Return to Transcripts main page

Early Start with Rahel Solomon

New Wave Of Attacks Reported Across Gulf States; Oil Tops $00 Again Amid Market Volatility Due To War; Pentagon Estimates First 6 Days Of Iran War Cost $11.3B; U.S. Strike Likely Hit A School In Iran Due To Outdated Intelligence. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired March 12, 2026 - 04:00   ET

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

[04:00:00]

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: If you get talking to them can tell you like they see the city in a whole different lens, which is fascinating to me.

ASST. CHIEF AARON EDWARDS, NYPD COMMANDING OFFICER, PATROL BOROUGH MANHATTAN NORTH: Yes, yes, definitely. Definitely. And that's what you get when you know you have cops outside, you're on footpost and you talk to people and just listening, hearing the stories, you get to learn a lot.

COOOPER: Yes. Well, I know there's a lot you can't say about the incident because there's obviously ongoing court case. But I appreciate you coming in to talk a bit -- a little bit about it. It's really an honor to.

EDWARDS: Absolutely. Thank you so much, Anderson. Appreciate it. Thank you.

COOPER: 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 joining us from the U.S. and all around the world. It is Thursday, March 12th. I'm Rahel Solomon live this morning in New York.

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: And I'm Becky Anderson in Abu Dhabi, midday here on the 13th day of the war with Iran and U.S. President Donald Trump claiming victory even as we are seeing new strikes across the Middle East.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: We've won. Let me say we've won. You know, you never like to say too early, you won, we won. We won the bet in the first hour it was over.

(END VIDEO CLIP) ANDERSON: Well, the president's comments coming on the same day that Iran claims it attacked two foreign oil tankers off the coast of Iraq. At least one person was killed. Dozens were rescued.

In Tel Aviv, sirens sounded overnight as flashes and what appeared to be missile interceptions could be seen in the night sky. Gulf states also intercepting a new wave of Iranian drones and missiles. In Dubai, for example, officials say a drone fell on a building sparking a minor fire.

Meantime, Israel says it launched a large scale wave of strikes on Beirut's suburbs after has qualified what the IDF says were dozens of rockets from Lebanon. Right. CNN's Paula Hancocks is here with me in Abu Dhabi.

And let's just go through what we understand to have happened in the past sort of 12, 24 hours or so.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CIRRESONDENT: Well, Becky, we've certainly seen no let-up in these the retaliation towards the Gulf states we've seen overnight here in the UAE, Abu Dhabi, Dubai. There was a residential building that was by a drone in Dubai or at least some of the debris, I should say it was in within the business district. So clarify that.

And we've also seen more countries getting involved in trying to protect these Gulf nations. We know that there are French fighter jets that have been sent. We know the U.K. has got involved. We now hear from the South Koreans that they have actually had their first combat use of their homegrown air defense system. They call it the Cheongung- II. They claim that it is shooting down 96 percent of what they are trying to engage in the air.

So we are seeing more and more countries getting involved to try and protect the Gulf nations from this retaliation.

ANDERSON: We saw overnight Gulf time, of course late yesterday at the United Nations in New York, a resolution passed by the Security Council. Abstained Russia and China, of course, 135 member countries supporting that resolution. What does it say and what does it mean?

HANCOCKS: This shows there is a clear global consensus that what Iran is doing against the Gulf nations is countries around the world are against it. So of course you did have Russia and China abstaining. Two of Iran's closest allies. They were never going to vote for this resolution but the fact that they didn't use their veto to block it is telling.

Now this is a resolution that just deals with Iran's retaliation against Gulf nations. It doesn't touch what U.S. and Israel are doing in Iran. That's not part of this. Again, might have been a reason why Russia and China abstained.

But you heard from Michael Waltz, the US Ambassador to U.N. saying the regime has never been so diplomatically isolated.

ANDERSON: This is true. This was a resolution tabled by Bahrain has a revolving membership of the Security Council at this point. This was a GCC Jordan resolution. So very specifically, as you rightly point out, a resolution tabled and supported in support of these Gulf states who we have said, you know, from the outset with bystanders in this had been calling for a diplomatic path to a resolution with Iran.

And on our squarely in the crosshairs as residents here, you and I feel that on a regular basis. Paula, thank you. Paula Hancocks with us this morning.

While saying repeatedly that the U.S. has won the war with Iran. U.S. President Donald Trump declining to comment when specifically asked whether he could declare victory if the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's son remained as Iran's supreme leader.

[04:05:06]

Mr. Trump previously called Mojtaba Khamenei's ascension unacceptable. Meanwhile, a source tells CNN that Khamenei Jr. suffered multiple injuries on the first day of this war. These injuries included a fractured foot and minor lacerations to his face. He has not been seen in public so since succeeding his father following Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's death.

Abas Aslani is an Iranian journalist and senior research fellow with the Center for Middle East Strategic Studies. He joins us now from Tehran. It's good to have you sir, this morning. Thank you for joining us.

Recent reports indicate at least four Basij checkpoints in Tehran were hit by drone strikes overnight, killing members of the Basij and security forces. What are you seeing and hearing on the ground where you are?

ABAS ASLANI, IRANIAN JOURNALIST AND RESEARCHER: Becky, following the failure by the United States and Israel to secure their main objectives which was to bring a regime change and to bring maybe a civil war to the country, it seems that they are resorting to socialize the war and they have been, you know, targeting those security related institutions like police stations and Basij, you know, stations and then now they are also targeting the civilian infrastructure in addition to, let's say the previous targets.

And they want to bring a kind of, let's say instability to the country. And this is something meant to also intimidate the public by, you know, the bombs that they are using to just target empty buildings.

And in addition to that also there are some rumors being or speculations that they might be engaging in ground up special operations specifically in southern part of the country and in relation to Strait of Hormuz. And it seems that they are changing the outcomes or the objectives of this war, but to no avail so far. We have to see that how things --

ANDERSON: Abas, let me -- let me just move you -- I want to -- I want to stay focused here. The states have been very clear about their military objectives. It is the missile defense, the missile program, it is the industrial base that builds that missile program and it is the Iranian navy, all of which the U.S. says is being degraded at a rapid pace.

We are unclear as of yet what the Israeli objectives are, although they say they have a long list and they are working through that list. Let's be quite clear about this in response as far as the Iranians are concerned, there is a -- an enormous effort to disrupt the world economy through strikes on the region where I am here in the Gulf. And we can talk about that momentarily.

First of all I want to get a sense from you on the ground, people appear to be staying in Tehran, some despite the strikes and increased security issues. Why do you think this is?

ASLANI: Yes, some have left the city and some are staying home, sheltering, trying to make sure that they are not affected as a result of the strikes. But now and then we are hearing explosions early in the morning, at night or during the day.

This seems to be, as you said, part of a multilayered conflict which is not just limited to military battle, but also we are seeing geopolitical and economic aspects to this. Iran wants to also leverage those areas in order to put pressure on the United States, including the oil price and prices and the global energy market, in order to inflict heavy costs on the U.S. and its allies and the global community to stop this aggression and to make sure that they will not initiate another attack against the country.

So, in the military front, we have been seeing that, you know, Iran's missile launch have been fluctuating. Day 23 (ph) Trump was saying that they have been able to destroy Iran's missile launch capabilities. But in the past 48 hours, we have been seeing the, you know, the volume from Iran inside have been increasing, indicating that this is not as, you know, those fluctuations were not as a result of the destruction.

But that was Iranian tactic to initially blind American raiders in the region, including in Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Israel. That's why we're seeing that they want to replace those THAAD air defense systems from South Korea.

[04:10:08]

ANDERSON: Whatever the tactic, these strikes continue from Iran. As a resident here in the UAE, I can attest to that as far as the GCC is concerned, these are illegal, reckless attacks from a country that the GCC had been trying to engage with and certainly find a diplomatic off ramp for this ahead of any sort of military confrontation. Of course, that hasn't happened on the diplomatic front overnight.

We have seen a resolution passed by the U.N. Security Council and supported by 135 countries from around the world, a resolution condemning Iran's attacks on Gulf states and Jordan with an overwhelming international majority. Russia and China abstaining rather than vetoing that. And this is a sign of Iran's growing diplomatic isolation on the international stage. How do you expect Iran to respond to that?

ASLANI: Well, Iran has been, you know, saying that this ignores the beginning point and the main reason to this conflict. For sure what is going on is impacting Tehran's relations with those neighboring capitals. But Iran is seeing the American presence and its, you know, action in attacking the country from the airspace and territory of those regional countries as an existential threat. And it says that it has no option but to retaliate against American, not just military bases, but it's also assets or everything that has to do with American assets.

ANDERSON: It does have an option, of course. I mean, the argument from the GCC is it does have an option. The threat was on U.S. military installations in this area. So Iran does have an option and it has chosen to attack oil installations, civilian targets and the like.

Let me ask you a question here because you are inside and you've got a real sense there, it seems, of what is going on and how the Iranian regime is sinking. Where is Mojtaba Khamenei the new leader? And why hasn't, well, either the Iranians or the world seen him at this point?

ASLANI: Well, I'm not exactly where he's located in, but you know, he was recently elected as the new leader. But I think the threat of assassination against him or the previous assassination I think is somehow suggesting strict security protocols.

I think he might be appearing sometime, maybe sooner or later, but because of the war conditions, you know, we have not been hearing from him. But this was a vacuum which was created as a result of the previous assassination. That's why I think the country wants to avoid a renewed vacuum.

And I think while this election era is over, he might be appointing high ranking commanders, which is most, you know, more important than just a message from him.

And I think as it proceeds, you know, we can hear from him and now they are trying to make sure that he is well secured and they are not making any mistake.

ANDERSON: Right.

ASLANI: And, you know, provide the assassination opportunity for Israeli and American side.

ANDERSON: Abas Aslani is in Tehran. I appreciate your time this morning and your perspective from there. Thank you.

Well, the U.S. and Israel's war with Iran is having a, an historic impact on global fuel supplies. Of course. Oil prices surged past $100 again on the barrel just days after hitting a four-year high. This comes as the U.S. and 31 other countries agree to tap into oil reserves, try and offset soaring prices. Members of the IEA, the International Energy Agency, will release 400 million barrels into the global supply. That's the largest release of emergency oil stocks in history. The U.S. will contribute more than 117 million of those barrels

starting next week, though the process will take roughly four months. Saudi Arabia redirecting trade ports in the Red Sea, that is on that west coast so ships can avoid the Strait of Hormuz. And attacks from Iran.

[04:15:00]

And Iran warning that the conflict could send oil prices as high as $200 a barrel, blaming the U.S. for destabilizing the region. Well, let's get a closer look at what we understand to be going on here. Eleni Giokos is monitoring the markets for us and activity, or should we say the lack of activity in the Strait of Hormuz is not closed. It's just massively limited and limiting the ability for most shipments of oil and other goods to move through that crucial choke point.

What do we understand to be the situation this morning?

ELENI GIOKOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And you're right to say, I mean I just want touch on this IEA movement of 400 million barrels of oil. And super important, it's a shot in the arm to try and alleviate some of the negativity we've seen because of this energy shock. And it is, and you're right to say it's an effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz. You've got shadow of oil tankers that are moving through, but it is just a trickle.

To put it into perspective, 400 million barrels of oil equates to 20 days of the normal flows that go through the straits. So very important to understand that number. But over the past few days yesterday we had three tankers that were hit in and around the Strait. This morning Iraqi fuel tankers were struck. Porto Salalah oil depot was also a hit that had to be evacuated.

Mosque (ph) announcing that it's going to suspend operations at the port of Salalah. The going to have an issue on cargo. It's upending supply chains across the board. Bahrain, another oil depot that has been hit. And of course really interesting that the Iranians are saying we suspect that oil is going to go to $200 a barrel.

And that actually is a warning in terms of where they want to stop and how far they want to take it. And the effects, Becky, are being felt far and wide around the world already. And we're 13 days in.

ANDERSON: Let's just put those numbers into perspective. The world produces a global oil production is between what, 90 and 100 million barrels a day.

GIOKOS: Exactly. And that's --

ANDERSON: And right. So sorry. So that means what we're seeing promise to the market over the next four weeks or four months is about four days worth of global oil production. Let's be quite clear. Not everything is, you know, is premised on the fact that the straight is available --

GIOKOS: Yes.

ANDERSON: -- because as you rightly pointed out, it's 20 percent of global oil production that comes through there. But I think you're right to point out that this is a shot in the arm, but only a shot in the arm. I think you and I discussed this yesterday, talked about putting a sort of an elastic loss over the wound and it's a pretty -- the stickiness on that elastic isn't -- isn't very efficient, it has to be said.

GIOKOS: So it's trying to get, you know, the patient out of the hospital by giving it a shot. And I mean, this is like a really interesting sort of analogy that we always use in the business world. And it's actually, you know, this is -- exactly. We're on life support.

But, you know, it's really interesting, these numbers and it's 100 million barrels of oil per day in terms of demand around the world. You take out 20 percent of that, then you've got a couple of million barrels extra going through the east west pipeline in Saudi Arabia. You've got oil depots that are on fire. We don't know how much we've lost there.

You've got capacity constraints and, you know, when you don't need to be a mathematician to figure out we're in massive deficits and that's why there's a huge warning.

But I just, very quickly, do we have that full screen? This is super interesting, Becky. And you know, Asia is taking, it's already affecting everybody. Bangladesh, there are long lines at the pump. India invoking emergency powers, trying to get industrial users to lose less. Pakistan calling for austerity measures, closing schools, shifting to online services.

I mean, across the board in major oil importing countries, they are feeling the pressure. Jet fuel prices up, natural gas prices are up, Urea prices are up. This is absolutely scary.

ANDERSON: But I think the fact that you've got that graphic here that says Asia scrambled so much of what comes out of the -- goes through the Strait and out from this region, of course, headed towards Asia. Japan, South Korea, Bangladesh, Pakistan, China, these are the countries. And it is no surprise, therefore that you see these Asian markets getting thumped. Getting thumped.

I mean, we say markets are thumped when they really, you know, they lose 5, 6, 7, 8 percent, which we saw at the beginning of last week. We need to be careful about what we -- how we describe these markets. But certainly getting impacted this morning as the U.S. benchmark goes to 91 and the global benchmark, which of course is Brent, goes higher than that and has reached 100 overnight. Eleni, good to have you. Thank you very much indeed.

Right, coming up, what U.S. involvement in the war is actually costing the United States going to break down those reported numbers after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:24:07]

SOLOMON: Welcome back. Sources tell CNN that the Pentagon estimates the war with Iran cost at least $11 billion in its first six days. That figure was reportedly shared with lawmakers in a private briefing. CNN previously reported that the U.S. military used more than $5 billion of munitions in the first two days of the conflict.

The war funneling away U.S. dollars and attention from President Trump's domestic agenda, with Americans questioning what's ahead.

Two sources tell CNN that the U.S. military accidentally struck an Iranian elementary school, likely due to outdated intelligence about a nearby naval base, though sources were briefed on the preliminary findings of an ongoing Military investigation. CNN's Natasha Bertrand has the latest now on the investigation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NATASAH BERTRAND, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONENT: The U.S. military inadvertently struck an Iranian elementary school on the first day of the war, likely due to bad intelligence, according to sources briefed on the preliminary findings ongoing military investigation.

[04:25:10]

The February 28th strike in Minab occurred while the US military was conducting strikes on a neighboring Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps facility, according to the investigation's initial findings. U.S. Central Command apparently created target coordinates for the strike using outdated information provided by the Defense Intelligence Agency, which contributed to that mistake, the sources said.

Now the Defense Intelligence Agency and the Pentagon both declined to comment, citing an ongoing investigation. Satellite imagery, though, from 2013 showed that the school and the IRGC base were once part of the same compound.

But images from 2016 revealed that a fence had been erected to separate the school from the rest of the base and that a separate entrance to the school had been built. In December 2025, imagery showed dozens of people in the school's courtyard apparently playing.

Now the initial investigative findings they are consistent with what had become increasingly obvious as new evidence continued to emerge publicly in recent days, including photos of Tomahawk missiles striking the compound and photos of Tomahawk fragments that were apparently found in the area. The U.S. military is the only party to the conflict that uses Tomahawk missiles, experts said.

President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he was unaware that an ongoing military investigation had found, at least preliminarily, that the U.S. was responsible for the strike, and the White House has said that the Pentagon will release the findings of its investigation publicly when it concludes. Natasha Bertrand, CNN in Washington.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: Still ahead, Iran is unleashing a new barrage of strikes against his Gulf neighbors. When we come back, the latest details on what's now being targeted.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[04:30:00]