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CNN This Morning

Hamas Leader Ismail Haniyeh Killed in Tehran; Heightening Fears of an All-Out War; Iran's Supreme Leader Vows to Avenge Haniyeh's Killing; Israeli Strike Kills Hezbollah Commander Fuad Shukr; VP Harris Campaigning in Georgia; VP Harris Issuing a Dare to Donald Trump; J. D. Vance Attacks Harris on Border in Nevada. Aired 6-6:30a ET

Aired July 31, 2024 - 06:00   ET

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

[06:00:00]

JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST: It is Wednesday, July 31st. And right now, on "CNN This Morning," breaking news out of the middle East, the top Hamas political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, killed in the capital of Iran.

Plus, the calculated killing of the top Hamas chief, heightening fears of an all-out war in the region.

And --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT AND U.S. PRESIDENTIAL DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE: And when we fight, we win.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: -- Vice President Kamala Harris campaigning in the battleground State of Georgia and issuing a dare to Donald Trump.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

DEAN: We have breaking news overnight. The political leader of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, is dead. According to Hamas officials and Iran's Revolutionary Guard, Haniyeh was killed in Tehran after attending an event honoring Iran's new president.

Haniyeh's death sparking fears of a growing regional conflict between Israel and its neighbors. It's something Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin says the U.S. is working to avoid.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LLOYD AUSTIN, U.S. SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: And certainly, what we've seen along the border, the northern border with Israel, over time, that's -- you know, that's been a concern of ours. Again, we're going to do everything we can to make sure that we keep things from turning into a broader conflict throughout the region.

(END VIDEO CLIP) DEAN: And earlier this morning, Iran's supreme leader vowing to avenge the killing of Haniyeh, writing, "You killed our dear guest in our house and now have paved the way for your harsh punishment. We consider it our duty to ask for the blood of our dear guest."

CNN has reporters all across the region. CNN's Ben Wedeman is in Lebanon. But let's start first with CNN's Jeremy Diamond, who's in Israel. Jeremy, Israel has not taken credit for this operation yet, but what do we know about this operation and how are Israeli officials responding?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Jessica, this is an extremely significant development coming at a critical moment in this region. Iranian state media, as well as Hamas, saying that Ismail Haniyeh, the head of Hamas' political bureau, was assassinated in the heart of the Iranian capital. Iranian state media saying that it was an airborne guided projectile that was fired at the building where he was staying. Hamas calling it an airstrike.

A number of questions to still be answered about the exact nature of the -- of what killed the Hamas' political leader. And more importantly, perhaps, are the questions about what this means for this region. As I mentioned, this is already a very tense time in this region.

We saw over the course of just the last 24 hours not only was Ismail Haniyeh apparently assassinated in the Iranian capital, but also a senior Hezbollah military commander was killed overnight in the Lebanese capital, a senior adviser to Hassan Nasrallah, the head of Hezbollah, responsible for the group's military operations, the targeting of Israeli towns and cities and military bases in Northern Israel over the course of the last 10 months.

And so, already, with just that strike in Beirut, there were already questions about whether or not this could tip the region tip, this conflict between Israel and Hezbollah into all-out war. And now, of course, those questions are heightened. In addition to that, questions about where this leaves those ceasefire negotiations where we have seen some momentum recently.

The Qatari prime minister, one of the key mediators in these discussions, saying, political assassinations and continued targeting of civilians in Gaza, while talks continue leads us to ask, how can mediation succeed when one party assassinates the negotiator on the other side? At least in the short term, it seems very clear that those negotiations are going to go nowhere. Jessica.

[06:05:00]

DEAN: Jeremy Diamond for us there in Israel. Thanks so much. In this breaking news coming just hours after a Hezbollah commander was killed in Lebanon. According to Israeli Defense Forces, an airstrike near Beirut killed Hezbollah Commander Fuad Shukr. An IDF spokesperson saying the strike was in retaliation for an attack earlier this week in the Golan Heights that killed 12 Children at a soccer field. CNN's Ben Wedeman is joining us now from Beirut. Ben, what are you hearing this morning in Beirut?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we're -- they're still digging through the remains of the building that was struck by Israel yesterday that we believe led to the death of Fuad Shukr, that senior Hezbollah military commander. But Hezbollah has yet to actually acknowledge that he was killed.

Regarding the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, we are seeing a statement from Hezbollah saying that he was one of the great leaders of the resistance in our present era. And he said that -- the statement goes on to say, we in Hezbollah share with our dear brothers in the Hamas movement, all the feelings of pain over the loss of this great leader, the feelings of anger at the enemy's crimes.

Now, of course, if you take the hit, the strike in Beirut yesterday, and in the early morning of the hours, the assassination of the Hamas leader in Tehran, it certainly amounts to a serious escalation of the situation. And we did here at a press conference by the Iranian ambassador to Beirut saying that Iran does not seek war, but does not accept that the region falls prey to Israel and the United States. Jessica.

DEAN: All right. Ben Wedeman for us in Beirut, Lebanon this morning. Thank you so much. And I want to bring in now CNN military analysts and retired Air Force Colonel Cedric Leighton and CNN's Chief International Security Correspondent Nick Paton Walsh.

And, Nick, we just outlined it, but you back up a little bit to this weekend where you have this strike that kills 12 children in the Golan Heights in Israel, then you have the strike against that commander of Hezbollah in Lebanon. Now, we have this top Hamas political leader killed in Tehran. And you put it all together and it seems like we are right there at the edge, looking over at a potential escalation here that could result in a much bigger conflict.

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Look, I think it's important to separate perhaps the motivation or the purpose behind the response to Southern Beirut seemingly by Israel against key Hezbollah commander after the attack on the Golan Heights. And then, this separate incident in Northern Tehran against the Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh.

Now, while I obviously can't speak entirely for Israeli motivations, they haven't claimed responsibility for the Northern Tehran attack. It goes an extra stage further. It is essentially them on the offense. You can see potentially an argument for the Southern Beirut attack as having been their response to the horrors inflicted on, it seems, mostly children, Druze children, the Golan Heights, over the weekend.

But the assassination, as it appears to be, of Haniyeh very direct bid to perhaps curtail political negotiations, to take somebody out who's always been on Israel's most wanted list since October the 7th, who indeed celebrated those attacks himself, despite, it seems, not being involved necessarily in their planning.

So, a stark move here by Israel, and one that throws us certainly into an area of deep uncertainty. We do not know what Iran is capable of. They have Hezbollah to the north of Israel in Lebanon, but they have, it seems, been reluctant so far to launch them into a full-scale war. It would be hugely devastating for both Israeli and Lebanese civilians if that were indeed launched, and it would probably leave Hezbollah significantly weakened afterwards, and probably Israel as well.

So, Iran, reluctant to play that card so far. They've also seen their drones and missiles in April launched directly at Israel, not really get through, intercepted by Israel and its western allies. So, their options are limited. Also, their supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, while saying harsh punishment is due Israel at this time. Well, he's 85, his just sworn in a president who is more moderate than perhaps he would like after years of unrest.

So, is he in an optimal position to start a broader conflict? Really unclear here. I would say probably no. And so, huge embarrassment for Iran. This has happened right inside the security bubble against a guest they would consider to be distinguished like Haniyeh. But ultimately, what can they do? We'll have to wait and see.

Their options limited, but a phenomenally febrile region here where we simply do not know what next action can spur their response onwards towards and a deeply troubling morning, certainly. It seemed bad when Southern Beirut was hit. The death of Haniyeh takes us to a whole new area.

[06:10:00]

DEAN: Yes, certainly. And Cedric, Nick makes a very valid point and an important point that this strike happened in Tehran to a guest that was there in Tehran. Talk to us a little bit about the capabilities if it is, in fact, Israel that did this, the capabilities to do something like that.

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON, CNN MILITARY ANALYST AND AIR FORCE COLONEL (RET.): Yes, Jessica, this is one of those areas where intelligence plays a key role with precision strikes like this, it makes all the difference. And when you look at the way in which the Hamas leadership who was cornered in Tehran, you know, yes, they were guests of the Iranian regime but the Israelis clearly knew where they were living.

They knew probably more about the structure of the house than the people who were living there. And that becomes really critical because what the Israelis did was they used a weapon system that was extremely precise, that went in and took out Haniyeh and his bodyguard and nobody else as far as we know at this point in time.

So, what this means is that the Israelis are basically saying we can find your leadership wherever they may be and we can destroy them if we choose to do so.

DEAN: And so, what does this mean for this -- I'm trying to put it all together, this broader conflict. You have Israel and Hamas still fighting in Gaza. You have the northern front there with Lebanon. And now, also to -- and those are all obviously Iran proxy groups that are fighting them. And now, you have this direct strike in Iran. How does that all fit together?

LEIGHTON: So, the proxy groups -- and we also probably should add the Houthis in Yemen who were also Iranian proxies. So, you have, in essence, three different proxy groups that are directly in conflict either with Israel or with the West. All of them have connections to the Iranians.

And the big connection is that many of them are -- well, all of them are funded or supported in one way or another, either through money or training or both by the Iranians and specifically, by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. So, the IRGC is really a critical component to all of this. The IRGC, in essence, is masterminding a lot of the attacks that these groups put together. They're at least working in concert with them, to some extent. And then, what happens after that is the IRGC is really looking at extending Iran's influence throughout the region.

So, these proxies serve as a means of really extending Iranian influence. They've done it very much in Iraq. They're doing it in Syria. And of course, what they're trying to do is they're trying to tie down Israel in what amounts to a two-front war.

DEAN: And just quickly before we have to go, the risk of the U.S. getting pulled into this.

LEIGHTON: Really high. Remember, we still have troops in Iraq and in Syria, also in Jordan. All of these places have vested U.S. interests. And the real problem is that the Iranians could very well drag us into something that we don't want to be dragged into, that includes the Persian Gulf. All of these regions -- all of these parts of the Middle East are really areas where the United States feels it has to exert some degree of influence. The Iranians want us out of there.

DEAN: All right. Colonel Cedric Leighton, Nick Paton Walsh, our thanks to both of you. Nick will be back with us a little bit later to talk more about this.

Still to come on "CNN This Morning," Kamala Harris and J. D. Vance campaigning in key battleground states. Plus, more details on the overnight assassination of the top Hamas political leader in Iran.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:15:00]

DEAN: Kamala Harris is taunting Donald Trump, daring him to debate her before November during a campaign stop in battleground Georgia last night. Trump did commit to a debate against Joe Biden in September, but backed out. And it appears the vice president is trying to shame him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT AND U.S. PRESIDENTIAL DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE: He won't debate. But he and his running mate sure seem to have a lot to say about me. And by the way, don't you find some of their stuff to just be plain weird? I do hope you'll reconsider to meet me on the debate stage. Because as the saying goes, if you've got something to say, say it to my face.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: J. D. Vance also hitting the trail campaigning in Nevada. Trump embattles running mate trying to own the narrative on law and order and the border.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JD VANCE (R-OH), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: They suspended deportations. They stopped building the wall. They reinstated catch and release. That's how every state became a border state. She wants to end cash bail. So, if you assault a police officer, you can be back on the street the next day. She wants to confiscate firearms for law abiding citizens.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Just 98 days now until America votes. Let's bring in Alex Thompson, national political reporter for Axios, New York Times journalist Lulu Garcia-Navarro, and Matt Gorman, former communications director for the National Republican Congressional Committee. Good morning, everyone.

LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Good morning.

DEAN: Great to have you here. Alex, let's start at the beginning of all of those clips. Will Trump ultimately debate Kamala Harris, do you think?

ALEX THOMPSON, NATIONAL POLITICAL REPORTER, AXIOS: His team is saying that he's going to and that this is sort of a bit of a negotiating tactic that essentially, he agreed to debate Joe Biden on ABC, and now, they're going back and forth and saying, well, now it's a different candidate. We'll see. I bet you we still will have multiple debates.

Clearly, Kamala Harris' team wants to have them. They -- she's said that she thinks that they are the underdog in this race. They want to get her right next to him on the debate stage. She's younger. She can articulate a case. She has the prosecution background. She can deliver the -- you know, the sort of canned lines of debates. I expect we'll have one or maybe two.

[06:20:00]

DEAN: And, Matt, it's worth noting that a rally last night was in Atlanta, Georgia, a place that -- or a state that looked like it was out of -- going to be out of reach for Democrats that now potentially Democrats are hoping, maybe they can get back and win as they did in 2020. What does that say to you that one of the first places she's going is down to Georgia?

MATT GORMAN, FORMER SENIOR COMMUNICATIONS ADVISER, TIM SCOTT FOR AMERICA: And next week she's going to be doing a little tour on the swing states.

DEAN: Right.

GORMAN: So, there's a Springsteen lyric about poking a dog to see if it gets up and run. If I'm her, you have a new campaign, you have excitement, you have a new candidate, go and see if these states that were essentially dead or closed off the table for Joe Biden, if they get up and run a little bit. And if the polls move in a way that is separate from purely the excitement of having a new candidate and kind of the high of the last week.

I think what you saw also was, I'm seeing shades a little bit of her announcement in January 2019, where it was an electric announcement, lots of people, but what Kamala's always been very, very good at is when she controls the variables and she's able to like have a lot of preparation, the prosecutor in her. I think she's able to succeed. What she gets on her back foot a lot is when she has these unkind of prepared interactions with her supporters, other candidates like Tulsi Gabbard on the debate stage.

So, that's going to be the tell for me when she starts doing interviews. Maybe a debate, but -- maybe she can get through that with canned lines. But this reminded me a little bit more of her announcement when she first ran for president.

DEAN: Yes. And, Lulu, then so we get to the issue of immigration and the border crisis, which of course Republicans really want this to be a huge piece of this campaign and they really want to pin it on Kamala Harris. We heard J. D. Vance going after her. I want to play what she said to that. Let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: I went after transnational gangs, drug cartels, and human traffickers that came into our country illegally. I prosecuted them in case after case, and I won. Donald Trump, on the other hand, has been talking a big game about securing our border, but he does not walk the walk. Or as my friend Quavo would say, he does not walk it like he talks it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: Lulu, how effective is that pushback? Because Republicans really want to hang this all on her. It's a vulnerability for Democrats, it has been. Do you think she can effectively counter that?

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Well, I think what was very interesting last night is she's trying to get ahead of it, right? She's trying to have a narrative, which is, don't think about the three and a half years of Joe Biden and what's happened at the border, I'm going to talk to you about the person I was before I joined the ticket. And again, it's that prosecutor, it's trying to talk about, you know, what she did in California.

Of course, the counter narrative. coming from the Republicans is that you were borders czar, she wasn't, but that's the kind of thing that they're trying to pin on her.

Listen, this is a bad issue for Democrats, it's a bad issue for Kamala Harris. She has a narrative here, she's trying to push it, that there's a bill that failed, and, you know, because of Donald Trump, and she would sign it if she comes into office. But the fact is, that the more you talk about it, the more that her record and the record of this administration is going to come into focus. And I don't think she's going to win on the merits on this.

DEAN: Yes. And Lulu makes a great point because there was that legislation, bipartisan legislation that was killed. But explaining that, Alex, to the American people, it takes a minute to walk through all of that. It's not a simple answer. Do you think that they can -- you know, it's just -- it's not easy to message all of that.

THOMPSON: Yes, and she tried to make that argument yesterday that, you know, we want to secure the border. Donald Trump killed the bill, right? That was the main argument.

DEAN: Yes.

THOMPSON: What was also interesting is I covered the 2020 Democratic primary. That was not the same Kamala Harris that we saw last night.

DEAN: No, I did too. And that -- yes, different person.

THOMPSON: And that she was not talking about her prosecutorial record in that way about going after, you know, Central American gangs. This is a different Kamala. So, you've seen basically her run away from her 2019 campaign. She's no longer running on Medicare for All. She's running on her prosecutorial record, whereas before, the Kamala is a cop meme from the left-wing really bothered her. And so, she wasn't running as a prosecutor. Now, she's a general election candidate. She's running on that record. It'll be interesting to see if voters follow along.

DEAN: All right.

THOMPSON: And also, Democrats. I mean, this is a problem for her with Democrats because the tougher you are on issues on the border, there is a big part of the base there, including Latinos who are like, we are -- we weren't happy with that bill. We're not happy with the positions that Joe Biden has taken. And we certainly don't embrace some of the things that Kamala Harris is saying too.

DEAN: All right. We're going to leave it there, but you're going to stay with us. We'll come back to you all in just a minute. Thank you so much.

And up next on CNN this morning, Hamas top political leader assassinated in Iran. We have new details just in about his funeral. Plus, get ready for the nonstop political ads because the ad wars are underway.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:25:00]

DEAN: And we are continuing to follow this breaking news this morning, the killing of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh. New details into CNN. Haniyeh will be buried in Doha on Friday after a funeral procession in Tehran Thursday. Iranian officials saying he was killed in Tehran by a guided airborne projectile, which hit the house where he was staying.

And joining us now with more on this. Nick Paton Walsh, CNN's chief international security correspondent. Nick, what is Israel saying at this hour and what more are you learning as we continue to get more details and still have a lot of questions out there?

WALSH: Yes, certainly. So, far, Israel only saying that they don't comment on foreign media reports. Now, that is, I think, a sort of code that we've heard in the past when an event --

[06:30:00]