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Early Start with Rahel Solomon

Israel Attacks Iran's Nuclear Facilities, Military Leaders; Court Sides With Trump In National Guard Case; At Least 290 People Killed In Air India Crash. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired June 13, 2025 - 05:30   ET

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

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[05:30:17]

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN ANCHOR: Some truly incredible video. Just look at these plumes of smoke as well as a massive blaze. This was the scene in Iran overnight after Israel struck a nuclear and military facilities as well as targeted key Iranian leaders. In fact, three of Iran's most powerful men were killed including its highest ranking military officer.

Iran's supreme leader vowing to retaliate and it seems that that's already begun. In fact, Israel's military says that it is currently intercepting drones launched from Iran. You see some live pictures right now over Israel where residents there have been warned to take measures as a state of emergency is in effect. Those residents preparing to shelter in place if necessary.

Israel says that it has used over 200 jets to strike over 100 targets in Iran. Iranian media says that the strikes killed at least six Iranian nuclear scientists in addition to the people we just mentioned.

Earlier Israel's ambassador to the U.N. told CNN that the strikes were an act of self-defense.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DANNY DANON, ISRAELI AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED NATIONS: Prime Minister Netanyahu was very clear. We took a preemptive attack to defense ourselves -- to defend ourselves. And we are targeting the nuclear facilities and the ballistic missile centers in Iran. So we don't go into declaration now; we take actions.

We decided not to wait for Iran to attack us with nuclear capabilities. We knew that they were plotting to do that. And while they were talking with many countries and negotiating, they moved secretly with a military plan to attack Israel. And what we did was an act of self-defense.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: And then there's this. CNN has just learned that the strikes hit Iran's main uranium enrichment facility and came just days before scheduled nuclear talks with the U.S., which may potentially be up in the air. Those talks -- they were set to take place on Sunday in Oman. No indication if those plans have changed though I wouldn't be surprised.

Well, the U.S. has issued a security alert urging embassy employees and American citizens in Israel to shelter in place until further notice. This, as Israel continues to launch strikes against Iran and Tehran begins to retaliate.

The warning coming as the Trump administration is trying to distance them self from those attacks. In fact, in a statement on X shortly after the first round of strikes, Secretary of State Marco Rubio stressed that Israel took "unilateral action against Iran with no U.S. involvement." Rubio stressed that the administration's top priority is protecting the U.S. forces and the assets in place in the region.

I'm joined now by Steven Cook, senior fellow for Middle Eastern studies at the Council of Foreign relations. It's so good to have you, Steven.

STEVEN COOK, SENIOR FELLOW FOR MIDDLE EASTERN STUDIES, COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS, AUTHOR, "THE END OF AMBITION: AMERICA'S PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE IN THE MIDDLE EAST": My pleasure.

SANDOVAL: I should also mention you're the author of "The End of Ambition: America's Past, Present, and Future in the Middle East."

Steven, let's get straight to some of the comments that you may have just heard right now from one of my previous guests, Gideon Levy. And he told me that it was his opinion that he did not see Israel carrying out this level of attack without some form of approval from the United States.

Now bearing in mind what we just heard and what I just shared with the viewers right now that came from the Secretary of State stressing that this was unilateral action, where do you believe that the United States stands when it comes to this round of strikes?

COOK: Well, it certainly is the case that President Trump has signaled over and over again that he wants a diplomatic solution to Iran's nuclear program, whereas Israel has said no solution is possible as long as the Iranians can enrich uranium. So there is a difference between the two.

But, of course, the Israelis did inform the United States that this operation was going to happen and as a result it is entirely possible that the president either blessed it or said you're on your own. But at the same time there's a tremendous amount of security cooperation between Israel and the United States and it is possible once it was underway that the United States offered intelligence support to the Israelis as the operation unfolded.

Of course, when it comes to the defense of Israel certainly the United States would be in the background providing support to the Israeli air force and Israeli forces as they contend with incoming drone strikes or ballistic missile strikes.

SANDOVAL: And in the days leading to these missile strikes we know that President Trump not just privately but certainly publicly said that he was hoping that there would be some restraint from Israel as these talks were ongoing. Now, to be clear, we don't have any indication that those plans have changed, but as I said a moment ago, we wouldn't be surprised if they do.

[05:35:05]

So do you think that the president and the U.S. still has a chance of getting these sides to the negotiating table after what we just saw in the last few hours and what has been promised in the hours and days ahead?

COOK: I think it's quite unlikely that the Iranians are going to go for talks this coming weekend, especially as Israeli journalists are reporting that there was full coordination between the United States and Israel and that, in fact, the United States and Israel were engaged in a rather elaborate deception campaign that made this attack more effective than it otherwise would be.

But even so -- even if it is the case that as we know publicly that the Trump administration was -- is distancing itself from the -- from the attacks, it strikes me that the Iranians are going to be more concerned about retaliation against Israel as well as threaten retaliation against the United States for Israel's attack than they are going to be interested in negotiating a deal with the United States.

SANDOVAL: Steven, you wrote the book on the future in the Middle East quite literally as we just said a short while ago. So help us look into the future. What does this conflict, this campaign, this war really look like in the next 24-48 hours for the people in Israel and those in Iran?

COOK: Well, it certainly is the case that there are going to be strikes and counterstrikes. It really depends on how effective Israel's initial blows really were. There was an attempt to decapitate Iran's armed forces, the Islamic Revolution and Guard Corps, to destroy its nuclear infrastructure as well as its nuclear scientists.

So the question remains whether Iran really has the capacity any longer to strike in ways that will deal a major blow to Israel. If they do there are going to be multiple rounds of Israeli strikes and Iranian counterstrikes. If they don't, we are really genuinely in a new era where the Islamic Republic has been defanged. We really won't that for the next couple of days or so how the Iranians can respond and what the Israelis are going to do.

But there is the real possibility that this has been a paradigm shift in the region where Israel has done a tremendous amount of damage not just to Iran's proxies but to Iran itself.

SANDOVAL: No doubt we are at a critical crossroads, Steven Cook, and we're so happy that you were able to join us to offer some great perspective. Thank you.

COOK: Thank you.

SANDOVAL: Well, this Israeli airstrike is now sparking fears of energy supply disruptions leading to the largest single-day spike in oil prices that we have seen in years. We're going to show you some of those numbers in moments.

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[05:42:30]

SANDOVAL: I want to get you more now on the breaking news out of the Middle East.

The Israeli military says that it has intercepted some -- more than 100 Iranian drones that are headed towards Israel. Iran launched the drones after Israel carried out a series of strikes on Iran. Those strikes damaged the country's main nuclear facility in Natanz. The chief of the U.N. nuclear watchdog says that radiation levels in the area seem to be normal.

And meanwhile some of -- some Israelis -- they are now stocking up on food and other supplies as the country declared a state of emergency.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At this late hour I arrived here for buying a few merchandise -- a few groceries to have for my baby and my wife. And we got the notice that we attacked Iran and that we need to have the supplies so in case something happens we'll be ready.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: And what's happening there affecting markets all around the world, including global oil prices already seeing their biggest single-day increase in -- really, in years. Just look at some of these numbers really.

Brent Crude up nearly seven percent. And meanwhile, the U.S. benchmark, West Texas Intermediate, you see there shooting up about 13 percent earlier in the day as well. So that's something we're following. Meanwhile the global benchmark Brent Crude is up as well.

Here's a look now at U.S. futures. Earlier we did see them fall about 500 points or so. You see the S&P showing well over a one percent decrease. So we're going to see exactly what happens as we near the opening bell in the U.S. stock market.

Stay with us here on EARLY START. We're going to be right back with more breaking news out of the Middle East.

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[05:48:40]

SANDOVAL: Welcome back to "CNN NEWSROOM" (sic). I'm Polo Sandoval. Let's check in on some of today's top stories.

Iranian state media say that they have been a new Israeli round of attacks in the northwestern city of Tabriz. One Iranian news agency said that the airport there is currently under heavy Israeli attack. Meanwhile, Israel's military says that it's been intercepting Iranian drones before they reach Israeli airspace.

Officials say Iran launched more than 100 drones in response to Israel's massive strikes on targets across Iran. The nuclear -- the country's main nuclear facility has actually been damaged but radiation levels there seem to be normal.

An appeals court has ruled that the Trump administration can keep control of California's National Guard, at least for now. It paused a lower court's decision that said that President Trump illegally activated the National Guard in the protests in Los Angeles. A hearing with the appeals court has been scheduled for Tuesday.

And one flight recorder or so-called black box has now been recovered from the site of the Air India crash, and it could provide key insight into what brought down the passenger jetliner. An Indian health official says at least 290 people were killed on Thursday. Victims include all but one of the people on board the doomed flight and also dozens of others on the ground.

[05:50:00]

CNN's Salma Abdelaziz following the very latest from London. Salma, we were on air together 24 hours ago as the developments were just beginning to come to light. What have we learned in the last 24 hours, including the discovery of this black box?

SALMA ABDELAZIZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I think the first thing is, of course, just the anguish that has set in for these families. Yesterday when this news had just broke these families were still clinging onto hope, of course, trying to find out what happened. Trying to cling onto the possibility that their loved one made it out alive. Today those families are giving their DNA samples to identify the dead.

Officials now say all of the passengers on board and crew were killed except for one, which can only be described short of a miracle. Viswash Kumar Ramesh, who is seen in video just walking around looking mostly OK with nothing but a bloodied shirt.

He's later taken into hospital. India's prime minister actually visited him in hospital and medical officials say he's going to be dismissed mostly likely in a couple of days. He has no serious injuries, no critical wounds.

And you can imagine how his story, of course, added to that chaos and confusion on the early hours of this news. And now, of course, that pain setting in for these families.

You've also talked, of course, about the finding of the flight recorder. That tells us that this investigation is very much underway now because that is the crucial piece of evidence that is needed for the authorities to ascertain what went wrong here.

And you also have investigators that have flown in from the U.K. and from the U.S. So there's international support, of course, in what is going to be an India-led investigation.

Now, authorities are saying that those DNA samples they received from their families could lead to people getting that final, final answer in the form of an identification of a body within a matter of days. The investigation will, of course, take much longer.

But the heartache and the pain now that has set in, in Ahmadabad -- that is going to be a deep, deep wound.

SANDOVAL: CNN's Salma Abdelaziz with a sign of progress in the investigation and the search for answers for those families suffering so much this morning. Thank you.

Back in the U.S. parts of downtown Los Angeles are now currently under a curfew for a third night in a row amid protests against immigration raids, which are spreading across parts of the U.S. New York and Arizona seeing more demonstrations on Thursday. And in Missouri the governor declaring a state of emergency there and signed an executive order activating their National Guard as a precautionary measure. And this is in response to the protests they're seeing there.

Police detained multiple people in Los Angeles, but protests were mostly peaceful. Mayor Karen Bass says that the curfew will continue for a few more days in hopes that "people will get the message" that they are serious.

Well, shortly, we'll be taking you back to our top story. A series of Israeli attacks triggering a response from Iran. The very latest is just ahead. You're watching CNN.

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[05:57:35]

SANDOVAL: Welcome back to CNN's breaking news coverage as tensions rise between Israel and Iran and erupt into conflict. Iranian state media now saying that there has been a new Israeli attack on the western city of Tabriz. It's focusing on its airports.

Let's go through what we know at this hour. It all started with a series of attacks by Israel on Iranian nuclear and military assets. Iran says that its main uranium enrichment facility was damaged -- seen here engulfed in flames. Smoke rising from the scene.

Israel also killed three of Iran's most powerful men, including its highest-ranking military officer. In addition, at least six nuclear scientists were reportedly killed.

Israelis are now bracing for the possibility of retaliation from Iran. The military said that it intercepted Iranian drones en route to the country and has been really shooting them down. And this could be just the start. Israel's prime minister says that

this operation could continue for days. Iran's supreme leader vowing severe punishments for Israel.

One expert underscored the seriousness of the current situation in the Middle East.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BETH SANNER, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: This isn't a strike and a retaliation and a tit-for-tat. This is full-up war. And so when Israel says it's going to keep going this is where we are.

And they started at the top and they started very, very seriously removing the chief of the general staff. In other words, like our chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff -- attacking basically what would be our senior military command. You can imagine what Americans would do.

The question is whether Israel's ability to respond has been affected by Israel trying to decapitate their senior military leadership. But we should expect -- and that's what Israel is expecting -- a massive, much bigger retaliation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: Israel's airstrikes and Iran's subsequent retaliation all coming just days before the next round of nuclear talks between the -- between the U.S. and Iran. The U.S. is still planning to attend the talks on Sunday but there is not word if this attack has changed Iran's plans.

I want to thank you for joining us here on EARLY START. I'm Polo Sandoval in New York City. Coming up next, "CNN THIS MORNING." It starts right now.