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Iran to Announce New Leader Amid Attacks; Iran Changing Tempo of Its Attacks; Kristi Noem Fired as Homeland Security Secretary. Aired 6-6:30a ET

Aired March 06, 2026 - 06:00   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.

[06:00:39]

AUDIE CORNISH, CNN ANCHOR: OK, this breaking news. We could soon know who Iran's new leader will be.

I'm Audie Cornish, and we're one week into this war with Iran. There are developments on several fronts this morning.

Heavy bombardment in Tehran over the past few hours. Iran's state media says a busy shopping street was hit. Israel says it started a new wave of strikes there, and the U.S. saying it has intensified attacks on Iranian targets.

So, here's a video showing a U.S. strike on a drone carrier vessel.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETE HEGSETH, U.S. SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: Iran is hoping that we cannot sustain this, which is a really bad miscalculation for the IRGC in Iran.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: The Pentagon is saying Iranian missile attacks have decreased by 90 percent. The threat, however, remains. A missile fired by Iran actually hit an oil refinery in Bahrain. It set it on fire.

Now, the three-man council running Iran is getting ready to introduce a new supreme leader. We don't know who that is. We don't know exactly when this will be revealed.

But President Trump saying that he needs to be involved in that.

CNN's Nic Robertson is live in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Nic, we know that Iran has long prepared for a potential kind of attack. So, tell us about this process for this new leader.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, look, the -- the council is supposed to appoint a new leader and decide amongst themselves. It's hard to see how President Trump can interject himself into that.

The best effects that the United States appear to be able to create is on the ground, going after the drone launchers, the missile launchers, the sort of headquarters of the security forces in Iran, because that's a way to sort of lift the lid off the population.

And President Trump -- Hegseth, as well -- have talked about the population of Iran being able to come out on the streets. So, getting rid of the security services, a very big, complicated, maybe impossible -- impossible scale job to achieve from the air, that seems to be under way.

What we've witnessed here today in Saudi Arabia, again, is -- is Iran's ability to sort of pick and choose and change its tempo. There was -- there were a lot more strikes around Riyadh last night than we've seen recently.

Three ballistic missiles were intercepted on the way to the Prince Sultan Air Base, important air base just outside of Riyadh.

There was a drone that was intercepted a couple of hours later in the East around energy facilities. Around about that same time, a cruise missile was intercepted near that important air base. And then several more salvos of drones around Riyadh, possibly around that air base.

The knock-on effect to that was some of the international flights coming into Riyadh didn't arrive. Now it's not quite clear if it was that intense missile activity, but there was a knock-on effect on the ground. And we've been at the airport today talking to people who've been trying to get out of the region.

I talked to people that had driven 13 hours from Kuwait to get to Riyadh to get on a flight to -- back to Europe. I talked to a young Spanish couple who'd driven eight hours from Kuwait, again, to get on a charter flight out of Riyadh.

So, Riyadh is a hub for people exiting the region.

But what we've seen Iran do overnight is effectively have an impact, it appears, on the air services operating out of here. Most of them are running, but there was a blip overnight.

CORNISH: OK. Nic Robertson, thank you for that update.

Now, given what Nic is just telling us about how this is affecting things in the air, we're bringing in Frank Kendall. He's the former secretary -- secretary of the U.S. Air Force. Thank you for being here with us.

First, I want to talk about this -- we're in the era of drone warfare. I heard Nic say something really interesting: that Iran is appearing to be able to pick and choose its tempo. Can you talk about what you're seeing in their response?

FRANK KENDALL, FORMER SECRETARY OF THE U.S. AIR FORCE: Yes. What we're seeing is what probably could have been expected Iran has a pretty good inventory of the drones that we've talked about, as well as mobile ballistic missiles that could be moved around on trucks, and cruise missiles.

[06:05:07]

And Iran's a big country. We had a very difficult experience in the first Gulf War, trying to find the SCUD missiles that Saddam Hussein was using. And the same is generally going to be true here.

We can bring a lot of forces to bear on this -- on this problem. But it's just a very difficult problem. And now you're trying to hunt down and find individual vehicles. It's very difficult.

CORNISH: Well, although we did learn that the U.S. was able to down a drone carrier. So, we -- we know this is very much part of the effort here.

I heard something interesting, which is President Zelenskyy of Ukraine, seeing what's going on, these waves of attack by Iranian kamikaze drones, which have been used against him by Russia in Ukraine.

And he says, quote, "We received a request from the U.S. for specific support in protection against these drones in the Middle East." And he said, "I gave instructions to provide the necessary means."

Can you talk about what it is like to go up against these drones? You have million-dollar interceptors, and then they cost 30,000 apiece. What does Ukraine know that maybe the U.S. is now finding out?

KENDALL: Now you're putting out very good problem. We've been well aware of this for quite a long time now. And we've been working pretty hard on counter-drone capabilities.

Those targets are relatively -- they're very inexpensive. They're also relatively easy to track and not that hard to engage. But you don't want to kill them with a very expensive Patriot interceptor, for example.

So, finding things that are more efficient: jamming directed energy, possibly. And lower cost interceptors are what we need.

And Ukraine's been doing this for four years now. They've been under, you know, the burden of absolute necessity, fielding a lot of capability, experimenting with tactics. And so, we can learn from them. And we should be doing that. I think that's actually the right thing to do.

CORNISH: I want to follow up on something that the Iran's foreign minister actually said. He was in an interview with NBC, and he was asked about the possibility of a ground invasion or ground attack. Here's how he responded.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you afraid of a U.S. invasion in your country? ABBAS ARAGHCHI, IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER: No. We are waiting for them.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You are waiting for the U.S. military to invade, the ground troops?

ARAGHCHI: Yes, because we are confident that we can confront them. And that would be a big disaster for them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: They want to project strength. But can you talk about this concern? Obviously, in the U.S. very many people are worried about boots on the ground.

KENDALL: I think it's highly unlikely. Iran's a huge country. It's got very difficult terrain. The logistics effort alone to support an invasion would be daunting. I don't think the administration has any intention of doing that. I don't think it ever has. And I'd be surprised if it would try to attempt that.

You could see some things along the coast to try to suppress some of these missile threats that we were talking about. But anything beyond that, or maybe some special operations raids into the country, I think would be -- would be extremely difficult to -- to attempt.

And we're not prepared to do that. That would take quite a build-up of forces that you haven't seen yet.

CORNISH: OK. Secretary Frank Kendall, thank you so much for your time and expertise. Appreciate it.

KENDALL: Thank you. Good to be with you.

CORNISH: Now, coming up on CNN THIS MORNING, we're going to talk about this very sudden shakeup in the Trump administration. Kristi Noem out at the Department of Homeland Security. So, what pushed the president to finally make this call?

And if they rise, they rise. The message from the White House as gas prices surge amid the U.S. war with Iran.

Plus, a deadly tornado tears through Oklahoma. The moment it forms was actually caught on camera.

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[06:13:06]

CORNISH: So, we have the first big cabinet shakeup of President Trump's second term. And this all unfolded in a matter of hours.

So, Kristi Noem was about to walk onstage to deliver the keynote address in Nashville when she -- and I guess all of us -- found out she was fired. Her replacement, Senator Markwayne Mullin, also seemed taken by surprise.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. MARKWAYNE MULLIN (R-OK): You know, the president and I have still got to communicate, so we'll talk about it moving forward.

The president and I have already talked. Obviously, the statement went out. But we need to -- we need to talk to the president, and we're going to get on the same page and do what things -- what we need to do.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When did you find out, sir?

MULLIN: A little bit before you guys did.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: OK. It seemed, though, like the writing had been on the wall for Noem for a while. Amid turmoil at the agency, the fatal shooting of two U.S. citizens, and then the floundering poll numbers. And then a personal scandal.

It was a hearing on Capitol Hill this week that seemed to tip the president over the edge.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. THOM TILLIS (R-NC): What we've seen is a disaster under your leadership, Ms. Noem.

REP. JOE NEGUSE (D-CO): Where is Safe America Media headquartered?

KRISTI NOEM, OUTGOING HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: I don't know.

NEGUSE: I don't know either, Madam Secretary. We can't find it. We can't find a website.

REP. JAMIE RASKIN (D-MD): Based on what you know today, were Renee Good and Alex Pretti domestic terrorists?

NOEM: There's ongoing investigations.

SEN. JOHN KENNEDY (R-LA): The president approved ahead of time you spending $220 million running TV ads across the country in which you are featured prominently?

NOEM: Yes, sir. We went through the legal processes, did it correctly, worked with OMB.

KENNEDY: Did the president know you were going to do this?

NOEM: Yes.

Overwhelmingly.

KENNEDY: Other -- effective in your name recognition. I mean, I personally just -- I mean, to me, it puts the president in a terribly awkward spot. (END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: OK. So, joining me now in the group chat, Noel King, co-host and editorial director of "Today, Explained," that podcast; and Ben Terris, Washington correspondent for "New York" magazine; Mike Warren, senior editor of "The Dispatch"; and Lulu Garcia-Navarro, CNN contributor and host of "The New York Times" podcast, "The Interview."

[06:15:08]

So, we start with the headline we have not seen this term, compared to the first term: "You're fired," with full -- complete with "Apprentice" reference.

Can we talk about -- Mike, let me start with you -- Republicans in this hearing: Tillis. We heard Kennedy. They really leaned into, Hey, we think you're doing a bad job. And is that what contributed to this?

MIKE WARREN, SENIOR EDITOR, "THE DISPATCH": I mean, there's somewhat of a lagging indicator, I think, right? They were sort of the final kill shot in this.

But this has been going on for a long time. There was a "Wall Street Journal" article about three weeks ago that really was just the latest in a series of articles -- Ben has written one of them -- about the turmoil, the chaos going on at DHS under Noem's leadership.

It was pretty clear, at my deep reading of that article, that the White House was pretty much done with -- with Noem at that point. And I thought at that point, after Minnesota, after everything else that had come out, that it was just a matter of when and not if she would be fired.

CORNISH: Right.

WARREN: I think Republicans sort of pointing that out. And really, it was her own party going after her in that hearing --

CORNISH: Yes.

WARREN: -- kind of sealed the deal.

CORNISH: Because we have to say, in the end, it was not the fatal shooting of two U.S. Americans that led to her ouster, right?

NOEL KING, CO-HOST/EDITORIAL DIRECTOR, "TODAY, EXPLAINED" PODCAST: No. It was spending --

CORNISH: It came down to something. It was money.

KING: -- 200 million dollars of taxpayer money on an ad that she --

CORNISH: Talk about that.

KING: -- where she was --

CORNISH: Meanwhile, we'll show people what the funding for ICE is right now.

KING: Yes.

CORNISH: So they can see.

KING: Yes.

CORNISH: But why do you think the money did it?

KING: Well, because she said that Trump had approved that ad, and it just looks really bad. It's $200 million. It's her riding around Mount Rushmore on a horse --

CORNISH: Oh, wait. We --

KING: -- telling people to self-deport. Do you have it?

CORNISH: We have the ad. We're going to come back to this.

This is the thing in question. A contract for this campaign spending and she -- where she's in a commercial, I think at one point on a horse. Let's see.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NOEM: Why do I love these wide-open spaces? They remind me of why our forefathers came here. Not just for its beauty, but for the freedom only America provides.

I'm Kristi Noem.

But if you come here the right way, your American dream can be as big as these endless skies.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: So, she was saying, look, this contract was -- like, the president was on board for what we were doing.

KING: All above board.

CORNISH: Do you think it makes a difference that, like, she's the center of the campaign, right?

KING: Yes. Because --

CORNISH: She made herself the center.

KING: -- she's in the center of every disaster. Like, this is a woman who just courted mess after mess after mess so publicly that, at a certain point, I don't know. It's like something had to give.

WARREN: Well -- but let's not act like Trump wasn't OK with this. I mean, is it -- if you look at reporting --

KING: Fair. WARREN: -- throughout the last year --

CORNISH: Yes.

WARREN: -- it indicates that Trump was OK and, in fact, approved all of this.

I think what's interesting is that, once she sort of restated that in this -- in these hearings, it -- it indicated that she had lost his support.

CORNISH: Right. One more thing. The Corey Lewandowski of it all. This is a former campaign manager of the president, someone who is very loyal to him.

And in your reporting, if there's a three-legged stool, it's like Stephen Miller, the architect.

WARREN: Yes.

CORNISH: Noem, the face. And then, as we are learning this week, the role of Corey Lewandowski, which people can't see this. But you at one point in this article, he's called the top goon. How did he behave at DHS?

BEN TERRIS, WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT, "NEW YORK" MAGAZINE: Yes. So, you're right. So -- So, Stephen Miller was important, because he kind of set the rules for what he wanted to have done.

CORNISH: Daily quotas, et cetera?

TERRIS: Yes, the quotas and all that sort of stuff. All the big- picture stuff came from him.

And then Corey and Kristi kind of had their little fiefdom that they got to run. He tried to operate kind of under the radar. He would be responsible for signing off on lots of contracts. And it --

CORNISH: As a special government employee.

TERRIS: Right.

CORNISH: Not someone who had been approved in any way by Congress.

TERRIS: That's right. He was only supposed to be there for 180 days or something like that, but he stuck around for kind of longer than that, it seemed.

And every contract for $100,000 or more had to get signed off on by Kristi Noem. But Corey was often the one kind of making these decisions, which meant lots of money could be spent, allegedly, towards people that he wanted to have get that money.

And he kind of was running the show behind the scenes, and he wanted to do that quietly. But more --

CORNISH: Is it true he was doing polygraph tests looking for leakers?

TERRIS: Sure. There were polygraph tests. I talked to the former acting head of FEMA, who, when he got fired, he went to Noem's office, thought that he was going to see her and get fired by her. But Corey Lewandowski was the one behind the desk. He was basically kind of a shadow secretary.

LULU GARCIA-NAVARRO, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Can I ask you a question? Because one of the things that came up in this hearing was a plane with a bed in it, and I'm just curious what you make of that.

TERRIS: Well, what I make of it is sort of irrelevant. But a lot of people I talked to for the story talked about how Corey Lewandowski and Kristi Noem were having an affair; how it was the worst kept secret in Washington, which -- this kind of rankled a lot of people.

Not only was he a behind-the-scenes guy making decisions that weren't really supposed to be made by him, but also was he having this, you know, kind of improper relationship with the woman who's supposed to be in charge. Both of them are married.

[06:20:05]

CORNISH: Yes. And we should say, your article came out last year, I think.

TERRIS: Yes.

CORNISH: "The Wall Street Journal" did something similar. We heard a lot --

GARCIA-NAVARRO: I mean, she was asked -- she was asked about it in -- in the hearing.

CORNISH: Yes. We're going to talk to the lawmaker who asked that question.

TERRIS: Right.

CORNISH: But I bring it up, because it's something, it seems like, surfaced in the reporting from employees?

TERRIS: Yes. People talk. Employees have talked about it. People, you know, around Trump have talked about it Trump himself allegedly knew about this and kind of would razz Corey Lewandowski about it.

You know, you talked about how she was able to survive for a long time. Back in September when my story came out, there were already rumors that she was on the chopping block, that she might be turned into an ambassador and -- and lose her job at DHS.

But President Trump has liked her, because she's always been, quote, "good on TV." He likes people who are good on TV. I think now that she's not good on TV, you look at what TV was happening --

CORNISH: Yes. And now that the polling reflects that -- TERRIS: Exactly.

CORNISH: -- it's not quite working. So, now she's, what, in "The Agents of SHIELD"? What is it? What is the name of the thing? Does anyone know? Sorry. Who knows?

WARREN: It was like -- it was completely -- sort of a completely made- up task.

CORNISH: OK.

Warren: Some -- some kind of ambassador to "U.S. Shield" or something like that.

CORNISH: OK, Ben, thank you for being here. I might make you stay later, because we have more questions.

After the break on CNN THIS MORNING, we actually have a team on the ground in Tehran. CNN's Fred Pleitgen is the first reporter there as the conflict in Iran unfolds.

Plus, Britney Spears behind bars. What police now say about the iconic pop star's arrest.

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[06:25:54]

CORNISH: It is now 25 minutes past the hour. Here are five things to know to get your day going.

Texas Republican Tony Gonzales now ending his bid for reelection. The Congressman had admitted to having an affair just this week with a staffer who had later killed herself by self-immolation.

Republican leaders in the House called on Gonzales to end his campaign, but they've not pressured him to resign from Congress immediately.

President Trump says he's not worried about rising gas prices, as the war with Iran pushes oil markets higher. Gas already climbed $0.30 in the past week.

In an interview with Reuters, the president says, "If they rise, they rise," arguing the military operation is more important than prices at the pump.

And today, the homegoing service for the late Reverend Jesse Jackson. Former President Clinton, Obama, Biden, they're all going to be in Chicago for the funeral.

Now, this event is being dubbed the "People's Celebration," and it will be open to the public.

We've also got some severe storms moving across the Southern Plains. They're bringing tornado threats from Texas into the Midwest. And this is a video. What you're seeing is a funnel forming near Fairview, Oklahoma. Authorities say a mother and daughter were actually killed, because their car was hit by the tornado.

And want to add this. Britney Spears, arrested on suspicion of a DUI. This is near her California home.

She has since been released. Police say the pop star was driving erratically when they pulled her over. Spears is expected to appear in court in May.

And straight ahead on CNN THIS MORNING, a power vacuum in Iran. With its supreme leader gone, the country is on the verge of choosing a successor.

Plus, President Trump taps Senator Markwayne Mullin to replace Kristi Noem.

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