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Early Start with Rahel Solomon

Trump Gives Conflicting Answers On How Long War Will Last; CENTCOM Says U.S. Strikes Hit Iranian Missile Launchers; Israel Issues New Evacuation Order In Southern Lebanon; Trump: Will Hit Iran Harder If It Tries To Stop Flow Of Oil. Aired 5-5:30a ET

Aired March 10, 2026 - 05:00   ET

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

[05:00:13]

ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN ANCHOR: 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, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Becky Anderson, live from our Middle East programming headquarters here in Abu Dhabi, where the time is just after one in the afternoon.

We are now into the 11th day of the war with Iran, and as we follow news strikes across the Middle East, U.S. President Donald Trump offering conflicting timelines of when this war could end. U.S. Central Command has released a video showing three strikes on what it says were Iranian missile launchers, and a CNN team in Tehran reports very heavy aerial bombardment overnight.

Meantime, smoke could be seen rising over Beirut, as Israel said it launched a series of strikes targeting the Iran-backed Hezbollah. The Israeli military also issued an evacuation warning for residents in southern Lebanon, again amid ongoing raids, as they refer to them.

And in Bahrain, in the Gulf, the interior ministry says an Iranian missile struck a residential building, killing at least one person and injuring eight others.

A top Iranian official is signaling that Iran is willing to keep attacking Gulf countries in an effort to persuade them to convince President Trump to step back from this conflict.

But after saying the war could end soon, the U.S. president now threatening to hit Iran even harder if it tries to stop oil from being shipped through the Strait of Hormuz.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And I'd like to wish everyone a very good evening.

In an attempt to stop the global oil supply, and if Iran does anything to do that they'll get hit at a much, much harder level. I will take out those targets that were easy and that I mentioned just before will take them out so quickly, they'll never be able to recover, ever.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Part of what we heard from President Trump last night. Look, let's get you this hour straight to CNN's Oren Liebermann, who joins us now from Tel Aviv.

And last hour, when you and I spoke and you were sheltering in place per directives, after alerts signaled incoming strikes, what is the latest there?

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF: That siren and warning was lifted a short time later. There are at this point, no reports of injuries or damage as a result of that. According to Israel's response emergency response service, Magen David Adom. But a short time after that, we did we did get an update from an Iranian ballistic missile strike with a cluster warhead from yesterday at the time, one man was pronounced dead at the scene Israels other emergency response service, Zaka, announced a short time ago.

Within the previous hour that a second person has died as a result of that strike, where one of the cluster munitions, one of the bomblets, if you will, hit a construction site there, that one of the workers there was rushed to the hospital and subsequently succumbed to his injuries a short time ago, or rather earlier this morning. That makes the 12th person killed in Iranian ballistic missile attacks in Israel as we see a rising death toll across the region including, according to Iranian state media, approximately 1,200 there and nearly 500 according to the ministry of public health in Lebanon there.

Meanwhile, Israel and the U.S. continue to carry out strikes. You heard the very clear threat there from President Donald Trump at a press conference yesterday. Israel leveling the same threat and what is essentially a vow to continue pursuing towards its target of taking out everything they can of the Iranian regime, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and more. Israel announced another wave of strikes on Iran late last night. We fully expect to see that continue as Israel continues to work down its target list in coordination with the United States.

And of course, more strikes in Lebanon. Israel announcing a short time ago that its military struck what they called Hezbollah headquarters responsible for rocket fire that came into Israel throughout the course of the past 24 hours. So, you see continued strikes on two fronts from Israel.

It's also worth noting that according to Lebanese state media, Israeli tank fire killed a Christian priest in a Christian village in southern Lebanon. The Christian residents of that town had refused to evacuate under Israeli evacuation warnings. The priest there, Father Pierre al- Rahi, had refused to leave and vowed to stay with the residents of the town, and according to Lebanese state media, it was Israeli tank fire that killed him. In response, the Israeli military said they were targeting what they called terrorists at the site, but later said, or rather in the same statement said there were civilians who had headed there and that is now under investigation here.

ANDERSON: And warnings by the IDF that residents both in the southern area of Beirut and southern Lebanon should evacuate at this point.

[05:05:07]

The CNN team in Tehran reporting very heavy aerial bombardment overnight there. Youve talked about Israel reporting. They're sort of working their way through their target list. How long is that list, as we understand it?

LIEBERMANN: The only real indication we've gotten of that is in the earlier days of the war Israel said they had worked to expand the target list in coordination with the United States after the 12-Day War in June.

From what we understand in the discussions we've had with Israeli military and civilian officials, there are not just days but weeks left of targets that they're working their way through. And the plans encompass that.

How many weeks? Unclear, especially with Trump indicating that maybe he's getting near what he calls victory. Or maybe he has victory and he's looking for more victory. The timeline for Israel, many officials here will say, is dependent on Trump. When does Trump decide the war is over? That's how the 12-Day War ended in June.

And that's how I think many here, including analysts, expect that this war will end. Trump will declare victory and tell Israel that that the war is over and force Israel to stop carrying out strikes. In the meantime, Israel is still going after targets, including, I should add, against ballistic missile arrays and launchers. And yet as we saw one hour ago, Iran still able to have at least some capacity to fire back.

ANDERSON: Yeah, but there and, of course, here in the Gulf, Oren. Thank you. Oren Liebermann is in Tel Aviv.

Well, let's move into the Gulf. Saudi Aramco warning there could be. And I quote here, catastrophic consequences for the world's oil markets should the Iran war continue to disrupt access to the Strait of Hormuz some countries are now rationing or cutting back on the use of fuel, as the war with Iran continues others, frankly trying to figure out how much they have stockpiled, fearing a worst case scenario of a very prolonged conflict.

On Monday, crude prices at one point soared to almost $120 on the barrel they later settled at under $100 after President Trump told CBS News he thought the war was, quote, very complete. Well, here is where the price stands right now for the U.S. benchmark WTI and a look at the global benchmark for you, that is the Brent crude figure.

Eleni Giokos joining me now live here.

And we've seen some really wild swings on these oil prices. What's the latest thinking on what is happening and what happens next? ELENI GIOKOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, I mean, it's a really good question. We haven't seen these wild swings ever. I mean we had three 10 percent increases in a matter of days and all the oil producers I talked to, they say more is to come. The fundamentals in terms of the capacity that's been taken out of the market must not be underestimated. And what are we seeing in terms of these wild swings is a lot of noise that is capitalizing on the chaos that we're seeing.

But very importantly, and you mentioned Saudi Aramco CEO speaking in the earnings call. They came out with four-year -- full year earnings today. And he warns about a catastrophic consequence if the Strait of Hormuz disruptions continue.

But he goes on to say and super important here, he's saying it's going to threaten aviation, agriculture, automotive and other industries. So, I think people don't really understand the big effect that it's going to have and Becky, I want to show you this graph. It was created by Lloyd's List, and it basically shows the disruptions that we're seeing.

The vessels and the cargo ships that go through the Strait of Hormuz have completely stopped. I mean, you can see the disruption, and this graph shows -- I mean, take a look at that. You know, up until the end of February, you had sort of a healthy number. The light blue basically shows the shadow fleets that have been going through the Strait of Hormuz, the dark blue are the compliant fleets.

Then you come to when we first started seeing the strikes and you can see shadow fleets are actually getting through, Becky, at this point in time. So, we need to keep watching the amount of traffic that gets through the straits. And not surprising, the Aramco CEO warning of catastrophic consequences.

ANDERSON: Thank you

Eleni Giokos with me here in Abu Dhabi.

Well, my next guest writes and I quote, American bases were meant to protect Gulf States from external attacks, not invite them. And if these countries believe that the United States did not sufficiently defend them from Iranian missile and drone strikes, or that it favored Israels defense needs over theirs, resentment towards Washington could grow.

I want to bring in Dalia Dassa Kaye. She's a senior fellow with UCLA's Burkle Center for International Relations.

It's good to have you.

Donald Trump has said that he expects the war on Iran to be over very soon. I just wonder what sense you're getting from Gulf countries, with regard their attitude towards Washington right now.

DALIA DASSA KAYE, SENIOR FELLOW, UCLA BURKLE CENTER FOR INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS: Well, I -- you know, I think there's a lot of concern and worry that this war is going to get drawn out. And I think there's a strong interest in ending it as soon as possible, given the kind of regional and global implications. Your report just suggested.

And I'm sure that's the messaging going to the president. Of course, there's a lot of hostility toward what the Iranians are doing in terms of their retaliation. That is not just on U.S. bases but infrastructure, oil facilities. This is really wreaking havoc.

So, I think the message is this war needs to end sooner rather than later

SOLOMON: Tehran says it is prepared for a long fight. How close are they do you believe? I mean, that's the messaging out loud. How close do you believe, if at all they are, to actually wanting to end this?

KAYE: Well, you know, they want to survive. I think that's very clear. That is the goal in asymmetric warfare. Survival is winning and now you see the new leadership, the new supreme leader appointed. This is really messaging defiance, doubling down on resistance.

You know, this is not looking like the Venezuela model that President Trump seems to want to replicate here. I mean, this is not a low cost war, and this is not bringing subservient leaders yet.

So I think the Iranians are going to try to put in a strong fight as long as they continue to get attacked. I think the real question is, you know, if President Trump says enough is enough and that's what we don't know yet, when is he going to decide that the U.S. has won? When is he going to declare victory?

And at that point, you know, try to impose a ceasefire? The real question is with these new Iranian leaders, and they seem to be even more hard line are they going to comply and agree the cease fire is in place? And that's I think -- those are the big questions ahead.

SOLOMON: Dalia, as we speak today, you are in Amsterdam in the Netherlands. So I just wonder, I want to get your sense of European thinking here. There are a number of European countries, of course, involved in G-7 looking at what they will do with regard their strategic oil reserves to, at least in principle, try and limit the impact on global economies of these sort of wild swings in the price of oil.

How do you assess the European response to date to what is going on with this war with Iran, U.S., Israel and Iran involved in that? And the fallout, which of course, is much wider.

KAYE: It absolutely is much wider. And in this respect, I don't think the European response is that dissimilar to how the gulf and the rest of the region is reacting, which is, you know, really kind of straddling between suggesting they're condemning Iranian retaliation and the attacks across the region, the instability this is causing the global oil markets. You know, at the same time, they are trying to mitigate the cost of this again, the oil implications, the economic implications that is of high concern.

So, I think they are trying to stay as neutral as possible in the sense that they don't want to get in this conflict. That seems to be the regional response as well. Nobody has joined the Israeli U.S. effort, but they are playing an important defensive role. But I think as this war goes on and the cost increase, there'll be more pressure for European governments.

And, you know, there's not unity across the board. Of course, within Europe. But there'll be more pressure to start really pressing for an end to the war and really trying to get messages to Trump that this is this is cross the line.

SOLOMON: Dalia, good to have you this morning. Your perspective incredibly important for us. Thank you very much indeed.

And just for those watching, my team here in Abu Dhabi are contributing across multiple hours of CNN programming and reporting new information on all CNN platforms around the clock. So, if you miss any of the headlines and news making conversations that were having on air or on digital, please do follow our digital platforms from the "CONNECT THE WORLD" landing page, CNN.com/CTW. My social channels where we post all the key lines and most insightful analysis from our interviews and my staff working across platforms throughout the day that is @BeckyCNN on X and on Instagram.

Well, mixed messages then from President Trump who says the war with Iran has already been won and could be over soon, but that more needs to be done.

[05:15:04]

More on that after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SOLOMON: Welcome back.

The Trump administration's narrative on the war with Iran keeps changing. At one point on Monday, U.S. president called the war very complete pretty much. But at the same time, his Defense Department posted online, "We have only just begun to fight."

Later, Donald Trump held a news conference that did little to clear up the confusion

CNN's Kristen Holmes has details.

[05:20:00]

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Before heading back to Washington, President Trump gave a press conference talking about the war in Iran. He indicated that it could be over soon. He said at various points that everything they have being Iran is completely destroyed. Talking about leadership, talking about its navy, saying at one point that it could be just a short while until this war really wraps up, saying they were way ahead of schedule. But then he sort of changed his tune when asked about what would

actually cause him to end the war, what metrics would have to be met? Here's what he said.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We've already won in many ways, but we haven't won enough. We go forward, more determined than ever to achieve ultimate victory that will end this long-running danger once and for all. Forty-seven years, it should have been done a long time ago. World would have been a different place had some president had the courage to go and do it.

HOLMES: So, clearly, they're indicating that there is more to be done when it comes to Iran. He did note that while thousands of strikes have happened while big major entities in Iran have been struck, that the United States was holding off on some of these major entities unless they had to actually strike them. Unclear if that was some kind of veiled threat to Iran, and when the United States would strike them.

But there was another point that was very notable during this press conference and it was when it came to the bombing of that school in Iran, that girls school. President Trump over the weekend had seemed to be very defiant in the fact that he said that this was Iran's fault, that they were the ones behind the strike.

But right behind him stood the Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth. And when he was asked the same question, he demurred. He did not agree directly with President Trump, saying it's still under investigation, that they were looking into it but wouldn't say who actually struck that school.

Now, President Trump seemed to soften his stance on that during questions during this press conference essentially saying that he didn't know who was behind it, that there was still a lot of questions that there was still an ongoing investigation. One point claiming that it was done by a tomahawk missile, and then saying that Iran had those missiles. We have not seen intelligence that shows that Iran has that specific missile. But he also said that the investigation is playing out and that whatever the result was, was something that he would live with.

So that was an interesting kind of walk back, as we've seen President Trump instead generally compound statements when it comes to this war with Iran. This was an actual walking back of earlier statements.

Kristen Holmes, CNN, the White House.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOLOMON: And as the war with Iran rages on, European nations are looking to defend their interests. French President Emmanuel Macron says that his country is deploying about a dozen naval vessels to the Mediterranean Sea, the Red Sea and potentially the Strait of Hormuz. He says that they'll provide defensive support to allies threatened by the conflict.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EMMANUEL MACRON, FRENCH PRESIDENT: I want to tell the French people that France, at this time of great turmoil in the region, is operating calmly and methodically in the service of protecting its citizens in partnership with its allies and in a strictly defensive manner and in the service of freedom of movement to defend our own interests, our citizens our security and access to the resources we need as well as for the global economy, and to live up to our responsibilities. Meaning to stand alongside our partners and those with whom we have defense agreements. Nothing more.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: All right. And when we return new strikes on Tehran as President Trump gives conflicting answers about how long he thinks the war will last.

We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[05:28:03]

ANDERSON: I'm Becky Anderson from our Middle East headquarters here in Abu Dhabi. Time, just before 1:30 in the afternoon here in the UAE.

The White House then offering contradicting updates on how long this war with Iran might last, as the second week of fighting rages on. On the one hand, President Trump says the conflict will end very soon. New videos like this one released by U.S. CENTCOM show supposed strikes on Iranian military targets. But despite the U.S. and Israels strikes on Iran, President Trump says, quote, "We haven't won enough," end quote.

Well, this comes as Iran is ramping up attacks on neighboring Gulf countries. Bahrain's ministry of interior says one person was killed and eight others wounded after an Iranian strike on a residential building.

A team in Tehran, CNN team reporting heavy aerial bombardment overnight. CNN's Fred Pleitgen is there.

We have to mention that CNN operates in Iran with the permission of the Iranian government, as required under local regulations. But CNN maintains full control, editorial control over what we report.

Fred tells us what he heard and saw.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Nothing seems to be stopping here in the Iranian capital. In fact, it was a very kinetic night here for us. There were a lot of airstrikes that we heard, saw and actually felt in certain cases, the building that were actually staying here, the walls were shaking. It seems as though especially the east of Tehran was struck. Also, an

airport in the west of Tehran called Mehrabad Airport. It's a little city airport.

But then also a town, I would say about half an hour, maybe 45 minutes, to the west of Tehran called Karaj. Some massive strikes going on there as well.

So at this point in time, it certainly seems as though those combat operations, those strikes are still very much in full swing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ANDERSON: Well, CNN's Bianna Golodryga spoke with the Israeli foreign minister, Gideon Sa'ar, in an exclusive interview. Here is his justification for the military action.