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Early Start with Rahel Solomon

Sirens Blare In Parts Of Israel After New Wave Of Missiles; Minnesota Residents Hold Vigil To Honor Victims; Suspect In Minnesota Shootings Faces Federal And State Murder Charges. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired June 17, 2025 - 04:00   ET

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

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ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

POLO SANDOVAL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: And a very good morning to you. Welcome to all of our viewers joining us from the United States and all around the world. I'm Polo Sandoval. And it is Tuesday, June 17, 4:00 a.m. here in New York, 11:00 a.m. in Tel Aviv, Israel, where we begin with our breaking news at this hour.

Sirens, they have been going off in parts of Israel after Iran fired a fresh wave of missiles. Some of the new images we want to show you, they show some of those missiles passing just north of Jerusalem and also through some parts -- we do know that some of them even got past the defense system known as the Iron Dome. Explosions that were heard in Tel Aviv where smoke could be seen hanging over the horizon.

We're also hearing that while there are some damp parts of the country that have been damaged, nobody has been injured. The Israel Defense Force is saying that it intercepted 30 drones overnight and that it is now safe for people to leave their bomb shelters.

Israel says overnight strikes actually killed Iran's wartime chief of staff just days after he was appointed. Iranian state media says that their defenses were actually activated over Tehran while explosions rang out earlier.

Israel saying that it hit dozens of missile storage and launch sites as well as drone storage sites. Earlier, the U.S. President abruptly left the G7 summit in Canada for what he called obvious reasons. He told his national security staff to convene in the White House situation room before his departure. Donald Trump offered his explanation to his Canadian counterpart.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: Well, I have to be back. Very important. I want to just thank our great host. Thank you in Canada, but you probably see what I see and I have to be back as soon as I can.

(END VIDEO CLIP) SANDOVAL: And the president also offering an explanation on social media where he posted Iran should have signed the deal. I told him to sign. What a shame and waste of human life, he wrote. The president also wrote simply stated, Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. I said it over and over again. Everyone should leave immediately, evacuate Tehran.

It also seems that many are actually heeding the president's advice. These images showing long lines of cars trying to escape the Iranian capital. The Israeli prime minister says that the strikes have set back Iran's nuclear program, quote, a very, very long time, but also made it clear that additional targets remain. During an interview with ABC News, Benjamin Netanyahu refused to rule out assassinating Iran's supreme leader. Listen in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So are you going to target the supreme leader?

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: Look, we're doing what we need to do. I'm not going to get into the details, but we've targeted their top nuclear scientists. It's basically Hitler's nuclear team.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But U.S. officials tell us that the president flatly rejected a plan, an opportunity that you, that the Israelis had to take out the supreme leader. Do you understand his concern? My understanding is his concern is that this would escalate the conflict beyond where it is already.

NETANYAHU: It's not going to escalate the conflict. It's going to end the conflict.

JIM HIMES, U.S. HOUSE DEMOCRAT: This is about regime change. Why do the Israelis bomb national television? You know, why do they start taking on economic targets? Again, my own opinion is that Netanyahu went into this hoping and maybe intending for regime change. That's a very tough bet to make.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: All right. Taking all of that into account, let's now go live to Paula Hancocks joining us live from Abu Dhabi. Paula, what are you hearing right now about this new wave of missiles that hit Israel today?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Polo, as far as we know at this point from officials, there was some damage, but they do not believe there have been any casualties or injuries. That's the latest that we have, though, obviously still assessing.

And what we heard a little earlier from the Israeli military spokesperson was that they believe that there is far less of an impact that Iran is subjecting Israel to in retaliation. For the last 24 hours, certainly Monday morning in the early hours, we saw hundreds of missiles being launched. We saw Israelis being killed as well in those launches. And it is a different situation, at least so far this Monday morning.

[04:05:00]

Now, the Israeli military spokesperson said that's because they have been specifically targeting the missile launchers, the missile production facilities. We obviously will have to wait though to see if that optimism is premature as Iran says that the retaliation will continue.

Now, when it comes to the strikes the other way, we have certainly seen that the strikes have continued in Iran. We heard from an Iranian official that they actually intercepted and shot down an Israeli drone close to Natanz. This is the main nuclear site that has been under attack by Israel.

So certainly there doesn't appear to be any sense that these attacks are wrapping up, that this is going to be changing anytime soon despite the fact that the U.S. President Donald Trump talking about potential deals, this certainly isn't what we are hearing from the Israeli side. Polo.

SANDOVAL: Paula, our colleagues on the ground in Israel have spoken to Israelis about what's happening on the ground. Do you maybe have some perspective on what people inside Iran are saying, feeling? We just shared a few moments ago video of many people trying to flee the capital city.

HANCOCKS: Yes, that was certainly the image of from last night. We did see there were long lines at gas stations, that there were long lines on the roads to exit the city. But this is a city, greater Tehran, of some 15, 16 million people. It is not so simple to just evacuate that many people from this area.

So I think certainly we have seen those who have another option, who have an option to move somewhere more rural, more isolated where it feels safer. They have been trying to leave. And of course, it's difficult in Tehran for the civilians themselves because they don't have the air raid sirens, the early warning detection systems that they have in Israel, for example, the shelters are effectively heading to a parking lot in the basement or going down to the metro or the subway.

So certainly there is more concern from some of those residents in Tehran. They've been warned by the Israeli military that if they believe that they are in the vicinity of a weapons production facility or any kind of weapons production or potentially even the top military leadership that is being taken out one by one, then they should evacuate.

Now, of course, that is easier said than done. Many would not know now necessarily if they are living in vicinity of someone who is considered a target to Israel. Polo?

SANDOVAL: Paula Hancocks live in Abu Dhabi. As always, we appreciate your reporting on all sides of this conflict. Well, meanwhile, senior Iranian official telling CNN that the targeting of civilians is a red line for Iran's armed forces. CNN's Frederik Pleitgen has some new images coming out of Iran.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: Let's stay on this topic now and get some analysis from Behnam Ben Taleblu, who is the senior director of the Iran Program at the Foundation for Defense for Democracies. He joins me from Washington, DC. Behnam, it is wonderful to have you this morning. Thank you.

BEHNAM BEN TALEBLU, SENIOR DIRECTOR OF THE IRAN PROGRAM, THE FOUNDATION FOR DEFENSE FOR DEMOCRACIES: Great to be with you. Thank you.

SANDOVAL: So Israel and Iran, they are continuing to strike at each other in what's now the fifth day of the conflict. What has stood out to you thus far in these attacks?

TALEBLU: Well, obviously, with respect to the operational performance of the IDF and the IAF, you've seen them really exceed expectations when it comes to being able to penetrate Iran from within. You know, there were even stories from over the weekend that said that they had erected a drone base inside of the Islamic Republic and that they were attacking Iran from within Iran as well as from without Iran, but also the damage still being caused by Iran's ballistic missiles.

And you have to remember the Iranians are firing at what are militarily called counter value operations, or they're engaging, we should say, in counter value operations, which means they're not striking military targets anymore. They're trying to erode the will of the population to continue to fight.

And that's why you've seen even Iranian media, which has been known to hyperbolize, you know, brag, really, that they're firing at Tel Aviv and Haifa and even suburbs like Ramadan, for example. So the boldness of the Iranian approach to try to quite literally kill civilians and for the Israelis, the operational efficacy of them has been, you know, beyond what many outside observers would have already assumed.

SANDOVAL: We've been hearing from civilians both in Israel and Iran for days now and earlier today on that topic. And I actually spoke to Abbas Aslani, who's a journalist and researcher in Tehran. Here's what he said about the general feeling, in his view, about what Iranians are feeling. Well, I'll play some of what he said and then we can discuss right after.

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ABAS ASLANI, SENIOR RESEARCH FELLOW, CENTER FOR MIDDLE EASTERN STRATEGIC STUDIES: But what we are seeing from the public, even including those who have been critical of the government and establishment, is, you know, calling for a strike or response against Israel. And they have been supporting what Iranian armed forces have been doing in reaction against Israeli aggression.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: So keeping that in mind, what could dissenting Iranians be feeling in this very moment? Those who strongly disagree with this regime and the -- certainly the accusations that have been brought forward against that regime, but at the same time, certainly worried about their loved ones, especially those living in some of those residential areas. How do they come to grips with all of this, in terms, I should say.

TALEBLU: And particularly those living in Tehran, the capital, where there are no shelters, as you mentioned, and also any attempt to flee the capital, particularly go to the north, where it's more rural, or to even get on any of the highways to exit the capital or even the province of Greater Tehran, has been met with huge traffic lines and delays that have resulted with people abandoning cars and simply going back to their residential compounds and almost terrifyingly awaiting their fate as civilians.

You know, regardless of the orientation of most of Iranians, and here I would actually respectfully disagree with Mr. Aslani. The orientation of most of Iranians are actually pretty staunchly pro -- pretty staunchly anti-regime at this point. Their mode is survival mode. People are in survival mode first and foremost, but from that will flow everything else.

Meaning if you are pre-June 12, June 13, anti-regime, it has, in my view, based on, you know, anecdotal evidence and social media and talking to folks who continue to talk to people who come and go, it has intensified that. And if you were pro, then it would lead to the sentiments that Mr. Aslani mentioned.

SANDOVAL: Yes, very important context here in terms of what we've also heard from French President Emmanuel Macron. He has said that the U.S. made an offer for ceasefires, you know. Do you see this panning out at all this week, given the events of the last several days?

TALEBLU: In the very short term, no. I don't see an off ramp diplomatically. But I still do think that the President means what he says when he says that he's still looking for a diplomatic solution and he's still calling on Iran to come to the negotiating table.

And you're seeing and hearing mixed things right now from within Iran. There was an allegation reported over the weekend, I think, by the Wall Street Journal that said the Iranians had tried to reach out to Cyprus, to reach out to the Israelis.

[04:15:05]

There was a story on Monday in an Iranian diaspora outlet that was allegedly quoting an unnamed senior Iranian diplomat who allegedly was offering a pause at enrichment or a pause in the fighting. You've even had a reformist newspaper today actually wholeheartedly admit that the regime cannot continue the fight given that it's conventionally outgunned.

So you're seeing this slow edging in the Iranian position that perhaps could be something that the president or even any outside party like the Europeans could use to press for deescalation and to press to get back to talks.

SANDOVAL: Behnam, thank you so much for getting up early for us and providing all this important context and insight and certainly your perspective. We really appreciate you.

TALEBLU: Thank you, Polo.

SANDOVAL: So on the way on this early start, the suspects in the Minnesota lawmakers shooting facing federal and state murder charges. The U.S. attorney says that the shooter, as they put it, stalked his victims like prey. More when we come back. Plus, G7 leaders, they are trying to steer President Trump away from

his massive trade war. We'll look at whether they've actually made any progress.

And a little later, there's already Trump shoes. You can get a Trump Bible, even some Trump guitars. Now, we'll will tell you the next product that will bear the Trump name.

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SANDOVAL: Welcome back to Early Start. We want to take you with these pictures to Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, where they held a vigil to honor the lives of murdered lawmakers Melissa Hortman and her husband and also to wish the shooting victims, Senator John Hoffman and his wife, a successful recovery. People at the gathering calling for reason and tolerance to prevail in the face of extremism.

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PAUL BRANDT, BROOKLYN PARK RESIDENT: We just can't allow the violence to permeate and skew our political process. We need democracy. We need public participation. We need to be able to talk freely about the issues without fear of retribution.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SANDOVAL: Sophie and Colin Hortman, they're the children of the murdered couple. They released a statement on Monday. It reads in part, we are devastated and heartbroken at the loss of our parents, Melissa and Mark. They were the bright lights at the center of our lives and we can't believe they are gone. They went on to say that they are safe with loved ones and they also thanked law enforcement for trying to save their parents lives.

The suspect in these shootings, Vance Boelter, he appeared in court. Police say that he had many other targets in mind. CNN's Danny Freeman has more from Minneapolis.

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DANNY FREEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Terrifying new information about the brutal killings of a Minnesota lawmaker and her husband and the attempted killings of another lawmaker and his wife.

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

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

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

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

THOMPSON: Boelter knocked on Senator Hoffman's front door and repeatedly shouted, this is the police. Open the door. When Boelter lowered his flashlight, which he had shined in their face, they realized that he was not a police officer. They shouted out, you're not a cop. You're not a police officer.

FREEMAN (voice-over): Authorities say the suspect then went to another lawmaker's home and rang the doorbell, but that lawmaker was on vacation. Boelter then continued to a third lawmaker's home, but appeared to hesitate as police were already checking on local leaders by then.

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

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

FREEMAN (voice-over): Minnesota law enforcement officers then began what they call the largest manhunt in state history, which led them to rural Sibley County, roughly 50 miles from the crime scenes. New federal court documents state while he was on the run, Boelter texted his family. Dad went to war last night. I don't want to say more because I don't want to implicate anybody.

But with the help of a resident's trail camera drones and infrared technology, Boelter was taken into custody without incident.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can you talk to why investigators believe he carried out this death and for how long he may have been planning these attacks?

THOMPSON: Well, it's pretty clear from the evidence that he's been planning these attacks for quite some time. There's voluminous writings, as you've seen in the reporting, that were found both in his car and his house about his planning lists of names and individuals.

Obviously, his primary motive was to go out and murder people. Now, they were all elected officials. They were all Democrats.

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FREEMAN: Now we actually got a statement from State Senator John Hoffman and his wife Yvette on Monday. I'll read it in part. It says, John and I are both incredibly lucky to be alive. There's never a place for senseless political violence and loss of life. We are devastated by the loss of Melissa and Mark Hortman and our hearts go out to all those who knew and loved them both. We're always at our best when we unite together. A note of hope there amidst tragedy.

Meanwhile, Boelter's next federal court appearance to face those murder charges is scheduled for the end of next week. Danny Freeman, CNN, Minneapolis.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SANDOVAL: So on the way, President Trump on his way to Washington right now to monitor the crisis in the Middle East. Next, what U.S. officials are saying about his early and abrupt departure from the G7 Summit.

Also, the situation in Los Angeles seems to be stabilizing. Finally, that nightly curfew being reduced by authorities. Those stories and much more. You're watching Early Start on CNN.

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