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Erin Burnett Outfront

Massive Fires At Iran Airport; Dubai Billionaire Slams Trump; Obama Appears To Hit Trump: "Mockery Masquerading As Strength". Aired 7-8p ET

Aired March 06, 2026 - 19:00   ET

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

[19:00:27]

ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: OUTFRONT next, we are live from Tel Aviv on this Friday.

Breaking news in Iran, video just into CNN showing massive fires at Tehran's airport after a wave of strikes just hit the city. And tonight, we're going to go live to Iran.

Plus, the Dubai billionaire slamming Trump. His 500-word message for the president that asks, "Who gave you the authority to drag our region into war?" He's our guest.

And former President Obama honoring Reverend Jesse Jackson today. Also taking a thinly veiled swipe at Trump, warning of greed and bigotry.

Let's go OUTFRONT.

(MUSIC)

BURNETT: And good evening and welcome to a special edition of OUTFRONT, "The War with Iran". I'm Erin Burnett, live in Tel Aviv on this Friday.

And we begin with the breaking news. The U.S. and Israel stepping up attacks as we speak across Iran and also Lebanon. Trump demanding tonight, quote, "unconditional surrender from Iran".

The United Nations with a dire warning. They say that the situation could spiral beyond anyone's control. And those are their exact words. We'll show you just the scene here in Tel Aviv before we came on the air tonight.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)

BURNETT: Sky was filled with interceptor missiles. The sky was filled -- those are the interceptors and some of the missile interceptors. Loud bangs and sirens were heard afterwards, obviously well, after midnight on what is now Saturday morning here.

And on the other side of those missiles in Tehran, a massive fire scene at Mehrabad Airport, a major airport in the capital city of Tehran. As Israel is launching in that direction a new wave of strikes against Iran. It comes after a massive barrage of attacks overnight. People there telling CNN it was, quote, the worst night since this war started. That's what we're hearing from our teams on the ground.

They also said it was more intense than anything I felt before, and then people were panicking. Some of the now eyewitnesses on the ground CNN is talking to. New satellite images just in to CNN tonight do show some of the damage on the ground. And you can see there, damaged aircraft on the ground. That's Shiraz Air Base that you're looking at right there.

Israel also releasing video of what it says is the destruction of the ayatollah's secret underground bunker in Central Tehran. That's where they did the strike, obviously, Saturday. They say this is the underground bunker now.

We're going to go live to the ground in Tehran coming up. And tonight, we are learning that Russia is helping Iran fight this war. Sources are telling CNN that Putin's Russia is providing Iran with specific intelligence about the locations and movements of American troops, ships and aircraft.

Now, according to Iranian state media, Iran's president held a call today with Russian President Vladimir Putin as well. Now, the Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth in the U.S. says that the U.S. could soon be getting help from its Gulf allies.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETE HEGSETH, DEFENSE SECRETARY: Now you've got UAE and Qatar and Bahrain and Saudi and Kuwait and others saying, hey, we're with you. Here's -- we'll shoot with you, we'll fly with you, we'll defend with you. We'll allow you more basing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: As for those Gulf countries, you know, a senior leader and one of them telling me today well do whatever we need to do to protect ourselves as a response to that, none of the Gulf nations have publicly said anything about flying with or bombing or providing more basing.

But I spoke to a prominent Dubai billionaire businessman today. He is speaking out against President Trump, saying that Trump is dragging his country into war.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KHALAF AHMAD AL HABTOOR, FOUNDER AND CHAIRMAN OF THE AL HABTOOR GROUP: It is good to say that it is a wake-up call, wake-up call. You cannot take everything by force. You cannot take everything by -- by war or to destroy countries.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: And already the world is seeing major economic impact of the war. Oil prices have surged by 36 percent this week. It's a massive increase. It is the biggest gain in futures for oil in oil trading history. The Dow, meantime, fell 3 percent this week, its worst week since Trump's tariffs rocked the markets last April.

And the Qatari energy minister said something that was picked up around the world in anybody dealing with the markets.

[19:05:00]

He said he expects all Gulf energy producers to shut down exports within weeks. It's a stunning statement. It is causing massive worldwide shock, and a shipping CEO today told me, quote, Trump is trapped and does not have any other option but to open Hormuz, referring to the strait, something that, of course, has not yet happened. We've got all the angles of this story covered around the world tonight, from here in Israel to Iran, Iraq and Washington.

I want to start, though, with Jeremy Diamond, because he's here with me in Tel Aviv.

And, Jeremy, I know you just returned from the border with Lebanon. And, you know we talk about these strikes, these back-and-forths tonight between Israel and Iran. But in Lebanon, an unprecedented war that is only intensifying. And you saw it for yourself.

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, absolutely. I mean, over the course of this week, we've seen Israel carry out hundreds of strikes inside of Lebanon. And today seems to have been one of the most intense days not only in terms of Israeli strikes, but also in terms of what Hezbollah was firing towards northern Israel.

And I was along that border literally, you know, a half a mile away from the border, looking straight into Lebanon when my team and I saw two projectiles fly right over us and explode inside of northern Israel as we saw a real intensification of the new front in this war, I want to show you a look at what my team and I saw today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DIAMOND: Oh. Okay. So, we're going to put our vests on now because you just saw not one but two projectiles coming in. Still not clear exactly what that was, but we're now starting to hear the outgoing Israeli fire responding to it. And now, okay.

And that was hitting the same spot. Yeah, getting very active here now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DIAMOND: And so, on one end we have Israeli airstrikes and artillery fire going into Lebanon. My team saw and heard those. And then Hezbollah firing drones and missiles into northern Israel. Those attacks continue throughout the day in fact, five Israeli soldiers were seriously wounded in one Hezbollah attack that happened around the same time as we were up along the border there.

We're also witnessing Israel carrying out intense airstrikes in the Lebanese capital of Beirut after they ordered hundreds of thousands of people living in that southern suburbs, known as the Dahieh, to evacuate from that area. Another note is that my team and I saw some massing of troops along the border as well, and residents told me that they were seeing the military pushing up personnel and material up to the border. We saw tanks there as well.

And we know that Israeli, the Israeli military already controls several positions in southern Lebanon. The question now, are they going to push deeper into Lebanon? The Israeli military has called up tens of thousands of reservists who could potentially serve that purpose. So, we'll have to see whether that's the next step in this game.

BURNETT: To think about the impact of a country here at war now for years, and just calling and calling up those reservists. It's not a small thing.

All right. Jeremy, thank you very much. And I want to go to Fred Pleitgen as promised, he and photojournalist Claudio Otto were the first American journalists to get on the ground in Tehran for CNN, which operates in Iran only with government permission. This is his first live report from inside the country.

And, Fred, we weren't even sure if we were going to be able to fully get this up. But there you are. I see you an incredible thing to me to be in Tel Aviv, you to be in Tehran. And we are colleagues.

What is the latest you're seeing there tonight?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You're absolutely. Our first live shot obviously a lot of connectivity and Internet issues here on the ground in Iran at the same time as you catch us right now, we seem to be in the middle of a massive waves of airstrikes coming down on the Iranian capital. We've been hearing a lot of explosions, a lot of thuds. I would say for the past hour, maybe hour and a half.

So, it's certainly been a sustained wave of blasts that we've been hearing. From what we've heard, apparently a lot of it is coming from the east of Tehran, also from the central southern part of Tehran as well.

And we did see that the Mehrabad Airport, which is a sort of second major airport here in Tehran, appears to have been hit or the vicinity of that airport seems to have been hit. There's some video coming out on social media showing flames coming from the vicinity of that airport. So, it seems as though that might be one of the main targets. But really, throughout the course of the day, as we've been on the ground here in Tehran time and again, we've heard major airstrikes.

In fact, earlier today, we were at a hospital that was hit, that was damaged when there was an airstrike in the vicinity. And while we were on the ground filming there, we heard more airstrikes not too far away from us. So, it is a pretty constant thing here on the ground in Tehran also major strikes, of course, overnight happening last night as well. And you can feel that the city here is a lot emptier, obviously, than it would normally be. A lot of people have decided to leave the city simply because it appears to be so dangerous. [19:10:01]

Of course, while a lot of targets have been struck here, a lot of civilians have also been wounded some civilians have been killed on the ground here as well. The authorities today telling us, I was speaking to the head of the Iranian Red Crescent, saying that many, many people have been wounded and have been killed as these strikes have been going on. So, this is clearly something for a lot of folks here on the ground, obviously very concerned about the situation. And you can really hear the thuds of those incoming strikes almost constantly.

BURNETT: Fred, I know you've had a chance to speak to some people, you know, and to the extent that you had been able to have conversations with them. What are they telling you?

PLEITGEN: Yeah, we've been going around the city here for the better part of the day, and obviously there's a lot of people who say that they're very defiant. We were at the Friday prayers, which obviously, as you know, Erin, also, having been here, it's usually religious conservatives who are there, supporters of Iran's government who are there they say that they are going to be defiant, but there's also a lot of people who are obviously very concerned about the situation, very concerned about the strikes, very concerned about also the stability of the situation here on the ground.

And really to them, it's unclear what exactly the future could hold. So, for a lot of those people right now, they really are living in limbo here in Tehran, sort of hoping that greater instability doesn't break out. Many of them, of course, trying to carry on with their lives.

One of the interesting things that we've seen is that grocery shops, for instance are open not as they would usually be, but open at least for a couple of hours during the daytime also, gas stations are open as well, so people certainly trying to carry on, trying to get some semblance of daily life. Of course, today is Friday. It's the main weekend day here in Iran.

Tomorrow is supposed to be a weekday. It's still actually a holiday here in Iran, but we do expect that more stores are going to open then but at the same time, the combat situation here in Iran is something that is definitely ever present. You notice it the entire time as you're going around the city, you constantly hear that there's airstrikes going on and that that military campaign is continuing -- Erin.

BURNETT: All right. Well, Fred, I have to say, it is really important that that you are there and your bravery in being there, your commitment to being there. And as you and I are on this screen, Tehran and Tel Aviv, two friends doing this together. It is good to see you and thank you so much. Stay safe.

And Jim Sciutto, Nazila Fathi and retired Army Colonel Peter Mansoor are all here with us tonight. Nazila, I want to start with you, just because we just listening to

what Fred had to say on the ground, I know you are talking as much as you can because obviously there are such serious Internet blockages and connectivity issues, but what is the very latest that you are hearing from people you're talking to on the ground?

NAZILA FATHI, FORMER NEW YORK TIMES CORRESPONDENT BASED IN TEHRAN FOR TEN YEARS: Pretty much what Fred was saying. I'm hearing that the bombardment is extremely intense, not just in Tehran. I also heard from somebody in the religious city of Qom, and he was telling me that they can see the Israeli bombers overhead.

It is truly a heartbreaking situation, Erin, because Iranians are trapped between a conflict that they have not chosen, and then the atrocities that they have seen from their own regime people are telling me that Tehran, which is this large, sprawling city, it is as if the entire city has exploded. And when I was coming here, I was getting notification on my phone I think about an hour ago, and I think it is exactly what Fred was saying, that Tehran is under intense bombardment again.

A lot of people have been injured. The images are on social media. It's truly heartbreaking. And these people don't have agency they don't have a political outlet, and their own regime is treating them as collateral.

BURNETT: Jim, I mentioned your new reporting at the top of this program, and I want to just share it again because it is hugely significant. And the amount of conversation about it is overwhelming. Russia providing Iran with intelligence about the locations and movements of American troops, ships and aircraft and in very important ways that aren't just publicly available with public tracking. So, obviously, significant.

You know, tell us what this means, Jim, and what exactly you understand is happening?

JIM SCIUTTO, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Well, listen, it's arguably some of the most intelligence, most significant intelligence that Russia could supply to Iran because it involves U.S. forces in the region on ships, aircraft and on the ground. And we saw the danger that they're facing right in the very first days of this war, because an Iranian drone struck a base and killed six U.S. service members and injured several, several more.

[19:15:01]

So, it's quite a direct Russian involvement in this war to supply that kind of information to Iran. And our understanding in particular, it was satellite information. Russia has quite significant satellite capabilities and Iran does not to that degree. And by the way, Iran has been losing a lot of its surveillance and other capabilities as a result of U.S. and Israeli bombing. So, Russia giving Iran what it needs now to strike back against the U.S., which is really the only answer, the only answer it has now. And those -- we've seen those strikes diminish over time as their

capabilities have been struck but not disappear entirely. They maintain some capability to do so.

BURNETT: Yeah. Colonel Mansoor, you know, what is your view of the significance of this information, of this targeting? I mean, in terms of what it could mean, you know when it says targeting U.S. troops and ships as opposed to what, you know, would be available on public tracking, right? They're getting this intelligence from Russia. What are the possible implications for the United States?

COL. PETER MANSOOR, U.S. ARMY (RET.): Well, tactically, it's significant information. It's targetable information that Iranians can use to vector in drones and missiles on specific targets and kill people and destroy installations and so forth. So, this is a really critical development.

But let's look at it at a -- at a different level. We're providing the same sort of information to Ukraine about Russian forces in their conflict. And so, from the Russian point of view, they're just repaying the favor.

This should be a sign to President Trump that Vladimir Putin cannot be trusted, that he's not your friend and that he is out to get the United States and that you need to support Ukraine in its war while you're defending U.S. assets. And prosecuting this war in the Middle East.

BURNETT: Nazila, Donald Trump, President Trump called Dana Bash today, my colleague, and he told her that picking a new leader in Iran and the words he said to her are, quote, "It's going to work very easily. It's going to work like it did in Venezuela."

Go ahead and tell me what you think of that.

FATHI: I don't think that's going to work in Iran and I don't think, the ones who are in power in Iran right now are going to appreciate this kind of language first of all, they have repeatedly shown that they don't respond to language of threats. This is a system that is still following the doctrine of Ayatollah Khamenei the founder, the supreme leader who was just killed.

And he was the man who kept on saying that don't show weakness. Compromise is a sign of defeat. Don't trust the United States. And these people are doing exactly the same thing, except they are -- they are very well aware that they're fighting on two fronts. They are fighting in this conflict. And they know if they outlive it, they are fighting for their survival.

Then they have to face the wrath of their own people inside the country. They are hoping that the system that they have in place, which was built for resilience, is going to help them stay in power. So, they are not going to respond to language like that.

BURNETT: Colonel Mansoor, we hear Trump is demanding unconditional surrender from Iran. A senior Israeli official today told me there is still work to do, but the achievements are epic. Obviously, the use of the word "epic" was purposeful, given the U.S. name of the operation.

So, what, Colonel, is unconditional surrender? Do you view that as a completely subjective term for the president?

MANSOOR: Absolutely not. It is that the enemy gives total control over its future to you.

The last time we demanded unconditional surrender was in January of 1943. President Roosevelt announced that as Allied policy at the Casablanca conference. It took two years and four months of hard fighting to bring that about with Nazi Germany and two years and seven months of hard fighting with Japan.

This is not a idle statement. If the president wants to go down this route, it will mean U.S. boots on the ground and lots of them in Iran.

BURNETT: Jim, are you hearing anything about that?

SCIUTTO: Well, listen, what I hear when I speak to people close to the president is that they believe they're winning, right? They believe they've had fantastic success in the first days of this war. And that has, if anything, grown the ambitions right, grown their ambitions for exactly what kind of control they might be able to exercise over Iran whenever the hostilities end.

[19:20:04]

But also grown President Trump's own sense of his ability to shape things there, right? Right, up to having a voice in choosing the next leader of Iran which is a fairly remarkable ambition to have.

I mean, given Venezuela was one thing, the Iranian regime is a messianic regime, right? They believe that they are -- that they have gods power behind them, right? And they're, you know, the idea that they would bend the way Delcy Rodrguez has is, I think, quite a leap to make logically.

BURNETT: Yeah, yeah. When you add theocracy on top of kleptocracy is quite a different thing on the other end.

Thank you all very much. I am grateful to you for your time on this Friday.

And next, a CNN investigation revealing just how close U.S. and Israeli strikes are coming to schools and hospitals inside Iran. We have new satellite images, and this is important for everyone to see.

Plus, more urgent breaking news a drone exploded, exploding near Erbil in Iraqi Kurdistan as Clarissa Ward is on the ground and she's got new images of the aftermath of an Iranian missile strike on the base of Iranian Kurdish militias who are there in Kurdistan.

And the Dubai billionaire who is speaking out publicly and taking on President Trump over the war with Iran. His blistering 500-word critique going viral with 11 million views. And tonight, he has a lot more to say here to us OUTFRONT (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:25:44]

BURNETT: We're back with a special edition of OUTFRONT war with Iran on this Friday night. Now we have some breaking news of new video. And this is new video into OUTFRONT. And what you're going to look at is airplanes on fire after airstrikes hit Tehran's Mehrabad Airport, which we understand has just happened here overnight.

We just spoke to Fred Pleitgen. That was his first live report that you have seen from Tehran and he said that right now, as he's there, there's a massive ongoing wave of airstrikes hitting Tehran with sustained bombing lasting more than an hour, and that the bombing has been going on there for much of the day, according to Fred, this is a new CNN investigation uncovers just how close U.S. Israeli air strikes have come to hitting civilian sites like schools and hospitals inside Iran.

Katie Polglase is OUTFRONT.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KATIE POLGLASE, CNN INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER (voice-over): A city under attack. It's also home to millions of people. The U.S. and Israeli bombing campaign of Tehran has been targeting intelligence complexes, police stations and state broadcasters. But we verified videos and analyzed satellite imagery and found the impact is going beyond that due to the densely packed nature of the city and the large-scale weapons involved.

Take a look at this satellite image. This crater is at least 40-foot wide. That means it was likely caused by a 2,000-pound bomb. The target, Iran's state broadcaster, the IRIB. The strike wiped out its communications mast. These bombs, used by both the U.S. and Israel, are capable of killing or wounding people more than 1,000 feet away, and just 100 feet away is the Gandhi Hospital, one of the biggest in Tehran.

Glass shattered, walls collapsed, and patients including babies being rushed out.

POLGLASE: As more videos like this one began to emerge, we started verifying them, pinpointing the hospital where each one was filmed. Then we cross-referenced with satellite imagery to see the damage caused by U.S. and Israeli strikes.

POLGLASE (voice-over): Like here, you can see the blown out windows of the Gandhi hospital from space.

Over in another central part of Tehran is the Motahari Hospital, and just behind it is the Iranian police headquarters. In fact, you can see a police helicopter pad down here. This image is from just before it was struck. And this is after entire buildings flattened.

The Motahari Hospital is still standing but we verified this video showing substantial damage inside.

It's not the only hospital in the area affected. Over here is the Khatam Hospital. Glass windows shattered and medical staff are seen running out. Further down the same street is the Iranian Red Crescent Society smoke billowing from behind the building. Again, people are fleeing.

Across Iran as a whole, more incidents like these are emerging. We geolocated this video to the Persian Gulf Hospital in the city of Bushehr. You can see newborn babies being carried out amid the rubble. It's unclear what the target was, but it's close to an airport, a military airbase.

But it's not just hospitals. Other civilian sites are also bearing the brunt of these strikes this school in southern Iran was directly hit, resulting in the deaths of over 160 students and staff, according to Iranian state media. Neither the U.S. nor Israel have acknowledged they caused the strike. It was just 200 feet from an Iranian military base. You can see multiple of their buildings hit as well as damage to the school.

Another strike hit this gym in Fars, southern Iran. There were reportedly 20 volleyball players inside at the time. Iranian media said it was also right next to a police station.

As strikes continue, access to safe medical facilities will be crucial, but the civilian toll is mounting. The Human Rights Activist News Agency now reporting over 1,000 dead.

Katie Polglase, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

[19:30:01]

BURNETT: Incredibly important work, as hard as it may be to see that. CNN has reached out to U.S. Central Command and the Israeli military for comment on these strikes and any steps they're taking to prevent civilian harm.

OUTFRONT now, Leon Panetta, the former CIA director and secretary of defense.

And, Secretary Panetta, I just want to give you a chance to respond to what we just saw there from Katie Polglase powerful investigation. You know, in some of those situations which she says, a bomb that was dropped with the ability to be lethal with 1,000 feet in a hospital I believe she said only 100 to 200 feet away and then also talking about other hospitals, the gym, and that unbelievable tragedy for any human being to think about of those girls.

Is this a reality of war, that war is a horrific thing and that this is going to happen? Or could the United States make sure this doesn't happen?

LEON PANETTA, FORMER DEFENSE SECRETARY, FORMER CIA DIRECTOR: Well, look, there is no question, Erin, that war is horrific. War is horrific. And when you're dropping as many bombs as we're dropping when as many missiles are being fired, as we've seen both by the United States and Israel, I'm sure these kinds of things can happen. But the hope is that the principal mission that were engaged in is to destroy Iran's war-making capability.

And that means going after military targets means going after missiles, means going after radar sites. It means going after those targets that are military and if you're starting to hit hospitals and schools, what will happen is that the very effort to get the Iranian people to rise up and basically go after their regime, that's going to do is basically undermine that kind of effort. So, I would hope that they would stick to military targets.

BURNETT: Trump has talked today, Secretary Panetta, about unconditional surrender for Iran and said that he wants to, you know, approve essentially who their next leader is.

This is a situation Iran, that you dealt with through your entire career. Defense secretary, CIA chief. Is any of that realistic?

PANETTA: I think one of the problems that we've seen is that the president keeps changing the objective that's involved here. Look, when I was secretary of defense, the most serious responsibility you have is to deploy our men and women in uniform into harm's way. That's the most serious responsibility.

And they have to have a clear objective. They've got to have a clear strategy, and they've got to have an end game. And the problem is that when the president keeps changing the objective here -- I mean, it began as regime change. The secretary of defense said, no, no, it's not regime change. It's going after nuclear and missiles.

And then Secretary Rubio provided an explanation that involved an attack by Israel and trying to respond to that, there's just too many different versions and so when the president says that now that it's about unconditional surrender and it's about him being able to name a leader for Iran, that's the kind of unrealistic commentary that that very frankly, undermines our focus on the main mission and what the military is all about, which is to destroy their war making capability.

That should be the mission that should be what the president is talking about rather than speculating about these various things that just are never going to happen.

BURNETT: Secretary Leon Panetta, I'm grateful for your time. Thank you very much.

PANETTA: Good to be with you.

BURNETT: Next, we have breaking news. Hotels in northern Iraq under attack. You heard me, hotels. A drone just exploding near a hotel in Erbil, moments after the U.S. embassy in Baghdad warned of a similar type of attack.

Our Clarissa Ward is on the ground there.

And a Dubai billionaire taking direct aim at President Trump is OUTFRONT tonight.

[19:35:01]

His scathing post asking Trump, who gave you the authority to drag us into war? As he posed the question has now been viewed more than 11 million times. And he's coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BURNETT: Welcome back to a special edition of OUTFRONT, "War with Iran".

Tonight, northern Iraq is under attack. A drone just exploding near a hotel in Erbil. Erbil is the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan.

Now, the U.S. embassy in Baghdad in Iraq had just issued an urgent warning about explosions at hotels. And then after there was that that drone at a hotel, a pro-Iranian militant group in Iraq now is claiming responsibility for the drone attacks and warning American troops and contractors that it would continue to target hotels across the country -- stunning, frightening and also a sense of the chaos unfolding.

I want to go now to Clarissa Ward. She is OUTFRONT in Erbil, Iraq.

[19:40:05]

And, Clarissa, those drones targeting hotels, how much are attacks intensifying where you are in Erbil in Iraqi Kurdistan tonight?

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Erin, this was about 4 or 5 hours ago that we saw this notification basically telling people to be aware that hotels with foreigners staying in them could be under attack from Iranian backed Iraqi militias. It's important to remember, Erin, that there are a lot of contractors, a lot of American contractors who were working on U.S. bases until recently and who have been moved to hotels since this war began.

Not literally two hours after that alert and warning went out for drones were fired into Central Erbil. Most of them were intercepted, but one of them exploded next to a Rotana Hotel in the center of town. And this really sending a chill down a lot of people's spines here, because it's the first time here in Erbil in northern Iraq that we have seen civilian, a civilian target attacked like this, and now the sense is what to do with all these not just contractors, business people, journalists who are in this area who are obviously staying in hotels and for many who have yet to find a clear and obvious way out, Erin.

BURNETT: Yes. All right. Now, you were also, Clarissa, at the site of where a missile landed. So, we'll show everyone the footage there. Take a look at the impact.

I mean, tell us what happened there and what you're learning now. WARD: So earlier today, Iran basically warning the whole of Kurdistan

that if any of these Iranian Kurdish groups launch attacks or launch some kind of a ground offensive into Iran, that all facilities in this region will be targeted.

We actually went to one of those Iranian Kurdish bases and saw for ourselves what that kind of damage looks like, because these camps have been coming under regular attack. Take a look.

BURNETT: Yeah.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AMANJ ZIBAEE, KURDISTAN DEMOCRATIC PARTY OF IRAN (KDPI): Unfortunately, two days ago, the Iranian regime's attack here with the ballistic missiles. This is a hospital. No military forces here. Nobody's -- no one's. But absolutely after the start this war, we have in here, we have some fighter jets for guard and save our people in.

WARD: So, do you see this as a warning from Iran of what will happen if you get involved in this?

ZIBAEE: You know, it's the not first time. Before is the start the war between Iran and Israel and the United States, we under the attack. The Iranian regime is our enemy. It's not first time and we are sure is not the last.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WARD: And, Erin, as if to punctuate his point, less than an hour after we left that camp, that group's bases came under attack. Two missiles, three drones, including one right in the very place where we had been filming. Fortunately, there were no casualties reported -- Erin.

BURNETT: Clarissa, thank you very much in Erbil tonight.

And next, I'm going to speak to the Dubai billionaire businessman who is taking Trump on for his war in Iran. The first and so far only to do so, telling Trump, quote, you can't take everything by force.

And former President Obama with a powerful message and a thinly veiled target.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: Everywhere we see greed and bigotry being celebrated and bullying and mockery masquerading as strength.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[19:48:12]

BURNETT: Welcome back to a special edition of OUTFRONT live from Tel Aviv, "The War with Iran", a war that a top businessman in the region. He's from the UAE, is directly confronting President Trump about it in a lengthy 500-plus word post on X, that's gone viral with 11 million views.

Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor is a billionaire developer and the founder and chairman of the Al Habtoor Group, which runs dozens of hotels in the region, in addition to things like car companies. And he writes, and I quote his excellency president Donald Trump, a direct question, who gave you the authority to drag our region into a war with Iran? And on what basis did you make this dangerous decision? Did you calculate the collateral damage before pulling the trigger? And did you consider that the first to suffer from this escalation will be the countries of the region itself?

Al Habtoor goes on to say, "True leadership is not measured by war decisions, but by wisdom respect for others and pushing towards achieving peace."

Well, I talked to Khalaf earlier today for an exclusive interview about his viral post.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BURNETT: Khalaf, I appreciate your time tonight. So, this is a very powerful post that you wrote. You wrote it obviously personally, directly at President Trump. What made you decide to do it?

AL HABTOOR: It is good to say that it is wake-up call, wake-up call. You cannot take everything by force. You cannot take everything by -- by war or to destroy countries. Of course, I'm against Iran 100 percent -- 100 percent against Iran. But I mean, I will not do this because what's happened to Iran, it damage all, every country, even Turkey, Pakistan everywhere in the world.

I mean, this is -- the decision wasn't well calculated, not -- maybe he's not listening to anybody.

[19:50:04]

He's not consulting anybody. But, you know, I mean, really, I felt to speak and to say something to pass a message maybe the president of the United States of America will consider my advice as something fruitful.

BURNETT: And what reaction have you received since you posted it?

AL HABTOOR: Well, a lot of positive action, a lot of things. A lot of happening. I got so many calls from the United States of America, from senior people, from important people, from businessmen all over.

And you know, I made the post not because I need somebody to call me or to tell me thank you very much, or that's good or bad. I'm doing it, this advice, a suggestion. We don't want war. We don't. We hate war, creating war without calculating. I mean, should be -- you have to -- when you build something, you have to make all the alternative scenarios. BURNETT: You know, you also called out President Trump on something

very specific I wanted to share, Khalaf, that's the Board of Peace. You wrote, for before the ink has dried on the Board of Peace initiative that you announced in the name of peace and stability, we find ourselves facing a military escalation that endangers the entire region. So where did these initiatives go?

And now I know, Khalaf, you know -- you know, Trump, you -- he says this war is to let the Iranian people rise up. His words actually specifically, Khalaf, are to have a prosperous and glorious future. Do you think he understands the situation?

AL HABTOOR: I mean, he is a builder. He knows about construction. He knows a lot. I mean, we calculated so many scenarios before we dig a hole into the ground. And he knows that. I mean, we have to be very careful from any steps we take forward, because what happened damaged a lot of relationship. What -- I mean, now, he should really solve the problem.

BURNETT: So, governments I know in the Gulf didn't want the strike. Khalaf, you're not alone in that. They didn't want the strike and they didn't want the war. But then it happened. And some tell me once it started, it has to be finished you know, I guess it's sort of like you can't be half pregnant, you know that Iran, now that this has started, must lose its ability to hit your region and to hit your country.

Do you see the merit in that argument?

AL HABTOOR: Well, I mean, Iran is -- I mean, no doubt with this regime is worrying since very long time. I mean, but also the decision has been taken by the pressure of Netanyahu and his government to the -- to the President Trump and his team is giving also negative result. Negative result with the approach, because we are the people who is suffering all the GCC and other places as well -- I mean, they are hitting left and right.

BURNETT: So, President Trump has said this war is going to last as long as it needs to last, right? Khalaf, you know that, but specifically, he said at least a month. What does -- what does the world look like in a month if this goes on that long?

AL HABTOOR: Well, if it goes a month, I think all the country, my advice to them, to claim financial -- financial claim from United States of America and America should be responsible to pay everybody suffered in the area and this will be equal to trillions and trillions of dollars.

BURNETT: Well, thank you so much for your time today. We appreciate it.

AL HABTOOR: Erin, thank you very much. It's great to see you and hope to see you again.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BURNETT: And OUTFRONT next, Obama honors the life and legacy of Reverend Jesse Jackson with some of his strongest words yet about Trump.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BURNETT: Welcome back to this special edition of OUTFRONT, "The War with Iran".

Back in the United States, President Obama delivering a thinly veiled swipe at President Trump. He did not mention him directly by name. Former Presidents Biden and Clinton, along with former Vice President Kamala Harris, all paid tribute to the late Reverend Jesse Jackson today.

Obama recalling Jackson's inspiring life with a message of hope. He also said that is something desperately needed now.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: Each day we're told by those in high office to fear each other and to turn on each other, and that some Americans count more than others and that some don't even count at all. Everywhere we see greed and bigotry being celebrated and bullying and mockery masquerading as strength.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BURNETT: Obama adding, "Every day you wake up to things you just didn't think were possible."

Well, thank you all so very much for joining us. As our special coverage continues here from the Middle East.

"AC360" begins right now.