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Early Start with Rahel Solomon

Qatar: Air Defenses Intercept Drone Targeting U.S. Base; Humanitarian Toll Grows In War With Iran; U.S. And Western Nationals Return On Repatriation Flights. Aired 5:30-6a ET

Aired March 06, 2026 - 05:30   ET

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

[05:30:00]

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN ANCHOR: Well, nearly a week into the war Iran is still launching strikes throughout the Middle East. Qatar says it intercepted a drone attack earlier today targeting the largest U.S. military base in the region. The GCC as a unit as it were it making it very clear that Iran's attacks on this region of the Gulf are unjustifiable, unprovoked, and unlawful.

Following a Gulf EU meeting yesterday the UAE minister of state here, Lana Nusseibeh, thanked partners in Europe for their strong expressions of solidarity and support.

Live now to Doha and CNN's Bijan Hosseini. I want to talk further about what that support looks like from the U.K. and Europe at present. Before we do that can you just get us up to speed on the very latest there as far as strikes on Qatar are concerned?

BIJAN HOSSEINI, CNN SENIOR PRODUCER: Yeah, Becky. Well, we heard from U.S. Central Command yesterday that they -- them saying strikes were down 90 percent. Missile strikes and -- sorry, drones coming down 83 percent. I was just getting a little feedback there in my ear.

We know that there was a missile attack -- a drone attack here in Qatar overnight. We received an emergency alert at 3:45 in the morning. We all woke up to that saying the security threat level had been elevated. Fifteen minutes later we got the all-clear -- that threat had been eliminated.

About an hour after that Qatar's Ministry of Defense confirming a drone attack on Al Udeid Air Base and saying that it was successfully intercepted. Al Udeid is the largest U.S. air base here in the region. Normally, 10,000 U.S. troops would be stationed there at any given time. We know about six weeks ago they started evacuating non- essential military personnel as tensions in the region started to ramp up.

You also mentioned the U.K.'s involvement here in these Gulf countries. We heard from U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer yesterday that they were going to send four additional Typhoon fighter jets here in country. We know that the U.K. and the Qataris operate a joint squadron of Typhoon fighters, and we know that the U.K. has been active in helping deter and shoot down some of these drones coming from Iran. On March 1, the U.K.'s Ministry of Defense confirmed that news to us.

And then we also heard a statement from the U.K. Ministry of Defense yesterday saying that they were still patrolling the skies and running missions.

The fighter jets have been paramount in helping deter these attacks from Iran. Our colleague, Mostafa Salem, had exclusive reporting yesterday that Iranian bombers were just two minutes away from hitting Al Udeid Air Base before the Qatari Air Force were able to shoot them down with their F-15 fighter jets in what was told to us and to our colleague Mostafa Salem as their first aerial combat.

ANDERSON: It's good to have you, Bijan. Thank you.

So the U.K. announcement for additional Typhoon fighter jets to Qatar, France lending support in the defense of the UAE -- further support offered now from Italy. The statements of condemnation are wide- ranging. The support from European partners for the region of the Gulf is expanding.

Well, as the U.S. and Israel ramp up military operations on Iran, it's average civilians that are often paying the price, of course. The U.S.-based human rights groups say more than 1,100 civilians have been killed in Iran so far. Iran's Red Crescent Society says more than 3,000 homes and 500 commercial buildings have been damaged.

In Lebanon, UNICEF estimates that 83,000 people have had to leave their homes since Israel launched its operations there. Lebanese state media say more than 120 people have been killed, while Iran's counterstrikes have left dozens of people dead in other countries in the region.

For more now we're joined by Babar Baloch, a global spokesperson for refugees at UNHCR joining us live from Geneva.

And you have said that the UNHCR is estimating that already 250,000 people have been displaced since Saturday. That report out two days ago so presumably those numbers have worsened.

Just give us a sense of the impact that this U.S.-Israeli war on Iran is having.

BABAR BALOCH, GLOBAL SPOKESPERSON FOR REFUGEES, UNHCR: Thank you. Thank you for having us.

And, indeed, a troubling displacement picture is now emerging and it's really what we are getting our initial estimates for now the worry is if the conflict intensifies and escalates we could see more people -- more human misery and more people who would be forced to leave their homes.

[05:35:05]

Inside Iran, UNHCR, the U.N. refugee agency, is the largest U.N. agency on the ground. Remember, we have been working with authorities in Iran for Afghan refugees. Iran still holds 1.65 million Afghan refugees in the -- in the country. We have a big footprint over there but also inside.

So far, our worries for civilian refugees and our humanitarian staff are there. But initially, the Iranian authorities says maybe during the first two days, more than 100,000 people may have left Iran, but that's an underestimate as we know many more would be trying to seek safety elsewhere.

So far, we haven't seen a big number arriving in the neighboring countries and this is between Iran, Middle East, and also the neighbors in southwest and central Asia. But also our worries are for the tension that are growing between Pakistan and Afghanistan as well. Remember, Afghans who are now could be feeling the pressure to leave from one country, they could be ending up in another situation.

So we have declared this situation as one of the major emergencies where we would need support to -- humanitarian support to help people who were affected.

ANDERSON: The Israelis issued evacuation orders in Lebanon, and we are just getting reports of fresh strikes, I'm afraid. And we have UNHCR video of crowded highways out of Beirut.

How is the U.N. actioning support in that country that has experienced so many rounds of this kind of violence?

BALOCH: Exactly. That's -- the conflict -- as it intensified it also have overspilled to Lebanon as we see thousands of people on the move. The current estimate is there are 96,000 people inside Lebanon that are in more than 440 collective shelters. These are the ones that are being run by the authorities.

But my colleague -- UNHCR colleagues are on the ground trying to support as many people as we can in this really, really troubling situation. But not only that. There are Syrian refugees who are earlier returning back to Syria but now we see that number is also increasing. So from Lebanon into Syria we have seen 37,000 people that have left -- majority Syrians but it also includes Lebanese as well.

So that's why UNHCR one, is calling for dialogue and restraint, but also we are calling that these desperate operations that are moving from one place to another within their countries or they're arriving across the border, they would need humanitarian support.

UNHCR, the U.N. refugee agency, was created 75 years ago to support people who are displaced and refugees. And just one reminder. You know the conflicts are the reason why people become refugees and now we fear that more people could be affected as this conflict escalates and intensifies.

ANDERSON: Yeah. And that, of course, becomes a global problem, not just a regional problem.

The extensive, widespread nature of the strikes by the U.S. and Israel inside Iran is what I want to discuss now. We're reporting that multiple homes in Tehran have been affected, for instance.

What do we know about those who have been internally displaced inside Iran and whether you are able to help?

And I have to ask you at this point what's your funding like? I mean, you've -- all these agencies, including your own, have really suffered of late. I mean, do you have the sort of funding you need at present to deal with the fallout from what seems to be an evolving war without an end?

BALOCH: Oh, many thanks for that painful reminder. Remember, we have been saying that the funding cuts -- humanitarian funding cuts last year were brutal. And as you see situations like this as conflict starts, they don't go away very easily, and it brings more misery for the people.

[05:40:00]

And the simple answer for the resources is no, we do not have enough resources. UNHCR, the U.N. refugee agency -- my colleagues have our staff, our skills, and we know how to handle humanitarian displacement situations and humanitarian emergencies, but we do not have enough resources.

We would need the world and our donors to step up for the Iran, Pakistan, and Afghanistan situation. Before this crisis started, we needed around half a billion U.S. dollars to help Afghan refugees and displaced Afghans in the region. That is only 17 percent funded for now.

But let's not forget Lebanon, a tiny country that has been hosting a million Syrian refugees. They have opened their homes and hearts but they -- even also them -- they do not have resources. Other countries also need support. Turkey has been a kind host.

So we at UNHCR -- as I told you, we have declared it as a major humanitarian emergency. We are scaling up our response, but we need global support to help people who could become displaced in the coming days and already who have become displaced during this conflict.

ANDERSON: Babar, thank you for your time. I know you are very, very busy. It is important that we get your position on. Thank you.

Well, emotional scenes at airports as citizens from the United States and other countries in the West flee the war in the Middle East and make their way home amid the chaos. Details on the very latest repatriation flights and evacuations are up next.

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[05:46:15]

ERICA HILL, CNN ANCHOR: The U.S. House of Representatives, on Thursday, rejected a measure that would have limited President Trump's war powers. A vote to rein in the president's authority failed 212- 219, largely along party lines. The vast majority of Republicans and a handful of Democrats in Congress are now on record supporting President Trump's war with Iran. A similar measure failed in the Senate earlier in the week. Meantime, the log jam of people trying to get out of the Middle East is slowly starting to clear -- slowly being the emphasis there.

CNN's Brian Todd has been following all of these developments for us throughout the week and joins us now live from Washington. Brian, good morning.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Erica.

You know, we're getting our first real insights into the confusion and the chaos that Americans who were stranded in the Middle East were feeling in those first days of the war and in their efforts to try to get out of the Middle East.

Now, some Americans made their own way out of the region on very few flights that were trickling out of there. Others were on State Department-sponsored evacuation flights, including one that went from Abu Dhabi to Dulles International Airport outside Washington.

Now some Americans who landed in New York, who we presume made their own way out of the Middle East -- they spoke to a CNN affiliate after they landed in New York and spoke about the confusion and about the lack of communication from the U.S. government in those early days of the war last week.

Take a listen to what they had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're just in, like, war zone -- that hotels were being attacked.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Every day was chaos. It's canceled every day. I see flights going to, like, Europe and elsewhere. So we're like should we fly to Europe? Should we fly, like, to India?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They had like kind of a makeshift bomb shelter where we would just go into this underground parking garage. There's not anybody doing enough on our side here in the United States.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There was absolutely zero plan for evacuation for anyone. The phone numbers are a joke.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TODD: Pretty harrowing accounts there from Americans.

And that lady was referring to this phone number. We believe that is a State Department hotline number that they gave out just after the war began last Saturday. And then when you called that number basically it told you in automated voicemail greeting don't count on the U.S. government for any help in getting out. Now since that time that number has been revamped. You can call that number and get a live person on the line who will help you with travel arrangements.

And we do have new information about that first State Department- sponsored evacuation flight. That flew from Abu Dhabi to Dulles International Airport outside Washington and landed Thursday afternoon.

Now interestingly, many relatives of evacuees on these State Department flights have told CNN they were told to keep the evacuation flight secret and were not given any information, such as even flight numbers to track. So people who were related to people traveling and the travelers themselves told by presumably the State Department and other U.S. officials don't say anything about this flight -- where it took off from, where it's landing, and when because they don't want -- they didn't want those flights to be targeted.

We're trying to get information now, Erica, updated from the State Department as to how many flights have been surged in and how many people have been taken out on these evacuation flights. We don't want that operational security detail about exactly where and when they're taking off and landing but we're trying to get some of those updated numbers -- Erica.

HILL: Yeah, absolutely. Brian, I really appreciate the continued reporting on this. Thank you.

Stay with us. Our coverage continues on the other side of this quick break.

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[05:54:10]

HILL: President Trump is suggesting Cuba may be next on his administration's agenda once the war with Iran concludes. Speaking at an event, Trump said he wants to "fix the island nation" and also suggested it was only a matter of time before Cubans who fled their country would be able to return home.

Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, (R) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: What's happening with Cuba is amazing and we think that -- we want to fix -- finish this one first but that will be just a question of time before you and lot of unbelievable people are going to be going back to Cuba -- hopefully, not to stay.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HILL: Days into the Iran war, oil prices meantime are hitting their highest levels since President Trump began his second term. Brent Crude had climbed to $85 a barrel, the highest since the final days of the Biden administration. You can see right now it's settling in there around $82.

[05:55:00]

The increases though are still rattling Wall Street. All three major indices closing in the red on Thursday. The Dow losing more than 780 points. And with hours to go before Friday trading begins here in the U.S., U.S. futures at this hour are down slightly. We'll continue to keep a watch on those.

The FIFA World Cup in North America is now less than 100 days away and at this point it is unclear whether Iran will participate because, of course, it is at war with one of the hosts. All of the Iranian national team's group stage matches are set to be held in the United States, in L.A. and Seattle.

Fans living in Iran won't be able to enter the U.S. to watch. The Trump administration imposed travel bans, of course, last year.

The uncertainty has also left a training facility in Tucson, Arizona in limbo. The Kino Sports Complex was supposed to serve as the Iranian team's practice site and had been counting on that economic boost. Its director says she is in touch daily with FIFA and that as of now the Iranians are still planning to compete.

Thanks so much for joining us here on CNN this hour. I'm Erica Hill in New York. Of course, Becky Anderson has been reporting from Abu Dhabi. Our coverage continues right here with "CNN THIS MORNING" after a quick break.

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