Return to Transcripts main page

Early Start with Rahel Solomon

Israel Strikes Iran Nuclear Sites And Military Leadership As Middle East Braces For Retaliation; IDF Says Its Intercepting Iran's Drone Headed Towards Israel. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired June 13, 2025 - 04:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:00:24]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN Breaking News.

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning and welcome to all of our here is joining us from the United States and all around the world. I'm Polo Sandoval. It is Friday, June 13, 4:00 a.m. here in New York. 11:00 a.m. in Israel, where the military now says that it has begun to shoot down Iranian drones that are headed towards their country.

The statement says that they were intercepted just outside Israeli territory after Tehran launched more than 100 drones. Hours earlier, Israel said that it struck targets across Iran related to its nuclear program using more than 200 fighter jets in the operation.

Iran state TV says that the strikes killed a number of military leaders and nuclear scientists, including three of the most powerful people in the country. They include the chief of staff of Iran's armed forces, the commander of the Revolutionary Guard and a former national security chief.

Some of the sights and sounds of those airstrikes. Israel says that it is at least that its strikes have already hit more than 100 targets across Iran, including this one that caused multiple explosions. But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel is not done yet and he said that his country had no choice but to attack.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: In recent months, Iran has taken steps that it has never taken before, steps to weaponize this enriched uranium. And if not stopped, Iran could produce a nuclear weapon in a very short time. It could be a year. It could be within a few months, less than a year. This is a clear and present danger to Israel's very survival.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: CNN's Paula Hancocks joins us live from Abu Dhabi and following these strikes and the retaliation from Iran. Paula, it's good to have you. Are you hearing any potential response from leaders in the region?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We are hearing response Polo and it's really a combination of condemnation against Israel, concern as to how far this could go. There are real concerns from what we are seeing from reactions across the region that this could escalate, that this could drag more countries into what is happening between Israel and Iran.

Saudi Arabia was one of the first to respond. They said that they condemn the -- strong condemnation and denunciation of the blatant Israeli attacks. A very similar response from both the Lebanese prime minister and president.

The president saying that he's now trying to focus on stability in the region, of course, this is a region that has seen great turmoil over the last couple of years and some of these countries were hoping that they were going to be able to collect themselves to strengthen their government, certainly in the case of Lebanon, and this has thrown that all up.

Now, we heard from Qatar that they called it a dangerous escalation. The UAE condemned it, calling on the United Nations Security Council to get involved and to try and secure a ceasefire. We have heard from Iran as well, saying that they wanted the U.N. Security Council to get involved.

And we heard from Jordan, which borders Israel, that they did not want their airspace or their territory to be used, as they say, as a battleground.

Now, since that point, these drones that we have seen being fired from Iran, Jordanian state media says that the military has shot some of them down over their airspace, saying that they had entered Jordan's airspace and there was a concern that there could be damage to either infrastructure or civilians on the ground in Jordan itself. Polo.

SANDOVAL: And Paula, the Israeli government has warned its citizens that they should be hunkering down, expecting, as they put it, difficult hours ahead, which, I mean, some even see this as days ahead. Do you have any insight on what people in Israel are doing right now?

HANCOCKS: There's a state of emergency that's been declared in Israel and residents have been told to shelter as best they can. We also know that some of the hospitals, in fact hospitals across the country have been put on the highest level of alerts that non urgent activities have been canceled, that those inside the hospitals are being taken to two safer places.

In fact, we have been seeing images of underground wards being readied in case they are needed.

[04:05:00]

We also know schools, workplaces have been closed at this point. And in the early hours of Friday, just after this happened and these alerts went out in Israel, there were a number of residents in Tel Aviv, for example, that were rushing to local supermarkets to try and stock up because there is an expectation this could last. The prime minister has said that this could go on for days. Let's listen to what the chief of staff of the IDF had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EYAL ZAMIR, ISRAELI ARMY CHIEF OF STAFF (through translator): Citizens of Israel, I don't promise you only successes. The Iranian regime will attempt to attack us in response. The absorption of incoming hits may be different than what we have gotten used to. The IDF is prepared to defend the Israeli home front and I ask you to demonstrate personal, family and communal responsibility and adhere to instructions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANCOCKS: Now, the IDF also says that they have called up tens of thousands of soldiers to prepare for the next steps. And the prime minister has said that there will be next steps, that this could take days. And what we've heard from Israeli officials really across the board is that it was necessary as Iran was an existential threat to Israel.

They pointed to the IAEA resolution that passed on Thursday, or at least was announced on Thursday, saying that Iran was not sticking to and was in breach of its non-proliferation obligations. And certainly Israel has been pointing to that as to yet another reason as to why it had to carry this out at this point. Polo.

SANDOVAL: Paula Hancocks in Abu Dhabi. Thank you for all your reporting.

All right, we're joined now from Tel Aviv by Miri Eisin, and she's a senior fellow at the International Institute for Counterterrorism and also a retired colonel in the Israeli Defense Forces. Colonel, thank you so much for taking the time to join us.

MIRI EISIN, SENIOR FELLOW, INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR COUNTERTERRORISM: Thank you so much, Polo.

SANDOVAL: Colonel, in the -- we just heard a short while ago from the IDF chief of staff essentially issuing that warning and that recommendation to the people inside of Israel. We'll get to the military side of things in just a moment.

But first, I wonder if you could take me inside Israel right now and maybe talk a little bit more sentiment. How are Israelis likely to respond? How are they responding to these, this series of strikes?

EISIN: So thank you for the question, Polo, because I'm sitting right now inside my house in Tel Aviv and at 3:00 a.m., I should say exactly at 2:59, there was a siren. We woke up from the siren, but it was an early warning for the early warning, meaning everywhere across Israel into our phones.

For me, that was at home, my husband, some of the kids. We were woken up and told go to a safe place. That means that all of us, no matter where we are. And this was at 3:00 a.m. we're looking around to make sure that we have a safe place that we're feeling, in that sense, safe.

In October of 2024, when the Islamic regime of Iran attacked us, then we got also an early warning. That was at 3:00 a.m. I imagine that there are people who went back to sleep. I was not one of them. As were watching both the attack that was happening in Iran and.

And that feeling here that we know that the Islamic regime will attack back. We've been told this very often. This isn't something we don't know. That doesn't make it any easier. I went out before to go out myself. As Paula was saying, you want to get yourself a little bit of food. You want to make sure that you're OK. We've been told in that sense to take care of ourselves for a few days. I went out. The streets are quite empty. You do not feel that this is a Friday.

I'll tell the viewers also that in Tel Aviv today, in a couple hours, there was supposed to be the annual Tel Aviv Pride Parade. It's a very big event. A lot of people are here from around the world. They canceled that event because right now we're all in an emergency status.

So we're near the safe rooms. We don't have to be inside them. That's why I'm in my study. But we are near the safe rooms. We're taking care of ourselves. We're doing what we're told to do. This is to save lives. And in that, I feel much safer here than I would have thought, considering that there were UAVs on the way to here from Iran.

SANDOVAL: That is reassuring to hear. I mean, this is an important angle too, in the story, right? The residents, too, who are watching, waiting for any potential impact. Do you feel that there is confidence among the citizenry there that the defense system will be able to essentially do its job as these drones approach?

EISIN: So I'm going to say something kind of Israeli, which is the third time you give me ice cream. But it means the first time I didn't feel very strong. That was in April of 2020 the Islamic regime attacked us. In October of 2024, it was very scary, very large scale. And we saw the capabilities that we have. This time, I certainly feel confident in the capabilities, but I'm also a military person and I understand statistics.

[04:10:05]

SANDOVAL: Right.

EISIN: Statistics we do amazing. We protect 95 percent. Everybody understands that means that 5 percent get through. And so we are aware we're taking care of ourselves. Part of our protection is in the fact that we act accordingly. And part of that is that we've built over the last two decades systems that are defense systems to stop the infiltrator, both the UAVs, but especially the ICBMs, the different type of missiles that would get here very quickly.

When they launch UAVs against us, it takes hours. When they launch ICBMs, Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles of different types, that takes minutes. And we're all aware of that. And I breathe in deep and I believe in our systems.

SANDOVAL: Colonel, let me keep tapping into that military experience. Let me get some of your analysis on the timing of all of this. We've heard from other guests as well, really talk about the intent from IDF forces. What about the timing? Why strike now while these nuclear talks were still ongoing, you think?

EISIN: First of all, I think that I, and I'm saying this from a military and strategic point of view, didn't believe the talks as they were ongoing. In any case It was perhaps about the nuclear aspects, but it wasn't about the platforms, the missiles, the UAVs, all of the other capabilities that they have.

And I have to say I don't believe the Islamic regime of Iran, or I would say otherwise after October 7, with what happened in Israel by Hamas at the time and has continued to happen. I read what Khamenei, the supreme leader, says every week about us.

I offer people to go and look at his X, what he writes in X, what tweet, what he puts out because he calls for our annihilation and that combination of going down the nuclear path, calling for our annihilation, attacking us in the different places, I think that window of opportunity is that we built a capability that can be overall, it's not perfect. We're still not at the end of this event.

But if we can take out that nuclear capability, push it back for many, many years, for me as an Israeli, I certainly feel safer. I also think that for everybody in the world, none of us want to see a nuclear Iran. And this is a very clear cut way to get this done, both the platforms, not just the nuclear capability.

SANDOVAL: Colonel Miri -- retired Colonel Miri Eisin, we're so grateful for your point of view, not only as retired military, but also certainly as a resident of Tel Aviv. Thank you so much for checking in with us. Do take care.

EISIN: Thank you so much for having me.

SANDOVAL: It's our pleasure. The U.S. has issued a security alert urging embassy employees and American citizens in Israel to shelter in place until further notice. We're just talking about that. As Israel continues to launch strikes against Iran and Tehran also begins to retaliate.

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

Our breaking news coverage continues after a very short break as Iran reels from Israeli attacks on dozens of military and nuclear targets. Senior Iranian military commanders were killed in the strikes and

we'll be getting some analysis on that and the impact that it could have on Iran's regime.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:17:58]

SANDOVAL: Welcome back. Israel says that it's beginning to shoot down Iranian drones that were launched in retaliation for an unprecedented series of military strikes. That is our breaking news story at this hour. Israel says that it struck over 100 nuclear and military targets across Iran, like this uranium enrichment site that you could see there fully engulfed in flames with plumes of smoke coming from the scene.

Also that they hit nuclear and military facilities, as well as targeting key personnel, the commander in chief of Iran's Revolutionary Guard, for example, as well as six nuclear scientists. All of them among those six people killed.

And this just the beginning. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that the operation will continue for days to come while Iran's supreme leader is vowing to strike back. Despite that, residents of Tel Aviv express support for Israel's military action.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I bless Israeli army to succeed in this attack. I'm Israel Chai. We are strong. We will be here. It's our country. We love America, USA. We love Trump.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We had no choice. We can't wait till they do something that will be too late.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: The residents you just heard from now living in a state of emergency. Israel's attack coming just a few days after Iran was set to resume talks on a nuclear deal with the U.S. In fact, U.S. Envoy Steve Witkoff says that he's still planning to hold talks with Iranian officials in Oman on Sunday.

There has been no indication from Iran yet whether the attacks have actually changed their plans to attend those talks. So we'll have to see. And this would be the sixth round of talks between the U.S. and Iran as the Trump administration seeks a diplomatic resolution.

An Israeli source previously told CNN last month that Israel would be prepared to carry out military action against Iran if the U.S. negotiated a deal that was unacceptable to Israel. World leaders, in the meantime, they are expressing their concern about the escalation between Israel and Iran. But New Zealand's prime minister is hope the talks with the U.S. could still help the situation.

[04:20:05] (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTOPHER LUXON, NEW ZEALAND PRIME MINISTER: It's a really unwelcome development in the Middle East. You know, the risk of miscalculation is high. That region does not need any more military action and risk associated with that.

What we want to see is the parties coming together and having a conversation. We're aware obviously of the U.S.-Iran conversations that are hoping to take place in Oman this weekend. We see that as a better pathway forward, but obviously it's a huge concern to us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: Let's get more now from Sanam Vakil. She is the director of the Middle East and North Africa Program at Chatham House and joins us now from London. Thank you so much for joining us, Sanam

SANAM VAKIL, DIRECTOR, MIDDLE EAST AND NORTH AFRICA PROGRAM AT CHATHAM HOUSE: Good morning. Thank you for having me.

SANDOVAL: Of course, it's our pleasure. Now, as the U.S. makes very clear that Israel did this on their own, that they acted on their own. I'm wondering to what extent will Tehran actually try to hold the U.S. responsible? We already know that the White House had prior knowledge of this, according to multiple reports, not to mention the weapons and the aircraft that are provided to Israel. So how is Iran going to handle that?

VAKIL: The Iranian government is certainly going to read this strike as being greenlighted by the Trump administration. And despite President Trump and Marco Rubio trying to distance themselves and suggesting that the U.S. wasn't involved, their prior knowledge and their inability to hold Israel back will be seen in Tehran as the contrary.

Now, Marco Rubio in his statement made clear that the Iranian response, which certainly they're expecting and is already underway, should not target American military facilities and certainly not impact Americans anywhere across the region. Those are red lines for Iran and Tehran is certainly boxed in because they need to respond. This was a preemptive, provocative and flagrant attack by the Israeli government. And they need to prevent further attacks from coming.

But they also don't want to be drawn into a full scale all-out war knowing that they are the weaker party in this military conflict.

SANDOVAL: The question I have is who informed who in terms of Israeli and U.S. relations? We know that President Trump had not just privately but publicly had urged Benjamin Netanyahu to not take this sort of military strike. So that will be interesting in the hours ahead to see how the White House responds.

I'm wondering, Sanam, if you can put into perspective what this means. We've seen airstrikes before, just last year. How is this a further escalation and a new and dangerous chapter in this conflict? VAKIL: This is certainly very different from the cycle of airstrikes

we saw in 2024. Those strikes, of course, came out of escalation between Israel and Iranian forces in the region. This is a different parameter. Israel is being preemptive, saying that it's seizing this moment to stop Iran's nuclear program.

And it's happened at a time where the U.S. and Iran were engaging in diplomacy. So here we can also understand that the Israeli objectives are supposed to halt the diplomatic pathway as well. And because Israel's strikes have targeted Iran's command structure, also targeted Iran's nuclear facilities, although not all of them, including some of the principal ones.

And third of all, are also targeting Iran's radar systems, its missile facilities. I think the Israeli government is trying to penetrate deep inside Iran and trying to foment further weakening of the Islamic Republic from within.

SANDOVAL: So here we are, hours later, Iran vowing punishment. On the other side, you have Israel telling its residents to prepare, to even hunker down and expect this retaliation. I'm wondering if you could just help us look into the future. What, in your opinion, do the next 24 to 48 hours look like in this conflict?

VAKIL: Well, you know, we've seen a wave of European condemnations, although perhaps, excuse me, not strong enough to really bring down the temperature. I think we are in an escalatory cycle. We have to see the impact of Iran's response.

[04:25:05]

And since Netanyahu has said that this is going to go on for days, again, we have to see where the Israeli targets are going. Iran, I think for the time being is not going to take its strikes to the region or to the United States. It's going to try to keep this contained between the two countries.

But there is a risk of spillover. There is a risk that Gulf oil facilities or infrastructure could be targeted as Iran's options are very limited. And it will look to those maybe strikes as an opportunity to put pressure on Israel to stop further attacks against Iran.

SANDOVAL: And to your point on oil infrastructure, the question is how will markets react to in the hours ahead, not just here in the U.S. but around the world. Thank you so much for all this. A great analysis. Sanam Vakil, appreciate your time.

VAKIL: Thank you for having me.

SANDOVAL: Well, Israeli airstrikes, they have killed three of Iran's top leaders. Now the Israeli military says that Iranian drones are headed toward Israel. The latest on the breaking news just ahead right here on CNN. You're watching Early Start.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)