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Iran Launches Huge Wave Of Missiles On Israel, Sirens Blare In Jerusalem, Tel Aviv; Nithya Raman Narrowly Leads Spencer Pratt In Race For Second Spot In Los Angeles Mayoral Race; Six People Stabbed In Attack At Penn Station In New York; Protests In Albania Over A Trump Family Luxury Resort Project. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired June 08, 2026 - 04:00   ET

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

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ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello and welcome to all of our viewers joining us here in the United States and all around the world. I'm Paula Sandoval live in New York.

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: I'm Becky Anderson Live from CNN's Middle East programming headquarters here in Abu Dhabi where the time is midday.

First to our breaking news, an heightened hostilities as Israel and Iran trade missile attacks in the most serious escalation since the ceasefire in April. Just hours ago, the Israeli military says it identified a new wave of missiles launched from Iran towards Israel. This follows Israeli strikes overnight on Iran with Iranian media quoting an official saying a petrochemical plant was hit.

Well, this latest skirmish began on Sunday after Israel intercepted missiles launched by Iran for the first time since early April. Iran threatening further attacks should Israel continue its offensive in Lebanon. The Israeli military struck Beirut on Sunday after Hezbollah fire was intercepted over northern Israel. CNN covering this story from all angles Fred Pleitgen standing by in Tehran.

And a reminder, CNN operates in Iran only with the permission of the government there, but maintains full control of our reporting. Oren Liebermann live for us in Jerusalem.

Fred, I know that we've had some technical difficulties, but let me start with you, if we can, just after 11:30 a.m. Monday where you are a couple of hours after the latest exchange of fire between Israel and Iran. Just get us up to speed on the details there.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPNDENT: Yes, Becky, the Iranians were talking about that was about an hour and a half ago they said that had happened and the Iranians were saying there were two Israeli based apparently were the targets of those attacks, specifically some radar facilities affiliated with those bases at two sites in Israel.

The Iranians saying that they targeted several of those areas in Israel with another missile attack. The Iranian force have been saying that they are going to continue to strike back and strike back hard if the Israelis themselves continue to retaliate.

I want to retreat part of the statement that comes from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps from a little earlier today that also announced that new wave of missile attack that it reads, and I'm quoting right now, all combat and operational units of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps are in a state of complete readiness to extensive and destructive against any on all fronts.

They say so especially are saying they are ready to retaliate at any point in time. They are going to have heard that from the Revolutionary Guard Corps over the past couple of days where they do say that while the diplomatic process had been going on that they are also ready to strike back and hit back Israel and American facilities at any time.

ANDERSON: Fred, it's good to have you. Unfortunately, we are struggling with our -- with our connection to you, but thank you. The IRGC then as Fred reporting in a state of complete readiness, they say, to respond to attacks.

Oren, let me bring you in. What's been the response there? Let's get the perspective starting with you there in Israel.

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF: Well, Israel's government and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also making it very clear that they're ready to for hostilities no matter which direction this goes, if there is an escalation, if there are incoming missiles.

In fact, the Israeli military issued a statement just a short time ago on additional strikes in Iran. They say dozens of fighter jets took part in these strikes that targeted what they described as strategic defense systems, some of which were set up and deployed in numerous areas across Iran as part of the regime's efforts to boost its aerial defenses following the ceasefire back in early April.

The Israeli military points out that taking out air defenses means if the war does resume at scale, the Israeli Air Force and the U.S. Air Force, if this becomes a joint operation, will have more freedom of action and the ability to operate over the skies of Iran.

In a graphic, the Israeli military showed strikes in a number of areas as they say they went after strategic defense systems which are likely surface to air missiles and systems like that.

[04:05:08]

So we have seen the progression of what Israel has targeted from the first strikes, which according to Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, were surface to surface missiles and then non-energy infrastructure, and then a clear escalation in targeting a petrochemical facility in western Iran.

And now what seems to be the preparation for the possibility of more military action, more attacks ahead in taking out parts of Iran's missile defenses, or rather defensive systems, which opens up the possibility for Israeli aircraft to once again fly and fight over the skies of Tehran.

So you see I think quite clearly here that both Israel's government and Tehran's government are poised for the possibility of very much an escalation here. Becky.

ANDERSON: Donald Trump, Oren, would have us believe that this is frankly, I think I'm right in explaining it this way. This is frankly sort of a battle of wills at this point, as he says he is close to a good deal or agreement with Iran, and he says he's asked Benjamin Netanyahu at least to avoid attacks on both Iran and on Beirut in order to get this agreement across the line. He also says he calls the shots at this point. He says Benjamin Netanyahu very specifically doesn't call the shots.

I just wonder what the perspective is there where you are and what the sort of overarching political response position is in Israel.

LIEBERMANN: Well, Netanyahu will never openly criticize President Donald Trump. So he's not going to simply come out and say, I defied Trump and I did what I wanted to and Trump has made a bad decision or a poor public statement or he has no idea what he's talking about. When it comes to the Middle East, Netanyahu will always publicly go along with Trump. That's a decision he makes for his own politics and for his government and from his perspective, for Israel as well.

Netanyahu has been quite clear and vocal that he believes Iran is not negotiating into good faith and they're just trying to buy time stringing Trump along. Therefore, to some extent, Netanyahu is waiting for this moment the ability to carry out more strikes in Iran Towards what end? Whether he believes it'll destabilize the regime or simply another chance at taking a hit at Iran's military to weaken them further.

We may get a better sense of that in the days ahead here. We have seen the public messaging from Trump in a series of phone calls with reporters. He said -- he said it is Trump that calls the shots. He makes the decisions. Netanyahu will go along with whatever deal it is that Trump comes to.

What we don't know yet is the call the two leaders had, Trump and Netanyahu. And does this have to any extent the tacit acceptance of Trump that Netanyahu has to respond in some way? Becky, that's the key question here. Is Trump going to step in here and say enough is enough, we're back to negotiations because he believes a deal may be close.

ANDERSON: Yes. And it is just after 4:00 a.m. and we await some sort of response slightly by Donald Trump on his social media platform a little later today. Oren, thank you. And to Fred Pleitgen, thank you very much indeed. For more, let's bring in Ali Vaez then. He is the director of the Iran Project at the International Crisis Group. He joins us from Geneva in Switzerland.

Let's start with your assessment of what we have seen over the past, what, 36 hours, starting with, of course, Israeli attacks on Beirut, attacks that Donald Trump says at least he asked Benjamin Netanyahu to refrain from. Of course.

ALI VAEZ, DIRECTOR, IRAN PROJECT, INTERNATIONAL CRISIS GROUP: It's good to see you, Becky. Well, look, the Iranians have now made what was rhetorical, basically their one front, all front doctrine operational, meaning that from their perspective, there is no ceasefire unless it applies to all fronts. They've been saying this from the beginning of the ceasefire on April 8. Israel, from their perspective, has been violating it.

And the Iranian fear and calculus, fear, I think, has two key dimensions to it. One is that if President Trump is not able to restrain Israel in Lebanon. He's not going to be able to restrain Israel on any other front. So any deal with the United States by definition is going to be worthless because Prime Minister Netanyahu can undermine it.

The second calculus here is that time was working in the favor of the United States and Israel because Iranian leverage was eroding. The U.S. was escorting some vessels out of the strait and foremost and Israel was continuing to weaken Hezbollah. And the Iranians, I think yesterday tried through this attack to change the dynamics, knowing that President Trump doesn't want escalation again and so --

ANDERSON: Right.

VAEZ: -- they might be able to force his hand.

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ANDERSON: Donald Trump has said that he is in the final stages of what he describes as a good deal or agreement with Iran. What are the prospects of a U.S.-Iran agreement at this point and what impact, if any, this past 36 hours of escalation on those negotiations to your mind, Ali?

VAEZ: Well, I think it's a wake up call that the president would have at the end of the day has to make a decision that whether he wants to go back into an unwinnable war or he would find a way of selling an unpresentable deal. Because yes, he says it is a good deal, but let's be honest, it's a one page document that really lacks depth and doesn't really address the issues in a substantive manner and would require a lot of further negotiations to fill in the details.

He's a master salesperson. He would be able to do it. But he has to come to terms with the fact that there will be a political backlash by the hardliners in Washington if Iran financially benefits from even a limited agreement that opens the Strait of Hormuz. ANDERSON: Ali, it is inconceivable that Iran or the Iranian economy can sustain the sort of sanctions and the, you know, its functioning for, you know, months to go if there is no deal or end to this current conflict, particularly because the Strait of Hormuz is also impacting its ability to import goods and export oil at this point.

But how long does the regime believe that it can continue to exert the sort of leverage through the Strait, for example, on these talks? What's the perspective from the IRGC and those who are involved in these negotiations? They can't go on forever.

We know how much pressure this economy is under. We also know that perhaps the U.S. and Israel have underestimated just how much pain Iran and the Iranians themselves can take at this point.

VAEZ: Well, that's exactly right, Becky, there's been a case of underestimation in the past. And now I think for the Iranians, for the Revolutionary Guards, basically this is still an existential battle. So there is no limit to how far they are going to go to absorb this pain and obviously transfer it to their own population because their survival is at stake. And so I would say it is limitless.

Having said this, it doesn't mean that they would not try to challenge the blockade. They have tried on open seas and now through this confrontation with Israel. They are reminding President Trump that if he continues to drag his feet because he's uncomfortable giving Iran any economic incentives, he's not going to be able to have his cake and eat it, too in three days the World Cup games begin in the United States, obviously, this morning with resumption of hostilities. The oil market is in shock.

And the Iranians understand that this is going to get way worse for the U.S. and for the rest of the world if the strait remains closed for a few more days or weeks. And that means that they know they have leverage. It's an eroding leverage. So they have to use it now. Otherwise they would be in a weaker position. This is why they have escalated, but in the hope of getting the deal to the finish line.

ANDERSON: Yes. All right. Well, Ali, it's good to have you this morning. Worrying times, but important times and, you know, potentially we may see something positive out of this in the days to come. More on that as we get it, of course. Thank you.

I'll be back later in the hour with more Iran coverage. First, let's get you back to Polo Sandoval, who is in New York. Polo.

SANDOVAL: All right, Becky, we'll see in a few more minutes. Now with the latest of the Middle East. For now, let's bring viewers up to speed on what's happening in Los Angeles. The latest update now in the vote for mayor now shows city council member Nithya Raman is pulling slightly ahead of former reality TV star Spencer Pratt for the second spot in that race.

With 83 percent of the vote counted so far, Raman is now about 3,000 votes ahead of Pratt. Only one of them will ultimately face the incumbent, Mayor Karen Bass, in the election come November. And meanwhile, President Trump is questioning the legitimacy of

California's electoral process.

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In a recent interview with NBC News, he claimed without presenting any evidence that there is fraud that's happening in the state's election. Specifically, when it comes to how long it takes the state of California to count its ballots.

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DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: The election was rigged. It was a dirty election.

KRISTEN WELKER, NBC NEWS WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Mr. President --

TRUMP: And it's happening again right now in California.

WELKER: -- you've never presented evidence --

TRUMP: It's happening right now in California

WELKER: -- that the 2020 election was rigged.

TRUMP: Right now, it's look at what's happening in California.

WELKER: Where's the evidence to that?

TRUMP: It's four days --

WELKER: The Republicans are doing well in California.

TRUMP: In California, it's -- no they're not. They're dropping fast because it's a rigged election. Let me tell you, it's four days and they aren't even close to coming up with the --

WELKER: That's how they count the votes in California.

TRUMP: Do you know why they're doing that? Because they're cheating on the election.

WELKER: There's -- what? Do you have evidence to support that?

TRUMP: It's-- all I have to do is look. All I have to do is look.

WELKER: But that's not evidence.

TRUMP: And I listen. And I listen to people. And let's see what happens.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: A suspect is in custody after six people were injured during a stabbing attack here in New York City. Specifically at Penn Station on Sunday night. A witness is telling CNN affiliate WCBS that officers' pepper sprayed that suspect before tackling him to the ground. The NYPD now investigating a motive in this attack, but it comes amid heightened security here in New York surrounding Games 3 and 4 of the NBA Finals.

First responders here, they say that one person suffered serious injuries while four others sustained minor to moderate injuries. You see response on Sunday.

Now, none of those injuries are reportedly life threatening. All of the wounded that were taken to hospitals, the condition of the sixth victim, that is unknown.

Voters in the U.S. State of Maine, they have an important job to do this week as they decide embattled Democrat Graham Platner's political future. We'll be hearing what Platner had to say to some of his supporters at a rally on Sunday in a moment.

Also, we'll get to the latest on growing protests in Albania over the development of a luxury resort that's connected to President Trump's family. Why these demonstrators say they are taking to the streets.

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SANDOVAL: And with much of the nation's focus on Maine's Senate primary, embattled Democratic Party candidate Graham Platner receiving an enthusiastic welcome at a public meeting that he hosted on Sunday. Now, if Platner wins the Democratic primary, he'll be facing Republican incumbent Susan Collins, who you see there.

The event was meant to give him a chance to address allegations that have been made in a recent New York Times article. That piece described accusations about Platner's treatment of women, which he has denied. The primary race is seen as Platner's to win despite his baggage as a candidate facing the scandal. Here's how Platner presented his case to voters over the weekend.

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GRAHAM PLATNER, MAINE DEMOCRATIC SENATE CANDIDATE: I am very much just some random guy from Sullivan, Maine. In a moment like this in history, if we can show that a regular person from the regular world who simply comes out with a message saying that we all have to work together to push back against all of the structures of power that have been exploiting and oppressing us for generations. If we show that works, we get to show this country the way forward.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: At least eight people are reported dead after a 7.8 magnitude earthquake struck the southern part of Philippines. The early morning quake on Monday. It struck just as the new school year was beginning. You see some of these elementary school students are swaying with those seismic waves as they were huddled together while the ground was shaking beneath them and nobody was hurt after that structure, that canopy that you see behind them collapsed, which is a good thing there.

Meanwhile, local video showing damaged roads and crumbling buildings. President of the Philippines Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has deployed government agencies to act immediately to help evacuate residents and also begin to rescue people.

Thousands of Albanians, they flooded the streets of the capital city on Sunday. They're protesting against a development project that's been linked to President Trump's daughter Ivanka and her husband, Jared Kushner.

Kushner's investment firm is currently developing a resort with a whopping $1.6 billion price tag on an island just off the coast of Albania. Demonstrators here, they say that threatens protected wetland and they're calling for political resignations and further transparency about the project. So what else?

Let's head over to CNN's Barbie Latza Nadeau is joining me as she follows those demonstrations from Rome. Barbie, bring us up to speed on just how we got here and maybe what we're hearing from the Kushners.

BARBIE LATZA NADEAU, CNN REPORTER: Yes, you know, I mean, this, this really there has been a steady drumbeat of anger for almost six months now when it first became apparent that there was some development on this pristine part of the Adriatic coast and this island, which was a former so -- communist era military base.

And then when Ivanka Trump and her husband started talking about it publicly, they realized the Albanian people, that these were not just rumors. This is actually a development project. Now, this stems from an agreement apparently between the prime minister of Albania who visited the Kushners when they were on a yacht last summer when they saw this island, when they happened upon it, swam to the island, hiked up and found it a beautiful place to develop.

In 2024 in Albania, there were some changes to legislation that allowed specifically luxury resorts to sideline some the protections. And this is a protected area and that's something that is very important to the European Union to which Albania would like to join. So there's a lot of subtext to this.

But the fact that the president's daughter and her husband are talking about this development project while the administration is denying it is what is angering those people on the streets of Tirana. Polo?

SANDOVAL: Yes, there's so much anger along that coast. Barbie Latza Nadeau, thank you so much for bringing us up to speed on that.

Still to come here on CNN Newsroom, we do continue our breaking news coverage out of the Middle East as we learn new details about the latest exchange of fire between Israel and Iran.

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[04:28:26] ANDERSON: For more now in our breaking news. Iran says it has launched yet another wave of missiles at Israel overnight. The renewed military action is the very latest in a series of retaliatory strikes that began on Sunday. Here you see the IDF, the Israel Defense Forces overseeing reported strikes on military targets in western and central Iran.

Earlier, Iranian state media confirming Israeli projectiles hit a petrochemical plant in the southwest of the country. That came just hours after Iran's guard corps claimed to have struck an air base in northern Israel. Iran said that attack was in retaliation for strikes against its proxy Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Let's join this up for you, CNN's Paula Hancocks here with me in Abu Dhabi, Lebanon. Paula, at the heart of this latest barrage of strikes between Israel and Iran, it's been, you know, it's been quite the escalation over the last 24 hours. Just explain the Lebanon dateline as it will, as you are.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What Tehran has done is they have linked what is happening in Lebanon to this U.S.-Iran deal. They've effectively said that if there isn't a cease fire in Lebanon, if Israel continues to strike against Hezbollah, Iran's proxy in Lebanon, then the U.S.-Iran deal will simply not happen.

Now, the U.S. President Donald Trump is very well aware of this. We have heard increasing frustration when it comes to the Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

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Last week, we understand there was frustration that Netanyahu was going to strike the capital, Beirut.