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Israel, Iran Trade Missile Attacks as Hostilities Escalate. Aired 12-1a ET

Aired June 08, 2026 - 00:00   ET

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

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Becky Anderson in Abu Dhabi.

[00:00:08]

And we begin with a new escalation of tensions in the Middle East. Israel says it has struck military targets in the Western and central region of Iran, just hours after Iran launched a wave of missiles at Israel.

Now, Israel had vowed retaliation after intercepting missiles launched by Iran for the first time since early April. Iran claims it struck an air base in Northern Israel and has threatened to launch further attacks if Tel Aviv continues its offensive in Lebanon.

Let's bring in CNN's Oren Liebermann, who is live in Jerusalem. And, Oren, let's just start with the very latest, as we understand it.

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF: Well, right now, we're waiting to see in which direction this goes. Over the course of the past couple of hours here, we have seen Israeli -- an Israeli warning of incoming fire from Yemen.

The Houthis have not fired on Israel, at least not a missile, since early April. In fact, it is early April, the last time we saw incoming Iranian ballistic missiles, as well.

So, we clearly see here all the signs of a potential escalation, or rather, a continuation of the escalation that we're already seeing.

But a lot of this depends on where this goes from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. And of course, what is it that President Donald Trump will allow?

In a series of interviews with different media outlets, Trump said late Sunday night that he would urge Netanyahu not to retaliate.

Then he said -- told "The Financial Times" that he calls the shots and not Netanyahu.

And then, of course, we see Israel -- Israel saying it has carried out strikes against military infrastructure in Iran, even after Trump had told Axios's Barak Ravid that he would urge Netanyahu not to retaliate. In terms of what was struck first, the Israeli military said they were

carrying out strikes in central and Western Iran. We saw reports of explosions in three cities: Tehran, Tabriz, and Isfahan.

And then, just a short time ago, Israel's ambassador to the United States, Yechiel Leiter, gave us a bit more information on what it was that Israel was striking after the military gave very few details.

He said the targets were surface-to-surface missile launchers. And as I'm talking to you now, we're getting a warning of -- sort of an advance warning of the potential for incoming fire. So, we'll keep an eye on that.

But Leiter, the Israeli ambassador to the United States, said the targets were surface-to-surface missile launchers and what he described as non-energy infrastructure.

Becky, at least in this moment, those are interesting, because they are not particularly escalatory targets. Obviously, targeting energy infrastructure would have almost certainly brought about an Iranian response; to Gulf energy infrastructure, and that would hit oil markets almost immediately.

And then Israel didn't, at least from what we're seeing so far, carry out strikes, or targeted killings, or assassinations on -- on senior Iranian officials. That is also telling.

So, this may have been, and it was almost certainly in coordination with the United States. This may have been the U.S. sort of giving a window of targets that Israel was allowed to attack, targets that -- that the U.S. believed would not lead to a runaway escalation here.

But, of course, this is all still very early hours here, and we need to see which direction this goes.

ANDERSON: Yes. And Oren, stand by, if you can. If you can't, understand that you will perhaps need to leave the seat. We'll -- we'll keep in touch with you.

I want to bring in Fred Pleitgen, who is on the ground. Fred, I hope you could hear what Oren was detailing there and what we understand to have been the Israeli targets in Iran. Do you have any further details at this point about what was struck?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Becky. Well, the Iranians so far are not offering further details as to what exactly was struck by the Israelis.

As Oren had mentioned, Iranian state media, but then also the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps saying that, apparently, areas around Tehran, the capital where I am, then also Isfahan and Tabriz were struck. And certainly, those are areas that do have some military industrial facilities, traditionally from the Iranians.

So, it's unclear right now from the Iranian side what exactly was hit. What we're sort of gleaning is that, apparently, these strikes took place at around half past 4 a.m. in the morning of today. As far as Tehran is concerned, I'm currently overlooking Tehran. I'm actually on a rooftop here in Tehran. We ourselves did not hear large explosions here in the center of Tehran.

But what we're hearing is that large explosions, or the sound of what seemed to be explosions were heard towards the West of the Iranian capital.

There are also reports from a place called Karaj, which is sort of -- sort of a Western suburb of Tehran, but it is also a pretty big city in itself. It is about, I would say, about 20 miles West of where I am right now. So, it seems the explosions were heard from there.

[00:05:11]

And if we look at the area around the area around Isfahan, that's the area in central Iran that apparently was hit, as well. We're hearing from the local authorities there that so far, there are no reports of any casualties there in the Isfahan area and also in a place called Najafabad.

Najafabad very similar to Karachi or for Tehran, is also towards the West of Isfahan, but is also in the greater Isfahan area. Of course, Isfahan also a very large city here in Iran.

Tabriz, more towards the Northwest of Iran. But again, so far, as far as the nature of the targets that have been struck, we don't have any further details coming from the Iranians.

Of course, as Oren had mentioned, and we've been reporting last night, as well, the Iranians had said that, after they attacked, what they said was that Israeli air base in the North of Israel, that they warned the Israelis. They said that attack specifically was a warning to the Israelis not to strike back. And if they did so, that the Iranians would then hit back even more powerfully, they said, in what they called a regret-inducing way.

So, certainly, right now, Iran is waiting to see what its military is going to do. The greater region, certainly, is going to see, as well.

But the Iranians have definitely vowed that, if the Israelis continue striking Iran, and also specifically, by the way, if they continue striking targets around Beirut in Lebanon, which is also key for the Iranians, that they would then continue to escalate, as well.

Of course, as we've been reporting, Becky, over the past couple of weeks, the Iranian military right now believes that it is in a very strong position and does say that its missile force is still very much capable -- Becky.

ANDERSON: Standby, Fred. And a reminder to our viewers: Fred is on the ground in Iran. CNN operates in Iran with the permission of the government but maintains full editorial control, of course, of its reporting. Oren, let me get back to you. Donald Trump has said that Netanyahu

won't have any choice but to accept an Iran deal. And he says -- Donald Trump, that is -- that he is in the final stretch of getting something across the line, a good deal, as he describes it.

What do we know about where we stand as far as any sort of negotiation on an MOU, a memorandum -- memorandum of understanding, is at this point?

LIEBERMANN: Well, before I get to that, you may actually be able to hear in my microphone the sirens here in Jerusalem behind me.

ANDERSON: Yes.

LIEBERMANN: So, we'll see in a moment. And I may head to the shelter here. I believe I did hear one interception, just as the sirens began to sound here. They have been sounding for quite a bit, so well keep an eye on that and well keep an eye on reports.

They just stopped sounding here a moment ago. So, as I talk to you here, I may pause. Oh, that was a -- two quite loud interceptions. In fact, the window here behind me shook --

ANDERSON: OK.

LIEBERMANN: -- because of the noise of those interceptions. Let me take a look behind me here. I don't see any evidence of anything, either on the ground below me or in the skies here above me in Jerusalem. We'll wait to see reports here.

But back to your question. President Donald Trump has said that a deal is close. He has said that repeatedly, not only over the last few days, but over the last few weeks and months.

Another sound of the window rattling here a bit here behind me. Perhaps another interception here. We'll wait to -- to hear what we see from the Israeli military.

And yet, despite Trump's claims of a deal being close and reports of a 60-day memorandum of understanding that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz and allow time for talks on negotiations on the nuclear issue, Iran has -- has given quite the opposite readout.

And some of this comes, of course, from -- from Fred Pleitgen's interview with a senior adviser to Iran's supreme leader, who said talks are deadlocked.

Crucially, Trump has also said repeatedly that Iran wants a deal. And yet, Iran has not rushed to an agreement. Tehran has taken their time in these talks. They -- they very much have made it clear that they appear that, from their perspective, they're negotiating from a position of strength and are not just going to fold to -- to U.S. demands here.

Iran believes they're negotiating from a position of strength, and they will not rush into an agreement unless it seems that they feel it's to their benefit to do so, despite all of Trump's claims of an agreement being right around the corner here.

ANDERSON: Oren, I'm going to let you go for the time being. Stay in touch, as we get back to Fred on the ground. And stay safe, of course.

Fred, Oren just talking about the interview that you conducted with the Iranian foreign minister recently while you have been on the ground. Perhaps you just want to talk a little bit more about what you learned from that interview.

[00:10:03]

PLEITGEN: Yes, it was actually the -- the senior military advisor to Iran's supreme leader, General Mohsen Rezaei.

And in that interview, he made quite clear that he believes right now the talks between the United States and Iran -- while they are still going on, messages are still being relayed back and forth -- are in kind of a standstill, even as both sides are trying to get to that memorandum of understanding.

Because I think it's something that we need to keep reminding our viewers of, is that this is the first stage of negotiations, still, between the United States and Iran, where they try to get to a memorandum of understanding that would then lead to broader talks for a wider peace agreement.

And the general, Mohsen Rezaei there, telling me that, for the Iranians, the key issue for them is the unfreezing right now of Iranian assets. There's $24 billion that the Iranians say they want. They say it is their money, not the U.S.'s money. They call that, if it happens, a trust-building measure by President Trump, if he is willing to do that.

And in our interview with Mohsen Rezaei, he kept talking about the fact that Trump needs to make this commitment in order to build that trust with the Iranians for these talks to go forward and for that memorandum of understanding to then actually happen.

At what point that happens, they didn't actually make clear, or at what point they want that to happen. But certainly, it does seem to be a key thing; that the Iranians say these assets need to be unfrozen. And also, of course, sanctions relief is another thing that they want, as well.

One of the things, Becky, that we have been hearing -- and I also spoke, actually, to the spokesman for Iran's Foreign Ministry yesterday. He said that the exchange of messages is still very much ongoing and that both sides are trying to move forward to sort of get across that threshold and get that memorandum of understanding going. Doesn't seem as though it's quite that far.

And of course, also, one of the things that we have to point out is that, for the Iranians right now, after the strikes that were conducted on Iran's leadership at the beginning of what Iran calls the Ramadan War, which of course, was Israel and the U.S.'s attacks on Iran, they have pretty strict security protocols in place for their senior leadership, which obviously also makes the decision-making process and also the process of coming to terms with that text for a possible of understanding just a little bit more difficult.

The Iranians are saying it just does take a little bit more time. Both sides still working on it. But as Oren said, right now, the Iranians saying that it is very difficult going, to try and get that memorandum of understanding across the finish line -- Becky.

ANDERSON: Fred, thank you very much, indeed. You're in Tehran. And a reminder: CNN operates there only with the permission of the government. But we maintain full editorial control of our reporting. Fred Pleitgen and his team on the ground.

Well, a U.S. official says President Donald Trump spoke with the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, on the phone, telling him to hold off on launching what he described as retaliatory strikes as the U.S. tries to salvage a potential peace deal with Iran.

In an interview with "The Financial Times," President Trump said Mr. Netanyahu would have to accept any deal that the U.S. reaches with Iran because the Israeli prime minister, quote, "doesn't call the shots."

Well, joining us now is CNN's Julia Benbrook. She's traveling with President Trump in Basking Ridge, New Jersey.

Israel hits a Southern suburb of Lebanon over the week -- sorry, of Beirut. Over the weekend, Iran strikes Israel, and it seems, as we hear alarms in Jerusalem, continues to do so. Israel hits Iran in the past few hours.

Let's talk about the sequencing here and what we have heard from Donald Trump, who has spoken to a number of journalists in the past hours.

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He has, but not after this most recent development, where Israel Defense Forces said that it had struck military sites there in Western and central Iran, military targets, I should say.

But that came just hours after Israeli military said that it had intercepted a wave of ballistic missiles from Iran in what appeared to be the first since early April.

Now, Trump did speak with several reporters in brief phone interviews following those intercepted strikes earlier in the day.

So, in those conversations, he told FOX News, specifically, one of the reporters stationed there in Tel Aviv was asking about how this could impact things, how this could impact talks going forward.

And Trump said, "It's certainly not going to help negotiations. What I would suggest to Iran, you've shot your missiles. That's enough. Get back to the table and make a deal."

[00:15:06] He then went on to express an optimistic view of how those negotiations have gone so far, adding this. He said, "We're very close. I would say an agreement would be signed on Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday of this coming week, and now this takes place."

Now, it's important to note, he has presented an optimistic view of these talks, really, throughout this whole process on how long this conflict would end.

We're now 100 days since those first joint U.S.-Israel strikes took place, and ever since then, he rolled out a number of predictions, saying that this could last a couple of days. It could last several weeks, but it would end soon.

He continues to say that it will end soon, but has recently been pushing back against any sort of criticism of how long this conflict has gone on, saying that he believes that he's moving quickly, that these things take time, sometimes even years, to resolve.

ANDERSON: Julia, it's good to have you there. Thank you very much indeed.

And just before we take a very short break, I want to get the reaction on global oil markets, which of course, are trading. These latest developments in the Middle East, pushing Brent crude, which is the global benchmark, nearly 4 percent higher: 96 spot 51 is where we see that trade. WTI crude, which is the U.S. benchmark, trading at 93 spot 78.

The Asian markets are open. We will look at those as we move through these hours. It is, of course, Monday morning Asian time. We will look to see how those markets might affect the opening on Wall Street some hours from now.

Stay with CNN. More on our breaking news after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:20:28]

ANDERSON: News. The Israeli military says it has detected a new wave of missiles launched from Iran towards Israel. The two sides launching fresh attacks on each other for the first time since the ceasefire began April the 8th. It's 100 days.

Earlier, Israel said it had struck Iranian surface-to-surface missile launch sites and other non-energy infrastructure. This comes just hours after Iran fired ballistic missiles at Israel.

Now, the IDF posting these images of military officials overseeing those Israeli strikes. Earlier, the IDF said it was targeting Iranian military sites in the country's central and Western regions.

Iran says explosions have been reported in the cities of Tehran, Tabriz, and Isfahan. Joining me from Washington is Sina Azodi. He's the director of the

Middle East Studies Program at George Washington University, and Iran expert, the author of "Iran and the Bomb: The United States, Iran, and the Nuclear Question."

And Sina, thank you for joining us. It is what happens with Iran's nuclear program that is the ultimate backdrop for the developments that we are witnessing, once again, here in the Middle East overnight.

It's about 8:20 in Abu Dhabi, just before eight in Tehran, 20 past 7 in Jerusalem. A busy night in both Israel and Iran. What's your assessment of what we have just seen and witnessed?

SINA AZODI, DIRECTOR, MIDDLE EAST STUDIES PROGRAM, GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY: Well, I think Iran's strikes against Israel, it was really the application of what the -- what the Iranian foreign ministry had claimed, that a violation of ceasefire in any front is equal to violation of ceasefire in all fronts.

They have said it repeatedly. And, because of the strikes in Southern Lebanon, they decided to attack. They decided to attach a cost to the threats that they had made.

And unfortunately, we are back to, you know, these tit-for-tat exchanges between Iran and Israel.

And I also think that -- I think President Trump made the right decision by trying to pressure the prime minister of Israel. But unfortunately, he had disregarded the president's requests.

ANDERSON: You are speaking very -- you are speaking to what we understand to be Donald Trump's insistence to Benjamin Netanyahu that there shouldn't be a response here, that this is buttoned up. And that Donald Trump, speaking to reporters, has said, this is my war, effectively. I -- you know, I set the rules. Benjamin Netanyahu doesn't.

But the Israelis have responded. They've hit targets in Iran. And in the past few minutes, we've heard the sirens once again, wailing in Israel, indicating incoming attacks.

So, again, your assessment as to where we are at? This may be tit-for- tat, but at the moment it continues.

AZODI: I believe so. I believe it continues. I was hoping that, once the Iranians attacked and the Israelis are going to respond, and then the Iranians call it a day.

But apparently, the latest reports as -- as you just mentioned, suggest that the Iranians have decided to attack again.

And I think, ultimately, it's because of the fact that President Trump, at least initially, didn't try to really coerce Israeli allies to -- not to conduct operation -- operations inside of Lebanon.

I also think that he squandered precious time and -- and didn't finalize a deal that he claimed he was very close with, with Iranians. So, I think this is why we are where we are now.

ANDERSON: As one expert rightly pointed out, an hour or so ago on X, it is possible that Donald Trump played several journalists overnight and that he was always OK with an Israeli retaliation.

[00:25:11]

You know, we have to accept that that is, you know, one scenario here.

Sina, what do you understand to be the latest on these talks? Donald Trump has said that he is very close to a final deal, whatever that looks like. And let's -- let's talk about that. And that it will be a good deal. And he said it could come in the next few days, if not today, Monday.

What does that look like at this point?

AZODI: I think we were very close. And based on the reports that I saw, like, 90, 95 percent of that mutual memorandum of understanding was finished. And then there was an extension of ceasefire for 60 days.

And in the meantime, the Iranians and the Americans would conduct technical details for a nuclear agreement, because that obviously takes a lot longer to really hammer out Iran's actions on with its nuclear program and the reciprocal actions by the United States.

But I think that, once the word got out, President Trump got under -- became under attack from his -- his own party, the right wing of his own party, that there is -- there's going to be an unfreezing of Iranian assets. There was a lot of discussion, a lot of attacks on the president.

And I believe that he's now, having a second thought on that. And based from what I've seen.

And Iranians insist that their frozen assets, at least some of it, must be released upfront so that they continue with -- with the memorandum of understanding.

So, this is where we are now. I hope that we get -- we can get a deal. And we also have to keep in mind that the freezing of assets from the beginning was really an instrument to use it as a leverage in future negotiations. If we don't unfreeze those assets, there's really no purpose.

ANDERSON: Sina, good to have you. And we will lean into you as the hours go on for more insight and analysis. For the time being, I'm going to let you go. I realize it's also very early in the morning there. So, appreciate your time from Washington today. Thank you.

And we will be right back with more breaking news coverage after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:31:28] ANDERSON: More now on our breaking news. I'm Becky Anderson from our Middle East programing headquarters. Time here: half past 8 in the morning, 8 in Tehran, and 7:30 a.m. in Tel Aviv.

A fresh round of attacks between Israel and Iran, the first such missile strikes since the ceasefire began in early April.

I just want to get you the Asian markets responding to this news. Significantly lower: the Nikkei trading nearly 4 percent down, the Hang Seng over 1 percent. The China market there, the shanghai composite down more than one and a third percent. And the KOSPI in South -- South Korea, in Seoul, off nearly 5 percent.

Hours ago, Israel says it hit military targets in Western and central Iran, hours after Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed to have struck an air base in Northern Israel.

Right now, those stock markets, as I say, reacting.

Let's bring in Paula Hancocks, who's with me in Abu Dhabi. What do we understand to have been going on in the past hours, Paula?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Becky, the most recent thing we understand is from our team in Tel Aviv; that they say that they have had more alerts of potential incoming.

ANDERSON: We heard those. Yes.

HANCOCKS: And so, of course, there was a hope that this was going to be a contained escalation in -- in violence. But let's see exactly what Iran has done in retaliation.

So, just earlier, we did see that Israel targeted what it called military infrastructure. So, we heard from the Israeli ambassador. It was surface-to-surface missile launch sites, infrastructure, he said, specifically not energy-related. That, of course, would spark a much stronger response from Iran, potentially.

Again, in the Gulf.

The Gulf nation energy infrastructure as well. And that followed what we saw earlier from Iran, which was a number of barrages against Israel, three, at least we understand from officials there.

One source saying that at least ten ballistic missiles were intercepted. This was specifically against Northern Israel. We understand that there was one military base, air base that they were trying to target, the Ramat David airbase.

We haven't had much indication on damage or casualties at this point, but it's certainly an escalation.

ANDERSON: And let's just remind our viewers where this all started.

Iran said the attack on Israel was in retaliation for strikes against its proxy in Lebanon, Hezbollah; strikes on the Southern suburbs of Beirut over the weekend.

On the back of that, we see these Iranian strikes, a barrage of missiles on Israel, and consequently, in the past couple of hours, attacks by Israel on Iran. And as you say now, possibly more Iranian retaliatory attack on Israel. What can we expect in the hours to come?

HANCOCKS: It will be key what happens in these coming hours as to whether or not this is a standalone escalation or whether this is just the start of a return to -- to what we had seen during the kinetic period of this war.

Now, it's clear that the U.S. president does not want this to -- to go back to what it was from -- from February 28th, when -- when the U.S. and Israel started these attacks against Iran.

He has been speaking to a number of the Sunday shows in the U.S., I have to point out, before Israel retaliated. And he was still talking about the deal: pointing out Iran has to come back to the table, has to talk about this deal, saying that what Iran did, certainly, is not going to help negotiations.

[00:35:16]

But also pointing out in some of these interviews that he calls the shots, not the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. There have been suggestions -- and one U.S. official's told CNN that he had asked Netanyahu not to -- to respond. But we've heard from Israeli officials that they simply had to respond.

ANDERSON: "I call all the shots. Netanyahu doesn't call the shots. Those, very specifically, Donald Trump's words in an interview, at least with "The Financial Times."

As you say, he's spoken to the Sunday shows in the States before this latest escalation. And just in the hours before we saw these -- you know, these attacks, to a number of journalists, as well. And he repeated the same lines.

Good to have you, Paula. Thank you very much indeed.

Stay with CNN. We're going to have more after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: Back to the latest developments out of the Middle East. I'm Becky Anderson at our Middle East and Gulf programing headquarters here in Abu Dhabi.

Israel's military says it's identified a new wave of missiles launched by Iran towards Israel. [00:40:06]

Earlier, it said it launched strikes on military targets in Western and central Iran, hitting surface-to-surface missile launch sites and infrastructure not related, very specifically, to the

energy sector. Now, this comes after the Israeli military says it intercepted waves

of missiles fired from Iran Sunday for the first time since early April and this ceasefire.

Alon Pinkas is the former Israeli consul general to New York. He joins us from Tel Aviv. It's just after 7:30 a.m. where you are. A busy night, Alon, at least -- not least where you are there in Tel Aviv. What's going on?

ALON PINKAS, FORMER ISRAELI CONSUL GENERAL TO NEW YORK: Well, there were -- there were two sirens in Tel Aviv. They were much more in the South. And during the night, there were much more sirens up in Northern Israel, as -- as you reported earlier.

You know, people -- people sort of expected this to happen in the last few days with the escalation in Lebanon. And Lebanon is the key, actually. And you pointed that yourself, Becky, a few moments ago. That this all -- this -- this portion or this session or this -- I'm sorry -- conflagration began with Israel escalating the war in Lebanon and the Iranians saying that this is retaliatory, based on that.

And so, people are actually -- you know, no one really knows. People just in anticipation and anxieties as to whether or not this was a one-off, one-day, kinetic, ping-pong exchange or whether or not this thing signals further escalation.

ANDERSON: Donald Trump says he asked the Israeli prime minister not to attack Beirut.

PINKAS: Right.

ANDERSON: Over the weekend, the IDF did attack the Southern suburbs of Beirut. Why?

PINKAS: And by the way, Becky, he also asked Israel not to retaliate against Iran last night. And Israel, in fact, did retaliate against Iran --

ANDERSON: Correct.

PINKAS: -- last night. So, these -- these are two acts of defiance by Prime Minister Netanyahu.

It's important to understand the political calculus that both Trump and Netanyahu have. Netanyahu needs a permanent state of war politically, ahead of an election. And because it's who he is.

On top of that, he needs to prove that, I said no. I defied the president of the United States. I'm defending Israel. Our national security overrides any request from the American president.

Trump, for his part, Trump's calculus is this is no longer my war. Look at what he said. You pointed out to that, earlier. He says we will continue the negotiations. We want to go back to negotiations. This is not helpful. Meaning you're on your own. And -- and if it stays that way, the rift between the two and the

divergence of interests is going to grow. That doesn't mean that -- that a broad escalation will not drag the U.S. back into this. I'm not saying it will happen, but it's a possibility, Becky.

ANDERSON: Donald Trump has said in the past hours, quote, "I call the shots. Benjamin Netanyahu doesn't."

Now, on the face of it --

PINKAS: Right.

ANDERSON: -- that is clearly, as you rightly point out, not the case.

Is this, though, Benjamin Netanyahu going rogue, or is this Donald Trump playing reporters and actually giving, you know, permission to the Israeli prime minister to hit what he would describe as -- and he has before -- very targeted assaults on very specific assets in Beirut and targets in Iran?

PINKAS: Well, it could be both, Becky. You know, on the one hand, Trump, by -- by telling Netanyahu what he can or cannot do, and by telling him that "I call the shots and you don't call the shots." And then Israel defies him; Netanyahu defies him. It -- it expresses or portrays weakness on the part of -- of Trump.

Because everyone thinks, you know, the biggest ally, it could rein in Israel whenever it wants. And it happened in the last year, both in Lebanon and last June in 2025, during the 12-day war.

On the other hand, you're absolutely right. This -- this could be an attempt by Trump to say, OK, this is not my war. This is Israel's war.

But if it escalates, given that the negotiations are stagnating, and they're not going anywhere, maybe this would create a further urgency. And then I would come down on -- on Netanyahu more forcefully.

[00:45:12]

At this point, it sort of looks like, politically -- and this is a very short-lived victory -- it looks like both are winning, meaning Trump is saying, OK, I'm -- I want to end this war. And I'm continuing with negotiations, irrespective of what Israel does.

And Israel will not -- is not -- a part of the negotiations. And any agreement that I reach -- he said that to "The Financial Times" yesterday, I think -- in -- in the event that there is an agreement or memorandum, or some kind of, preliminary framework agreement, Israel is going to have to accept that.

That's Trump.

Netanyahu heading toward an election, trying to get away from the calamity of October 7, 2023, needs this war to go on. He needs a warlike atmosphere. He needs a permanent state of war. So, supposedly, both are winning. Except for one thing: everyone's

losing here. Because Israel -- you know, whatever Netanyahu does in the next few days, on his own volition or as retaliatory against Iran, will not change the dynamics of the conflict, at least according along the contours that it is. Nothing's going to change.

And by the way, Becky, and you know this better than anyone. There is so much Israel could do without the U.S. in terms of military damages, inflicting -- inflicted on -- on Iran.

ANDERSON: Donald Trump says he is in the final stretch of what he describes Alon, as a good deal. And I have to say, you know, those experts that I've been speaking to that you know well, who have got a good understanding, I believe, of the way the Iranian sort of infrastructure and regime is thinking, you know, agree actually, that we could be very close to a deal of some point, at least this framework.

So, let's assume that that is the case. What does that look like? And you say there's -- you know, there's a win here for both Trump and Netanyahu. But in the end, both are losing.

Does that suggest --

PINKAS: Yes.

ANDERSON: -- there is an overarching win here for Iran at this stage, this Monday morning, as it were?

PINKAS: Yes. Arguably, yes. Look, in terms of the agreement, Becky, all Trump wants is for Becky Anderson on CNN to say that this is a better deal than Obama's deal, the so-called JCPOA from 2015.

He's not going to get that because, by definition, any deal that he signs right now, according to what was published, the items and principles in that deal -- the opening of Hormuz, that's not better than -- than Obama, because Hormuz was open on February 28.

Iran's nuclear, highly-enriched uranium, the 440 kilos that are unaccounted for, that's not going to be part of the -- the initial deal. That's going to be negotiated later. So, that's not better than the JCPOA.

Verification and inspection. That's not going to happen in the -- in the preliminary deal.

So, any preliminary deal is, by definition, going to strengthen the point you just made --

ANDERSON: Right.

PINKAS: -- that Iran upended the strategic equation here. That Iran -- I don't want to call it a won the war, but certainly Israel and the U.S. failed.

ANDERSON: Good to have you with us this morning, Alon. Thank you. We're going to take a very short break.

I do, though, want to hand this over to Ben Hunte, my colleague in Atlanta, who has some of the other stories that we are following for you today.

BEN HUNTE, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, indeed. There is a lot happening around the world, and my team in Atlanta has you covered.

Still to come, Chinese leader Xi Jinping is in North Korea for important talks with Kim Jong-un. More on the important summit just ahead. See you in a moment.

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[00:52:56]

HUNTE: Welcome back. I'm Ben Hunte in Atlanta. Let's take a look at today's top stories.

Israel and Iran have traded missile attacks in the last few hours in the latest escalation of hostilities in the region. Israel says it struck military targets in Western and central Iran.

That was after Iran fired a barrage of ballistic missiles towards Israel.

A U.S. official says President Donald Trump had earlier told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to hold off on launching a retaliatory attack on Iran, in hopes of salvaging peace talks.

The leaders of Britain, France, and Germany say they support a proposal for direct ceasefire talks between the Russian and Ukrainian presidents. They released a joint statement on Sunday after meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in London.

They are also calling on both the U.S. and Europe to have an active role in diplomatic efforts to end the war in Ukraine.

Peru is set for another lengthy vote count, with its presidential election runoff too close to currently call. An early tally by the pollster Ipsos showed leftist lawmaker Roberto Sanchez and conservative Keiko Fujimori separated by less than a percentage point.

Peru's electoral authority says the full official tally probably won't be completed until mid-July.

China's leader, Xi Jinping, is making a rare trip to Pyongyang for diplomatic talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un. He is expected to spend two days in North Korea on his first trip there since 2019.

This is also Mr. Xi's first trip abroad this year. The Chinese leader has hosted more than a dozen world leaders in Beijing so far this year, and this trip is an opportunity to strengthen relations and highlight the importance of ties to Beijing amid conflicts all around the world. Thousands of Albanians flooded the streets of the capital on Sunday,

continuing their protest against a development project linked to President Trump's daughter Ivanka and her husband, Jared Kushner.

Kushner's investment firm is developing a resort with a whopping $1.6 billion price tag on an island off the coast of Albania.

[00:55:05]

Demonstrators say it threatens a protected wetland and are calling for political resignations and further transparency about that project. Others do worry that it is an example of Albanians being pushed off of their own lands.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NADIA QESJA, PROTESTOR: Of course I'm totally against it. Why would I want somebody, a foreigner, to come and buy my island? The land where we've been here 2,500 years. So, how can somebody, you know, claim that she found an island all of a sudden and pretend to be her home?

She said -- I even heard from the videos, she's saying like, oh, I could totally live here. I could, you know, I don't want to live here.

Guess what? You're never going to come there to begin with. So, I'm totally against it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTE: Tsunami warnings have been issued across the Philippines and the surrounding region after a 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck the Southern part of the country just a few hours ago.

Experts in the Philippines report that the quake hit off the coast of General Santos City. There are no immediate reports of deaths, but local video shows damaged roads and crumbling buildings, too.

Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has deployed government agencies to act immediately to help evacuate residents and begin rescue work.

OK, that's all I've got for you for now. Thanks for joining me in the team. I'm Ben Hunte in Atlanta. Becky Anderson and I will be right back at the top of this hour with more of our breaking news coverage. Stay with CNN. See you in a moment.

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