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Erin Burnett Outfront

Trump: "Evacuate Tehran" Now, Hegseth Sends U.S. Assets To Region; Iran: New Attacks On Israel Underway, Will Continue Until Dawn; Accused Assassin Appears In Court Unshackled To Face Charges. Aired 7-8p ET

Aired June 16, 2025 - 19:00   ET

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

[19:00:22]

ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: OUTFRONT next:

The breaking news, Iran launching a barrage of missiles into Israel as the U.S. is directing more assets this hour to the Middle East. Is Trump about to get pulled into the conflict even more?

And the alleged Minnesota assassin tried to visit two other lawmakers before police say he fatally shot the former house speaker and her husband. Tonight, another top state Democrat who is allegedly on the gunman's target list will join us.

And his son, an American journalist and former marine missing, as reports surfaced that he may have been executed. Mark Tice, Austin Tice's father, is our guest.

Let's go OUTFRONT.

And good evening. I'm Erin Burnett.

And OUTFRONT tonight, we begin with the breaking news. Trump warning moments ago, and I quote him, everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran, as Iran is warning that a ninth wave of attacks against Israel is now underway and will continue until dawn. This is now the fifth night of attacks between the two countries.

And just moments ago, U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, posting on social media and I quote, he said, I directed the deployment of additional capabilities to the Middle East region.

So, what does that mean? Well, right now we know that the U.S. Navy Nimitz carrier strike group is already heading towards the Middle East right now, and more U.S. naval assets capable of defending against ballistic missiles are expected to be moving into the eastern mediterranean, closer to Israel, in these next coming days.

The latest Iranian attacks coming after the IDF released these new images of Israel destroying what it says are two Iranian fighter jets. And earlier today, an unbelievable moment unfolded live on Iranian state television. Let me show it to you.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS) BURNETT: I mean, it's stunning to even watch that. Israel hit the headquarters of Iran's state media. Now, the IDF said that this wasn't a mistake. They said it was a precise strike based on intelligence that the building was being used for military purposes.

Now, an Iranian source sent me these letters that Iran sent to the secretary general of the U.N. and the U.N. Security Council earlier today, in which Iran demands immediate action following what it calls Israel's, quote, deliberate attacks on Iran's nuclear facilities. The letter goes on to demand that the U.N., quote, hold Israel and its accomplices fully accountable.

Now the accomplices, the use of that word is a very thinly veiled reference to the United States. But while the U.S., of course, backs Israel at this point, clearly the two countries are not entirely on the same page as sources tell CNN that President Trump opposed an Israeli plan to assassinate the supreme leader.

But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu refused to take that option off the table today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: It's not going to escalate the conflict. It's going to end the conflict.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: Oren Liebermann is OUTFRONT in Tel Aviv to begin our coverage.

And, Oren, what is the latest that you're learning? As we understand, Iran is saying that missiles will be coming to where you are from now all the way until dawn.

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF AND CORRESPONDENT: Well, we at least got some sense of that just a short while ago. We had to run to the bomb shelter downstairs in the hotel about one hour ago, where we spent 20 minutes there because of warnings of more incoming, including here to Tel Aviv in the heart of Israel, at least according to Israel's emergency responders. So far, like Magen David Adom, there were no impacts. So, either those missiles were intercepted or weren't able to strike the targets and hit in either military or residential areas.

That being said, it's two in the morning here, so there are at least 4 or 5 hours until dawn, and we saw missiles incoming at about 4:00 in the morning last night. So there's very much the potential for more ballistic missiles and more drones as the night goes on here.

Meanwhile, as you pointed out, Israel has continued its strikes in Iran and in Tehran. In addition to hitting Iran's state broadcaster, they took out two aircraft on the ground and have continued to go after other targets as well.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said so far, Israel strikes against Iran's nuclear facilities have set the nuclear program back many, many years. He wouldn't give a specific number on anything like that, how much they really have damaged the nuclear program. But Israel's former defense minister told CNN earlier today that it was some years that they had set the program back.

Meanwhile, there are rising casualties on both sides, 24 killed so far in Israel.

[19:05:00]

Meanwhile, a much higher death toll in Iran 224 killed there. And it doesn't look like this is going away anytime soon. Iran has vowed it will not negotiate under attack.

Meanwhile, Netanyahu spoke of what he called, quote, complete victory. That is a phrase we've heard in the war in Gaza, which is past 600 days now. And this fight, although its incredibly early here, shows no sign of an off ramp right now, no matter what president Donald Trump promises about perhaps finding a way to end this conflict, quote, soon.

BURNETT: All right. Oren, thank you very much. Live in Tel Aviv. We'll be checking back in with you this hour.

OUTFRONT now, Ofir Akunis, the consul general of Israel in New York.

And, Consul, I really appreciate your time. So --

OFIR AKUNIS, CONSUL GENERAL OF ISRAEL IN NEW YORK: Thank you so much, Erin.

BURNETT: So, you know, to start with, you know, President Trump had said, okay, he's going to come back from the G7 and he's going to get this over with. But then he also said Tehran should be evacuated right now. Just to take that statement, that one statement, Tehran should be evacuated right now. Is he right?

AKUNIS: I will tell you, one hour ago they fired ten ballistic missiles toward our civilians. Now, they want a ceasefire after almost 50 years of saying that they want to destroy us?

Now, we -- for your question, we will accomplish our two goals. Destroy their ballistic missiles and nuclear capability. And that's what we are going to do, even if it will take weeks.

BURNETT: Even if it will take weeks?

AKUNIS: Yeah.

BURNETT: Okay. So I just want to understand, as everyone wants to understand more what this means. So ballistic missiles, nuclear program -- let's talk about the nuclear program.

We've got the latest satellite images of Fordow, which, of course, is one of the main nuclear sites and the one that is at least known to have substantial assets deep underground, which was done in order to prevent Israel from bombing it. It is buried deep in the mountains, 300 feet or more underground, as we understand it.

Okay. We have we understand analysts keep telling us it is the U.S. that has the so-called bunker buster bombs that have the ability to destroy an asset of that sort. And only the U.S. but I ask you, can Israel destroy the Fordow site and that deep nuclear capability without U.S. help?

AKUNIS: First of all, we will not take -- we will not take decisions for the American administration. We will do whatever we can, and we are doing it to prevent the ayatollahs to hold nuclear weapon. This is the most dangerous thing to the western civilization. And I'm talking about this studio, this place, this city as well.

So, we are we are trying to do it. We are doing very well until now. We want, first of all, to defend our people from their missiles and from the nuclear weapon plan. This is very dangerous to the world and to Israel as well. And we are doing whatever we can to prevent it.

BURNETT: All right. So, I am just curious, though, when your prime minister says that the strike so far have set back Iran's nuclear program a very, very long time, many, many years.

AKUNIS: Exactly.

BURNETT: Why is that not enough?

AKUNIS: It's not enough because we suppose that they are still they are trying to progress their plan, even though it's almost a week that we are. We are there during this operation. We are not counting on them.

We must be sure that we will accomplish our two goals, and we are not sure yet about the nuclear sites we want to be sure about. I suppose that there is more than two, but you mentioned the two of them, and we want to be sure that will accomplish our goal. And then we can say, you know what?

What we can do with the ayatollahs. We're not talking about the Iranians, Erin.

BURNETT: The ayatollahs.

AKUNIS: We are talking about ayatollahs. That's right. Exactly.

BURNETT: Consul, I appreciate your time. Thank you very much.

AKUNIS: Thank you so much, Erin.

BURNETT: All right. And I want to go now to the former defense secretary and CIA Director Leon Panetta.

And, Director Panetta, you just heard the consul general there from Israel saying that many, you know, sitting back many, many years, right, that that is not what the goal is. The goal is more -- more than that. They want to get rid of the capability, that of a nuclear weapon for Iran all together. And also then he also made a distinction that it was beyond that, that it was also getting rid of the leadership of Iran, of the ayatollahs.

What do you hear when you hear that?

LEON PANETTA, FORMER CIA DIRECTOR UNDER PRESIDENT OBAMA: Well, I hear two goals that are going to be, frankly, difficult to achieve unless the United States goes to war with Israel, which is not likely. But the fact is that to go after their nuclear capability, you've got to be able to go after these deeply buried facilities at Fordow that can only be attacked with. Bunker busting weapons that the United States has and be delivered by a B-2 bomber.

[19:10:03]

So, to totally be able to wipe out their nuclear capability is just not going to happen. If its left to Israel on their own. And with regards to regime change, I think the problem there is that that it isn't that easy to achieve in Iran, that you can undermine their command structure, you can go after their nuclear scientists. But the fact is, even if you go after Khamenei, there are going to be other hardliners that will take their place.

So I think Israel has to think about just exactly what it is that they're trying to achieve. If they're trying to weaken Iran. That's a -- that's an achievable goal. Beyond that, I think it's going to be difficult.

BURNETT: So, specifically regarding the ayatollahs, and let's just talk about the supreme leader, right? The leading Ayatollah Khamenei, and Prime Minister Netanyahu said killing him would not escalate the conflict. He said he would, quote, end the conflict.

It sounds like you disagree with that assessment.

PANETTA: Yeah. I don't think there's any question that getting rid of Khamenei is not going to suddenly result in regime change. That's the bottom line. You know, you're talking about the Quds force. You're talking about a lot of hard line commanders that are still very active in Iran.

And the fact is, the more Israel bombs. Iran, the more the Iranian people will be concerned about trying to protect their own -- Iran against Israel. So, when you look at all of these other factors, on the bottom line is that achieving regime change is not easy to do, cannot be done simply by killing Khamenei, and frankly, cannot be done simply by the kind of missile attacks that are going on right now.

BURNETT: So given the direction its going, given what you hear from the consul general, what you hear from the prime minister of Israel, right. That is very consistent. What you're hearing from Iran about responding in kind. You know, they their state media headquarters were hit. And now, tonight, they're saying that they then consider Israeli media operations a fair target. How high is the risk, Secretary Panetta, that the United States is directly involved and at war?

PANETTA: Well, I think the bottom line, Erin, is that the longer this war goes on, the more unpredictable it becomes. That's that, I think, is one of the realities when these countries are continuing to strike at one another.

United States and President Trump have three choices to make. One is to try to get a diplomatic solution. Qatar, Oman, others are trying to see if they can at least get Iran back to the negotiating table.

And it's not going to be easy to do. They would -- it would require Israel to stop the attacking, and that's something they probably don't want to do right now. And so, it is -- it's difficult to do, but at the same time, it's something that I think the world and parties that are unrelated to the actual attacks going on would support in order to try to reach some kind of agreement.

The second choice is to join this war, to have the United States join the war and be able to go after their nuclear capability and literally try to destroy Iran. But the problem with that is that it would result in retaliation against the United States. And in the end, the reality is that that kind of full-scale war against Iran results in the United States being part of a Middle East war. That's something that Trump didn't want for the United States.

The third option is to stay out of it. That's pretty much what Trump is doing right now, but it's an approach that basically says let the players kill each other, let them exhaust themselves, and hopefully, ultimately, there'll be an opportunity down the road. But that means continuing warfare between Iran and Israel.

BURNETT: All right. Secretary Panetta, we appreciate your time. And thank you so much tonight, sir.

PANETTA: Good to be with you.

BURNETT: All right. Next, we are following the breaking news here. Iranian media is reporting several explosions and heavy air defense fire in Tehran right now, as we speak, as Trump is warning Tehran to evacuate immediately.

Plus, Tehran vowing to keep hitting Israel all night long. We have a special report on the top leaders Israel has killed in Iran already, and who exactly is in charge of so much of the command structure right now?

And also breaking, new details in the deadly Minnesota shootings? Police say the suspect sent disturbing texts after allegedly killing a lawmaker and her husband, and that he visited multiple other people's homes before his deadly attack.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:19:35]

BURNETT: Breaking news Iranian media reporting several new explosions in its capital of Tehran and heavy air defense fire coming just moments after President Trump posted online. And I quote everyone should immediately evacuate Tehran.

Well, the death toll is rising in Iran amid the back-and-forth barrage of strikes. At least 224 people are reported dead there. There are also fatalities in Israel, much smaller, but at least two dozen people have been killed there.

[19:20:01]

Jeremy Diamond is OUTFRONT in Tel Aviv, where search and rescue teams are standing by for potential Iranian strikes.

And, Jeremy, I know you know, you're there in the darkness and there are incoming missiles. What are you seeing there on the ground?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, right now, we are actually with the Israeli military's national rescue unit. They've effectively established a base camp here in Tel Aviv to be prepared to respond to potential incoming ballistic missiles, which might make their way through Israel's air defense systems, as we've seen happen far too many times. Of course, in just the last few days.

This is a team that is usually prepared to respond to natural disasters, both in Israel but around the world as well, whether they be earthquakes or floods or tsunamis. But right now, they are dealing with something much closer to home and what they have already witnessed in just the last few days has been devastation on a scale that many here in Tel Aviv have not seen in decades.

Really. I mean, this early this morning, or I should say yesterday morning, given the time that it is now, here we were at the scene of a ballistic missile strike in central Tel Aviv. And you could see, you know, three residential buildings absolutely torn to shreds. The only reason that people survived there was because they were in the bomb shelters in their buildings.

A different story in Petah Tikva the previous night as well, where several people were killed after the missile directly struck that building. And of course, we've seen that scene repeated in other areas of Tel Aviv as well. This team was ready to scramble here tonight already as we got sirens coming in to central and southern Israel just a couple of hours ago.

But ultimately, none of those missiles seem to have made impact in any populated areas. And so much of the team here is back to sleep, but ready to jump at a moments notice as we see that Iran and Israel, neither of them, seem to be headed for any kind of de-escalation with more barrages of missiles likely expected -- Erin.

BURNETT: All right. Jeremy, thank you very much. On the ground in Tel Aviv.

And also tonight, Israel's president saying the Iranian people have the opportunity to, quote, rise and change the regime in Tehran. Well, it comes as Israeli strikes so far have killed some of Iran's most powerful men who run the country. That's the way it is there. All of it raising questions about who is left, who is really in charge. I mean, these are the crucial questions to try to figure out where it goes, how long this goes.

And our Fred Pleitgen has this special report OUTFRONT.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Iranian fire trucks racing to the scene of yet another strike in central Tehran. CNN exclusively obtained this video, authorities say, shows the aftermath of a hit on a residential building, leading to a partial collapse.

People on the ground trying to evacuate the area as Israel continues its aerial blitz, hitting military targets but also infrastructure in Tehran. Many shops remain closed, the streets nearly empty.

They're truly afraid. When they hear the sound of bombings, they get scared, the shopkeeper says. Just now we had a customer who was really frightened. She cried and quickly left the store in a hurry.

But Iran says after initial setbacks with many top generals killed, the Revolutionary Guard has now regrouped. The assassinated IRGC commander Hossein Salami, replaced by Mohammad Pakpour, a veteran of the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s.

Iran now launching waves of missile strikes against Israel. A senior Iranian official telling CNN that Iran will make Israel pay if it hits Iranian civilians and a military spokesman even giving evacuation orders to Israelis.

We currently possess a complete database of all your sensitive and critical locations and vital points, he says. Therefore, we emphasize do not allow the criminal regime to use you as human shields.

While President Trump says despite the aerial bombardments, he still wants a nuke deal with Iran. Tehran pouring cold water on that idea, at least for now.

We cannot imagine that such an action by the Zionist regime could have taken place without coordination, cooperation and support from the United States, he says. This has, in effect, stripped the diplomatic process and negotiations of their meaning and substance.

And so, many Tehran residents are bracing for more strikes on the capital, as Iran says it will continue to hit back.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PLEITGEN (on camera): And, Erin, the Iranians bracing for more Israeli strikes now opening schools as bomb shelters, while at the same time Tehran says that it will continue its waves of missile attacks against Israeli territory -- Erin.

BURNETT: All right, Fred, thank you very much.

And next, more breaking news in the case of the alleged Minnesota assassin.

[19:25:01] Police say the gunman tried to visit other homes before the deadly shootings. We'll tell you what we're learning.

And more on the breaking news. Back on the ground in Israel tonight.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BURNETT: Tonight, the man suspected of gunning down Minnesota lawmakers making his first appearance in federal court just hours after being captured in the largest manhunt in the state's history. Vance Boelter is facing federal charges of murder and stalking the assassin accused of opening fire at the homes of two Minnesota lawmakers. As we are now learning that he targeted other homes that night and had notebooks with more than 45 potential targets, according to police.

In just a moment, we're going to talk to a person who says he's been told he was named. He was listed in those notebooks. That's former Congressman Dean Phillips.

First, though, Danny Freeman is OUTFRONT with this report.

[19:30:00]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOE THOMPSON, ACTING U.S. ATTORNEY, DISTRICT OF MINNESOTA: It is no exaggeration to say that his crimes are the stuff of nightmares.

DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The Department of Justice is saying this morning, 57-year-old Vance Boelter allegedly murdered State Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, and allegedly tried to kill State Senator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette. He also visited two other state lawmakers' homes with intent to kill them.

THOMPSON: He researched his family -- his victims and their families. He conducted surveillance of their homes and took notes about the location of their homes.

FREEMAN: Boelter first went to State Senator Hoffman's home in a black SUV with a fake license plate that read police. Court documents said he disguised himself as a police officer wearing a silicone mask, seen here captured on a doorbell camera.

THOMPSON: Boelter knocked on Senator Hoffman's front door and repeatedly shouted, "This is the police! Open the door!"

When Boelter lowered his flashlight, which he had shined in their face, they realized that he was not a police officer. They shouted out, "You're not a cop! You're not a police officer!"

FREEMAN: The Hoffmans survived the shooting. Their daughter called 911. Authorities say the suspect then went to another lawmaker's home and knocked again. But that state representative was on vacation. Boelter then continued to a third lawmaker's home. State Senator Ann

Rest, a Democrat, said it was her house, but Boelter appeared to hesitate as police were already checking on local leaders by then.

Finally, at State Representative Hortman's home, authorities say police found Boelter, gunfire erupted and Boelter had to abandon his car and an arsenal of weapons.

MARK BRULEY, CHIEF, BROOKLYN PARK POLICE: Had they not foiled the plan, you know, essentially took his vehicle away from him, which involved all his maps, all his names, all his weaponry, I would be very scared what it would look like over the next few hours had we not done that.

FREEMAN: New federal court documents state while he was on the run, Boelter texted his family. Dad went to war last night. I don't want to say more because I don't want to implicate anybody. But with the help of a resident's trail camera, drones and infrared technology, Boelter was taken into custody without incident.

Can you speak to why investigators believe he carried out this attack, and for how long he may have been planning these attacks?

THOMPSON: Well, it's pretty clear from the evidence that he's been planning these attacks for quite some time. There's voluminous writings, as you've seen in the reporting, that were found both in his car and his house, about his planning. Lists of names and individuals. Obviously, his primary motive was to go out and murder people.

Now, they were all elected officials. They were all Democrats.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FREEMAN (on camera): And, Erin, we actually got a statement today from State Senator John Hoffman and his wife, Yvette. They both survived the shooting. They said they're incredibly lucky to be alive. They're incredibly thankful to local law enforcement. They denounced political violence, and they said they were devastated by the loss of State Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark.

Erin, last thing is, Boelter's next federal courthouse appearance is scheduled for late next week, again, to face those murder charges and many more -- Erin.

BURNETT: Danny, thank you very much in Minneapolis tonight.

I want to go to Bob Jacobson, now commissioner of Minnesota's Department of Public Safety.

And Commissioner Jacobson, I do appreciate your time.

And I know that you're tracking the gunman's movements on the night of this horrific attack, everywhere he went and what time he was there. You know, we've seen those -- just horrific images. I mean, just to imagine that at the first home that he allegedly targeted before he opened fire, and then the images at the second home where he knocked, but I know that you all from your investigation say there, no one was home.

Do you know how many homes total that he went to at this point, for sure?

BOB JACOBSON, COMMISSIONER, MINNESOTA DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY: Well, good evening, Erin. And first of all, thanks for the opportunity to be here tonight. Pleasure to be here.

We are certainly working on that investigation. As I've told many people that, you know, the first 48 hours of this investigation were really a sprint as we were trying to track down and find more information, this investigation, as to where Mr. Boelter was, including a search and eventual arrest.

And so, that first 48 hours really was that sprint. We are now in that marathon piece as we are starting to recover evidence, we're starting to review evidence. We're starting to take a look at technology. We're starting to make sure that were trying to get as much information as we possibly can that might indicate or show or demonstrate the whereabouts of Mr. Boelter both that night and even in previous days leading up to these really heinous, violent and chilling attacks.

BURNETT: So when the affidavit says that the suspect's wife got these texts from him, that these texts apparently came in at 6:18 a.m. So, you know, you obviously have seen all these, but these Danny Freeman had read one of them. Dad went to war last night. I don't want to say more because I don't want to implicate anybody.

And he -- then continues in a text to his wife: Words are not going to explain how sorry I am for this situation. There's going to be some people coming to the house armed and trigger happy, and I don't want you guys around.

[19:35:04]

Now, obviously these sound like she knew nothing, but we've also been told by the affidavit that in her car, there were two handguns, $10,000 cash, passports for her and her children. Do you know how these pieces fit together? Why all that was in the car and what those texts have to do with it.

JACOBSON: Yeah, that's a great question, Erin. And certainly, we had a significant amount of interest, still do, in Mr. Boelter's wife. That's why we were able to make sure that we made a connection and had an opportunity to talk to her. And she was very cooperative.

She did speak with investigators who are working on this case. The evidence that was recovered and the statements that we've received so far really are part of that ongoing investigation that we want to be able to have that information that will help us go on and continue again in that marathon investigation.

So again, we continue to take a look at it, to help us piece together, whatever role she or others may have had in this, again, really heinous incident. BURNETT: All right. So, not -- I guess you're saying to whatever role

she may or may not have had, you just -- you don't know yet. You oversee the team that brought an end to the manhunt, a terrifying manhunt, 43 hours. And you know, at that time, you're talking about a long list of people that he could have been going to kill. You tracked him down in the woods as he crawled out to officers.

What can you share about that moment and what that moment was like, what he had on him, what he was like?

JACOBSON: So what I can tell you is that number one, you know, just great coordination between a numerous number of law enforcement agencies and SWAT teams that were a part of this investigation and part of that search. You know, as we got information as to where Mr. Boelter may have been, we use technology, including state patrol helicopter, to try to really pin down and make sure that we knew where Mr. Boelter was.

We wanted to be able to safely approach his location, which all of the members of the SWAT teams and law enforcement officers were able to make that safe approach. Law enforcement officers are trained to give clear and direct directions to any suspects, anybody that they want to take into custody. And I know that they were very clear in those directions.

And the good news out of all of this is that Mr. Boelter surrendered, as you've seen, he surrendered with his hands up. And we are very fortunate that there was no violence towards police officers. Nobody was hurt. And we have a suspect in custody, and we have an opportunity to continue to investigate and talk with him.

BURNETT: All right. Well, Commissioner, I appreciate your time and thank you very much.

And as promised, now, OUTFRONT is the former Democratic U.S. congressman and presidential candidate, Dean Phillips.

He says that authorities have informed him that he was one of the potential targets named in the notebooks that police say belonged to the gunman. And he knew the victims of this attack. He shared these photos with Melissa Hortman on the campaign trail with us.

And, Congressman, I'm sorry to be speaking to you under such shocking circumstances that we could truly never imagine talking to you over something like this. And yet, here we are.

May I start by asking you your reaction when you find out that you were actually named in the suspect's notebook as a target?

DEAN PHILLIPS (D), FORMER U.S. REPRESENTATIVE; SAYS HE WAS ON SUSPECT'S ALLEGED HIT LIST: Well, sadly, Erin, I'm used to it. And I think everybody serving in public office in this country and around the world, certainly here, Democrats and Republicans, sadly, were accustomed to it.

When I ran for president in the Democratic primary just a year ago, the largest line item in my budget, Erin, was security, because that's the era in which we live. And that saddens me because this will have a chilling effect on the best and brightest young Americans, conservatives and progressives that aspire to public service. And our country cannot afford to further diminish the attraction of serving this country.

So -- and by the way, this isn't about me. You know, I'm thinking about Colin and Sophie Hortman and Hope Hoffman and all the people, the friends and family of the Hortmans and Hoffmans that are, are ruined because of this.

I don't care about the fear that I may have felt. What I care about is the pain they're feeling. And I just call on our better angels, Erin, to get our act together, starting at the very top, all the way to city councils and statehouses.

BURNETT: So, you know, the federal affidavit includes the images from those handwritten notebooks that they say they recovered, Congressman, from the suspect's SUV. The page on the right side said finding people at the top. And it includes websites that he allegedly used to look up addresses and family members, and the names of 45 lawmakers they say are in these notebooks. And obviously, you've revealed you're one of them.

[19:40;01]

But when you look through the 45, they happen to all be Democratic. I mean, do you think that's what this was about, that that is the one common denominator here?

PHILLIPS: Well, I mean, facts are facts. I've heard from authorities that it appears and again, this is just speculation, but it appears that he used the abortion question. By the way, Erin, what this is, I believe what this is really about is yet another example of an American in despair whose life didn't turn out the way he wanted, economically challenged his professional pursuits, failed, and sadly, somehow these people feel that they have to attract attention somehow, and they choose the most atrocious way to do it.

I think he conveniently chose this issue, but he clearly was targeting Democrats and it's just repulsive. But it could have been Republicans, Erin. It doesn't matter. His politics, his color, his race, his religion. What matters is that we continue to express horror and shock and don't really do much about it. And that's what I'm focused on right now.

BURNETT: Well, it's just also horrific. I mean, among all the loss and the death, just the horror that happened, the fact that somebody who had a wife, had children, had children at home, could do something like this, I think is truly impossible to comprehend.

All right. Congressman Phillips, thanks so much. I appreciate your time.

PHILLIPS: Anytime, Erin. Thank you. BURNETT: The breaking news into CNN, President Trump has just made a

sudden announcement that he is going to leave the G summit early -- G7 summit early, as he has warned Tehran to evacuate immediately.

And a new explosive claim about Austin Tice, the American journalist and former marine who vanished in Syria. His father is OUTFRONT.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:46:19]

BURNETT: Breaking news, President Trump abruptly leaving the G7 to return to the White House tonight. The White House press secretary just announcing that Trump is heading back due to, quote, what's going on in the Middle East.

And Kristen Holmes is OUTFRONT at the G7 in Calgary.

So, Kristen, sudden change of plans. What do you know about it? And you know, why?

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. Well, I've been talking to members of his team, texting with them now over the last couple of minutes once this came out. And they're saying that this is because of the escalation in the Middle East, he believes he needs to be back in Washington trying to get more details. If there's something going on between Donald Trump, the United States and any kind of interaction with the Iranians.

That's, of course, what we know Donald Trump is trying to do here, because we know that things have been escalating in the Middle East.

Just a quick point I know you did this earlier in the show, but now it has a more weight to it, given the fact that he's going home. What Donald Trump posted online moments before they decided that he was going home tonight, he said Iran should have signed the deal. I told them to sign. What a shame and waste of human life.

Simply stated, Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. I said it over and over again -- everyone should immediately evacuate Iran. Then, we started hearing reports of loud noises, bombs type things in Iran right after this posted. And now, Donald Trump is going back home.

So again, the big questions that we're trying to figure out here are what exactly has changed in the escalation that are causing him to go back. Now the deal is tonight, he was supposed to have a full day of meetings tomorrow. He was going to have a press conference tonight. He's going to be leaving after he has this heads of state dinner. He's going to be heading back to Washington.

So again, the other thing that we had learned is that at the White House, we have seen a number of officials who didn't come on this trip meeting there. That includes Pete Hegseth and General Dan Cain.

So, clearly, they knew this was escalating. But now this has taken another turn with him heading back to Washington tonight. BURNETT: All right. Kristen, thank you very much.

As Kristen said after the heads of state dinner, President Trump is going to abruptly change his plans and return to Washington. Obviously, this conflict was days in when he continued with his plans to go to Calgary. So, the decision to turn around summarily and abruptly is obviously a significant one.

Let's go to the ground in Tel Aviv now, where Alexander Cornwell, senior correspondent for Reuters, in Tel Aviv tonight.

Alexander, on the heels of this news that President Trump is abruptly turning around and going back to Washington, you know, and we don't -- we don't know exactly what meetings or what reason. We do know it's related to the conflict in the Middle East.

What are you seeing there in Tel Aviv right now? As I know the Iranian missiles are supposed to be coming in all the way until dawn, where you are.

ALEXANDER CORNWELL, SENIOR CORRESPONDENT, REUTERS: That's right. Around an hour ago, we started seeing reports out of Iran that a missile barrage was on its way. But tonight has been relatively calm, so to speak. We are in our fourth night since the Iranian attack started.

Now in Tel Aviv, we've had one air raid siren shortly after midnight, but we saw no missiles here. We didn't hear any interceptions. So it's -- so to speak, it's been a quiet night.

BURNETT: So earlier, Prime Minister Netanyahu would not rule out targeting the supreme leader of Iran, Ayatollah Khamenei, in these in these strikes. And we know from our reporting that that that is not something President Trump supported or was okay with. But that's the latest we understand about it. When you talk to Israelis and your reporting, you're talking to, you know, regular people who are in the midst of this, what do they say about Prime Minister Netanyahu taking out the supreme leader of Iran?

CORNWELL: I think, first of all, that Israeli officials, they're quite clear in saying that they have a long list of targets and they're not done yet.

[19:50:04]

And they've repeatedly made that clear. As the weekend has passed. When you talk to people in Israel, people here in Tel Aviv. Many do support what's happening. I guess the idea of what's happening. But they're very worried about what this means for them.

You know, we've seen over the weekend, we've seen strikes on Tel Aviv that have caused significant damage. Weve seen strikes on a city called bat yam, which is south of Tel Aviv, which is torn apart, essentially a high rise tower. And it's left everyone here feeling very shaken.

BURNETT: All right. Alexander, I appreciate your time and thank you so much. In these early hours of Tuesday morning in Tel Aviv. Thank you.

And next, more on the breaking news as were learning disturbing new details in the case of missing American journalist Austin Tice, his father is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:55:01]

BURNETT: Breaking news, you are looking at new video of Iranian air defenses right now active over Tehran. These are drones being intercepted. Iranian media is reporting multiple explosions this hour as were learning about new claims in the case of an American who vanished in the Middle East in Syria over a decade ago. Austin Tice, journalist and marine veteran, and now, a former Syrian commander, says Tice was executed on direct orders from Bashar al Assad.

The BBC was first to report the claim, which U.S. officials have not verified.

Austin's father, Marc Tice, is with me now, and mark and his wife Debra have been fighting nonstop for the return of their son from Syria.

I know, Marc, that you say that this latest report from the Syrian commander is not true. What do you know about this claim?

MARC TICE, FATHER OF AUSTIN TICE, AMERICAN HELD IN SYRIA SINCE 2012: Well, several things. One, you know, a clear line through all the articles that were published is the lack of credibility of Bassam Hassan. He's known to have denied acts that we know he committed. And, you know, additionally, there are things that he said -- we've talked to the FBI agents that were doing the interrogation, and they told me personally that there are times and places that don't line up with the information they've gathered over the years.

So, we have no real reason to believe he's doing anything but trying to protect himself in some, some way by blaming Assad directly.

BURNETT: We're talking about the Syrian commander. President Biden has, you know, said what you've said. He has said that Austin is alive. And he said this publicly, Marc, as recently as December. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: We believe he's alive. We think we can get him back.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: I mean, those are incredible words. I remember talking to you and Debra at that time, but that was seven months ago and I know -- I cannot imagine your frustration, but I know that your wife met Pope Leo at the Vatican just a few days ago, asking for his intervention.

Has there been any sign that that Pope Leo, that the Vatican might actually be stepping in here?

TICE: No, not at this point. It was a, you know, a very informal meeting that she had with him, that was made possible by the Syrian ambassador -- the Vatican ambassador to Syria, Cardinal Zenari. And, you know, the pope was very kind and prayed with her. This is not the first time that Debra has met with the pope in Vatican, in the Vatican.

She met with Pope Francis as well. And we do know that there has been some attempt at communication on Austin's behalf. We hope there's something that they can do now that would be helpful.

BURNETT: So I know I mentioned, you know very clearly that U.S. officials have not verified the report from the Syrian commander, either. And I'm just wondering, Marc, whether the Trump administration I know, you know, you deal with them, obviously, on some level, as you're trying to get your son back. Have they been -- have they talked to you and Debra about this latest report, these allegations from the commander?

TICE: They have not one of the things that occurred during this interrogation of Bassam Hassan was that he allegedly gave coordinates of Austin's grave, and that was two months ago. To our knowledge, there's been no effort by the United States to actually go to that location and see if it's true, see if they if they find anything.

And that's very frustrating for us. It's hard to -- it's hard to come up with an excuse. One of the excuses I heard was they were trying to decide, trying to decide whether to bring shovels or a backhoe. And, you know, I just don't think that's a -- that's a very legitimate excuse after two months.

BURNETT: Wow. Thats incredible that that's what they were trying to say. But you're saying that they've given coordinates and literally no one has been there to check.

TICE: I can't say no one. Like I say, I'm not aware that any U.S. person has been there to check. I can't speak, obviously, for the Syrian interim government or anyone else there, but we would think that, you know, given the situation that our country would take a step and put some resources there to try to validate or invalidate that claim.

BURNETT: Well, you sure -- you sure would think that. And, you know, I'm sorry. And I can only say I know we all hope that you will get -- you will get what you need, and you will get what you should have for your whole family to get answers here and hopefully to see Austin again.

Thank you so much, Marc. I appreciate it. And please my best to Debra as well.

TICE: I will. Thank you, Erin, very much.

BURNETT: All right. Thank you, sir.

And thanks so much to all of you for joining us.

"AC360" begins now.