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Early Start with Rahel Solomon

Iran: Launched "Most Intense" Operation Since Start Of War; Sources: Iran Begins Laying Mines In Strait Of Hormuz; White House: War Will End When Trump Says Objectives Met. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired March 11, 2026 - 04:00   ET

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

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: Terror suspects were allegedly inspired by ISIS in tossing those makeshift bombs at protesters over the weekend. Fortunately, none of the devices exploded. And those suspects are now facing charges of providing material support to a terrorist organization and using a weapon of mass destruction. Officials in New York say they have ramped up resources to protect the public as well.

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Thanks so much for joining us. The news continues right here on CNN.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN Breaking News.

RAHEL SOLOMON, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning 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 programing hub here in Abu Dhabi in the UAE.

And we begin with breaking news out of northern Iran, where a CNN team reports, "Major overnight airstrikes" lasting nearly an hour. Meantime, Iran's state media reports that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps launched its most intense and heaviest operation since the start of the war.

The overnight attack involved missile launches against targets in Israel and U.S. assets in the region. This as Tehran remains under heavy bombardment. Iran's U.N. ambassador says U.S. Israeli strikes have killed more than 1,300 people since the conflict began less than two weeks ago.

Meanwhile, the U.S. military says its forces destroyed multiple Iranian naval vessels, including 16 minelayers near the Strait of Hormuz. Sources familiar with U.S. intelligence say that Tehran is laying mines in the Strait, which serves as a globally vital oil and shipping lane.

And the U.K. Maritime Trade Operations said a cargo vessel is now on fire after being hit by an unknown projectile and the crew, they say, is evacuating. Earlier today, another vessel reported damage after being struck by a projectile. Let's start this hour with CNN's Paula Hancocks joining us live from Abu Dhabi. And you are monitoring what is going on in Iran and around the region. So let's start with Iran, Paula. What do we know at this point?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Becky, we know that Iran has said that it is going to carry out its most intense and heaviest operation around the region. Certainly what we have been seeing going the other way has been significant damage.

Now, as you say, we do have a CNN team inside Tehran talking about the intensity of some of these bombardments. We're seeing fresh footage as well that is coming into us showing damaged buildings, showing the intense bombardment impacting on the ground in parts of Tehran with people walking around assessing the damage.

Now, we've heard from the U.N. envoy of Iran that some 1,300 people have been killed. He says that there is critical civilian infrastructure that is being targeted at this point.

Now, we do know that Iran did promise this intense bombardment on U.S. assets around the region. On Israel, there were strikes overnight on Israel. No assessment of damage or casualties. Here in Abu Dhabi as well, there were two waves of strikes incoming overnight.

Now, we do know that there has been some damage. We know that there has been projectiles striking or the debris falling from an interception in the vicinity of Dubai Airport. Now we understand from the Dubai Media Center that some four people had been injured as two drones fell in that area. They say, though, that planes are taking off and landing as usual.

Well, clearly not as usual as it is a heavily restricted schedule at this point, but still trying to get people who want to leave out of the country. And then elsewhere in the Gulf region, we saw in Saudi Arabia that there were strikes heading towards the Prince Sultan Air Base.

So a military target being hit there, although those were intercepted again in the eastern part of Saudi Arabia, which is the oil rich area where the energy infrastructure is really based. In Bahrain there were strikes, we know, in Doha, in Kuwait.

So there really was quite a consistent barrage from Iran overnight and in the early hours of this morning. We've also heard from state media as well that they are expanding their target list once again saying that now offices and assets of major American tech companies with operations in the region will be a target as well.

[04:05:06]

So once again we are seeing from Iran showing no let-up in this retaliation and no suggestion that they will be pulling back anytime soon. Becky?

ANDERSON: Paul Hancock's with me here in Abu Dhabi. While Iran has reportedly begun laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz, sources tell CNN the mining is not extensive yet, but they warn that Tehran still has the vast majority of its small boats and mine layers and that Iranian forces could feasibly lay hundreds of mines in that waterway.

The Strait is the world's most important energy chokepoint, carrying about a fifth of the global crude oil supply during typical operations. President Trump warns that if Iran has put out any mines in the Strait, he wants them removed immediately or it could face military consequences at a level, and I quote him here, never seen before.

My colleague Eleni Giokos monitoring these markets and joining us now. And what do we know at this point?

ELENI GIOKOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So really interesting on the mines, which of course has actually been an issue in the Strait of Hormuz for decades. This isn't a new issue. So 16 of those mine layers have been destroyed according to CENTCOM. And we've got video footage showing the destruction there.

But importantly, there were four minesweepers that the U.S. had deployed to the Straits. They were decommissioned late last year because they were very old vessels. According to CNN reporting, we have identified three what they will -- four littoral combat ships that are going to be doing this work. Why is it important? Because these mines that are laid by Iran, some of them float, so as a vessel passes through, detonates, some of them are in the seabed themselves.

So these minesweepers have actually been doing this work for many years. And I found port written by Congress last year that had highlighted around 5,000 of these mines potentially in the Strait of Hormuz. Why is this an issue? We've got the issue of, you know, strikes on vessels. We just heard of one of these vessels struck today by a drone.

But also, if you've got this existential threat of potential mines deterring the movement of vessels, that's going to cause even more havoc in terms of moving tankers and cargo ships through the Strait.

ANDERSON: So let's take a look at the markets then, let's bring the oil price up if we've got it, please. And then the Asian markets, those are the U.S. market closes, I think.

GIOKOS: Yes.

ANDERSON: Let's bring up the price of oil, WTI, the U.S. benchmark there at around 85.2. What does that tell us?

GIOKOS: So really Interesting. Yesterday, we saw massive swings in the oil price basically for two reasons. There is perhaps some news that the International Energy Agency as well as the G7 might be really considering releasing some strategic reserves. We also had a really interesting tweet by the Energy Secretary yesterday saying that U.S. Navy had already escorted one vessel. He then deleted that. In that period we saw massive swings. Oil has settled at this point because there is a bit of hope that firstly the naval escorts might just happen. Secondly, if we get a big push on oil reserves that's going to be pumped into the market, that might allay some fears. But a lot of the traders I spoke to this morning saying we're living an alternate universe in terms of what's happening in fundamentals versus what the markets are telling us this morning in Asia and also what the oil price is reflecting.

And at some point the numbers are really going to reflect the seriousness of the supply constraints, not only from the energy infrastructure that's been struck, but importantly the closure of the Strait.

ANDERSON: Important analysis. And we will keep you bang across what is going on in those oil markets and indeed these Asian markets overnight as we look towards the opening on Wall Street, of course, later on today. Eleni, thank you.

Well, the White House has detailed its demands for what it calls Iran's unconditional surrender. That includes dismantling Iran's ballistic missile arsenal, which the U.S. claims protects Tehran's nuclear ambitions. And the White House says President Trump himself will determine what surrender will look like, adding that he's not ruling out any options, including putting U.S. troops on the ground in this war.

Here's what Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said about the operation dubbed Epic Fury.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETE HEGSETH, U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: This is not endless, it's not protracted. We're not allowing mission creep. The President has set a very specific mission to accomplish and our job is to unrelentingly deliver that. And so it's not for me to posit whether it's the beginning, the middle or the end, that's his and he'll continue to communicate that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[04:09:59]

ANDERSON: Well, my next guest co-wrote an article which says, "Iran is outgunned and outmatched by the U.S. and Israel, both nuclear armed states with superior military and intelligence capabilities. But victory inverted commas in Iran's eyes means regime survival and resisting its adversaries to the point of exhaustion. Well, joining me now is visiting fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relations, Cinzia Bianco. It's good to have you this morning. Just expand a little on the conceit of your argument there.

CINZIA BIANCO, VISITING FELLOW, EUROPEAN COUNCIL ON FOREIGN RELATIONS: Yes, and thank you, Becky. I mean, the issue there is an asymmetry which is obvious to everybody. That is a power asymmetry, but it's also an asymmetry of political ideology. And really what victory looks like if one hand we have Trump and his officials saying that, you know, given a definition one day and another definition the other day, frankly.

From Iran's point of view, it is very, very clear it is enough for the regime to survive in some form or shape and to be able in the longer term to regroup and still be able to project some influence and power, possibly through aggression, specifically in their own neighborhood.

ANDERSON: That's an interesting argument and I think a very good one at this point. Cinzia, Gulf States, and I'm here, of course, in the UAE, spent years building a sort of fragile decant with Tehran. Has this war effectively destroyed that diplomatic progress, frankly, for good at this point?

BIANCO: I mean, frankly, the whole concept of strategic hedging has been put under considerable stress. As you were saying, all of the Gulf States with varying degrees of intensity have reached out to Iran. They've offered their good offices. They have combined the strategy of enticement engagement and still maintaining some pressure here and there in trying to basically entice really the regime into change in their behavior and into completely changing their perspective on the region.

And looking at these states as its neighbors, not as its sort of sphere of influence and certainly not as a playground for its fight with the United States and Israel. Exactly the opposite has happened, which of course is going to trigger and is already triggering a deep rethink of the validity of this strategy.

At the same time, let me be very clear, Gulf States also understand that at this point there isn't a clear military end game to their tensions with Iran. And there is unlikely to be a military solution that is sustainable and that puts them in less danger than they are today. So they will continue, I think, to find some form of very complex, very mixed and very also balanced strategy to deal with Iran.

ANDERSON: We continue to report on the risk posed by the Strait of Hormuz being mined, for example, and the -- that waterway being inaccessible to global shipping. And we can already see the impact that has on the global economy. I wonder how big a risk the Red Sea becoming an active theater of conflict might be and how concerned, for example, Saudi Arabia might be that, that becomes, you know, a clear waterway in play anytime soon.

BIANCO: Absolutely. That is the major concern in Riyadh right now. Already at all of the Gulf States, including Saudi Arabia, feel a deep sense of betrayal from Iran. Whether the Iranians activate the Houthis or find another way to also put pressure on the Red Sea and block the waterways of the Red Sea, the first sort of effect would be that they would encircle all of the Gulf States and in particular Saudi Arabia.

And today that route is one of the few ones that is open and safe for also importing essential goods into not just Saudi Arabia, but also the other Gulf countries, because not all of the Gulf countries have reopened fully their airspace. So they are getting essential supplies through other ways, including through Saudi ports on the Red Sea and then transportation on land.

[04:14:59]

So it would be yet another major escalation which obviously would also strangle the global economy, which is already as we were discussing, severely under stress. And that would be, I guess, like really the final move. But it would first and foremost strangle really the Gulf countries into almost cornered into an existential situation.

ANDERSON: And let's just expand this and talk about the sort of energy security and supply risks for Europe, for example, I mean, the world's and Europe's shift away from Russian gas during the Ukraine crisis has left it exposed to any escalation, of course, in the Strait of Hormuz and indeed from the force measure by Qatar Energy at this point. Will the U.S. benefit from this oil and LNG crisis sparked by this war on Iran? I mean, it's a question that's being asked in a myriad of circles at this point.

BIANCO: Yes. And I see the rationale of that kind of thinking. At the end of the day, the U.S. is a net producer and exporter of energy. But on the other hand, I mean, I think the experience that we have had from COVID for example, is that when oil and gas are really strangled and prices shoot up, it is the entirety of the global economy that suffers. And also the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and even more so, a closure of the Red Sea would really put the global trade under pressure.

And then again, it is mostly trade between Asia and Europe. Again, Asia and Europe being the two most affected regions also of the oil and gas crisis. But the global economy is so interconnected, which is really hard to disentangle it and say that one big player will be in match into the global arena like the United States could benefit from the rest of the world basically being under pressure and manufacturing being, you know, sort of slowing down and then you have longer delays for everything and the supply chains which are really globalized, including for most of U.S. products being upturned. And so it is a bit more, I think, complicated. Yes.

ANDERSON: Cinzia, it's always good to have you. Thank you very much indeed.

[04:17:46]

All right. You're watching our breaking news coverage. I'm Becky Anderson in Abu Dhabi in the UAE. Still ahead, what many Americans concerned about the possibility of U.S. ground troops being deployed to the Middle East. Going to get the latest from the White House on the military options currently on the table.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SOLOMON: Welcome back. As the war with Iran drags on, it remains unclear how far the White House is willing to go in order to end the conflict. Many Americans, including lawmakers on Capitol Hill, are growing more concerned about the possibility of U.S. boots on the ground. This as Trump administration officials warn that the President has not ruled out any military options. CNN's Kristen Holmes has the latest.

KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Nearly two weeks into this war against Iran and we still don't have a timeline for just how long Americans are going to be involved. We heard from both the secretary of defense, Pete Hegseth, and the Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt today, who put this decision squarely on President Trump, saying he alone was the one who would determine when it was time for the United States to back out of Iran and when it was time for Iran to, "Unconditionally surrender." Take a listen to what the press secretary said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The President has talked about this repeatedly. Wisely, he does not rule options out as commander in chief. So again, I would hesitate to confirm anything that a Democrat on Capitol Hill says right now about the President's thinking.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Now, while both of these officials had laid out their objectives, they made it very clear that President Trump could decide at any time to either end or extend these strikes in Iran, these attack in Iran. And they also made it clear that they did not want to push put the administration into any sort of a forced timeline. They wanted to give themselves some wiggle room here on the timing.

Remember, at one point we had heard three to eight weeks, another time we had heard four to five weeks. It doesn't seem as though they are going off of any kind of week-long structure at this point, just simply when President Trump decides that Iran has unconditionally surrendered, which of course, they have now explained to me not actually surrender themselves, but not have any capabilities to back up their threats.

Now, one of the things to keep in mind here, President Trump has not ruled out any options and that was reiterated today by the Press Secretary who said that anything from boots on the ground to any kind of military activity or operation are all still on the table. A lot of Americans are incredibly worried about this, but still have no idea how long America is going to be engaged. But it's not just the general public. It's also Republicans who are quietly voicing some of their concerns behind closed doors, particularly as those midterms inch closer and closer.

Kristen Holmes, CNN, the White House.

[04:25:01]

SOLOMON: And some key Senate Democrats are pushing for public congressional hearings on President Trump's Iran war plans after attending the two hour classified briefing on Capitol Hill on Tuesday. Democratic Senator Chris Murphy called the war plans incoherent and incomplete. Here's what some Democratic members of the Senate Armed Services Committee told reporters after their briefing. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. TIM KAINE (D-VA): We want to drag this into the open and ask questions in front of the American public.

SEN. JACKY ROSEN (D-NV): If he does want to put us in a forever war, he needs to come out and let us be able to have this discussion. But take that gag order off us.

SEN. RICHARD BLUMENTHAL (D-CT): The American people need to hear what we are hearing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: Senate Republicans, meantime, are supporting Trump's war plans. Here's Republican Senator Josh Hawley.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOSH HAWLEY (R-MO): I mean, this has been a total success in whatever it's been 11 days. And I thought the President's remarks last night that he could declare victory today and it would be a 100 percent victory. I think it's true. I think we ought to say to our heroes, thank you for a job well done. This, this has been absolutely amazing. It's been astounding. It's been historic. And now it's time to declare victory.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: Congressional Republicans will need a handful of Democrats to support any effort to deliver more Pentagon funding for the Iran campaign. Sources tell CNN that a suspected Iranian drone hit a U.S. diplomatic facility in Iraq Tuesday. The Baghdad Diplomatic Support Center is a support hub near the city's airport. A source said that the drone hit near a guard tower. Iran has been targeting U.S. military and diplomatic installations in the region and retaliation for U.S. and Israeli strikes in Iran. It's not clear if there were any casualties or damages. CNN has reached out to the State Department for comment.

And still to come for us, UNICEF and other aid groups warn that Israel's strikes on Hezbollah are taking a devastating toll on civilians in Lebanon, especially children. That's coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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