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Early Start with Rahel Solomon

IDF: Dozens Of Israel Jets Strike Targets In Iran; IDF: Military Launches Strikes Against Hezbollah In Beirut; Video Shows Explosion Near U.S. Embassy In Baghdad. Aired 4-4:30a ET

Aired March 17, 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.

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

ELENI GIOKOS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Eleni Jockos live in Dubai for you today. And we're are following breaking news on day 18 of the war with Iran. As we're seeing new strikes across the Middle east and even in the UAE, the Israeli military is now saying its fighter jets have hit targets in several Iranian cities.

Now that includes Shiraz as well as Tehran. The idea of saying dozens of munitions were dropped in those strikes and importantly, this comes as the IDF expands its ground operation in southern Lebanon. The strikes in Iraq reported as well. And I want to take you through those.

This video from Baghdad showing an explosion in the vicinity of the U.S. Embassy. Iraqi officials saying the embassy and her hotel were targeted by drones and an oil field in southern Iraq also coming under attack. We've got CNN's Ivan Watson standing by for us to take us through all these strikes.

Good to see you, Ivan. And I want you to take me through the strike in Iraq on the U.S. Embassy. We've seen multiple strikes in Iraq since the war began. Take me through what we know.

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad has repeatedly been a target of various types of largely drone strikes. And that's what we saw overnight with some dramatic footage that showed what looked like anti-aircraft fire coming up from around the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad in that heavily fortified Green Zone. And yet some explosions nearby.

Also reports that the nearby Al Rasheed hotel in central Baghdad was also hit. The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad was also targeted by two drones on Saturday as was a diplomatic compound at Baghdad International Airport. Then you've also seen U.S. bases, hotels as well as a French base in northern Iraq come under these types of attacks as well. And one of those killed a French soldier last week. It's not a one-way battle, Eleni, because suspected Iranian backed

factions within the popular mobilization forces, this kind of paramilitary force in Iraq have come under repeated bombardment. Dozens of their fighters killed. The pro-Iranian militias in Iraq have vowed revenge. So, this is one of many proxy battlegrounds in this regional war right now.

I would argue that these attacks on the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad can cause material damage, they could hurt somebody, but they're largely symbolic since it is an Iraqi government that runs the country and has its own ties with Iran.

GIOKOS: So, Ivan, we've also seen smoke rising from Beirut, Israel continuing to target Hezbollah as well and expansion of the ground offensive. Take me through that.

WATSON: Sure. And you had an unusual statement coming out from five countries. Canada, France, Germany, Italy and the UK all expressing grave concern about the expansion of the war, condemning Hezbollah's attacks against Israel, as well as calling for Israel not to expand its ground offensive, which it basically did on Monday. Israel announcing that it was sending not only its 36th, but also the 91st Division of its ground forces, two divisions each, approximately about 10,000 troops. Don't know if they've all gone in to Lebanon, but there are incursions along that border and some fierce fighting reported, as well as the constant long-range artillery and rockets going back and forth across the border that continue to cause casualties on the Israeli side, usually people wounded and injured.

There have been reports of residences that have been hit, the death toll on the Lebanese side mounting with every day more than 880 people killed thus far with Israeli bombardment of the Beqaa Valley, southern Lebanon, which Israel has demanded be completely depopulated, which is effectively a free fire kill zone right now, as well as southern Beirut. Among the more than 880 people killed are more than 100 children who have been killed by the Israeli airstrikes. We're also talking about more than a million Lebanese civilians who have been displaced by this growing war. And all the signs are that this will grow even more.

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And I have one final note is you've got a Hezbollah official who's gone on record basically vowing retribution against the Lebanese government if Hezbollah survives this war because the Lebanese government declared Hezbollah's military actions illegal. And the two are clearly at odds over this even as the war with Israel continues to rage. Eleni?

GIOKOS: Yes, well Ivan, thank you so much for that. I mean, many fronts to this war across the region. Devastating impact as we see there. I also want to focus on some of the damage that we've been seeing here in the UAE and frankly across the region we've seen major disruptions. The UAE Aviation Authority closing the country's airspace. That was about two hours earlier today as a precautionary measure. Flights at Dubai International Airport temporarily suspended on

Monday. That was after a drone incident that was targeting a fuel recharging station within the vicinity of the airport that caused a major fire. There were no injuries. That fire then under control.

Also, key oil facility here in the UAE in Fujairah. It's Fujairah Oil Terminal. It has enormous capacity not only of crude but also refined products. And it's also a key bypass area to the Strait of Hormuz.

We've got Paula Hancocks by in Abu Dhabi for us to give us a bit more information on just the impact here because this is we see multiple drone incidents, drone attacks targeting Fujairah.

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Eleni, the last 24, 36 hours here in the UAE. We have seen a number of very significant strikes by Iran. We did hear from Iranian officials. They were going to focus on the UAE. They told people to steer clear of ports of docks. But they're not even attacking anything that is affiliated to U.S. military or political interests at this point.

This is purely attacking the UAE. It appears they are just trying to inflict as much economic pain on this country and also the region and the rest of the world at this point. So, looking at the oil infrastructure specifically, we know as you say in Fujairah on the east coast of the UAE, there was a -- an impact. They are working to control a fire in the oil industry zone.

At this point there was another impact in really a similar area on Monday as well. So that's two days in a row. Now, this is a key area because it is one of the biggest oil storage areas, really in the world. It can store about 70 million barrels. And it's also on the east coast, which means it doesn't need to go through the Strait of Hormuz. So, if it was working well, then it would be able to ease those concerns about the Strait of Hormuz. But this has become a real target for Tehran.

We also know a tanker just off the coast of Fujairah has been hit. There's a minor structural damage at this point. That was a tanker that was on anchor, so it was stationary at that point.

And we also know the massive Shah gas field has suspended operations here in the UAE after an attack. Plus, one more person has lost their life. A Pakistani national being hit by debris from an intercepted projectile. Eleni?

GIOKOS: Yes, a lot happening in this region and continued attacks coming through specifically on that critical energy infrastructure, causing a lot more panic in the oil markets. Paula Hancocks, thank you so very much.

We're also going to be hearing from President Donald Trump later in what they say is going to be the announcement of the countries that have agreed to help open the Strait of Hormuz. They're going to assist the United States in those naval escorts. His comments come as EU foreign ministers decide against expanding their naval operations around the key Waterway. The EU's foreign policy chief saying that the Strait of Hormuz is out of NATO's area of action.

Over the weekend, President Trump warning NATO countries that NATO's faces a very bad future if the alliance does not assist the U.S. in helping reopen the straits. And on Monday, he blasted allies for not backing U.S. naval forces in the region. Listen in.

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DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: We defend all these countries and then Germany minesweepers. And they say, well, would it be possible for us not to get involved? I've been saying it for a long time. This is the greatest thing to come out of this. We spend trillions and trillions of dollars on NATO to defend other countries. And I always said, but if it ever comes time to defend us, they're not going to be there.

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Many of them would not be there. And we're going to have to start thinking more wisely in this country.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GIOKOS: Well, meanwhile, Iran is insisting that the Strait of Hormuz is not closed. Now you've got to remember this is a key choke point that carries around 20 percent of global oil supply. And saying that it's operating under what it calls special conditions.

International oil tankers have remained stuck in the Persian Gulf since the war began nearly three weeks ago. It's causing an upswing in oil and gas prices. Goldman Sachs revising its forecast for the oil price for Brent as well as WTI and expects Brent to go 20 percent higher this year. I mean, some of the numbers that we're seeing in $150 a barrel and even up to 200 in some instances.

The soaring oil and gas prices triggering, triggered by this conflict comes of course as an impact to many around the world. You've got Brent crude right now sitting at $103 a barrel. That's up 3.2 percent. As we navigating this news this morning.

I want to bring in Ben Farrell, Global CEO of Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply. He joins us now live from Oxfordshire, England.

Ben, really good to have you with us. You know, the rain is, you keep saying that the Strait of Hormuz is not closed. If you look at the data, you're seeing shadow fleets passing through. You're seeing some that Iran says have they've given clearance to be able to pass through. We've seen Indian tankers as well as Pakistani affiliated tankers passing through. Give me a sense of what your understanding is on the data that is available right now.

BEN FARRELL, GLOBAL CEO, CHARTERED INSTITUTE OF PROCUREMENT AND SUPPLY (CPS): Yes, we have members across 180 countries around the world. And I was in Delhi, funnily enough, on Friday of last week where I actually saw the impact firsthand. They were queuing at the petrol stations to fill up already. Some restaurants were closing because of the lack of gas there.

So, the impact is very real, particularly sort of east of the Strait of Hormuz. And you can see that. But we also gathered together, you know, nearly a thousand supply chain procurement professionals in a webinar, sort of emergency webinar, to sort of share best practice and understand how people were responding. It was interesting that about only one in ten organizations had thought through the contingency plan in this sort of event. And many were sort of replanning as they were going in the immediate aftermath of that. And we still see that continuing at the moment.

So, the data is saying to us, you know, one in ten organizations had a plan that they've enacted. Others were waiting to see. And I can see in real time how people are replanning now and working through alternative supply sources. And clearly, as you're highlighting, the cost is escalating at the same time.

I was in touch with our team in South Africa this morning. They're talking about shipping being rerouted into South African ports, but that's probably not on a fuel to sustain that as a long term, as a long-term alternative. So, this is literally a case of great agility and replanning on a daily basis.

GIOKOS: Yes, and it's a really interesting point. You mentioned South Africa and frankly, most emerging economies that aren't oil producers don't have a strong supply of oil in their reserves. So, you're seeing the contagion already spreading quite across the board. I mean, it's quite interesting that your poll is showing about 89 percent of procurement had zero contingency on the Strait of Hormuz.

We've known it's always been vulnerable. We've seen closures before. Why do you believe that everyone was so blindsided and frankly not ready for what we're seeing today?

FARRELL: Yes, I think it's an interesting point. I wonder if it's a, you know, a question about us. When a crisis returns to normal, as it were, people go back to normal rather than thinking about alternatives. This is one thing that's perhaps come out of this will be a reconsideration of national resilience. Here I am in the United Kingdom. We get quite a lot of gas from Qatar, from the fields there. And it's anticipated that by 2030, about 25 percent of our gas in the UK from Qatar, and yet we've opted not to sort of mine for our own gas in the North Sea here.

So, I think the big question coming out of this is for nations to consider the level of resilience that they have because essentially, we've had several decades of globalization which has led to a situation where supply chains are effectively now being weaponized. When you think about the vulnerability of the Strait of Hormuz, you could add the Panama Canal, the Suez Canal, Strait of Malacca. There are some choke points around the world where we could see this sort of thing play out again.

So, I think nations, organizations need to really consider how resilient they are to and rethink how they're planning in response to situations like this. It's very tempting to think in terms of efficiency, cost reduction and those sorts of things. But when you get a situation like this, which we're seeing, you know, perhaps over the last 12 months with the tariffs, there's been lots of replanning of supply chains. People now need to think about, I think another dimension about how resilient the organization they're responsible for actually is.

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GIOKOS: Yes, it's a -- it's a really important point. I'm just, you know, and it's interesting because, you know, the United States and President Trump has been talking about, well, most of the oil goes to Asia, so, you know, this shouldn't affect us because we're, you know, independent oil producers. So fascinating to hear that. But you've also laid out how you procure a lot of your gas that comes from Qatar. I want you to just lay it out that all industries and frankly, consumers at the end of the day are going to be the one ultimately paying the price for this.

FARRELL: Absolutely. Let's just take helium, for example. Qatar produce, I think, 30 percent of the world's helium. That's clearly not now transiting through the Strait of Hormuz.

This helium, as I said, I was India last week and I was talking about this and they were pointing out how they used helium, obviously in the MRI, the scanners, you know, so the impact in hospitals potentially to cool some of the computer sensors, data centers and the like. So, the fact is this is a global supply route. It's having an impact across the globe, both east and west, and the UK, India, South Africa.

I was talking this. The reality is this. This has had more than a ripple around the world. It's difficult to -- to make a case that it's not.

GIOKOS: Yes. That's why we all need to hold on tight to see how long this lasts. Ben Farrell, really good to have you with us today. Thank you so much.

FARRELL: Thank you.

GIOKOS: Now, Afghanistan has accused Pakistan of a deadly airstrike in a hospital in Kabul. We'll have the latest on the escalating tensions between the two countries. That's after the break.

Rahel will join you for that and I'll be back soon.

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SOLOMON: Welcome back. We're just over a month into the partial government shutdown here in the U.S. and TSA agents have now missed their first full paycheck. The agency says that hundreds of workers have quit in the last few weeks. And it's starting to show at the nation's airport.

For many passengers, it's taking two hours or more just to get through security. And in some cases, those lines are even stretching outside side of the building. Bad weather making matters worse, delaying flights for many frustrated travelers. CNN's Ryan Young has more from Atlanta's Hartsfield Jackson International Airport.

RYAN YOUNG, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, the situation at the airport at Hartsfield Jackson International Airport is one of frustration and timing. If you were here early this morning, what you saw here at the main checkpoint was a two hour wait. As the day went on, though, it got better as more TSA agents started to flow in. But the real story here was all the people who were missing their flights, not only because of the backlog of security, it was also because of all the bad weather that was in the area.

As we look this direction, the story really started to unfold when There was actually a food drive for TSA agents. People brought food so the TSA agents could feed their families. A lot of them were talking about how painful this has been and they hope this government shut down in sometime soon.

But I want you to see this as we come back from this video. You can see the lines that are not open here at the busiest airport in the world because they don't have enough TSA agents to staff it. So that is the real concern.

Over the next 24 hours, will we see another spike as this has happened all across the country. Let's not forget the bad weather that's sitting out there that's also having an impact on air travel across this country. Ryan Young, CNN, Atlanta.

SOLOMON: Thank you, Ryan. Afghanistan says that a Pakistani airstrike on a Kabul hospital has killed at least 400 people. Daylight has revealed the extent of the damage. Authorities say that the hospital primarily treated drug users. At least 250 people were injured by the strike. Pakistan has denied striking any civilian sites, saying that it only targets militant and military infrastructure. The incident marks a sharp escalation in fighting between the two countries as cross border clashes enter a third week.

Pakistan says that it's in, quote, "open war" with Afghanistan after accusing the country of harboring militants that launched strikes into Pakistani territory. For more, let's get to CNN producer Sophia Saifi who joins us live from the capital of Pakistan, Islamabad. Sophia, what's the latest? What are you hearing?

SOPHIA SAIFI, CNN PRODUCER: Well, we woke up this morning from these rather dramatic images that were coming out of Kabul of a giant balloon of flame hovering over the city after strikes by Pakistan into Kabul. Like you said, the Afghan Talib saying that this was a medical facility, a hospital that was targeted. We've been speaking to people on the ground. Our reporters on the ground have been speaking to patients who were there in Kabul who've had to escape. Let's have a listen to what they said as to what their experience was overnight at that facility.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) JAN AGHA, PATIENT EYEWITNESS (voiceover): When the bomb hit the

hospital, it was very loud. We all jumped out of our beds and laid down on the floor. I covered my head to safeguard myself from shrapnel. Then I saw fire, flames entering the room from the windows. Many of my roommates ran away from the room, but I got stuck in the room with a few others.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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SAIFI: Well, we know that there is still rubble, that there are still bodies that are being recovered from the rubble of the aftermath of this strike. The Pakistanis, however, are telling us that these were precision airstrikes targeting a munitions depot. So, we're just going to. They're also saying that this was a strike.

This was a series of targeted strikes on Afghan Taliban infrastructure. Four in the province of Nangarhar, three in the city of Kabul. They are denying, they're saying that the Afghan Taliban are misreporting, that this was a hospital that was struck. At the same time, we have to realize that this is the deadliest escalation between these two neighboring countries in the history of Pakistan.

There has been an uptick of militant attacks in Pakistan since the fall of Kabul in 2021. And this was a situation that had been boiling for the last couple of months as militant attacks had increased within Pakistan. The Pakistanis had said that it was the Afghan Taliban who'd been harboring Pakistani Taliban militants. And that is why they are targeting the Afghan Taliban right now. So, we're just going to have to wait and see if there is a ceasefire and how this is going to evolve and end on Pakistan's western border.

SOLOMON: Okay, Sophia Saifi and Osama Bhatt, thank you. President Trump has again set his sights on Cuba threatening to take over the island as it deals with a crippling nationwide blackout. Millions of people are in the dark right now after the island's power system suffered a total collapse and is the first blackout since the U.S. effectively shut off the flow of oil to Cuba. Cuban officials have held talks with Washington, but New York Times is reporting that President Trump wants to Cuba's president to step down.

On Monday, Trump suggested that he was open to taking the country over.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TRUMP: I do believe I'll be the honor of having the honor of taking Cuba. That'd be good. That's a big honor.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Taking Cuba.

TRUMP: Taking Cuba in some form, yes. Taking Cuba, I mean, whether I free it, take it, I think I could do anything I want with it. You want to know the truth? Very weakened nation right now.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SOLOMON: CNNs Patrick Ottmann has more from Havana.

PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Cuba is once again in an island wide blackout. Something that has happened frequently enough over the years. This time feels different because it is the first time since an oil embargo put in place by the Trump administration has led or contributed to this kind of island wide blackout affecting 10 million people at the moment.

The Cuban government says they are working to rest power. The question is, can they? Because according to their own admission, no oil has come in for three months now. We have seen longer and longer blackouts as this crisis has developed. You know, where I live sometimes it gets up to 20 hours in the last several days. We've seen people going out at night to protest, banging pots and pans.

In one small town in the east of Cuba, people actually attacked the Communist Party headquarters over the weekend, tried to burn down the headquarters before police came in and firing shots in the air broke up that protest. But people are on edge here. People are wondering if the government can hold on.

Certainly, the Trump administration has said that they believe that the government here is in its final hours and that they should make a deal with the U.S. to allow some of that flow of oil. But the Trump administration is calling on the government here to make major concessions. No sign that would take place and whether or not they could do it in time. Patrick Ottmann, CNN, Havana.

SOLOMON: All right. Let's get to some breaking news just into CNN. An Israeli source says that the IDF targeted Iran's top security official Ali Larijani in a strike in Tehran overnight. The Israeli military, still awaiting the results of the strike to learn if Larijani was killed. Larijani is the secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council. On Monday, he released a letter written in Arabic urging Muslim majority countries to reconsider their stance toward Iran as the war continues.

And still ahead for us, Israel is expanding its ground operation in southern Lebanon as more than a million people have already been forced from their homes. We're live in Beirut. Straight ahead.

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