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Israel, Iran Trade Missile Attacks, Fragile Ceasefire Tested; Trump Says Starting War with Iran Did Not Violate Campaign Promises. Aired 6-6:30a ET

Aired June 08, 2026 - 06:00   ET

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

ALON PINKAS, FORMER ISRAELI CONSUL GENERAL IN NEW YORK: And somehow, turned it into a strategic triumph which could only come through Iran. That failed in the war.

[06:00:10]

So, he needs to, at least, going into an election period, he needs to at least maintain a permanent state of war. In that respect, he's been failing. And Trump has been dragged into this, and the failure is on Trump, as well.

AUDIE CORNISH, CNN ANCHOR: That's Ambassador Alon Pinkas. Thank you for your time. I appreciate it.

PINKAS: Thank you.

CORNISH: All right. Good morning. Thank you for waking up with us. I'm Audie Cornish, and our breaking news coverage continues right now.

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

CORNISH: So, we are following the news out of the Middle East. That's where Israel and Iran are engaging in a barrage of fresh strikes. It is a major test for negotiations that President Trump said just yesterday were very close to being done.

So, we're going to start with a new wave of Iranian missile strikes that were launched towards Israel. This is new video into CNN overnight, showing damage inside a home in the West Bank.

Now, this follows Israeli strikes on an Iranian petrochemical plant. The IDF said it hit several targets at that complex.

Now these retaliatory strikes appear to be in defiance of President Trump, who called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and told him to hold off on striking back.

Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson said Monday that the U.S., quote, "bears responsibility" for Israel's actions, going on to say, quote, "whatever happens in the region, the direct responsibility of the United States is established, and it will also bear responsibility for the consequences of any escalation.

Now, just now on Truth Social, President Trump, just in the last 30 minutes, writing, quote, "Israel and Iran must immediately stop shooting."

We've got live team coverage throughout the region. We're going to start in Jerusalem with CNN's Oren Liebermann.

Oren, can you give us the latest on the strike so far this morning?

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF: Audie, we just got a briefing a short time ago from an Israeli military official who said that Israel is preparing for the possibility of several days of fighting. And beyond that, the potential for this to become a more prolonged conflict.

And that's important, because it gives you a sense of -- of what Israel is preparing for. Meanwhile, Tehran has also said they're prepared for a week of conflict.

So, both Israel and Iran are clearly signaling right now that they're in this for the long haul, if that's what this turns into. If it turns into a few days or more of fighting, then they are prepared for that.

In fact, it seems the one person who isn't prepared for that is President Donald Trump, who is trying to force, through his social media, a deescalation on both sides, in that post on -- on Truth Social that you pointed out.

That Israeli military official says that, since the start of this, which was only about 13 or 14 hours ago or so, Iran has launched some 30 ballistic missiles at Israel in several barrages.

Meanwhile, Israel has carried out its own set of strikes on Iran, targeting surface-to-air missiles, as well as that petrochemical facility that you pointed out.

That's key, because that may mean that energy infrastructure is fair game for Iran. We should keep an eye on -- on the Gulf region to see if Iran carries out strikes on energy infrastructure there. That would, of course, send oil markets and the -- the energy part of this into turmoil, as well, or at least has the potential to do so. So, that's a very key element to keep an eye on here.

Meanwhile, the Houthis in Yemen have also launched at least two missiles at Israel.

So, right now, it seems like we are climbing the escalation ladder potentially quickly, even as Trump tries to impose a ceasefire here. He has done it on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu before when it comes to Gaza and Lebanon and even previous conflicts with Iran. And it seems like he is trying to do so once again.

CORNISH: You said it seems like he's trying to do so, going as far as saying that he calls the shots, saying that Netanyahu will have no choice but to accept a deal with Iran.

How is this being telegraphed in Israel? Are people hearing the way Trump is trying to rein Netanyahu in? And what has the Israeli government talked about? LIEBERMANN: It's safe to assume that, if Trump posts something related

to Israel on -- on his social media or makes a public statement about it, it gets circulated here very, very quickly.

As of right now, we haven't seen any sort of public statement from Netanyahu openly saying that he's going to defy Trump. Quite the opposite. Netanyahu would almost certainly never make a statement like that. He is perhaps Trump's biggest international cheerleader.

And it's -- and it's going to stay that way, because Netanyahu knows that he needs Trump's support. Back in the previous fighting that we saw end in early April, Israel believed that the fighting would continue until Trump decides that it will stop.

And that's likely the same scenario right now, even as -- as we're only a few hours into this. This will continue. Israel will have some rope, some decision-making autonomy in how this plays out, until Trump puts his foot down.

And that's what we're looking for here. Trump has posted on -- on social media. He spoke with Netanyahu last night, although we don't have a real sense of -- of what was said there.

But Trump tried to urge either a holding off of or a delay of -- of retaliation. Netanyahu, clearly because of domestic political pressure here and because of incoming Iranian ballistic missiles, felt an absolute need to respond. And the question now to watch is how much space will Trump give him to maneuver and to strike?

CORNISH: OK, that's Oren Liebermann speaking to us from Jerusalem. Thank you.

And our breaking news coverage is going to continue next. As we talked about Israel and Iran trading new strikes, did President Trump violate a campaign promise by starting this war in the first place? He's going to explain why he did not. We'll have that next.

Plus, a deadly quake hits in the Philippines. The urgent search for survivors.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:10:48]

CORNISH: So, we are following the latest developments out of the Middle East, where the ceasefire is teetering after Iran and Israel traded the worst strikes in months.

Despite the renewed strikes, Trump says he did not violate one of his core campaign promises: no new wars.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KRISTEN WELKER, HOST, NBC'S "MEET THE PRESS": One of your consistent campaign promises was no new wars, going all the way back to 2015. Did you break that promise to the American people? DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: No. No. I had to stop a country, a very

powerful, very dangerous country from having a nuclear weapon. because they'd use it. They'd blow up the world. They'd blow up the Middle East. They'd blow up Israel. They'd come here, they blow up Europe. It's America first. I'm doing our country a service.

When you say I promised, I didn't promise anything. I don't like these endless wars. This is not an endless war.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: Joining me now in the group chat, Sara Fischer, CNN's senior media analyst and senior media reporter at Axios; Elena Schneider, national political reporter at "NOTUS"; and Seung Min Kim, CNN political analyst and White House reporter at the Associated Press.

Now, this ended up being a pretty testy interview for a variety of reasons, but I want to talk about this part about no endless wars. Because we're in a moment where the regional conflict is escalating. We just don't know how far this is going to spread.

Is this a sensitivity for this White House? When Hegseth is asked, he often says something like, Well, we meant no stupid wars. And I think that's sort of eye in -- of the beholder.

SEUNG MIN KIM, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Right, right. And when you ask Trump about it, especially, you know, in these gaggles or in the interview yesterday, he says, no endless wars. He says he's talking about, you know, extricating ourselves from conflicts such as Afghanistan.

CORNISH: And he says it's only been three months.

KIM: Exactly, exactly. And you saw that kind of messaging, even, you know, even a couple of months ago. I remember when he was talking about, in his Oval Office address, about when -- around the time the war started, he's talking about all of these conflicts in the past, such as Vietnam.

And that he's like, we're not talking about those types of conflicts.

But the sensitivity's there. It's because he did make that promise of no new wars during the campaign. That's why this -- kind of this unusual coalition, especially younger voters, really rallied around this president.

CORNISH: Yes.

KIM: Because he made that promise. And now he's in a conflict that is so much more difficult than just a simple kind of -- a more -- a more simple strike that he made last summer in Iran on those nuclear facilities.

And he -- he's struggling to get out of it. And that's why -- that's where that sensitivity is coming from, because it's kind of out of his control.

CORNISH: And it's the getting out that Americans are most politically sensitive to.

I was watching the Platner Sunday rally in Maine. He's obviously sort of in a very political fight because of the allegations against him.

But he talked about war, and he talked about war as suffering, pain, violence. And he says, one of the reasons I want to go to the United States Senate is I want to be a strong voice to stand up against war.

Can you talk about this movement? I've seen other veterans on the campaign trail. This is a talking point. because they see it as a Trump vulnerability.

SARA FISCHER, CNN SENIOR MEDIA ANALYST: It is a Trump vulnerability. And it's especially fascinating, because if you take a look at midterm advertising, very little talks about foreign policy, Iran, or the war.

CORNISH: Yes.

FISCHER: It's not a kitchen table issue that typically impacts these types of races at the local level.

CORNISH: Although Vote Vets is doing a lot of spending. Like, one of the PACS. Yes.

FISCHER: Well, now -- now that we've gotten this engaged in the war, we're starting to see some of this trickle in.

So, there's this -- an element of surprise that veterans are leaning into this, because it's not typically something that sways people.

I think, however, if you are a veteran and I mentioned this last time, but I did a debate for my hometown in which my hometown congressional district, one of the candidates who won their primary as a veteran.

You see it in for yourself by talking about this war. You can draw attention to your military experience, to your experience as a veteran, which does matter when you're trying to compare yourself to other people on the campaign trail --

CORNISH: Yes.

FISCHER: -- who don't have that experience.

So, I think that's just probably one of the reasons that they bring it up. It's not because they have a big platform around how they're going to handle this. It's just a reminder to people, hey, I have a == I have empathy with the people who we are sending out to battle. And if I were in a position of power, I wouldn't be putting them there.

[06:14:03]

CORNISH: I would somehow be different.

FISCHER: Yes.

CORNISH: You know, it's interesting, watching Trump also navigate the domestic politics of this where, on his right, there is a very strong, loud, public kind of MAGA wing that really felt important, that this pledge was important about no endless wars. They can't be happy right now.

ELENA SCHNEIDER, NATIONAL POLITICAL REPORTER, "NOTUS": No, of course not. And look, I mean, we had a poll last week that came out that 7 in 10 Americans want America to get out of Iran as soon as possible.

CORNISH: So, that's not just Republicans.

SCHNEIDER: Exactly.

CORNISH: OK.

SCHNEIDER: That really speaks to the -- the breadth of the concern here. And it's not only being felt in Democratic primaries where it's not too far to then take that next step of, we don't want more wars. And this war is affecting your gas prices, which is a very easy tie-in to the affordability message that we know Democrats want to make in this moment.

But Republicans, too, feel this. Marjorie Taylor Greene was at the front lines of saying that this was some broken promises here. And I think she speaks for --

CORNISH: That's what's interesting to me. They don't just talk about gas prices.

SCHNEIDER: No.

CORNISH: They specifically talk about Trump, his relationship with Netanyahu, and their concerns about where the U.S. priority is. Is it abroad or is it at home?

SCHNEIDER: Because it was a very sticky, very effective message for him. I think it really mattered to a lot of young people that he was making these kinds of promises.

Because remember, at the time Joe Biden was tied -- you know, at the time the Biden administration was tied up in Ukraine. And the idea was, why can't we focus at home?

And that was part of a key plank of what he was able to do in winning those younger voters by -- by margins that we had not seen Republicans do in quite some time.

CORNISH: Yes. And ironically, I remember a time -- maybe you remember this in the media. There were these moments where people would say, well, Kamala Harris is going to drag you into a war with Iran. There was this concern that -- do you remember this?

SCHNEIDER: Yes. CORNISH: The sort of connection being made between the Biden and Harris stance on Israel at that time, which was causing a lot of trouble in its primaries and with huge parts of its base. And now, it feels like, basically, Trump's in the same position with a part of his base.

FISCHER: Yes. And going back to what you were saying on the Ukraine war, the big tension there was that why are we footing the bill to defend Ukraine?

Well, it's a very similar situation here. You're asking Congress to approve billions of extra dollars for this war. Why is the U.S. footing the bill to fight Israel's war?

One could make the argument that both are a national security issue for the U.S.: to defend our allies.

However, in the instance of Ukraine, Trump was very adamant that we shouldn't be putting forth a penny. In this situation, he feels much more comfortable asking Congress to appropriate this funds.

CORNISH: For many pennies.

FISCHER: Yes, for many pennies.

CORNISH: Unending pennies.

FISCHER: And so, I think this is where there's the break in the MAGA base is, in their point of view, there should be the same scrutiny towards spending here as there was there. But there clearly is not.

CORNISH: OK, you guys, stay with me. We're going to bring in more folks to help us make sense of this, this morning.

And our breaking news coverage continues after the break. We're going to talk about from LEGO propaganda to messages on missiles. Is Iran getting better at the information war?

Plus, Trump's cage fight just days away. Could it get knocked out before round one?

In the meantime, I want to say good morning to New York City, because, of course, tonight is game three of the NBA finals.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:22:44]

CORNISH: It's 22 minutes past the hour. This is your morning roundup.

Democratic Senate primary candidate Graham Platner held an event in Maine in front of an enthusiastic and cheering crowd just two days before the primary. And he declared he is, quote, very much just some random guy from Sullivan, Maine.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) GRAHAM PLATNER (D), MAINE SENATORIAL CANDIDATE: 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 that works, we get to show this country the way forward.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: Now, Platner is still favored to win Tuesday's primary, even after "The New York Times" published a report from three of his ex- girlfriends who described, quote, "volatile and toxic relationships." In one account, physical intimidation, which he denies.

A deadly 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck in the Philippines. Video from the area showing you right here. Massive damage, including crumbling buildings. Several people were killed. Rescues continue.

And in a few hours, the U.S. Special Forces soldier charged with betting on the raid to capture Nicolas Maduro will appear in court.

Gannon Ken Van Dyke is due for a status hearing in a Manhattan federal court.

Prosecutors say that he made more than $400,000 on prediction markets by making trades related to Venezuela before the January raid to capture Maduro.

And the cage fight on President Trump's birthday this weekend. Well, it's in danger of being knocked out.

Two Virginia residents have filed a lawsuit to stop the UFC fight at the White House. The suit argues that the claw built on the White House lawns was not approved by Congress or an environmental review.

It's also citing that UFC is selling VIP packages of more than $1 million, arguing that, due to Trump's stock in UFC, he would profit off the fight.

It is scheduled for this Sunday.

In the meantime, it's game three of the NBA finals tonight between the Knicks and Spurs. Thanks to President Trump's attendance, there will be heavy security. Secret Service will deploy snipers, intelligence, and surveillance teams.

[06:25:05]

With the Knicks up by two games, the watch party outside Madison Square Garden has also been canceled.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Personally, I think it's kind of a shame. I really would like it, you know, because we've been waiting for this for, like, how long? And, you know, a lot of people can't afford to get into the game. I'm

one of those people. So, I was actually looking forward to going to one of these watch parties.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is a monumental day in New York City, and you're going to cancel it? It's all right. We're going to find a way. OK? If you guys know real New Yorkers, we're going to find a way.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CORNISH: I don't want to mess with New Yorkers. They finally get to see. I hadn't actually thought about it until I heard that little clip of someone being, like, some of us can't afford tickets.

FISCHER: It's true. And by the way, live experiences are becoming so much more expensive. You saw people on social media saying it's cheaper to fly to San Antonio for some of those games as a New Yorker than it is to go down the street.

CORNISH: Yes. Is Trump still the ultimate New Yorker? Like, is he popular there?

KIM: I mean, I -- I think it's fair to say that if there are loud boos tonight when he's in Madison Square Garden, I don't think any -- any of us would be surprised.

CORNISH: yes. Because he's been at Knicks games plenty over the years.

KIM: Yes.

CORNISH: We're showing him here. But you know, let's just say.

SCHNEIDER: Well, he might be the ultimate sports president. You know, he keeps popping up at all of these big games. Right? He was at the Daytona 500. He went to the Super Bowl. He's been to the Ryder Cup. He went to the U.S. Open.

I mean, I don't know if any other president has leaned on the -- the privileges of being able to attend some of these major games quite the way that he has during his presidencies.

CORNISH: OK, well, shout-out to the New Yorkers who are not going to get to go to the watch party. I hope you all find a way. OK?

KIM: They will.

CORNISH: Straight ahead on CNN THIS MORNING, President Trump saying that he calls the shots and that Israel will fall in line. But did Netanyahu just prove him wrong?

Plus, CNN is on the ground in Tehran with their new warning to Israel this morning as more missiles fly.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[06:30:00]