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Early Start with Rahel Solomon

Israel Says It Launched Another Wave Of Strikes In Iran; France Scrambles To Evacuate Citizens In The Middle East; U.S. Markets Shaken By War With Iran Surge In Oil Prices. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired March 09, 2026 - 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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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN Breaking News.

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RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us here in the U.S. and all around the world. I'm Rahel Solomon live this morning in New York.

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Becky Anderson live for you from our Middle East programming headquarters here in Abu Dhabi where the time is midday.

We're now in the 10th day of the U.S. and Israel's war with Iran, and President Donald Trump says he will decide along with Israel when this war ends.

The comment coming as the Israeli military launches a new wave of strikes, earlier, black smoke billowing over Tehran after Israel said it was targeting Iranian missile launch sites and regime infrastructure.

Smoke also seen rising over the Lebanese capital of Beirut where Israel says it struck infrastructure there belonging to Iran-backed, Hezbollah.

Meantime, emergency services were seen in central Israel after Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard said it launched missiles following the naming of a new Supreme Leader. Mojtaba Khamenei has been selected to succeed his father, the late supreme leader who was killed in a strike at the start of this war.

Iran is now calling on the public to gather nationwide today to pledge allegiance to the new leader.

CNN's Oren Liebermann joining us now from Tel Aviv with the very latest. And let's start in Iran and what we know of the Israeli attacks and that we are reporting.

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF: Becky, those attacks continue at an intense pace. We have woken up every morning here to notifications from the Israeli military that they have launched another -- another wave of strikes and another wave of strikes as they go after first, of course, the Iranian regime and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps that were -- those were prime targets in -- in what appeared to be the ongoing phase since the start of the war.

But now, we see them over the course of the past 24, 48 hours, also targeting fuel storage facilities and oil refineries.

It seems as they began the war going after the centers of power of the Iranian regime and have now moved to try to go after its economic and financial arms, its ability to pay for itself and to fund itself in its military activities.

So that, according to an Israeli source, is part of the next phase here. Israel's military chief of staff Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir, several days ago, wouldn't detail that phase, but said it was set to begin.

So we see those waves of attacks continuing. The military said they were going after the IRGC Air Force as well as facilities belonging to the Basij. So we see that process continue here.

Meanwhile, Iran, despite being more than a week into the war now, and Israel and the U.S. going after ballistic missiles arrays and launchers, is still able to fire upon Tel Aviv. Not only do we have several rounds of incoming or sirens warning of incoming fire over the course of the night, but in fact, at one point yesterday, what appeared to be a cluster munitions struck, not all that far from the hotel, just a bit north of where we're standing here, one of the munitions landing there, and several more reports of damage and potential submunitions landing in the area.

So Iran still retains at least some capability to fire back here, as Israel has made clear, that it will not be slowing down, in fact, speeding up the pace of attacks to -- to the extent that it can.

And, Becky, bear with me for just a quick second here. I just lost IFB. I'll dial that back in right now. And I'll be with you in one more second.

All right. Can you hear me? If you can, I'll -- I'm gonna follow you with another question. If you can't --

LIEBERMANN: Back with you now. I can hear you loud and clear right now. Sorry about that.

ANDERSON: Excellent. Good stuff.

Before we move on though, I -- then I do just want you to provide any further detail that you can on Israel's offensive attacks on Lebanon.

LIEBERMANN: That also continues at pace. Israel issuing another evacuation warning for Dahieh, the southern suburb of Beirut, as they say they're going to -- to carry out more strikes targeting Hezbollah there.

And although, for obvious reasons, I think much of the focus is on Iran. Israel is conducting a major assault on Lebanon as it go issuing the evacuation warning several days ago for southern Lebanon and parts of the capital of Beirut, but also the Beqaa Valley.

They have also conducted commando raids into Lebanon, according to the Israeli military, Hezbollah and Lebanese armed forces going after a navigator, a long missing navigator from some 30 or 40 years ago.

So they're conducting a number of different kinds of operations. Of course, the key here is -- is the targeting of Hezbollah and that continues.

[04:05:05]

We have a -- a team on the northern border, Nick Paton Walsh. My colleague, Jeremy Diamond, has also been there and seen the level of fire, the level of intense fire that's happening right across the border there.

So this isn't just Israel carrying out medium or long range strikes into Lebanon. There is a fight right on the border there as -- as Hezbollah has been able to carry out some attacks there and Israel has -- has carried out its own attacks with -- with artillery and airstrikes. Hezbollah firing with small arms and -- and anti-tank missiles.

So this is still an intense fight on the Israel-Lebanon border.

ANDERSON: Good to have you, Oren, the very latest there. Oren Liebermann in Tel Aviv.

And I have to say, just this morning, two injuries from falling debris in the UAE where I am after a volley of strikes this morning on Abu Dhabi. The U.S. base here it seems is the target for those.

We had a volley of strikes over the weekend on the UAE and both Abu Dhabi and Dubai getting struck. These interceptions are extremely effective still.

And we are seeing a similar story although perhaps not as heightened a story across the Gulf region. These attacks from Iran described as unprovoked and reckless by the UAE and other Gulf nations continue.

Well, the White House has not yet responded after the announcement of Iran's new supreme leader on Sunday.

President Trump, just last week, said the appointment of Mojtaba Khamenei would be previously stated that one of the goals of the war was to wipe out Iran's Islamic regime.

Meanwhile, the U.S. military has announced the death of a seventh service member in this war. U.S. Central Command says the soldier died of injuries sustained during an attack in Saudi Arabia last week.

Well, as the war with Iran ramps up, so to do efforts to repatriate foreign citizens who are stranded in the Middle East. Several European nations have been sending evacuation flights for their citizens since early last week. At that time, French President Emmanuel Macron said about 400,000 French nationals were in the region but the operation is, of course, complex.

On Thursday, a French repatriation flight from the UAE was forced to turn back due to missile fire.

Worth noting, France has a naval base here in Abu Dhabi. And a UAE official tell CNN that France is helping patrol the Gulf countries' skies, missiles and drones.

Eleonore Caroit is the French Minister delegate for international partnerships and French nationals abroad. And she joins us now from Paris. Delighted to have you on this morning. Thank you so much for joining us.

I'm broadcasting here from our Middle East programming headquarters in Abu Dhabi in the UAE.

What is the French military mandate here?

ELEONORE CAROIT, FRENCH MINISTER DELEGATE FOR INTERNATIONAL PARTNERSHIPS AND FRENCH NATIONALS ABROAD: Hi.

ANDERSON: Is it purely defensive to protect French facilities and personnel? Or does it extend to supporting more offensive operations? Can you just be clear?

CAROIT: Yes. Hi, good morning. I'm very pleased to be with you today.

So it is purely defensive. As our president has stated and -- and as it was also repeated by our minister of foreign affairs, this is not France's war. France's only in support of its citizens which are many in the area and also of its interest. And very interesting, the resumption of trade and liberty of circulation in the area because this, of course, has an impact on all of us.

ANDERSON: President Macron posting yesterday on X that he had spoken to the Iranian president, emphasizing, quote, the necessity for Iran to immediately cease its strikes against countries in the region. Well, that hasn't happened.

What did your President achieve by that conversation?

CAROIT: Our President, since the beginning of the war in Iran and the general conflict in the Middle East, has shown that France is a reliable partner for its allies, for the Gulf countries that are our allies and with whom we have cooperation agreement was shown our support with all of those countries that are being bombed by Iran these days.

But at the same time, we are a dialogue country. We believe in diplomatic approaches. And so having conversations with every single leader is important to de-escalate the situation. Because as I said, we have interest in the region, but we are also interested in the resumption of -- of trade and, of course, the security of all those that today are suffering of the attack.

[04:10:12]

ANDERSON: I want to talk about the diplomacy here, because as we see the sort of military expansion going on before our eyes, and we're reporting on that, we see no sort of political track at this point.

But what we do see, and you're right to point this out, is huge diplomatic momentum at this point. Behind the scenes, we understand there is this huge diplomatic push to isolate Iran on the global stage. We expect an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council and a resolution to be tabled this week.

What is France's role in that effort?

CAROIT: France is a very big diplomatic country with a history of diplomacy. We have the second largest diplomatic corps and presence throughout the world. And we are convinced that we need to achieve a diplomatic dialogue again to de-escalate the situation.

We understand that it's not that easy, that it might take time, but our priority is to ensure that -- that there is some appeasement, in particular, because we need commercial flights to be able to take off with constituents from France and from all other European countries to go back home.

Also because we have interest military bases in the region. But as I said, because we are also very supportive of our allies that are being bombed. And I'm talking about all the Gulf countries with whom we've have a long-standing cooperation for -- for years, for decades now.

ANDERSON: And it does -- you know, you -- you can really see the sort of substance of those deep trade relationships, cultural and trade relationships, sort of being sort of, you know, worked on at this point.

You know, with France, with the U.K., with Italy, for example, you know, coming to the defense of these countries around the Gulf, not least the UAE. So your point is very well made.

I want to stick on this diplomatic sort of avenue at this point. Does this, you know, diplomatic isolation of Iran, that is being sought this week, set the stage do you believe for more unified attacks of Iran?

I mean, your president has called the Israel U.S. war on Iran illegal. Are you and your partners building a legally valid argument to attack Iran directly or get directly involved in that U.S.-Israel war on Iran?

CAROIT: Now, as I said earlier, our position here is strictly defensive. And we are also very attached to always abiding by international law, but also by respecting our treaties, our cooperation agreements, including our military cooperation agreements, because France is a reliable partner in the region. And at this stage, as I said, we are present because the situation is extremely tense, because we have hundreds of thousands of our constituents that are present in the region, because many civilians, again, hundreds of thousands of civilians are affected by what is happening.

And so we have the capacity to engage in this diplomatic dialogue and also show our strength and our presence. But this is merely, merely defensive.

And -- and again, what we want is to find a way, a way that is not easy to see at this stage, but a way for the resumption of trade, the resumption of navigation, which is extremely important, because through the Detroit d'Ormuz (ph), you have 20 percent of the trade of -- of oil and also of gas. And this is also potentially could have an impact on European societies and so forth.

But at this stage, again, on the military point, we're merely defensive and -- and very supportive of our allies, and also always within the framework of international law.

ANDERSON: Understood. Iran has named a new leader. Can I just get France's position on that?

CAROIT: At this stage, it is too early to -- to give a position on that. And -- and as I said, we -- we're not personally involved in this conflict. We want the power to be given to Iranians, and in particular to Iranian women, and -- and have been very critical of the situation where the mullahs regime.

And at this stage, what we are doing is engaging in this dialogue. President Macron, as you said, had a conversation with Iran's former leader yesterday, president yesterday, and stressed also the fact that we have two former prisoners that are right now in Tehran. And we want to bring them back home.

[04:15:13]

This is our priority also today. And I have a -- a thought for them, for -- for the both of them, that have gone through so much and that need to be able to be brought home as soon as possible. Cecile Kohler Jacques Paris, that is.

ANDERSON: And I'm very pleased that you've mentioned them. That was going to be my last question. You have definitely answered that question. So thank you very much indeed.

I want to let you go.

CAROIT: You're welcome.

ANDERSON: Very much appreciate your time. And the support that France is providing for the UAE, because, frankly, I have two lenses, of course, Rahel. And I'm going to bring back Rahel here.

You know, we have two lenses when you're living through something like this. I'm a journalist, first and foremost. I'm the managing editor for CNN here in this Gulf region, Rahel. But as you know, of course, I'm a resident here. I've got kids here.

And, you know, to understand and -- and see, frankly, the support that France is providing for this country, I will say, just on a personal note, is very gratifying.

For the time being, it is -- back to you in New York.

SOLOMON: Yes, Becky. Absolutely. As you point out, both living this experience professionally, but very much personally as well as a resident there. Becky, thank you. We appreciate the reporting.

And still to come for us, gas prices continue to rise here in the U.S. and abroad due to the war with Iran.

Coming up, we'll take a look at how disruptions and the oil supply are fueling market uncertainty. We'll be right back.

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[04:20:12]

SOLOMON: And the war continues to cause oil prices to soar both here in the U.S. and around the world.

WTI, the U.S. oil benchmark, hitting its highest level since 2022. President Trump is trying to calm fears of rising fuel costs in the U.S.

And a Truth Social post he said in part, quote, "Short-term oil prices are a very small price to pay for USA and world safety and peace."

It is a notable change in tone from just a few weeks ago when the president touted how low fuel prices were.

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DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Today right here in Corpus Christi, the price of gasoline is down to just less than actually now, $2.30.

I was in a beautiful place called Iowa two weeks ago, $1.85 a gallon for gasoline.

Gasoline is less than $2 in many places, a gallon, which nobody expected to see, but I did.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: All right. Let's take a quick check of the U.S. Futures as we await the opening bell on Wall Street. And it is a -- a tumble continues to be for all three major averages continuing on what was a rough week for the markets last week with all three major averages closing lower between 1.2 percent in the case of the NASDAQ, to about three percent for the Dow. S&P closed off about two percent for the week. Clearly, a lot of market reaction to continue.

Let's bring in CNN business senior reporter Hanna Ziady, who's following this story from London for us. Hanna, good morning to you.

As I said, the reaction in the oil market has been dramatic. The reaction in the financial markets has been dramatic. What are we seeing this morning as European markets open?

HANNA ZIADY, CNN BUSINESS SENIOR REPORTER: Yes, Rahel, you've laid it all out there. The outlook for the global economy has darkened considerably.

Just worth pointing out, brand crude prices are now up around 45 percent above where they were just before this war started.

So more than $30 higher. Asian markets closed sharply lower across the board. Asia particularly vulnerable to a sustained energy price shock because about 80 to 90 percent of the crude oil and liquefied natural gas that goes through that vital Strait of Hormuz is destined for Asia with China, a very big buyer.

And Europe, certainly not insulated either. And we are seeing European markets also sell off. So U.S. Futures, as you pointed out, they're taking their cue from Asia and from Europe.

Just to make a few points on Europe, although it's no longer a huge buyer of a Qatari LNG, these are globally traded commodities. Oil and natural gas are traded globally.

So if supply drops, as it is, because these ships cannot pass through the Strait of Hormuz and demand stays the same, prices will rise around the world.

And European gas storage levels are also at much lower levels than they have been in recent years. This is typically the time of year when those storage tanks would be refilled for next winter. So Europe is going to potentially have to do that at a much greater cost.

Yes, LNG prices, European gas, natural gas prices are way below where they were in '22 following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. But there are growing fears of a -- an energy crunch coming for Europe that sort of has echoes of what we saw in '22.

And in fact, CNN is seeing reports and getting reports that G7 finance ministers are going to hold an emergency meeting today with the International Energy Agency to discuss the release of the strategic oil reserve.

So IEA member countries, which is the world's -- most of the world's big economies, are required to hold oil reserves equal to at least 90 days of their net imports. And there's going to be a meeting today to discuss a potential release of those reserves. We'll be watching that really closely.

As you highlighted in your introduction, President Donald Trump insisting that this is going to be a short-term spike in oil prices.

But these are the levels that analysts were warning us last week at these oil price levels. We're going to see a push-up in inflation globally. We're going to see a global economic growth slowing down.

[04:25:03]

And IMF managing director, Kristalina Georgieva, warning today, saying today in Japan, let me just get this quote to you. My advice to policymakers in this new global environment is think of the unthinkable and prepare for it. Rahel.

SOLOMON: Well, strong words there. Hanna Ziady, we appreciate it. Thank you.

And still to come for us, as Iran keeps up its retaliatory strikes on Gulf nations, what else does the long-term impact of the war in the region? After this break.

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ANDERSON: And welcome back. I'm Becky Anderson live from our Middle East programming headquarters here in Abu Dhabi in the UAE.

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