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Erin Burnett Outfront

Trump Announces Ceasefire, No Confirmation From Iran, Israel; New Blasts In Tehran Moments After Trump Announces Ceasefire; U.S. Bracing For More Potential Iranian Retaliatory Attacks; Iran's Ayatollah Reportedly In A Bunker, Refuses To Surrender. Aired 7-8p ET

Aired June 23, 2025 - 19:00   ET

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

[19:00:21]

ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: OUTFRONT next:

The breaking news live by the Strait of Hormuz, new blasts just heard in Tehran even as President Trump right now is claiming that there's a ceasefire. It came just moments after Iran threatened more attacks.

Also breaking this hour, the FBI warning tonight of retaliation on U.S. soil and potential attacks on Americans. This, according to breaking details from "The New York Times".

And Iran's supreme leader, who is said to be hiding in a secure bunker, as I speak, firing back at the president who's talking about regime change in Iran.

Let's go OUTFRONT.

And good evening. I'm Erin Burnett. And we are following the breaking news on this special edition of OUTFRONT.

New blasts in Tehran as President Trump is claiming right now that there's a ceasefire between Iran and Israel. Major questions, though, remain at this hour. There are, of course, those explosions in Tehran heard by our crew.

And just before Trump came out with his announcement on a social media post, Iran warned its, quote, on the verge of intensifying its retaliatory strikes and that it had not received any ceasefire proposal. And there are fears those retaliatory strikes could target both American soil and American bases here across the Middle East, which is where I am tonight at the western tip of the Strait of Hormuz.

Now, Iran is, of course, just behind me tonight across the strait, Iran fired a barrage of short range and medium range ballistic missiles at the American military base in Qatar. The attack comes just two days after the U.S. struck three of Iran's nuclear sites.

The explosions were seen and heard over Doha, missiles streaking across the sky. People completely shocked. Video showing people scrambling for safety in a mall running. Iran saying the number of missiles used in the attack was the same number of bombs that the U.S. used to strike Iran's nuclear facilities. And the threat very real tonight against Americans on U.S. soil, as well as on those bases, because the FBI right now is warning that Iran or its supporters could target Americans on American soil. Sources telling CNN that the agency is now beefing up its teams to deal with the potential threat.

The Department of Homeland Security also warning that Tehran may, target U.S. government officials. And to give you a sense of just the scale of this, the U.S. embassy in Sweden is now warning that Iran may be pressuring gangs to carry attacks out against Americans. There is also a fear that more American bases across the Middle East could come under fire.

Right here where we're standing, this is an area home to a number of military bases and 40,000 to 50,000 troops are stationed here. And as you can see, every one of those bases, all of them here are capable of being hit by Iran's ballistic missiles. Fears of a second wave of strikes by Iran has the airspace here in the UAE -- at one point today, they were closing parts of it. Major airlines diverting or canceling flights across the Middle East as those missiles came in here in the UAE.

Air France has canceled flights to Dubai. United also pausing its service to Dubai. Here in the United Arab Emirates. And just look at this image from FlightRadar24. Not a single plane flying above Israel or Iraq. The path of those missiles.

And as I mentioned here in the UAE, what separates where we're standing right now on the water is the Strait of Hormuz, one of the most important and strategic waterways in the world.

And behind me, directly behind me, there are disputed islands, three of them where Iran has built a major military presence. You can actually see on one of them, if you look at the satellite images, Iran has built a massive runway. There's not anything else there.

But look at the scale of that runway. This strait could also soon find itself at the center of the conflict between Iran, Israel and the U.S. That's what everyone desperately wants to avoid. About a quarter of the world's oil passes through the waters behind me.

And as we speak, Iranian officials are debating whether to close it, whether to mine it, whether to close it, something that at its narrowest point is only two miles wide. And that has never been done. It has never been done.

Now, to do such a thing, Tehran would likely plant a large number of mines in that narrow passageway, something that they did back in 1988 during the war with Iraq, a decision that ultimately rests with Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei. And he is now hiding. We understand, in a secure underground bunker reportedly cut off from all electronic communications in an effort to make it harder to find him.

And that is not stopping the Trump administration, though, from sending him this message.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I can assure you, the administration is actively and closely monitoring the situation in the Strait of Hormuz, and the Iranian regime would be foolish to make that decision.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: Jeff Zeleny begins our coverage. He is OUTFRONT live outside the White House in Washington tonight.

And, Jeff, what are you learning about? You know, we hear an explosion in Tehran. And then President Trump says there's a ceasefire, but we haven't heard from Iran or Israel.

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Erin, we have not. And that is a central question hanging over all of this deal. We do know that President Trump was out of sight the entire day here at the White House. We were told he was in meetings with Vice President Vance and others. They were working the phones throughout the Middle East region.

But it is very much an open question here if President Trump is speaking for Iran.

Of course, there have been a few back-channel communications Steve Witkoff his envoy, we're told, had been having some lower-level conversations throughout these strikes, but certainly not at a high level at all. So, it is unclear. We should be very upfront about that.

But the president is announcing this a ceasefire. But it comes after a really an extraordinary afternoon here. And there was a sense of de- escalation all day long, even as missiles were being fired at and raining on the Al Udeid Air Base, not far from where you are outside of Doha, where the president was just last month.

The White House was very restrained in its comments, and the president actually thanked Iran for the heads up about this. So, it did feel like a reformatory strike, if you will. But the question is, are there more retaliations to come.

But you get the sense that the president is trying to turn the page very quickly on this conflict. He's trying to close the book on the conflict. But the reality here is there are many, many, many questions.

Let's go back to the original strike on Sunday. We still do not know the extent of the damage to the nuclear program. The president has repeatedly used the words obliterated. No one else is using those words. So that remains a question. What happened to the uranium?

Vice President J.D. Vance on Fox a short time ago said it doesn't matter the location of it. Many people would beg to differ with that. So, Erin, even though the president is talking about a ceasefire, we will have to wait and see what Iran says, certainly, and Israel to a lesser degree.

But you get the sense the president is doing this. He's scheduled to leave in the morning to go to the NATO summit. So, he wants to be seen as a peacemaker here. The question is, will any of this hold, and is any of it been agreed to -- Erin.

BURNETT: Yeah, such a crucial question. And of course, 3:00 in the morning here.

I want to go now to Tehran, where Fred Pleitgen is the first Western journalist to enter Iran since this conflict began, joining us live now.

Fred, I guess I asked you what you're -- what you're learning, but also literally, quite literally, what did you just hear.

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Erin.

Yeah, over the past, I would say 30 minutes, maybe 35 minutes, we did hear a series of very strong blasts, some of them to the south of us, some of them to the southwest of us. It was a series of what seemed to be pretty loud explosions taking place. This after the Israelis actually issued some evacuation orders for several districts that are also to the south of us. So, it that those were Israeli airstrikes. It could also be that that was something else, possibly air defenses, but it was definitely a series of very loud blasts.

Throughout the course of the evening, Erin, we have also seen Iranian air defenses in action here over the eastern part of the city and over the western part of the city, as well. Those blasts and bursts sort of in the night sky of that anti-aircraft fire going out, apparently (AUDIO GAP) is concerned.

We did hear from a senior Iranian official tonight saying that the Iranians had heard nothing about a ceasefire proposal, that at this point in time that they don't think that they need a ceasefire proposal. Also, that they are gearing up for an even stronger response because they feel that right now, their assets and their space is still being violated. Of course, first and foremost by the Israeli.

It was hours ago, Erin, that the Iranians announced that they had hit the Al Udeid Air Base. We were monitoring Iranian state media, and they were saying that six of the missiles that were fired at that base came through and hit their targets, obviously impossible for us to independently verify that.

They call it a robust and successful response to aggression against their country. The supreme leader came out and said that Iran would not take any violence against its space, against it, and certainly right now, Erin, the Iran saying that their retaliation is going to continue and that their retaliation, if anything, is going to become more intense.

Of course, one of the things that we heard is that the Iranians believe that they are in a conflict both with Israel and the United States, feeling that Israel has dragged the United States into a conflict directly with Iran -- Erin.

BURNETT: All right. Fred Pleitgen, thank you so much. Of course, the literal eyes and ears on the ground to hear those explosions.

[19:10:01]

I want to go now to Barak Ravid, our political and global affairs analyst, also joining us, of course, retired General Mark Kimmitt, former assistant secretary of state. He oversaw policy here in the Middle East. And here with me in the UAE, along the Strait of Hormuz, Paula Hancocks, our correspondent, who knows this region better than anyone.

Barak, I just want to start with you, though. I know you have some new reporting. What are you learning right now?

BARAK RAVID, CNN POLITICAL AND GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST; Hi, Erin. What I'm learning is that this ceasefire has been mediated, and according to President Trump, also achieved through mediation of Qatar and the United States, two countries that have been in touch, close touch before the U.S. entered this war or a day before the this war started, there were meetings between U.S. and Qatari officials about the possibility of the U.S. joining this war, and those contacts continued all along the last three days.

And today when, after the Iranian attack on the base, Iranian officials sent a message to the White House through the Qataris, saying, we're done. This is our response. We're not going to do anything further.

The White House sent a message back through the Qataris. We are not. If you're done, we are not going to retaliate. And we want to talk. We want to now get a deal.

In the hours since then, there were talks between the U.S. and Israel and Qatar and Iran to tie the final knots and agree on the final conditions of this ceasefire.

BURNETT: All right. And, obviously, all very significant developments, Paula. Of course, all happening as Barak is laying out over several hours, we have not yet heard from the Israelis or the Iranians. Literally what we are hearing actually is explosions in Tehran right now that Fred is reporting.

So, it's hard to tell exactly where this will go. But obviously, from Barak's reporting, something that's been going on over these past hours, it is, though, 3:00 a.m.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Exactly. And the announcement that that the president gave was, was 2:00 a.m. here, 1:00 a.m. in Saudi.

Now, clearly the leaders of these countries are watching this very closely. They will be keeping everything crossed that this is all accurate and that this is, in fact, a cease fire that is going to hold. It's remarkable what Barack was saying there. The fact that Qatar is front and center with this. I mean, considering Qatar is the country that effectively was targeted, or at least the U.S. base.

BURNETT: Bombing over in Doha today.

HANCOCKS: Exactly. I mean, Qatar has made its name as being a mediator in the region. It's been mediating between Hamas and Israel. It's been mediating and helping as well with Russia and Ukraine. And now it's mediating at the same time as it is seeing incoming missiles.

So, no one in the region wants this to continue. Every leader is going to be keeping everything crossed that this is, in fact, the case, and it's true.

BURNETT: Yeah, I mean, incredible. You see those images of people running in a mall. And really the only warning they had in Doha earlier was a shelter in place to us from the U.S. embassy, but nothing from the Qatari government that we understand.

General Kimmitt so, you know, the senior Iranian official, you know, talking to Fred, saying they had not received a ceasefire proposal. Now, what they say and what happened obviously don't necessarily need to be the same thing.

What do you think happens from here, though, General?

BRIG. GEN. MARK KIMMITT (RET.), FORMER ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF STATE: Well, I think the most important thing is, number one, verify that the agreement is agreed to by both Israel and Iran. There's a timeline that has been set out 12-hour. It stops at midnight tonight. The Iranians pull back for 12 hours, and then 12 hours after that, the Israelis pull back, at which point, President Trump and his Truth Social said, we will declare peace and an end to what he is now calling the 12-day war.

But we know how ceasefires work out. We know that ceasefires are somewhat porous. Let's hope that with Qatar and the United States sort of guarantor of the ceasefire, that will get both sides working on this.

BURNETT: Yeah.

Barak, it does come and I understand rhetoric can be different than reality. But Iran is saying what they're saying is they're going to intensify their attacks. What we're hearing from the FBI is a rise in threat level to Americans on American soil, as well as to U.S. bases of retaliatory attacks.

RAVID: Yes. I mean, I think what we're going to see in the next few hours until this ceasefire comes into force is an increase of attacks by both sides. Each side will try and get its final achievements in this war. I you know, I believe the Iranians will try to launch as many missiles as possible. The Israelis will try to conduct as many strikes as possible.

And when it comes to, you know, Iranian threats inside the U.S., this is obviously something that the FBI, I think has been following on a daily basis. But in the last 12 days even more. [19:15:05]

But I have to say, I'm not sure the Iranians are after the last 12 days, the first thing that they'll try to do is to conduct a terrorist attack on U.S. soil. This would be a massive, massive, massive escalation that for sure will lead to more U.S. strikes on Iran and the country at the moment is not in the best shape.

BURNETT: Well, Paula, also a ceasefire, of course, is not the end to conflict, right? A ceasefire is a ceasefire. And if, as Barak lays this out, everybody's doing the most they can, then very much depends what some each side succeeds in doing in the next hours. If this all pans out as to whether it will actually happen.

HANCOCKS: Absolutely. And you know that every single country in this region is going to be on tenterhooks, because the fact that Qatar could be targeted in that way, I mean, Saudi and the UAE, for example, there's no love lost between them and Iran.

Now, in recent months, they've been making overtures to Iran, trying to, you know, lower the tensions. But certainly, they know that they could become a target because there are U.S. military bases here as well.

It's interesting, with all their condemnations of the violation of Qatar's sovereignty, not one of the countries in the region mentioned U.S. bases. And the fact that it was the U.S. that was targeted. It was almost as though they were trying not to remind Iran that they are, that they have, you know, thousands of U.S. troops and this presence here as well.

Another interesting thing as well is it was only last month that President Trump was here in the UAE, in Qatar, at that base that was targeted in Saudi. The red carpet treatment, he was talking about billions of dollars of deals. He mentioned that the birth of a new Middle East.

And look where we are now. It's staggering how quickly it's happened.

BURNETT: Right, on the precipice of a world war, and so many fear.

General Kimmitt, you know, when we look at the map of bases in the region, you know, it's just worth considering, you know, just near where we are, right? Youve got up to 30,000 troops in the UAE and Bahrain and Qatar, more U.S. naval ships docked in the UAE than anywhere else outside the United States, right? I mean, this is a massive presence.

I know you spend a lot of time at bases in the region. You were here just recently. What is your biggest fear for U.S. bases if this -- if this does escalate?

KIMMITT: Well, you've correctly identified two of the threats terrorists and missiles. But I think we need to talk about the third threat, which are the Iranian-backed militias, primarily in Iraq and in some other countries as well but I'm not necessarily too concerned because all of the bases went into high force protection levels almost a week ago. And, Erin, you know what that looks like.

They're wearing their helmets. They're wearing their protective vests. They're not going out unless they need to. The last time we had a level like this was at in 2020, when Soleimani was targeted and the Iranians responded with ballistic missiles on al Assad, al-Assad base. Everybody was tucked in, everybody's in shelter. Everybody was doing the right thing. However, there were some TBIs.

So, I think what you need to consider the United States troops right now are somewhat like Israeli citizens. They know when to go into the bunkers. They know what the sirens are like. Most of them have been through this before, so hopefully they'll be safe.

BURNETT: All right. General, thank you very much. Barak, Paula, thanks so much to all of you.

And our breaking news coverage continues here live from the Middle East. We're going to take you live to Tel Aviv. Did Israel agree to the ceasefire that Trump has announced, or was it a surprise?

And Iran's supreme leader, we understand in a bunker with a message tonight for Trump, who keeps talking about regime change.

And we are learning incredible new details that were going to share with you tonight about the top secret U.S. mission to take out Iran's nuclear facilities, one that included a number of decoy flights to throw Iran off. New details this hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:23:54]

BURNETT: Welcome back to the special edition of OUTFRONT here on the Strait of Hormuz and the breaking news as we are reporting here along the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran is just across the water behind us. And at this hour, Iran is not yet confirming that it has agreed to what President Trump has just called a complete and total ceasefire between Israel and Iran. Israel at this hour is also publicly silent.

Let's go straight to Jeremy Diamond. He's in Tel Aviv.

So, Jeremy, what can you tell us?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, still no word from the Israeli prime minister or his government about whether Israel has agreed to the ceasefire that President Trump says is set to go into effect beginning as soon as about five hours from now. We know that the Israeli prime minister was in a cabinet meeting this evening. Israeli media is reporting that ministers in the government have been told not to speak to the media as of now, so clearly something is afoot. The question is whether indeed the Israeli government and whether the Iranian government have in fact agreed to this ceasefire, which President Trump has announced in quite dramatic fashion.

What I can tell you is happening right now are intense airstrikes in Iran being carried out by the Israeli military.

[19:25:06]

We know that the Israeli military, in just the last couple of hours, issued evacuation warnings for parts of Tehran, the capital city of Iran. We know that blasts have been heard by our team on the ground there in just the last hour or so. And so, what is clear is that if this cease fire is indeed to go into effect in a matter of hours, these next hours will indeed be very, very busy and potentially very deadly as well.

You often see this in the hours before a ceasefire actually takes effect, both sides ramping up their attacks, trying to strike at any targets that they would like to take down before that ceasefire goes into effect. It's been about 16 hours since we saw the last barrage of Iranian ballistic missiles. In just the last hour or so, we know that there were four Iranian drones that were intercepted by the Israeli military, but no big barrages of those ballistic missiles.

But I think you can expect, Erin, that if indeed this ceasefire becomes a reality in the hour -- in the later hours of today, then you will see at least another barrage of those ballistic missiles. And of course, the Israeli public very aware of that as well. And bracing for that possibility -- Erin.

BURNETT: All right, Jeremy, thank you very much. And of course, we don't know what will happen to U.S. interests as well in this with those missiles launched at the U.S. base in Qatar hours ago.

OUTFRONT now, Senator Chris Murphy of the Foreign Relations Committee.

And, Senator Murphy, so Trump says there's this complete and total ceasefire. We -- we have -- it seems to be, you know, muzzling out of Israel. Right. They're not talking which would indicate, as Jeremy says, perhaps something explosions in Tehran, but neither side speaking.

Is this ceasefire real?

SEN. CHRIS MURPHY (D-CT): Well, I have no idea. I mean, what we know is that Donald Trump doesn't tell the truth a lot. So you can't rely on Donald Trump's statements, and frankly, you can't rely on what Iran says either.

Remember, Iran may agree that it's not going to launch direct attacks against Israel or the United States, but Iran traditionally exercises power in -- lethal power through its proxies, its proxies inside Lebanon, its proxies inside Iraq. And so, this is still going to be a very dangerous moment.

Let's hope that this is a ceasefire that is real. Let's hope that this is an end, at least temporarily, to the hostilities. But let's also understand that Iran has agreed to a lot of things over the years because of the way in which it uses these terrorist groups, which are spread out all across the region that are very close to U.S. forces. Anything official out of Tehran probably isn't worth much more than the paper that its written on.

BURNETT: Well, I mean, of course, you're also in the context of we understand the ayatollah is in a bunker because Netanyahu said he could take him out at any time. And Trump has talked about regime change.

So, does that mean that that's all over? Regime change is off the table? I mean, I'm only saying this in the context of some things are impossible to put back in the bottle. Sometimes when people show you who they are, they've shown you who they are. And it seems that we have passed such a moment, whether you're in a ceasefire or not.

MURPHY: Yeah, I think that's right. And listen, we still have not gotten any damage assessments. We have a classified briefing in the Senate tomorrow afternoon where hopefully we'll get some questions answered.

But you know, already, you're seeing information that suggests we did not deal a lethal blow to their nuclear program. They may still have as much as a half a ton of uranium enriched up to the 60 percent level, which is near what you need for a nuclear weapon. We may have just damaged Fordow. We may not have destroyed it.

And so, if that's the case, if their nuclear program is still basically intact and now they know that, you know, the only way the regime survives is by speeding towards that weapon in the medium to long range, this might get worse for the United States, not better.

So, you know, we still don't even have all the facts to know how impactful this strike was. But it certainly is going to alter the calculus of the Iranian regime.

BURNETT: All right. And of course, the ceasefire is a -- is a pause, a pause to -- I mean, we hear obviously leveled in the Ukraine war all the time would be a pause to rebuild. But to your point about this enrichment, the vice president, J.D. Vance, was just asked a few moments ago and he deflected when he was asked the direct question about whether the administration knows where Iran's highly enriched uranium is located, right?

I mean, do they know they destroyed it? Do they even know where it is, right? Here's how he answered the question.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

J.D. VANCE, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think that's actually not the question before us. The question before us is, can Iran enrich the uranium to weapons grade level? Our goal was to bury the uranium. And I do think the uranium is buried, but our goal was to eliminate the enrichment and eliminate their ability to convert that enriched fuel into a nuclear weapon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: So, senator, he very clearly did not say that he knew where the uranium was, which would mean that obviously that would flow from there to not know how much there was or its state.

[19:30:09]

You know, do you -- do you think that we know what we need to know here?

MURPHY: Well, again, I mean, well know more in the Senate tomorrow. But yes, that looks like a deliberate dodge. It does appear that the administration knows that it did not, in fact, eliminate all of -- and maybe not even most of their enriched uranium.

Yes. If you have damaged some of their equipment, that allows for you to continue to process and convert that uranium, there is a temporary benefit. But equipment is just equipment. It can be rebuilt.

And what we have really done here is empower the Russians, because the Russians have always hinted at being more deeply allied with Iran and perhaps a nuclear research component to that alliance.

If Russia decided it was going to help Iran rebuild their nuclear program, we wouldn't be setting them back years. We would probably only be setting them back months, and at a moment when we really don't want to give Russia and Vladimir Putin any more leverage. We've handed them some pretty substantial leverage because the uranium is still there, likely all Iran needs is some new equipment. Russia's got plenty of that.

BURNETT: And of course, that meeting today in Moscow, so important.

Senator, really appreciate your time. And thank you so very much.

Next, the Iranian supreme leader, as we've said right now, hiding in a bunker, reportedly preparing for the possibility of his own potential death, an assassination. But who would replace him?

Plus, the Strait of Hormuz, right behind where I'm standing tonight. One of the most important waterways in the world. Tonight, Iran is threatening as part of its intensification of the conflict, to shut it down.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:36:25]

BURNETT: Welcome back to this special edition of OUTFRONT. We are following the breaking news as were live by the Strait of Hormuz, the crucial waterway that Iran has threatened to shut down -- Iran just behind me.

President Trump claims that Iran has agreed to a, quote, complete and total ceasefire. The announcement made by Trump an hour after the Ayatollah Khamenei posted this from a bunker, an underground bunker where he's in hiding, saying that those who know the people in history of Iran will know that it, quote, isn't a nation that surrenders.

President Trump has continuously called for regime change in Iran, an influential Trump ally, Senator Lindsey Graham, longtime Iran hawk, tonight, just said this on the Senate floor.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): To the American people, wake up, understand what we're fighting. The ayatollah is not normal. These are not normal people. Stand with Israel.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt also doubled down on regime change today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Why shouldn't the Iranian people take away the power of this incredibly violent regime that has been suppressing them for decades?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: And joining us now is four-star General Joseph Votel, former commander of U.S. central command, CENTCOM. Obviously, extensive experience across the Middle East and conflict, overseeing military operations across this region.

And, General, I really am grateful for your time tonight.

You know, as we stand here in this fragile and fraught moment, Trump has publicly threatened to kill the ayatollah. You know, we're reporting that he is in a bunker now because of threats for his demise.

Just days ago, Trump posted, and I quote his post, "We are not going to take him out. Kill exclamation point. At least not for now."

I'm curious, General, whether you think there are any circumstances that the United States should essentially assassinate the supreme leader, the ayatollah?

GEN. JOSEPH VOTEL, FORMER CENTCOM COMMANDER: Well, thanks, Erin. It's great to be with you. I mean, our policy for a long time has been that we don't -- we don't target political leaders. So, I mean, whether it's a policy or whether that is the policy, our president follows or not really is up to him.

I do think the president certainly has a very unique way of communicating to the American people. And I think he has -- a lot of his words are designed to put more and more pressure on the regime, to move them along. So, whether that's what we're intending to do or not, I do think we have a policy in place that basically says we don't -- we don't normally target leaders of countries.

BURNETT: And yet, of course, in this case, those words have, you know, they've taken fruit. I mean, the supreme leader has been reportedly preparing for his own death, right? We're talking about how he's in a bunker right now, which is a pretty incredible thing to think about. He's also named three senior clerics as potential successors, according to "The New York Times".

And I guess, General, because you know so much about this, I am curious because when someone says regime change, you just take out the top. And it's just so simple. Obviously, that's absurd in almost any situation. But in this situation, when he has named the three people that he would want to succeed him, who are they? Are any of them more extreme than he even is?

VOTEL: Yeah. Thanks. So, you know, a couple of years ago, the supreme leader appointed a small committee to begin looking at his potential successors.

[19:40:01]

The supreme leader is 86 years old, so he's thinking about his own legacy. And. And who will follow him? So it started that -- ultimately, the decision will be made by what is referred to as the assembly of experts, 88 clerics who will actually choose the member.

There are three that they are looking at. One is a gentleman by the name of Mohsen Qomi. He is a cleric. He has been in the inner circle for some time. He's 65 years old, so he's very close to the current supreme leader. He's kind of the continued, the continuation candidate, so to speak.

The second one is Gholam-Hossein Mohseni. He is currently the head of the judiciary. He's been very aligned with the IRGC for a number of years. So he's very conservative. So, he would be kind of viewed as the security candidate. He's 68 years old.

And the third is Mohsen Araki. He's a former religious advisor to the supreme leader. He would be viewed as kind of a traditionalist candidate and really putting more emphasis on the religious legitimacy of the regime.

I think it's important to appreciate that all of these gentlemen are about my age. They're in their 60s, upper 60s here, and they were all young, young men, 20, 21 years old when the revolution took place back in -- back in 1979. So they've seen this through that lens for the bulk of their adult lives, and I think are all very much committed to the same principles that the -- that the -- that the supreme, the current supreme leader is.

BURNETT: A continuation, not a change. The ayatollahs son was once a top of the list, but according to "The New York Times", no longer on it.

What do you think of that?

VOTEL: Well, I think I think from what I understand, the supreme leader himself has kind of excluded him largely because he didn't necessarily like the idea of families -- family ruling here. So, I think he kind of excluded him.

You know, another candidate that was mentioned, of course, was Hassan Khomeini, who is the grandson of the founder of Ayatollah Khomeini, who is viewed as a reformist. He's much younger. He's 52. Khamenei's son is 55.

So, they are -- they are a little bit younger, but a little bit more reformist on Khomeini there. But, of course, he has the name and has that the respect and everything that goes along with that.

BURNETT: And it's just so important, though, to consider that, you know, you never know what happens until it happens, but that that is a continuation in just a sense of how deep these layers are.

And, General Votel, I am grateful for your time and thank you.

As our breaking news coverage continues from the banks of the Strait of Hormuz here, a crucial waterway, nearly a quarter of the world's oil travels behind me. Iran threatening as part of its intensification to shut this down.

Plus, new information just in on the high stakes, 18-hour U.S. mission to take out some of Iran's nuclear facilities. One complete with mid- air refueling, a series of decoys, new reporting this hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:47:15]

BURNETT: The breaking news, Israel issuing new evacuation warnings just now for Tehran, minutes after President Trump announced a ceasefire between Israel and Iran, neither of which have commented. All eyes are on now the vital shipping route, the Strait of Hormuz.

We are right now at the western tip of that strait, where ships enter into the strait who are coming with oil out roughly a quarter of the world's oil and gas is transported through this strait. 20 million barrels of oil a day, usually passing behind where we're standing, incredibly narrow, some of the shipping lanes here, just two miles wide, when you get to the most narrow point.

Before President Trump announced the ceasefire, a couple of crucial things had happened. So, this is where it stands now. Iran's parliament has approved a motion to shut the strait down, which would then go for approval to the national security council of Iran, then go into effect. That, of course, is the saddest right now, waiting for that after parliamentary approval.

The threat top of mind for President Trump today after that parliamentary approval of a shutdown. He posted today, "Everyone keep oil prices down. I'm watching. You're playing right into the hands of the enemy. Don't do it."

OUTFRONT now, Amena Bakr, head of Middle East Energy and OPEC Insights at Kpler, a top data and analytics provider.

And I know you are closely tracking the Straits of Hormuz tonight. And obviously such an uncertain moment, right? We don't know a ceasefire. We don't -- we know Iran had approved shutting down the strait. It had to go through the security council. All of this uncertainty. And when you look at it, what now is, is sort of a black hole to

people watching, right? But the western tip of the Strait of Hormuz, how crucial is this water?

AMENA BAKR, HEAD OF MIDDLE EAST ENERGY AND OPEC+ INSIGHTS, KPER: It's absolutely important to the entire energy ecosystem. As you mentioned, Erin, 20 percent of the world's supply goes through the strait of Hormuz, and you have a lot of the gulf states here. They ship their oil, they ship their LNG mainly to Asian markets.

But from the beginning, Erin, we've been saying, yes, Iran has been threatening, but this is a false threat. Weve seen them doing this before, and they're not going to do it because it's like shooting themselves in the foot.

BURNETT: It hurts them.

BAKR: Of course. Their oil, plus, you have China, which is Iran's biggest ally here would hurt a lot, 50 percent of China's imports come through the strait.

BURNETT: So how big of a role do you think? I mean, and I know this is just speculation, but how big of a role did China play? Or is China playing right? You know, we saw Iran in Moscow today at a meeting, right? We know what Moscow has been saying. We know Qatar playing a role.

We know all those players, but we haven't heard from China.

BAKR: Sure, we haven't heard from China, but this is also China's way of communicating. They're not very outward spoken like President Trump. They go they don't go out to Twitter or X and post statements.

[19:50:00]

That's not their style.

Same with the Russians as well. It's just a different kind of communication. But I do think I mean they do have leverage over Iran. And I do think Iran very much accounts for their oil that's coming through the strait. And perhaps that that was factored in.

BURNETT: So, I mean, you know, you have been watching traffic in the strait. You watch it all the time. So, you have shared with us some images with us, which I want to show just to see where we are. Video that shows the slowdown in traffic that we saw because of the escalation and the crisis here.

We'll show on the left, June 13th. That's the first day of the conflict. The right side traffic just yesterday.

And you can see the change. I mean, it's still plenty, but you can see the change you actually see in your video. I mean, ships making U- turns, which is truly incredible.

BAKR: Yeah. That's right. I mean, we've been tracking this very closely. And as you pointed out, Erin, what we noticed today that two vessels made a U-turn. But overall, I would say just the vessels moving through the strait have been slower because of signal jamming. But just looking at it more holistically, I would also say that it's normal traffic. It hasn't been disrupted.

And supply to the market, and if we're talking about oil specifically hasn't been disrupted. So, there's really no need to panic. And we've seen that in oil prices. In fact, oil prices now are back in the 60s.

BURNETT: Right. Which is -- which is incredible. I mean, you would expect them to see them if this were to close. Obviously, you know, all bets would be off.

All right. Thank you so much, Amena. So much appreciate you being with us tonight.

And next, a special report on how the U.S. was able to strike Iran's nuclear sites without being detected. That's after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:56:13]

BURNETT: Breaking news, President Trump telling NBC news tonight that he expects what he says is a ceasefire between Iran and Israel to last forever, which, of course, would be an end -- an end, not just a ceasefire. It comes as a source tells CNN, that Trump spoke with the emir of Qatar today and told him that the U.S. was able to get Israel to agree to that ceasefire.

But of course, there are major questions about it, because we haven't heard from Israel or Iran. And a senior Iranian official is telling CNN that Tehran is on the verge of intensifying its retaliatory strikes. So that's what they're coming out with, saying, intensifying tonight.

We are also learning more details about the strike itself. Incredible new details about how the U.S. military pulled off, what, by any measure, is an unprecedented attack.

Tom Foreman is OUTFRONT with the new details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A minute past midnight in Missouri, a fleet of B-2 bombers takes off. A portion heads west as a decoy, but the rest --

GEN. DAN CAINE, CHAIRMAN, JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF: The main strike package comprised of seven B-2 Spirit bombers, each with two crew members, proceeded quietly to the east with minimal communications.

FOREMAN: Retired Air Force Lieutenant General Steve Basham flew such planes.

LT. GEN. STEVE BASHAM (RET.), U.S. AIR FORCE: These pilots, they know their mission for the first maybe 17 hours is to do the best that they can to not be detected.

FOREMAN: The stealth aircraft are refueled in flight repeatedly as they crossed the Atlantic. Their mission, dubbed Operation Midnight Hammer. The two pilot crews check every system and review their training of the coming attack, likely studied on detailed computer models. They have food, restroom facilities, even a small space to stretch out.

But --

BASHAM: I would venture to guess that these pilots had so much adrenaline that quite honestly, none of them were able to sleep.

FOREMAN: As the bombers streak into Iranian airspace, they are joined by more decoy planes and fighter jets, suppressing any potential defense systems. And at 2:10 in the morning, Iran time, the first bomber drops its pair of 30,000-pound massive ordnance penetrators, the first operational use of these weapons by the U.S.

BASHAM: And when that first bomb releases from the lead aircraft and then the subsequent six aircraft come in and drop their -- drop their weapons, it is probably the greatest relief ever. You have a pretty good idea when the weapons hit the ground based upon what you're probably doing, that they actually went into their -- into their target.

FOREMAN: The bombers hit two nuclear sites, two dozen Tomahawk missiles from a U.S. submarine slam into a third. It all takes less than a half hour with not one shot fired at the American planes.

CAINE: Iran's fighters did not fly, and it appears that Iran's surface to air missile systems did not see us. Throughout the mission, we retained the element of surprise.

FOREMAN: U.S. intelligence officials are still assessing the full impact of the damage, even as the Pentagon claims success.

PETE HEGSETH, DEFENSE SECRETARY: We devastated the Iranian nuclear program.

FOREMAN: While others with more than 125 U.S. aircraft involved are marveling that such a large mission was pulled off in such secrecy against a foe that surely knew it was coming.

BASHAM: Amazing. Is that not remarkable?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FOREMAN: Again, there are still questions about how effective this was. What happened to the enriched uranium, whether or not this really shut down this program?

But when you think about it, Erin, the ground crews, the communications crews, everybody who had to be involved in this, it really is pretty remarkable that this was managed to be kept so quiet right up until the moment of the strike -- Erin. BURNETT: It certainly is. That is an incredible reality.

Thanks so much to you, Tom.

Thanks so much to all of you for being with us for this special coverage. "AC360" begins now.