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Israeli Military: Dozens Of Targets Hit Overnight In Iran; Iranian Missile Sparks Fires In Southern Israel Tech Park; Trump To Decide On Iran Strikes Within Next Two Weeks; Iran To Meet With UK, Germany, France, E.U. In Geneva. Aired 5-5:30a ET

Aired June 20, 2025 - 05:00   ET

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

[05:00:11]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

MJ LEE, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm MJ Lee live in Washington.

Israel says it struck dozens of targets in Iran overnight, including missile production sites and a nuclear research facility in Tehran.

The Israeli military reports more than 60 air force fighter jets were involved in the attack.

Meanwhile, at least six people were injured when an Iranian missile hit near a business park in the southern Israeli city of Beer Sheva. That's the same area where an Iranian missile damaged a hospital on Thursday.

U.S. President Donald Trump says he will decide within the next two weeks whether to carry out military strikes against Iran.

Israel's prime minister thanked the U.S. for its help in the conflict and refused to rule out targeting Iran's supreme leader.

Iran's foreign minister is scheduled to meet today with European representatives in Geneva to pursue a diplomatic resolution. The British foreign secretary says a window exists now to end the escalating crisis.

Let's bring in CNN's chief global affairs correspondent, Matthew Chance, live this hour in Geneva.

Matthew, what can you tell us about these Iran nuclear talks today and who is there? What can we expect?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN CHIEF GLOBAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, well, actually, these talks have been kind of reinvigorated by the announcement by President Trump that he's going to pause a decision on U.S. involvement in the -- in the conflict in the Middle East by two weeks, because it creates, in the words of one European diplomat who I spoke to earlier, a breathing space, a window of opportunity for negotiations. And that's exactly what the diplomats and the Western officials and

the Iranian officials that are here are trying to do to try and explore ideas. I'm told to work out if there's any room for compromise. In terms of what's going to -- who's going to be coming. Well, we've got the foreign ministers of Germany, of France and of the United Kingdom. You've got the European Union's top, top diplomat and the Iranian foreign minister are also -- are also going to be he's also going to be here to sit down, to hammer, hammer out those ideas.

Now, none of the diplomats that I've spoken to have been willing to talk about details. But the crux of the matter is, obviously Iran's uranium enrichment capabilities for the United States. It's a red line. It wants to have no deal unless that means an end to uranium enrichment. And of course, that's something over many decades that Iran has resisted saying that it needs that enrichment capability to fuel its peaceful strands of nuclear reactors.

And so, so that's always been a red line for both or for the Iranians. But what diplomats here in Geneva are telling me is that there's a possibility that calculation on the part of Iran could change, because they're being bombarded so heavily by Israeli airstrikes because of the possibility of the United States may join as well. It may -- it may sort of change their calculus and open up opportunities for a potential compromise.

Look, it's not -- it's not clear that's what's going to happen yet. But that's basically what's going to be explored in these sort of nuclear talks that are set to take place within the next few hours here in Geneva, Switzerland.

LEE: All right. Matthew Chance in Geneva, we'll keep checking back in with you as these talks continue. Thank you so much.

And a closer look now at this plan for president Trump to decide within two weeks on direct involvement in the Iran conflict and to hold off on possible military action in order to give diplomacy a chance. That didn't seem like a priority for him.

Earlier this week, on Tuesday, President Trump signaled his patience with Tehran was wearing thin. But on Thursday, the White House said Iran was in a weak and vulnerable position and that its leaders, quote, can and should make a deal.

Take a look at some of the messaging this week.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: They should have done the deal. I told them, do the deal. So, I don't know. I'm not too much in the mood to negotiate.

KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I have a message directly from the president, and I quote, based on the fact that there is a substantial chance of negotiations that may or may not take place with Iran in the near future, I will make my decision whether or not to go within the next two weeks. (END VIDEO CLIP)

LEE: Former Trump strategist Steve Bannon could be bending the president's ear. He was seen walking into the White House on Thursday for lunch. Bannon has been loudly opposed to U.S. intervention in the Israel-Iran conflict.

President Trump's decision to keep his options open about possible strikes on Iran is not going over well, with many of his loyal supporters. He campaigned as a peacemaker, promising to keep the U.S. out of foreign wars.

As Donie O'Sullivan reports, some of the backlash comes from one of President Trump's biggest backers in conservative media circles.

[05:05:06]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TUCKER CARLSON, FORMER FOX NEWS HOST: This isn't a regime change effort, and why not just say that and but -- oh, you're a Holocaust denier for saying that. Stop. Let's have a rational conversation about what our aims are here.

DONIE O'SULLIVAN, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): That's Tucker Carlson, the war skeptic, today.

CARLSON: We learned today for certain that Iraq has weapons of mass destruction that has chemical and biological weapons. And the question remains, what do we do about it? And neither you nor any other Democrat I know has an answer to that question.

O'SULLIVAN: This was Tucker Carlson back when he co-hosted CNN's "CROSSFIRE" in 2003.

CARLSON: Senator Worthy, the president last night summed up, I thought, well, the rationale for going into Iraq later this week. Here's what he said.

GEORGE W. BUSH, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: The danger is clear, using chemical, biological or one day nuclear weapons obtained with the help of Iraq. The terrorists could fulfill their stated ambitions and kill thousands or hundreds of thousands of innocent people in our country or any other. The United States and other nations did nothing to deserve or invite this threat. But we will do everything to defeat it.

O'SULLIVAN: Back then, Carlson was a strong supporter of America's war in Iraq.

PAUL BEGALA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: The question here is the president's credibility. He wants to lead us into war, and the majority of his countrymen and women are worried that he's lying to us, and for good reason.

CARLSON: That is not the question. The question is there's a lunatic with weapons that could kill the civilized world. What do we do about it? And I await an answer.

O'SULLIVAN: It was a position Carlson would come to regret.

DAVE SMITH, LIBERTARIAN, COMEDIAN & PODCAST: When the war drums were beating for Iraq, there was just nothing like what we have today. I mean, like the biggest shows in cable news, the big -- they were all for it. They were all for it.

CARLSON: I was for it.

SMITH: Yes. Well --

CARLSON: I was for it until I went to Iraq in 20 -- in 2003, I immediately apologized. I would say in my defense.

And I feel very stung by what happened in Iraq, if I'm being honest, possibly because unlike you, I guess I supported it, and I saw us get drawn into it in a way that nobody anticipated. And I saw the cost just a month, $3 trillion, and the cost on so many levels to the United States was just so profound.

O'SULLIVAN: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is warning Iran could have a nuclear weapon within months.

U.S. intelligence, however, suggests Iran is years away from having a nuclear bomb.

CARLSON: Can you feel the frustration of people, including your voters? You know, every American at the emphasis on foreign countries and the threat we supposedly face, a lot of which is fake, obviously, over -- over the kind of slowly unfolding tragedy of what's happening to our country?

O'SULLIVAN: Carlson is a frequent supporter of Israel, but Senator Ted Cruz did not appreciate Carlson's questioning of the Netanyahu government's policies toward Iran.

CARLSON: How many people live in Iran, by the way?

SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX): I don't know the population.

CARLSON: At all?

CRUZ: No, I don't know the population.

CARLSON: You don't know the population of the country you seek to topple?

CRUZ: How many people live in Iran?

CARLSON: Ninety-two million.

CRUZ: OK.

CARLSON: How could you not know that?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

O'SULLIVAN (on camera): And you could see now how much of this debate is really playing out in the world of podcasts and online video streams. The MAGA-verse, as it is called, all these pro-Trump MAGA media influencers really growing in influence.

Back to you.

LEE: And for more, let's head over to Los Angeles, where we're joined by CNN senior political analyst Ron Brownstein.

Ron, great to see you. Look, you know, you know how much President Trump did not want to oversee multiple wars during his second term, let alone get embroiled in a whole new conflict? I mean, for starters, how remarkable is it to you that he is seriously contemplating direct U.S. involvement in this new conflict? And how did he get here?

RON BROWNSTEIN, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Well, you know, the world, the world events get a vote in the in the outcome of a presidency and how it unfolds, right. And, you know, presidents try to impose their design, but a lot of what they have to do at any given moment is react to events and to other players in the world.

You know, I think that, you know, there's obviously great division in kind of the media side of the MAGA universe. I am struck that on Capitol Hill, you don't really see any Republicans loudly warning about this other than the ones who usually do. My instinct is that Trump has more leeway in his base to go either direction than it might seem from some of the loudest voices like Bannon and Carlson.

But I also think that, you know, as such a critic of the Iraq war, as Trump was not only Carlson, but Trump has been, I think, I think he is going to be pretty cautious about wagering his presidency on launching his own, you know, military war really of choice in the Middle East.

[05:10:13]

Certainly, any American diplomat or policymaker knows from the 21st century that these wars are easier to start than to finish.

LEE: Yeah. And as we saw in Donie's report just now, you know, it's not just his advisers who are split. It's really the prominent voices of the MAGA world. They're all sort of working to try to influence him. I mean, if you had to guess, is there one faction right now inside the party, inside MAGA, that President Trump is probably listening to the most right now?

BROWNSTEIN: I think he feels tremendous freedom of action, as I said. I mean, the fact that on -- the fact that among the elected officials, the people who are warning against doing this tend to be the people who are warning against doing it, you know, are always skeptical of foreign engagement and that most Republican elected officials are saying they will trust his judgment in either direction. I think that's the signal of where the party is going to be.

One thing that gives him more freedom of maneuver, you know, is the fact that there is a broad consensus across the American political spectrum that it is a threat to the U.S. if Iran gets a nuclear weapon. Chicago council on global affairs polling in April, 80 percent of Republicans, Democrats and independents, men and women all said that was an unacceptable outcome.

So, I think that gives him a lot of room. I don't think he has to be hugely afraid of the immediate political consequences either way. But I think obviously once if you do this, you are essentially wagering your presidency on the prospect that it plays out the way that you hope. And you know, what would give you confidence on that?

You know, Afghanistan, Iraq, obviously did not. I think he has higher priorities in terms of what he is trying to do domestically, expand the power of the presidency, systematically weaken the ability of all sorts of institutions in Blue America to resist him, pursue mass deportation, and he has to know that he is putting all of that in jeopardy. If he gets involved in a conflict with Iran, that may start swimmingly. You know, you may be able to drop these bombs and do a lot of damage. That doesn't mean you can control all the ripple effects from that over the next several months and years.

LEE: And, Ron, let me ask you about the Democrats. Do you see the party deploying any kind of coherent political strategy right now to capitalize on this moment of division inside the Republican Party?

BROWNSTEIN: Well, you know, I think it is notable that Democrats are not in a mode of full-throated opposition either. I mean, you know, Tim Kaine has his resolution, doesn't have, I think, any co-sponsors or very few co-sponsors requiring even just a, you know, a vote on an offensive action.

I mean, like I said, the underlying reality is that there is an overwhelming majority of Americans who don't want or who believe it is dangerous for the U.S. if Iran obtains a nuclear weapon. Now, the initial reaction of the public is to oppose our direct involvement in this. And I don't think there would be a huge rally around the flag effect beyond the Republican base, where I do think you would see that.

But, you know, I mean, whether were talking about the battle over deploying the military at home and the way Trump is conducting mass deportation, or were talking about foreign affairs, the reality is that most Democrats in Congress at least, don't really want to talk very much about either of those.

They want to talk about the other big thing that's happening in Washington in the next few days, which is the reconciliation bill that's going to the floor. That is going to, you know, remove 16 million people from health care while cutting taxes for the rich. That is where they want to put their chips in the 2026 election. And there really isn't like a full throated party decision to go after Trump very hard on anything else.

And I do think there would be some division among Democrats. By and large, they would oppose. They would say they oppose our involvement. Direct military involvement. But I don't think it will get to where we were in the later stages of the Iraq war.

LEE: Ron Brownstein, thank you so much.

BROWNSTEIN: Thanks for having me.

LEE: Amid the conflict with Iran, Israel is conducting new strikes in Gaza. There are reports that scores of Palestinians have been killed in the past 24 hours. The story is just ahead.

Plus, families of hostages held in Gaza are asking President Trump to leverage the Iran conflict to free their loved ones. This man is one of the dozens still held captive. His mother joins us live next.

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[05:19:09]

LEE: The Palestinian health ministry says Israeli strikes in Gaza Thursday killed more than 70 people, including children. A warning that the video you're about to see is graphic and shows first responders trying to rescue victims from destroyed buildings. Palestinian health officials say at least two children were killed when several homes came under Israeli fire in northern Gaza. Three other children were killed by Israeli bombardment while they were sheltering in a tent in al-Shati refugee camp near Gaza City.

When asked for comment, the Israeli defense forces said it was, quote, not familiar with any strike in al-Shati. The U.N. warns that the humanitarian crisis in Gaza is deteriorating rapidly, with famine increasingly likely.

My next guest is Idit Ohel. She is the mother of Alon Ohel, who was kidnaped from the Nova Music Festival on October 7th. Her son has been held captive in Gaza for more than 621 days.

[05:20:06]

She joins me this hour from Lavon in northern Israel.

Idit, it is great to have you. First of all, I'm so sorry for the unimaginably painful experience you have had over the last 600 plus days.

I know you're joining us right now from northern Israel. Tell me how you and your family have been doing since this Israel-Iran conflict began. I assume everyone has to be very much on edge right now.

IDIT OHEL, MOTHER OF ALON OHEL, ISRAELI HOSTAGE HELD IN GAZA: Yah, it's not easy, but mostly I'm thinking about my son that is being held in Gaza for more. As you said, 621 days being held, being starved. He's injured. He has a life-threatening injury.

He has shrapnel all over his body, has shrapnel in his eye, and he can't see in that eye. You know, he's bound by chains in his leg so he cannot move. Has never seen from this from 620 days. Not seeing sunlight. The sky. So, we're worried mostly about him and the fact that, yes, people

talking about the Gaza and the humanitarian issue, but nobody is talking about the fact that my son has never got any medical doctor to see him and get medical, some kind of a -- you know, that he needs.

So, the ICRC has never seen my son or any other of the hostages and worried about that because it's inhumane what's going on in Gaza. And it's inhumane that my son is going through this. That was kidnapped from Israeli land. My son was kidnapped from the Nova Festival as a, you know, just a civilian trying to have fun. And he was kidnapped brutally after two of his friends were murdered in front of him.

It's not easy. It is not. Maybe it's not easy for me, but mostly it's not easy for him. And he's strong. He's a very strong person and he's surviving this every day. But we need to bring him home alive. That's what we need to do.

And I hope that the Iranian issue. Will, you know, will be finished and somehow. But the Gaza issue with Hamas needs to be finished. So Alon will come home.

LEE: And, you know, the condition of your son that you just described, that he has shrapnel in his eye, his shoulder, his arm. I mean, you learned about that when some other hostages were recently released.

Do you currently feel like getting the hostages out of Gaza is being fully prioritized? I mean, from what you just said, I feel like the answer is clearly no. I also just wonder what, if anything, you've heard in recent days from the Israeli government about any kind of progress.

OHEL: I hope there is a connection between what's going on in Iran and in Gaza, that when Iran's situation will be over, also Gaza and bringing the hostages were part of it -- will be a part of the deal or as you said. But I feel that in any agreement with Iran, it must be ensured that Iran is, you know, instructs its proxy, Hamas, to immediately release the hostages. I think it's very important.

So, I don't know, you know, the government is full into what's going on in Iran. We, as a family, you know, each time I go into the safe room, I think about Alon, my son and the suffocation and anxiety and the uncertainty that he is in. You know, I go into the safe room for half an hour, sometimes an hour the most. But he's there in, like in this 40 meters under the ground, in a tunnel for more than 620 days.

It's more harsh, and we need -- we need the, you know, the American government, you know, Trump's administration to do everything in its power to help us stop this, to help us getting this over and bring my son home.

I think the government has been doing different things. Trump and his team to try to bring the hostages home with the with some kind of a, you know. You know, deal.

[05:25:03] But we need more. We need them. We need more. We need more help. We need -- we need this to be over.

I need it, my son needs it. It's too much. It's too much time. And it's unbearable.

LEE: Idit Ohel, the mother of Israeli hostage, Alon Ohel, thank you very much for sharing your thoughts with us.

OHEL: Thank you.

LEE: And as the Iran-Israel fighting enters its second week, we'll have a look at the latest attacks and the U.S. president's self- imposed deadline for deciding whether to get directly involved.

Plus, Russia is raising a red flag about potential strikes that could target Iran's supreme leader. Why Moscow believes that attack could backfire.

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