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Early Start with Rahel Solomon

President Donald Trump Says He Will Decide Along with Israel When this War with Iran Ends; Israeli Military Announces New Strikes on Iran and Beirut; Son of Ayatollah Khamenei Named As New Iranian Supreme Leader. Aired 5-5:30a ET

Aired March 09, 2026 - 05:00   ET

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

[05:00:00]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News!

RAHEL SOLOMON, CO-ANCHOR, EARLY START: Hello, and welcome to our viewers in the U.S. and all around the world, I'm Rahel Solomon live this morning in New York.

BECKY ANDERSON, CO-ANCHOR, EARLY START: And I'm Becky Anderson live from our Middle East programming hub here in Abu Dhabi in the UAE. And we begin with our breaking news out of the Middle East.

The Israeli military is launching a new wave of strikes as U.S. President Donald Trump says he will decide along with Israel when this war with Iran ends. Earlier, black smoke billowed over Tehran after Israel said it was targeting Iranian missile launch sites and regime infrastructure.

Right now, smoke rising over the Lebanese capital of Beirut, where Israel says it has been striking infrastructure belonging to the Iran- backed Hezbollah group. Well, 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 the war. Iran is calling on the public to gather nationwide today to pledge allegiance to that new leader.

CNN's Oren Liebermann joining me now from Tel Aviv with the very latest. And I do want to start by getting an understanding from you of exactly what Israel is targeting in Iran and why, Oren?

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF: The latest we have seen the Israeli military announced they're targeting was over the last several hours and into over the past 24 hours as well, where they say they're going after the Basij, part of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, as well as the IRGC Air Force headquarters.

Now, that's just the most recent bit. But before that, Israel targeted fuel storage facilities and oil refineries that an Israeli source says is part of what Israel views as the next phase of the military operation.

One, of course, that we have seen carried out in conjunction with the United States. It seems after the first eight or nine days where Israel targeted the powers of center -- the centers of power, rather, of the Iranian regime, that is the Intelligence apparatus, the IRGC and more.

Now, they're going after the economic and financial arms of Iran, its ability to function as a government, as a military, as a regime, as the IRGC. That it seems, is part of the next phase here as Israel has made very clear it's going after not only the leadership and the ability of the leadership to continue and to set its own succession.

We saw that last week, but also of the ability of the Iranian regime to pay for itself to function. So, that it seems, is part of the next phase here as Israel making clear here that it has no intention other than to intensify its strikes and to continue carrying out strikes in Tehran and in other parts of the country as well.

ANDERSON: Oren, is it clear, the delineation of roles, you're reporting on Israel strikes. We heard last week some clarity on the military strategy from the Pentagon, but is it clear the delineation of roles between Israel and the U.S. at this point? What is the U.S. military currently doing?

LIEBERMANN: They haven't given a list of details of what one strikes versus what the other strikes. What Israel is in charge of versus what the U.S. is in charge of.

[05:05:00]

We have been able to see some of that now over the course of the first week and a half of the war. It seems at the beginning in the opening strike, it was Israel's job to take out the leadership, essentially to carry out the assassinations of the Iranian regime, the IRGC and others.

And it seems that, that has continued. It was an Israeli strike that targeted the Assembly of Experts, the council that was set to select the next Iranian supreme leader. That was an Israeli strike. So, in terms of what are known as HVT's high value targets, it seems much of that has been left to the Israeli military.

Now, that's obviously not their only target. They've gone after ballistic missile arrays. That it seems is both a U.S. and Israeli target. The ballistic missiles, the launchers. Meanwhile, it seems the U.S. has gone more after the Iranian Navy.

They said that was one of the goals of the operation. So, some of the delineation between -- of responsibilities between the two militaries has become clear. Meanwhile, it's also clear there are some target sets and lists, again, ballistic missiles.

Those are targets of both the U.S. and Israel. What has become very clear here is the level of coordination and cooperation between the two militaries as they have -- as they have both made clear, the Pentagon and the Israeli Ministry of Defense, that they have extensive target lists, and day-by-day, hour-by-hour, they are working their way down those target lists.

And as a real-world example of the level of cooperation, we see U.S. aerial refuelers landing here behind me at Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion Airport, and taking off from here, taking off from within Israel as an F-22 squadron, advanced Stealth fighter jets also based in southern Israel. So, Becky, that gives you an idea of the level of cooperation we see on a day-to-day basis.

ANDERSON: Yes, that's fascinating. Oren, good to have you. Oren Liebermann is in Tel Aviv. Look, Operation Epic Fury, as it is dubbed, is expected to intensify as the U.S. and Israel increase their air dominance then, across Iran.

The key focus remains on diminishing the Iranian regime's military power. President Trump has not ruled out the potential for a future ground operation though. In addition to targeting Iran's missiles, drones and launcher capabilities.

The U.S. also seeking to further degrade the country's Navy and nuclear facilities. It will likely take several weeks to pursue the full scope of these current U.S. objectives. Well, joining us now is Behnam Ben Taleblu, who is the Senior Director of the Iran Program at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies in Washington.

It's really good to have you, thank you very much indeed for joining us. You could argue, sir, that Donald Trump got his regime change in Iran, just not the regime change that he was looking for.

Mojtaba Khamenei is a -- is a tool of the Revolutionary Guard. They of course, were empowered by his father, but not ultimately in charge under Mojtaba. It is likely that, that consolidation has now happened. So, what's your perspective of where Iran stands now, and going forward?

BEHNAM BEN TALEBLU, SENIOR DIRECTOR OF IRAN PROGRAM, FOUNDATION FOR DEFENSE OF DEMOCRACIES: Well, it's a pleasure to be with you, Becky. Thank you very much. It's an excellent question because I wouldn't say it's regime change. I'd say that this is more a sign of devolution and in particular the hardening and the coarsening of the Islamic Republic or what's left of it.

With Mojtaba at the helm with the most important institution in a so- called Islamic Republic being the military more than ever before, and with a national security deep state in charge of things like the firing formula and the targeting of Iran's ballistic missiles and drones.

It's quite clear that whatever would be left of this regime after the various operations that you mentioned, if anything would be left at all, would be looking a lot more hardened, a lot more coarsened, a lot more militarized, and a lot more isolated.

So, I think an Islamic Republic that might be weaker than a North Korea, but nonetheless, headed in that direction. ANDERSON: Living here, as I do, resident here as I am in the UAE,

I've got lived experience, of course, as my team has here, of the fallout of this war. The -- as described around the Gulf, unprovoked and reckless targeting of these Gulf nations.

In addition, of course, we are seeing targets, it seems, by Iran, of Cyprus, Azerbaijan, Turkey, for example, I just wonder what you make of Iran's choice of targets, and the way it uses drones and missiles strategically at this point.

TALEBLU: Well, they could hope to achieve something strategic, but nonetheless, I see the Islamic Republic replicating a mistake in 2026 that it made in the 1980s during the Iran-Iraq war.

[05:10:00]

The theory of the case is that the Islamic Republic internationalizes a conflict, and I assume that this is what they were going for, that the pain they would generate particularly in terms of blood and treasure, as well as fear, would turn off the cycle of violence that conventional conflict that they know on their own, they cannot win and shift the focus back to negotiations and allow the regime a face- saving line of retreat while proving that it's still lethal.

I think when the regime exported its terrorism to the skies, exported its drone and missile war to many more countries, it essentially had the exact opposite effect, much like targeting tankers during the Iran-Iraq war had the opposite effect and brought in superpowers.

And as you know, it was in the middle and on the back-end of that conflict that CENTCOM was created. So, here, I couldn't think of a better advertisement for the Abraham Accords than an Iranian drone hitting the Burj Al Arab.

ANDERSON: Which, of course, it hasn't done. Let's be quite frank about that. But, you know, that you're right to point out that there have been --

TALEBLU: I believe it has -- I believe it has, Becky, yes --

ANDERSON: There have been --

TALEBLU: It has. The Iranian drone impacted the base of the Burj al Arab, thankfully, no one, I believe, died in that attack, but it was the base of that --

ANDERSON: Well, there's -- yes

TALEBLU: Luxury hotel.

ANDERSON: Yes, there's -- there have been -- you know, what I will say is that there have been, you know, missiles and drones coming in, that have been intercepted and debris has fallen. And there have been, in fact, some of those missiles and drones that have not been intercepted.

But mostly, it's -- it is debris fields which are, you know bad enough, of course. But thank you for joining us --

TALEBLU: Still quite lethal, unfortunately --

ANDERSON: Sir Behnam Ben Taleblu -- yes, I'm not --

TALEBLU: Thank you --

ANDERSON: Denying that for a moment, sir, absolutely. Thank you for joining us. Still ahead, the latest reactions from the White House amid the escalating war with Iran. Our breaking coverage continues after this quick break.

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[05:15:00]

SOLOMON: Welcome back. The White House has not yet responded after the announcement of Iran's new supreme leader on Sunday. President Trump just last week said that the appointment of Mojtaba Khamenei would be unacceptable.

And he's 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 that the soldier died of injuries sustained during an attack in Saudi Arabia last week.

Now, to CNN's Julia Benbrook, who brings us a closer look at how the White House is navigating the latest developments in the war with Iran.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): We have heard several updates from President Donald Trump this weekend when it comes to the ongoing conflict in Iran. Starting with timeline, he's thrown out several predictions since the start of Operation Epic Fury, starting with two to three days.

Of course, we're past that now. He at one point said through the week, and then most recently, he's been saying 4 to 6 weeks. When he was pressed on if that timeframe holds up, he essentially said that the operation will last as long as it takes, whatever it takes.

Then there's the topic of Iran's new leader prior to the announcement that the late supreme leader, the Ayatollah's second eldest son, had been selected for that role. Trump had said that, that pick would be unacceptable, that he could not support anyone who would continue some of those same policies.

He also said that he wanted to play a role in selecting the new leader. He was pressed on Air Force One as he traveled back-and-forth here to Florida this weekend, on what it would take, what circumstances would be in place for ground troops to potentially be sent in.

And he did not rule out the possibility, but said that it would have to be for a very good reason. Take a listen.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What are the circumstances where you'd send in ground troops? How are you thinking about that?

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I don't even want to talk about it now. I mean, it's -- I don't think it's an appropriate question. You know, I'm not going to answer it. Could there be? Possibly, for a very good reason, have to be -- have to be a very good reason.

And I would say if we ever did that, they would be so decimated that they wouldn't be able to fight at the ground level.

BENBROOK: And then taking a step back here, to the failed negotiations between the United States and Iran that took place before the beginning of this operation. Those were led on the U.S. side by special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner.

Witkoff was asked over the weekend if negotiations could ever restart with what is left of the Iranian government. This was before the announcement of the new supreme leader. But he said that he did think it would be a possibility, but that, that would ultimately be up to Trump.

He added that the Iranians were not very amenable when it came to those early negotiations. Traveling with the President in Florida, Julia Benbrook, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOLOMON: And the conflict in the Middle East continues to affect global financial markets. Let's take a quick look and see where the U.S. futures are as we await the opening bell on Wall Street. And it continues to be red across the board on the back of what was also a pretty rough week for Wall Street last week.

Dow futures are off right now about 580 points at this point, S&P futures off 1 percent, Nasdaq futures just about the same. Let's take a look and see where some of the European markets are standing at this moment, which opened in the last hour or so.

A similar picture, FTSE 100 off about 1.5 percent, CAC 40, 2.2 percent, FTSE 100, 2.18 percent at this point, and the DAX, the German DAX, off about 2.13 percent.

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Again, as I said, European markets open last hour and it continues to be a pretty rough picture at this point as the war in Iran continues, and as it continues to spike oil prices, and as questions remain and jitters remain among investors about the impact of those oil prices and the impact of the war on financial markets around the world.

And improvised explosives that was thrown near the residence of New York City's mayor on Saturday is being investigated by the FBI's terrorism task force. It happened after tensions during an anti-Islam protest boiled over. Police say that a counter-protester threw the explosive.

New York City Police Department said that the bomb was capable of causing serious injury or death.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JESSICA TISCH, POLICE COMMISSIONER, NEW YORK CITY POLICE DEPARTMENT: Based on preliminary examination and X-ray imaging, the devices which were a bit smaller than a football, appeared to be a jar wrapped in black tape, importantly, with nuts, bolts and screws, along with a hobby fuse that could be lit.

At this time, we do not yet know whether the devices were a functional improvised explosive devices or hoax devices, because we don't yet know if there was energetic material contained in them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: And still to come for us, as Iran keeps up its retaliatory strikes on Gulf nations, we'll discuss the long-term impact of the war in the region after this break.

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[05:25:00]

SOLOMON: Welcome back. Let's get you the latest now on Israel and the U.S' war with Iran. A CNN team in Tehran reported hearing loud thuds earlier from what appeared to be airstrikes this morning. Black smoke, as we see in this video now hangs over parts of the city.

And smoke is billowing over Beirut right now. This is video from just moments ago. Earlier, Israel said that it was launching a new wave of strikes against Iran and against Hezbollah targets in Lebanon. Meanwhile, countries across the Persian Gulf are reporting more Iranian retaliatory strikes.

And Bahrain, at least, 32 people were wounded when an Iranian drone hit an area just south of the capital. Officials there say that Iran is targeting civilian residential areas close to energy infrastructure. Let's go to CNN producer Antoinette Radford, who joins us live this morning from Doha, Qatar, with more. Antoinette, let's begin with this drone attack in Bahrain. What more are you learning there?

ANTOINETTE RADFORD, CNN PRODUCER: Yes, so, as you mentioned, there was an overnight drone attack on the residential area of Sitra, which is near key energy infrastructure in Bahrain. Now, that drone attack injured 32 people including four children, one two-month-old, two young boys and a 17-year-old girl.

The latest we've heard from Bahrain is that its national oil company, BAPCO has actually just issued a force majeure. That essentially means that it won't be able to meet its contractual requirements to deliver certain amounts of oil due to an unforeseen circumstance. That unforeseen circumstance being this ongoing conflict. Video

geolocated by CNN shows an industrial area that houses one of the BAPCO refineries on fire recently, with large amounts of black smoke billowing from it. Whether that is linked to this forced majeure or not, we don't know.

We've reached out to BAPCO for comment, and we can let you know when we find out more. But I think what this really points to is that this weekend, Iran has consistently targeted Bahrain's civilian infrastructure yesterday, a desalination plant was hit.

It wasn't damaged to the point of no longer functioning, but it was hit. This morning, we see this drone strike in Sitra near energy infrastructure that's injured all these people. And now, the latest is that in this other area of Bahrain, that one of these BAPCO refineries is on fire. So, this really points to a clear target from Iran on these sorts of infrastructure. Rahel?

SOLOMON: OK, Antoinette Radford for us there in Doha. Antoinette, thank you. French President Emmanuel Macron will soon be visiting Cyprus. It comes as France is now deploying warships to the Mediterranean after a drone attack on Cyprus last week.

Britain has said that the drone struck one of its military bases on the island, but the U.K. says that it was not launched from Iran, but it was similar to the drones that Iran uses. Meanwhile, most leaders across Europe continue to walk a fine line between offering some support for the U.S. military action in Iran while also warning of a worsening situation in the region.

And still to come for us, President Trump says that the rising cost of oil due to the war is a quote, "small price to pay", but economic uncertainty continues to spread far beyond the U.S. We'll have those details after this break.

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