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Massive Israeli Attack Targeting Nuclear Facilities, Military Leaders Stuns Iran; Trump Says Israel's Strikes on Iran "Very Successful." Aired 10-11a ET
Aired June 13, 2025 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[10:00:45]
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Well, welcome to the second hour of CONNECT THE WORLD. I'm Becky Anderson, coming to you from Paris today
where I've been on special assignment for CNN. But breaking news calls for this special edition of the show.
The Middle East and Gulf region is on edge today, bracing for what could come next in the wake of an unprecedented Israeli attack against or inside
Iran. Israel striking key nuclear facilities, including the Natanz facility, and targeting top Iranian military leaders and nuclear
scientists, assassinating them.
Iran firing drones towards Israel and vowing more retaliation. As Israel's military tells its nation to brace for a prolonged operation. Well, on the
ground in Iran, people are reacting with shock and fear. Some in Iran telling CNN that they are scared and never thought an attack like this was
going to happen.
We're going to get deep into the weeds of all of this and the major escalation over the next hour. Joining me now, key friends of this show who
will lend their analysis all hour. Mohammad Ali Shabani is the editor of Amwaj.media and a Middle East scholar. We also have our chief international
correspondent, Nick Paton Walsh, Firas Maksad, the Eurasia Group's managing director for the Middle East, will also join us as we move through the
show.
Let's start with you, Nick. Break down then how this operation, this Israeli operation, unfolded and continues, and what Iran's options are now
at this point?
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes. I mean, I think the interesting thing here, Becky, is that while we seem to
have a reasonable picture of the damage done slowly as the dust settles by Israel in these attacks, the exact timeline of how this unfolded is
something, I think, still being pieced together to some degree.
We know the different elements, though. We know Israel says it had 200 airplanes in the sky hitting 100 targets. We know that their Mossad
intelligence agency have yet again, it seems, infiltrated the country, able to use what they referred to as precision weapons, hitting, it seems, parts
of air defense missile infrastructure inside the country, too.
And we now know as well from the IAEA that the vast preponderance of Iran's nuclear sites were unscathed. But a very different story in Natanz, where
some satellite images that have been doing the rounds, authentic they seem to be on social media, show some significant damage to that key enrichment
facility.
So clearly here, an Israeli attack that has been, I think it's fair to say, probably years if not months, certainly, in the planning coming together
and taking out vast parts of Iran's military and political or security related hierarchy. The head of the IRGC, the head of the IRGC's air force,
the top nuclear negotiation adviser, Ali Shamkhani, a key adviser to the supreme leader there as well.
Ultimately, over the past hours, we've seen the list of key military figures growing, their replacements being announced.
Now, that gives you, Becky, a clear idea as to the capacity Iran is in this morning for a full throated potentially proportionate response back to this
Israeli attack, the most significant against Iran since it got into war with Iraq in the late '80s. They are probably this morning essentially
assessing the damage, working out who is left in their hierarchy together. It's clear that the IRGC air force command, according to the Israelis,
partially confirmed by Iranian state media, that they were hit in a meeting in what they thought was potentially a secure command center.
And so there'll be nervousness clearly amongst the Iranians about where to meet, how to communicate. So many of these strikes pinpoint accuracy, it
seems, against particular apartment blocks around Tehran. That will leave Iranian officials potentially worried about their phones being tracked. So
Tehran, clearly, I think, in a state of disarray today, they talked about a response from drones.
There had not been any significant, I think it's fair to say, reporting on the Israeli end to suggest success there at this particular point. And so,
yet again, I think we are seeing Israel demonstrating that they are the key military and intelligence power in the region, unrestrained by public
statements from the U.S. president, Donald Trump for them not to do this, to allow diplomacy a chance.
[10:05:02]
I'm sure there will be some who suggest potentially a master plan here, but ultimately, the evidence is not that Trump was somehow playing one hand and
Israel another in cohesion, that instead Israel chose to act potentially ahead the diplomacy taking root on Sunday in the sixth round of talks
between the United States and Iran that was scheduled in Muscat between Steve Witkoff and Iranian officials.
Perhaps not wanting this long proven, long, sorry, long prepared capability to fall by the wayside of diplomacy took hold, and choosing to act,
potentially also to seeing key Iranian officials as a target as well. A remarkable operation, I think it's fair to say. I should point out the
significant numbers of Iranian dead that we're hearing of on state media of 78 and over 300 injured, but possibly a morning in which the balance of
power in the region was confirmed as significantly no longer in Iran's favor.
ANDERSON: Mohammad, let me bring you in. Nick. thank you. And I want to talk about the sort of decapitation, as it were, of Iran's military command
and control and what you make of that. This reminds me of what happened back in October, when Hezbollah was defanged through the sort of the
operation using beepers. This is deep, deep intelligence over months and months and months, it seems.
How does Israel get a sense of where these military leaders would be so late? This is overnight Iranian time. How do they ensure they are where
they want them to be in order to take them out, assassinate them with, you know, in such a spectacular fashion? I just want to get your, you know,
your analysis of what happened here and how.
MOHAMMAD ALI SHABANI, EDITOR, AMWAJ.MEDIA: I think, first and foremost, what we're seeing is the wider sentiment likely among senior Iranian
officials that they may have foreseen a war with Israel, but did not take that prospect seriously. And we saw that same exact mistake being made by
Hezbollah in Lebanon. And so I think the mistakes that Hezbollah made, IRGC has made with reference to these strikes on Iranian senior military
command, many of the strikes appear to have been carried out against their residences.
Many of which are in, you know, civilian apartment buildings in Tehran. So I don't think it's a rocket science to find out where people live. But
other instances, such as the commander of the air force, what we're seeing is that apparently they gathered in an underground facility, and Israelis
are saying that essentially they had watched these previous reactions to other instances of confrontation.
And so, again, it's about, I think, not learning lessons, repeating same patterns. And it's been a big shock for them. But I think as the kind of
dust settles and as there's damage assessment, and I also expect there to be many more rounds of bombings inside Iran. This to me is just the
beginning. I think the number one question Iran needs to ask itself is, who is it at war with? Is this a war with Israel? Is this a war with the United
States?
And this in turn, I think, informed next steps, such as, if this is a war with Israel, that means that retaliatory options will be much more limited
compared to if it is a conflict with the United States. And in that vein, there's also the question of what happens next in the diplomacy with Trump.
Are we going to see any further dialogue with the United States, particularly under these conditions?
Is Ayatollah Khamenei, Iran's supreme leader, finally going to make the decision to weaponize a nuclear program? For instance, we have seen reports
of attacks on Natanz facility, but the lion's share of the nuclear sites are unharmed so far. The IAEA, the U.N. nuclear watchdog, has stated that
there has been no attack on the underground Fordow capacity for enrichment, a massive enrichment site deep underground that only the United States is
believed to be able to target.
So again, I believe that we have to look at the question of who is Iran at war with? What will it do next in its diplomacy with the United States? And
does it believe that it's only remaining option is to build nuclear weapons? I think these three questions, the answers to them will determine
what may come next.
ANDERSON: Let me bring in Firas at this point. I want to get your response to Mohammed's three points there, Firas, and to this, the supreme leader's
statement, quote, "The regime must await severe punishment," he says in reference, of course, to Israel. "In the enemy's attacks, a number of our
commanders and scientists were martyred. Their successors and colleagues will immediately continue their mission."
So I guess we should be asking at this point how serious is that threat and what does it look like?
[10:10:03]
FIRAS MAKSAD, MANAGING DIRECTOR FOR THE MIDDLE EAST, EURASIA GROUP: Yes, Becky, it's good to be with you again. I think a good place to start would
be to answer the question of who Iran is exactly at war with. Is it at war with just Israel, or is it at war with Israel and the United States? At
this point, I dare to say it is still at war with Israel. President Trump all along had a preference for diplomacy.
We've seen some 60 days of diplomacy. From the get go he's managed to hold Bibi at bay. The Israelis very much wanted to strike first, negotiate
later, dismantle and destroy the entire program rather than negotiate about some level of enrichment. But clearly here we got to a point where the
president of the United States decided to look the other way, give the Israeli prime minister the orange amber light to go ahead and conduct this
operation.
Iran does not have an interest in dragging the United States into this war. It can barely take on Israel of its own, let alone Israel and the United
States, and therefore, Iran's reaction function will be educated by that premise. Whether it responds by closing the Straits of Hormuz or trying to
affect global oil prices, attack perhaps facilities in the GCC energy facilities, American basing or whatnot, those are the kind of reactions
that will draw in the United States, particularly an American president that is very sensitive to oil prices and the impact that would have on the
American and global economy.
So for now, Israel is at war -- Iran is at war with Israel. That can change in the days and weeks ahead, depending on how Iran reacts.
ANDERSON: And that response where Iran to decide it is at war with America, would drag in the Gulf region. I'm in Paris today, but obviously, you know
that I'm normally based in Abu Dhabi and there is much concern around the region about what happens next because those American bases, of course, are
primarily around the Gulf region.
Now, what we do know, because you and I have talked about this over the months, is that the Iranians have much better relations with the likes of
Riyadh, for example, Abu Dhabi these days, always retained good relations with Doha. So what do you expect? What do you understand to be going on
behind the scenes with regard messaging from these Gulf capital cities to Tehran, very specifically?
MAKSAD: Well, Becky, you're out of place today. You're in Paris instead of Abu Dhabi. I'm also not in D.C., I am in Beirut. And I can tell you there's
a great deal of anxiety. Excitement amongst some, maybe those who are obviously opponents of Hezbollah, but a great deal of anxiety as to where
the region might be going next. We spoke about Iran's reaction function, possible responses against GCC sites. Obviously, we also ought to talk
about Iran's forward defense strategy. Essentially the proxy network of which Hezbollah and Lebanon is part, but also the Houthis in Yemen, the
militias in Iraq, whether they will come into play. That has a lot of people around the region concerned.
Now, as to the GCC, those countries have for quite some time been hedging by normalizing relations with Iran, also a landmark visit by the Saudi
Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman, the crown prince's full brother, to Iran back in mid-April, meeting with the supreme leader, essentially
providing assurances, the kind of assurances and political posture that would keep these countries, Saudi Arabia, other GCC countries, out of this
war.
These are countries that are status quo powers. They have their national visions about growing and diversifying their economy. They very much want
to be on the diplomatic side of the ledger here. As diplomacy begins to unfold to try and get off the war footing. And in that sense, we know that
the Saudi foreign minister, in particular Prince Faisal bin Farhan, has been in regular contact with his Iranian counterpart, being debriefed every
-- after every round of diplomacy.
We've had five rounds of diplomacy between Iran and the United States, receiving phone calls from the Iranian foreign minister, and even speaking
to the Iranian foreign minister after these Israeli strikes have commenced. So the role of the GCC here, Saudis in particular, but also the UAE, Qatar
and others is to try and provide the diplomatic off-ramp to go back to diplomacy once in fact all the parties involved are ready to do so.
[10:15:01]
ANDERSON: Yes. I mean, if you didn't think this was complicated, folks, it is. It is very complicated. And there are a lot of stakeholders here.
Stand by both of you. We do have a Saudi statement that came in the wake today of the initial attack by Israel. Can we just bring that up on the
screen?
"The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia expresses its strong condemnation and denunciation of the blatant Israeli aggressions against the brotherly
nation of Islamic Republic of Iran, which undermine its sovereignty and security and constitute a clear violation of international laws and norms,"
it said.
And we saw similar statements from other countries around the Gulf and the region. Very much speaking to the U.N. charter and the flagrant disregard
for international laws and norms. That was the sort of overarching response from Gulf nations and other Arab nations in the wake of these overnight
strikes. Significant air strikes, unprecedented strikes on Iran's nuclear and military facilities.
So our guests today are our experts here, very specifically saying that what we should expect now will very much depend on whether Tehran believes
it is at war with Israel, or whether it is at war with the States. And for that reason, I want to bring in Alayna Treene. She is live at the White
House today.
Alayna, let's just give our viewers a sense of what we have heard from this administration, very specifically from the U.S. president, over the past 12
hours or so in the wake of the news of those initial attacks by Israel.
ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes. So the first official response we heard from the president was this morning when he posted a very
lengthy post to his social media Web site and essentially said that he had warned Iran over and over again that something like this could happen, that
he had given them. He said specifically, I'd given them chance after chance to make a nuclear deal with the United States.
We know that negotiations of this are supposed to be ongoing. The United States is saying that they hope, we have reporting on this, that they hope
that these negotiations can continue. But then he went on to say that they couldn't get it done. He said that, you know, the manpower of the United
States and of Israel is unmatched, and that those who took hardline stances on these ongoing negotiations over a nuclear deal are, quote, "all dead
now."
But again, he did reiterate in there at the end, the time is now to try and stop this bloodshed and see if they can still get a deal to prevent further
attacks from Israel. But then we heard more from him. Our colleague Dana Bash got on the phone with the president directly. He told her specifically
that he, of course, supports Israel. He said that the strikes last night seem to be a very successful attack.
He also said that Iran should have listened to him when he had sent them a letter. We had reported on this a couple months ago when he sent Iran a
letter saying, I'm giving you 60 days, an ultimatum really, to make a deal or potentially face consequences. The president said in that phone call
with our colleague, but also posted this publicly that today is the 61-day mark, meaning yesterday was when that deadline was up. And obviously we saw
those attacks.
I think it's very important, though, Becky, to note that the tone we are hearing now from the president himself is quite different than what we
heard last night from this administration and specifically Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who had essentially said that the U.S. was not involved
whatsoever in this attack, and that really the priority for this administration is to ensure the safety of all Americans.
Different of course hearing what the president is saying about kind of saying he had warned Iran that this could happen and that now is the time
to make a deal to stop further attacks.
Some other things I want to note, because I think we're learning a lot of this in real time, is one, we now know that the president, and this is
according to the "Wall Street Journal," the president told them that he had spoken with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu yesterday. What's unclear, it
did not specify whether that was before these attacks, obviously, would be very notable because, as we know, it seems unlikely that Israel would have
moved forward without any sort of, you know, signaling from the United States that they wouldn't be absolutely against a move like that.
We have some reporting as well from myself and our colleague Oren Liebermann that he is expected to speak with Netanyahu again today. We know
many other leaders, of course, from European allies to those in the Middle East, are also trying to get on the phone with both the president of the
United States, but also those in the Middle East to really figure out how this response is going to be shaped moving forward.
Some other things as well. The president, in just a few moments, starting around 11:00 a.m., he is going to be meeting with his National Security
Council in the situation room. We are told that again it's really trying to formulate how the United States is going to respond here.
[10:20:05]
But of course, a key question that I still have is in that phone call yesterday with Netanyahu and throughout this week is whether or not he
tried to warn him against going forward with these types of attacks, because we know that he had done that previously. From what we're hearing
from the president today does not exactly seem like he may have warned him in the immediate lead up to these attacks from Israel, whether or not that
he should not be moving forward at all.
So that's the key question, of course, to try and figure out and also how the U.S. will move forward with this and whether or not Iranians are going
to be meeting with U.S. officials like Special Envoy Steve Witkoff on Sunday, like previously planned.
ANDERSON: Good to have you, Alayna.
Let me bring Nick Paton Walsh back, because I just want to play you this sound. Netanyahu releasing a video message in the wake of those first
attacks, and thanking or certainly showing appreciation to Donald Trump. Just have a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: Long live Israel and long live America. Our action will help make the world a much safer place. I want to
thank President Trump for his leadership in confronting Iran's nuclear weapons program. He has made clear time and again that Iran cannot have a
nuclear enrichment program.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Nick, in your analysis, you argued, quote, "This is beginning to look like a month's long Israeli plan to remove a regional threat." Is
there any scenarios, do you believe, where the U.S. would not have known about this first?
PATON WALSH: I mean, clearly there were indications the U.S. had got wind of it through their decision to close some diplomatic facilities in the
past days. Whether that was the result of the Israelis tipping them off, that's not really the public signals I think that would necessarily being
given, or at least certainly President Donald Trump was clear to say that he hoped they weren't going to necessarily do that. So it's a mixture, I
think, here of possibly there was a suggestion.
The Israelis told the White House that maybe this might happen. The White House publicly said, don't do it, but there may be attempts in the coming
hours to suggest more cohesion, more cooperation here between the Americans and the Israelis, and perhaps happened in reality. Look, Israel is capable
of acting unilaterally. And I think what we saw overnight was potentially the Israelis seeing the possibility for diplomacy taking hold Sunday in
Muscat and then maybe finding this plan, which clearly is months if not years in the preparation, given the detail, they appear to have gone into,
the intensity of it.
And remember, too, Becky, all of this impossible if Hezbollah had faced the Iran. Sorry, if Iran had faced the Hezbollah Iranian proxy to their north.
That was dismantled last summer, enabling a large scale operation like this indeed to happen. So if you look back over the past 18 months, clearly or
even years, clearly that major attack may have been the beginning of a broader move. This may have been something Israel always intended to do.
It may have been expedited by what occurred in diplomacy, or it may simply have been the moment of opportunity where it seems like the IRGC's air
force all gathered in a particular bunker last night, ill advisedly, and got struck. We may not know immediately, but I think it's very clear here
that there's been an enormous investment of intelligence and time here by the Israelis.
And I would imagine that Netanyahu did not want to -- sorry, did not want to miss the opportunity to use those capabilities, regardless of where
Trump diplomacy was going. But it's a pretty serious indictment, frankly, of -- from one of the United States key allies, Israel, if indeed they
decide they can't trust the Trump administration to come up with a diplomatic deal that keeps Israel safe and choose to act alone.
ANDERSON: Yes. Very briefly, Israel capable of acting unilaterally, you say, and you're absolutely right. Is it capable, though, of defending
itself against more than just -- and I'm saying just in a relative way, 100 drones that were launched by Iran towards Israel overnight in response? It
has a, and I'm talking about Tehran here, a huge ballistic missiles, supply weaponry based still.
So the question is, and I assume that this will be being discussed at the briefing today in the situation room, were Iran ready to use that against
Israel? We've seen that used in the past, twice in the past year. And it was the Americans who helped to intercept those ballistic missiles of
course. More on that with our guests.
Nick, thank you. Firas, Mohamed, stand by. I'm going to take a very short break.
Coming up more on our breaking news this hour, including international reaction to Israel's strikes on Iran as well as Iran's potential response.
That is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:27:05]
ANDERSON: All right. Iran's Arab neighbors condemning Israels recent strikes. Saudi Arabia, for one, is calling Israel's actions, quote,
"blatant aggression." The United Arab Emirates, which of course normalized relations with Israel in 2020, condemning the attack in what it calls the
strongest terms.
I want to bring back Firas Maksad and Mohammad Ali Shabani.
Mohammad, let's talk about some of these assassinations. Armed Forces Chief of Staff Mohammad Bagheri taken out, assassinated by the Israelis today. As
I understand it, you say that he is the most strategic asset to have been taken out. Why?
ALI SHABANI: So as the chief of staff of the Iranian Armed Forces he's the most senior ranking Iranian military commander after the supreme leader.
But more than that, since being appointed to his position, he was able to forge closer collaboration between the two parallel armies of Iran. Iran is
the only country on the planet with two parallel armies, one is the IRGC, the other one is the regular army. So I think in that respect he had quite
a unique role.
So they've already appointed successors to most of these senior commanders who have been killed in these attacks. And this suggests that Iran has
institutions. Its military is institutionalized. But end of the day, it's going to take some time to, I think, for Iran to bring back the kind of
cohesion that somebody like Bagheri brought to the table.
ANDERSON: Firas, I'm just looking at what we're getting into CNN and we continue to get, for example, European statements suggesting de-escalation
here, calling for de-escalation, suggesting that the diplomatic route is the only way forward on this. And I've just read out, for our viewers'
sake, the condemnation that we're getting from around the Gulf region, very specifically about the attack by Israel on the sovereignty that is, you
know, the Iranian, the Iranian country.
With regard the diplomatic route at this point, is this over? And was this over before it even began? And I'm talking here very specifically, of
course, about the U.S.-Iranian talks. What's your view on that?
MAKSAD: Becky, diplomacy is dead for the foreseeable future. It is very unlikely for Iran to come back to the negotiating table without at least
mustering a proper and a proportional response to what has been a really shocking and surprising Israeli attack against its nuclear facilities, its
military infrastructure, its top leadership, its key scientists.
[10:30:08]
And so to go back to the negotiating table right now, I strongly believe is a nonstarter for the Iranians. We're going to have to see Iran attempt to
muster some kind of retaliation. Perhaps we saw a first phase of retaliation that was attempted with some 100 plus drones earlier today. I
think a question to be asked whether Iran will in fact be left with the command and control capability to muster a response, but they will have to
attempt one.
They will have to attempt one directly. They will have to attempt one through the proxy network in the region. Perhaps whatever is left of it.
Hezbollah in Lebanon, the militias in Iraq, the Houthis in Yemen. Perhaps even using asymmetric warfare, targets against Israeli targets abroad.
We've heard already that many of Israel's missions are being asked to close and take precautions.
There has to be an Iranian response that then provides it with some leverage, some ability to save face before they go back to the negotiating
table, but go back to the negotiating table they probably will because not to do so will leave them exposed to further military action, not only by
Israel, but possibly even by the United States if this war in fact expands, or if Iran tries to make a mad dash to weaponize or to disperse the highly
enriched uranium.
ANDERSON: Mohammad, we've spoken to people in Iran today. I'm sure you have spoken to people on the ground as well. We are getting who say that they
are very scared, who say they never expected that this would happen, or that they've heard the warnings and the threats in the past. We've also
received video of protesters demonstrating against Israel, demonstrating in support of further retaliation.
Can you just give us a sense from your perspective of what the atmosphere is on the ground inside the country?
ALI SHABANI: Becky, there's absolutely a palpable sense of, I would say, rage, shock and anxiety about what may come next. Within the political
leadership what I'm seeing is essentially two different potential roads ahead. One of them suggests diplomacy or deconfliction, to continue some
kind of engagement with Donald Trump and his team. But I agree with your other guest, Firas, here that even that camp believes that there first
needs to be, quote-unquote, "a respectable response" to the Israeli assault.
And I think the fact that Israel, in all likelihood, will continue this assault, that this is just the beginning, that's going to make it very
difficult. And again, if Iran chooses to make this a war only with Israel, that limits its options. It's much easier for Iran to strike the United
States. So I think that that's one key faction in Iran.
The other faction, I think, are pressing for measures such as withdrawal from the NPT, which was already on the table, talking about dispersing
uranium stockpiles and we already saw Iran sending letters to the U.N. secretary-general and the head of the IAEA on May 22nd. There was a letter
sent by the foreign minister warning that Israeli threats may compel, quote-unquote, "special measures."
The sources I've spoken to in the past indicated to me that these special measures may include the expulsion of foreign inspectors. These are
personnel associated with the U.N. nuclear watchdog. And they could also be that the LEU stockpile and also the highly enriched uranium stockpile may
be moved to secure sites. We already have suggestions that the IAEA does not have full knowledge of the location of this uranium. But even if they
were to decide to weaponize the nuclear program, we have to understand that enriching enough materials for a bomb is not quite the same as building a
bomb.
Building an actual bomb is something that's going to take months. And here, in this respect, I believe that this is going to be a drawn out affair
potentially. I think that this is going to be many ways be about attrition, about who can take not just most pain, but most pain for how long. And I
think in this respect, history has taught us that Iranians are not good managers, but they are decent crisis managers.
So if we look at things from that perspective, I think having taken an initial punch to the face, I mean, to avoid using better words, I think
Iran is now trying to find its feet, trying to think about next steps, and maybe put in place actions and plans that it had been holding off on.
[10:35:08]
I think time will tell in the coming days and weeks whether Iran is prepared to go all the way. I mean, by all the way is to expel foreign
inspectors, whether to truly make efforts to weaponize the nuclear program or whether it first wants to again launch a, quote-unquote, "respectable
response" and then see if they can engage with Trump to de-escalate to de- conflict.
ANDERSON: Well, thank you, Mohammed. And Firas, finally, of course, Tel Aviv will be watching and waiting. And they have warned Israeli citizens
that this could be days that they will -- that they should expect to feel threatened and under attack. Critics of Benjamin Netanyahu are being pretty
loud today in suggesting that this is a very convenient distraction, diversion, if you will, from the Gaza conflict, which of course is ongoing
at present.
He faced a world sort of united, as it were, next week in New York at what is a Saudi-France co-sponsored Palestinian statehood summit. I just wonder
what your sense is of the timing in the kind of wider story here, including the fact that Gaza continues as we speak?
MAKSAD: Yes. Allow me to disagree here, Becky. I don't think that the Gaza angle is driving the timing here. Where I do agree with you is that it will
have the impact of sidelining that major conference that both the Saudis and the French were aiming for on June 17th at the U.N. to push for
recognition of a Palestinian state and to support a two-state solution. But this is something that Bibi Netanyahu has been putting in motion, has been
planning for for months, if not years.
This is something that he was ready to put into action the moment that President Trump lifted his veto and gave again that orange amber light, if
not a green light. And it very, very conveniently came on day 61, just as that deadline that President Trump had given for negotiations to take
place. Just as that window had closed with an inability for the U.S. and Iran to come -- to be on the same page in terms of particularly enrichment.
So I think that's kind of what was driving the timeline, less so Gaza, although clearly Gaza and the people suffering in Gaza right now are going
to become, unfortunately, a sideshow as a result of this ongoing conflict that will be with us for weeks and have much bigger ramifications than
Gaza, in fact, had been.
ANDERSON: Yes, it was 60 days ago that Donald Trump had the UAE presidential adviser deliver that message, that letter to the Iranians. And
here we are today on the 61st day, just on the eve of what would have been and may still be, very unlikely it seems at this stage, the sixth round of
indirect talks between the U.S. and Iran in Oman.
All right, gentlemen, thank you for the time being.
We are going to take a very short break. Just ahead, what we are learning about Israel's covert operations ahead of its strikes on Iran. More on that
after this.
You're watching a special edition of CONNECT THE WORLD with me, Becky Anderson.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:41:22]
ANDERSON: All right. Welcome back. You're watching CONNECT THE WORLD, a special edition of CONNECT THE WORLD, with me, Becky Anderson, from Paris
today. Here are your headlines.
And Israel's military says it hit more than 100 targets across Iran in a massive attack against nuclear facilities and other targets. And several
top Iranian military leaders and nuclear scientists were killed. Israel says Iran launched 100 drones in retaliation towards Israel that were
intercepted outside Israeli territory.
Well, investigators are sourcing the wreckage of the Air India crash as they tried to determine what brought down the passenger plane. Officials
say at least 200 people were killed on Thursday. Victims include all but one of the people on board the doomed flight, and dozens of others on the
ground.
Well, U.S. President Donald Trump does not need to return control of California's National Guard back to the state. That is, after a federal
appeals court put the move on hold. Now, Trump's controversial decision to federalize the Guard was in response to unrest in Los Angeles following
protests over his immigration policies.
Those are your headlines, and let's carry on with our breaking news this morning. We are learning more about Israel's covert operations ahead of its
strikes on Iran, and Israeli security official says Mossad operatives smuggled precision weapons into Iran that targeted its defenses from the
inside. Well, the spy agency released videos of that operation and also involved deploying strike systems on vehicles.
Israel said 200 fighter jets were also used in the attack. That makes up nearly 60 percent of its fleet, according to the International Institute of
Strategic Studies.
Well, I want to bring in CNN's chief international anchor, Christiane Amanpour, now in London.
Christiane, we are, what, some 13 or so hours after the initial reports of this huge attack by Israel taking out attacks on the nuclear sites. But
also, you know, the decapitation of command and control, some very, very significant assets taken out in Iran, military assets taken out in Iran.
The world is reacting as we sort of reflect on what's happened and consider what might happen next. Where are your thoughts? Where's your head?
CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Well, the thing is, we don't know what it's done and the damage it's done, which was ostensibly
the reason to Iran's nuclear enrichment facilities. Iran itself says that the damage to Natanz, which is its main, you know, centrifuge location
where it enriches uranium was, quote-unquote, "superficial." We don't know the battle damage assessment, as they say in military terms.
We don't know whether anything has been done to Fordow, whether it was actually hit, what happened. So we don't really know that level of detail,
which was ostensibly the reason for this attack. What we do know is that they, according to the pictures they keep showing, there have been waves of
these attacks and the Israeli prime minister says that it's going to be prolonged.
Here in terms of European reaction, so far, no European country, unlike the last time there was an air exchange between Iran and Israel, countries
mobilize their defenses, their aircraft to prevent missiles from Iran and drones hitting inside Israel.
[10:45:00]
This time, there has been no such pledge from many of these countries. In fact, right now, the latest is that the leaders of Germany and France have
had a conversation and are absolutely determined that this needs to be, you know, pulled back and there needs to be a diplomatic resolution.
President Trump himself is weighing in and sort of, you know, different things at different times. So from what we can gather is that his latest is
that we weren't just given a heads up. We knew fully what was going on. We spoke on Thursday. We spoke again today. So it begs the question of, did
the U.S. just give a green light or was it fully behind it? Was it part of what Trump might think is a negotiating strategy with Iran?
Because he keeps saying, you know, I gave them a chance to make a deal, they didn't, and now they have a second chance. Will that come to fruition?
Certainly the Iranians so far have said they have no plans to send their top diplomats, like the foreign minister, to Oman, which is acting as the
mediator in these talks with the U.S. on a new nuclear deal.
And we know that Israel, at least this prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, who has long wanted to conduct exactly these kinds of strikes, has been
given permission for the very first time from a U.S. president. No former U.S. president allowed Israel to take this move, told them not to do it,
and they didn't do it until now because Trump gave them the permission, according to what's coming out now.
And so we will wait to see where this goes, and particularly we'll wait to see whether Iran has the capability and will respond in any more
significant way than it has already.
ANDERSON: It's good to have you, Christiane. Your insights, experience, intelligence, analysis is so important at this point. Always good to see
you. Thank you.
More on our breaking news after what is very quick break. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: Well, you're watching CONNECT THE WORLD with me, Becky Anderson. And wherever you are watching, you are more than welcome.
Here with me is senior researcher in the Iran and Shiite Access Program for the Institute for National Security Studies. Danny Citrinowicz is also a
former Israeli defense intelligence official.
And, Danny, with your extensive knowledge over, what, 25 years of Israeli intelligence, how long do you think this operation took to come together,
considering that the IDF says that it was smuggling weapons into Iran? And we've got video that's been released by Mossad to support that. What does
all of this say about the planning?
DANNY CITRINOWICZ, SENIOR RESEARCHER, INSTITUTE FOR NATIONAL SECURITY STUDIES: Well, it's not days, it's not months. It's years. It's years of
planning first to collect the information, the right intelligence, to make sure that we know where the targets are, where they live, but also to
create the ability operationally to help the Mossad to insert these capabilities inside Iran itself and to detect the penetration capabilities
that allow to Mossad to insert those capabilities.
[10:50:08]
So certainly, it took years that actually at the end of the day coming to fulfillment in last night's events. And I think that we are overwhelmed.
But definitely the Iranians are overwhelmed with the level of penetration and the fact that Israel were able, through that penetration, to really
damage the command and control capabilities of the Iranians and thus preventing them from initiating a response against the state of Israel.
ANDERSON: Doesn't mean that there won't be a further response, of course. And there is a huge stockpile still, as we understand it, of ballistic
missiles. Israel was able to unilaterally, capable of unilaterally launching this attack whether or not the states knew, and we're beginning
to sort of learn perhaps that Donald Trump knew more than he had originally said. But is Israel capable of defending itself if and when Iran gets its
command and control back in sort of order and decides to use ballistic missiles against Tel Aviv and others? What's your sense of the thinking
that's going on now in Israel about what a retaliation might look like?
CITRINOWICZ: First, Becky, I totally agree that we have to be very cautious and modest and how we evaluate the situation right now. Yes, Israel is some
sort of in euphoria, that's for sure. But I think that we have to be very cautious because like you mentioned, Iran still have competent capabilities
to hit Israel. It still have thousands of missiles. And despite the command and control problems they will be able to launch those missiles.
So I think first and foremost for them is creating a barrage of missiles, hundreds of them, to retaliate to the what we call to rebuild the
deterrence equation between Israel and Iran. So definitely, this is something we need to expect, and I'll be very surprised if they weren't
going to do so. It's not saying that the Iranians does not have a dilemma. They understand that if they will attack Israel, Israel will retaliate and
maybe will expand what we call the bank of targets, meaning that they will focus not only on the military side, but also the civilian side, maybe the
energy sector.
So the Iranians still have a lot to lose, but I think they think that they will have to retaliate because if they're not going to retaliate and avenge
what happened last night, then they will be perceived as weak, even in their own dominant, in their own crowd. So I think for them, retaliation
first and foremost is using ballistic missiles to hit strategic locations in Israel.
ANDERSON: And they have defended themselves with U.S. support. Of course, I mean, very, you know, overt U.S. support in the past. So we will wait to
see what comes out of the states with regard support going forward.
Thank you, Danny.
Certainly in Israel, people have been told to stock up and to be prepared for the worst, as it were, and told that this could be days, if not weeks.
We're going to take a very short break at this point. You're watching a special edition of CONNECT THE WORLD. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON: All right. Just before I go, I want to get you this sound from Brett McGurk, who is the former White House coordinator for the Middle East
through the Biden administration and indeed through the Obama administration, talking to CNN earlier today in response to what we have
seen over the past 14 hours or so.
[10:55:10]
The huge attack by Israel on Iran and its nuclear facilities and on its military, taking out a significant number of key military assets,
assassinating them overnight. And we have seen a relatively muted response from the Iranians as of yet. And we've been talking about what we might
expect next.
Well, this was Brett McGurk, who's been imbued in the region for a long time, deeply and understanding this region deeply. Let's just have a listen
to his sense, his response to what he saw in the wee hours of the morning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRETT MCGURK, FORMER WHITE HOUSE COORDINATOR FOR MIDDLE EAST: Israelis are calling this Operation Rising Lion. I would call it operation kitchen sink.
As you've been reporting, as Sara just reported, this is airstrikes, sabotage, Mossad, an incredibly extensive operation that is still ongoing.
It has eliminated in a single night the entire military command structure of Iran.
I just cannot underestimate how significant this is. The head of Iran's military, General Bagheri, the head of their missile and drone program,
General Hajizadeh, the head of their National Security Council, Ali Shamkhani, former head but really still active in that role. And the head
of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Hussein Salami, who organizes all the proxy groups across the Middle East, Hezbollah, Hamas and others,
through the Quds Force.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON: Well, it was Brett McGurk there putting this attack into context.
That is it for this special edition of CONNECT THE WORLD. I'm Becky Anderson. Stay with CNN. My colleagues with "ONE WORLD" up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
END
