-outs due to the partial government shutdown. But on Monday, President Trump suggested they may have other motives.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: We put ICE, who are a very high level, I mean, they really are a high level group of people, and they love it because they're able to now arrest illegals as they come into the country.

That's very fertile territory. But that's not why they're there. They're really there to help.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: The plan has been met with mixed response. Many Senate Democrats have openly opposed it. And while some travelers appreciate efforts to reduce waiting, they are more concerned with TSA officers still going unpaid.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNKNOWN: I think they should just fund the Department of Homeland Security, pay those workers. They're here for a reason. They protect us every day. I don't think ICE agents should really be up there just filling in the hole.

[03:25:00]

UNKNOWN: What kind of security are they going to provide? Is it the same type of security they're doing in Minneapolis, where even U.S. citizens are going to be concerned about not having the right paperwork?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: We'll pick up our coverage of the war with Iran just ahead. New Iranian strikes on Tel Aviv, Israel this morning, plus the latest on President Trump's claims of peace talks, back in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:30:01]

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

Voting is underway in Denmark. Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen is seeking a third term. Despite voter concerns about the cost of living and immigration, her popularity has increased thanks to her strong support for Ukraine and her handling of President Trump's efforts to acquire Greenland.

An investigation is underway in London. After several ambulances outside a synagogue were set on fire, they belong to a Jewish volunteer rescue group. Police are searching for the three suspects spotted in this surveillance video that say so far there have been no arrests, British authorities are treating the incident as an anti- Semitic hate crime. Israel is responding to the latest wave of missile strikes. An Iranian

attack left cars burning and buildings damaged in Tel Aviv this morning. Police say search and rescue teams and bomb disposal experts are at several of the impact sites, Israel's military had warned earlier today of missile launches from Iran.

Let's bring in Jasmine El-Gamal. She is a former Middle East adviser at the U.S. Defense Department and now host of "The View From Here" podcast. I appreciate you joining us.

JASMINE EL-GAMAL, FOUNDER AND CEO, AVEROS STRATEGIES, FORMER MIDDLE EAST ADVISER, U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT, AND HOST OF "THE VIEW FROM HERE" PODCAST: Thanks for having me, Rosemary.

CHURCH: So President Trump says major progress has been made during talks with Iran, but Tehran denies any direct negotiations, even as we learn that Pakistan is getting ready to host talks between Iran and the U.S. and Vice President J.D. Vance will apparently attend. So what is true and what is false?

EL-GAMAL: That's right. Well, that's always the million dollar question in these kinds of high stakes negotiations.

You know, each side is trying to play some brinksmanship, if you will, not holding or holding their cards very close to their chests to give them a bit of leverage in those talks and also to make sure that their domestic constituencies don't think that they are capitulating. So, of course, the Iranians are denying that there are any direct talks, but we know that there is a flurry of diplomacy behind the scenes from regional actors like Turkey.

The Turkish foreign minister, Hakan Fidan, has been calling his counterparts in the GCC, just hosted them yesterday in Turkey, trying to talk about a unified sort of stance or approach to counter the Israeli-American approach when it comes to these talks or the future of the region in general. And we know that Pakistan now, from various reports, wants to get involved because it is a country that has actual relations with all of the different actors.

On the J.D. Vance issue, the Iranians are extremely distrustful, and for good reason, about Steve Witkoff. They see him as someone who is untrustworthy and didn't relay properly what was happening in the last round of negotiations. And so that's where you see a new name being floated to try to bring the two sides together for talks.

CHURCH: So how hopeful should we be that an off-ramp could be found and could be found pretty soon?

EL-GAMAL: Well, I would caution. I wouldn't be too optimistic for now, Rosemary, just for a couple of reasons.

One is, as you know, twice now in the last two years, one right before this war and another time last year before the 12-day war, we did see diplomacy taking root and then was abruptly ended by U.S. and Israeli strikes. So there is reason to believe that this could be yet another ploy to wait until all the necessary assets are in place on the American side to begin a new round of strikes against Iranian targets.

The other is that President Trump very conveniently mentioned this new five-day deadline right at the beginning of the week when markets opened, and the end of the deadline is right at the end of the week when markets close. So just something to keep in mind as we game out the possible scenarios coming up in the next few days and then through the weekend as well.

CHURCH: Yes, that has added some skepticism, hasn't it?

And Iran has said that the war will continue until Tehran is fully compensated for damages. President Trump has said that 15 points of agreement have been reached with Iran. What are those likely points of agreement?

EL-GAMAL: Well, I mean, we know a couple of things. We know that the Iranian regime is still standing and is more hardline in many ways than the one before it only because of what happened to them over the last few weeks.

[03:35:01]

We know that the Iranians are likely thinking that they have to instill a level of deterrence that is so high that they are not placed in this situation again. So negotiation-wise, whereas the Iranian regime may have had a lot less leverage, ironically, before this war, now because of just the fact that they've remained standing and they've held their own against the U.S. and Israel in many ways, including by controlling the Strait of Hormuz, they are actually, they would be entering into any new negotiations with higher leverage than they would have had before in the previous negotiations.

They're going to be looking at security guarantees and ways to make sure that their security is tied in to the security of the region, that if someone next time were to try to attack Iran, they would know that they would be bringing chaos to the entire region. So those are going to be some of the points that the Iranians are going to be bringing to the table.

CHURCH: Jasmine El-Gamal, thank you so much for joining us. We appreciate your perspective and analysis.

EL-GAMAL: My pleasure.

CHURCH: And still to come, micro snails, a turquoise viper and even a flying snake. We will show you some of the brand new species found living in the caves of Cambodia. Back with that in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:40:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone. Well, after years of talks, Australia and the European Union have

finally sealed a landmark trade deal. The agreement will slash nearly all tariffs on European products exported to Australia. The two sides have also agreed to bolster defense and security ties.

This is the latest in a string of deals hashed out by world and regional powers looking to diversify during a time of growing global uncertainty, fueled in part by the U.S. President's trade wars and tariffs.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

URSULA VON DER LEYEN, EUROPEAN COMMISSION PRESIDENT: Today we are telling an important story to a world that is deeply changing. A world where great powers are using tariffs as a leverage and supply chains as vulnerabilities to be exploited.

In our story, open rules-based trade delivers positive some outcomes. Trust matters more than transactions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHURCH: The Australian Prime Minister says the deal will be worth about $7 billion to the Australian economy.

A survey of largely unexplored limestone caves in northwestern Cambodia has uncovered a range of new species. They include a turquoise pit viper, a flying snake, several geckos, two micro snails and two millipedes.

The survey took place between November 2023 and July of last year, it explored 64 different caves across 10 hills. Each hill and cave in the rocky landscape is isolated from the others, which means they all hold their own distinct life forms, according to the conservation charity, Fauna and Flora.

I want to thank you so much for your company, I'm Rosemary Church. Enjoy the rest of your day. "World Sport" is coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[03:45:00]

(WORLD SPORT)