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Early Start with Rahel Solomon

Trump Criticizes Israel Over Attack On Iran Gas Site; Iran War Pushes Global Oil Prices Higher; Trump Officials Testify At Senate Hearing Amid War With Iran; European Council To Discuss Fallout From Iran War. Aired 5-5:30a ET

Aired March 19, 2026 - 05:00   ET

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

[05:00:21]

ANNOUNCER: 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: I'm Becky Anderson, live from our Middle East programming headquarters here in Abu Dhabi in the UAE.

The U.S. and Israel's war with Iran is bringing new attacks on oil and gas facilities across the Gulf and wider Middle East, and a rare rebuke of Israel from the U.S. president. Donald Trump says he knew nothing about Israeli attacks on Iran's South Pars gas field, the largest in the world. The president posted on social media. No more attack will be made by Israel on the area unless Tehran retaliates against Qatar which, of course, shares the gas field with Iran.

Oil and gas facilities came under attack from Iran on Wednesday, including sites in Qatar, the UAE and Kuwait. Saudi Arabia says it intercepted four missiles over Riyadh as foreign ministers from the region met in the capital.

CNN's Oren Liebermann joining us now from Jerusalem.

And, Oren, I want to learn more, if we can about what happened with the Israeli attack on the Iranian part of the South Pars gas field. What do we know? What do we understand? Weve certainly heard from the U.S. president. Anything from the Israeli side?

OREN LIEBERMANN, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF: Becky, before we saw President Donald Trump's response, we had heard from two Israeli officials that the attack was coordinated with the United States. And that, of course, is no surprise, since the very first opening strikes nearly three weeks ago now, Israel and the U.S. have been coordinating, coordinated on nearly every aspect of this. And that's not only a testament to the relationship between the U.S. and Israel at the political and military levels. It's also simply necessary to carry out these attacks. With so many moving parts in the air and in the sea all at once. So Israeli officials say the attack on the South Pars gas field was

coordinated with the U.S. and it was intentionally targeted at gas and electricity infrastructure, not at oil infrastructure, to insulate the attacks and the price of fuel in the United States from Israels ongoing attacks. Of course, that didn't work when Iran lashed out and attacked gas and oil infrastructure around the region.

But everything we have heard from the Israelis and we heard it again from a foreign policy advisor to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu last night on Jake Tapper's show is that all of this has been coordinated with the U.S., and we've heard that from the U.S. side as well, both political and military.

So, Becky, at this point, I think it's very difficult to believe Trump's claim that the U.S. and he knew nothing about the attack on the South Pars gas field because of the coordination we have seen to this very point, the idea that three weeks into a war that Israel wants to continue, that Israel would just simply go rogue and carry out attacks that are not coordinated with us, is incredibly hard to believe right now.

ANDERSON: What else do we know about the long list of targets that we understand Israel has at this point? They were, it seems targeted at individuals and groups inside of Iran. I'm just wondering whether this long list includes other installations outside of Tehran and the sort of, you know, the neighborhoods.

LIEBERMANN : That answer is almost certainly. They're not going to give us a target list of what's remaining just yet. But we have seen them expand where they are striking. Yesterday, they acknowledged striking on Iran's northern border. Their first strikes they say, in northern Iran. Israeli officials tell us they hit Iranian naval assets in the Caspian Sea which is again, the first time we've seen that since the war. There are also almost certainly more targeted killings that that Israel is planning to carry out, including against Mojtaba Khamenei and others. So that list has certainly has more targets on it Becky, as the war continues.

ANDERSON: Good to have you, Ooren. Thank you. Oren Liebermann is in Jerusalem with perspective from there.

We are, of course, tracking rising oil costs as the war rages on. That critical Strait of Hormuz remains effectively shut. Global oil prices topped $110 on the barrel Wednesday as new airstrikes targeted energy infrastructure across the Middle East. In a bid to help offset costs, the U.S. announced that it is temporarily waiving what's known as the Jones Act, which will now allow foreign flagged ships to transport oil and gas between U.S.. Ports for the next 60 days.

Let's cross over now to CNN's Eleni Giokos live this hour in Dubai.

Why do we think the U.S. has done that, lifting the Jones Act and effectively, what does that mean at this point?

ELENI GIOKOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, it's really interesting. I mean, we are seeing the attempt here to try and create release valves for a clearly very restricted oil environment you mentioned the supply constraints in the Strait of Hormuz. We've seen the attacks on energy infrastructure consistently throughout this war.

But the lifting and the waiver of the Jones Act, which is over a century old and essentially what it basically entailed, that only U.S. vessels were able to move goods, any cargo between U.S. ports, lifting this and this waiver allows foreign flagged vessels to bring in cargo from other geographies and then move them between U.S. ports.

Now, is this going to fundamentally change the energy scenario we're looking at? And are we going to see a drop in oil prices? Experts tell me it's very unlikely it will have an incremental impact. But this is just another effort another piece of policy that the Trump administration is bringing in to try and mitigate.

Remember, we saw the lifting of Russian oil that was already out at sea. That piece of policy, also temporary, that coming through the IEA, coming out with releasing a 400 million barrels of oil. But does that in fact, counter the impact we've seen in the Gulf region and importantly, Iran's retaliatory strikes on critical energy infrastructure, where we saw significant damage to the Ras Laffan LNG facility in Qatar, which is the largest exporting facility of its kind in the world.

We've also seen Saudi coming out and saying that they intercepted drones that were heading towards their gas field. We saw damage here in the UAE at the Habshan gas facility, as well as the Bab oil gas field. And importantly, earlier this week at the Shah gas field.

These are all shut down, Becky. So we're talking about massive amounts of gas and oil that has been taken out of the market and importantly, the assessment of the damage, that is going to determine the long term impact on the overall oil price and oil and Brent crude -- I mean, right now sitting at about $116 a barrel, I mean, it's pretty evident that we're seeing a supply shock playing out.

ANDERSON: It's good to have you, Eleni. Thank you.

We are hearing further information from Saudi -- Saudi defense ministry saying that a drone fell in the SAMREF refinery, damage assessment there underway. It has been an extremely messy evening. Let's describe it as such. We've seen real escalation around this gulf region after Israel hit that South Pars gas field run by Iran, that gas field, of course though, shared by Qatar, which is a, a regional gulf nation, of course.

Well, crowds gathered in Tehran on Wednesday for the funeral of Iranian national security chief Ali Larijani. Larijani was killed in an Israeli strike on Tuesday. He is thought to have played a key role in suppressing anti-regime protests. In January, he led the government transition following the death of the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iran has vowed revenge for his death.

We'll bring in Ali Ansari, a professor of Iranian history in the founding director of the institute for Iranian studies at the University of Saint Andrews. Iran has also confirmed, sir, the death of yet another top official. The intelligence minister, Esmail Khatib, who was killed in an Israeli attack. What is your take on the current Iranian leadership and its structure as it were, if any?

ALI ANSARI, PROFESSOR OF IRANIAN HISTORY, UNIVERSITY OF ST. ANDREWS: Well, I mean, it's -- I don't think many people want the top job. I mean, one of the problems we have, obviously, is that the new supreme leader is not visible. We don't know where he is. He occasionally gives comments in written form.

But there's no -- there's no sign of him at all. And most people believe he's injured and then, of course, whoever's, you know running the government, it certainly doesn't seem to be the president at the moment. It seems to be really that the IRGC are trying to run the affairs as best as they can. And if, as is now being suggested, it might be that say, Jelili will take over the position of the national security position that obviously has been vacated by the late Ali Larijani.

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ANDERSON: What do you make of the Iranian tactics at present, which includes not just -- you know, sort of traditional missile stockpiles and the attacks on the region where I am here in the gulf. But this asymmetric warfare that we are seeing develop, the sabotage in the Strait of Hormuz, for example, the attacks around this region on the oil and energy infrastructure. Go on. Yeah.

ANSARI: Yeah. No, I mean, I think -- I think basically what they've launched is a massive insurgency. I mean, they've launched a massive insurgency and they've tried to draw in as many people as possible. I mean, clearly, to make the economic pain as great as possible for - - for the -- for the global economy.

And to some extent, this is working, of course. So the issue will be is how quickly the United States and Israel can shut this down over the next 10 days to two weeks, let's say, or to bring it down to a manageable level to the same extent as you know, and from the Iranian perspective is to see how much they can sort of maximize that pain. But the other dynamic that none of us are really paying any attention to because we just simply don't have visibility on the ground is what's going on inside Iran itself. So, what we're seeing really is the sort of encounter between, obviously, the Islamic republic and the U.S. and Israel, as well as obviously their Gulf allies but were not really getting a deeper dive into what's going on inside Iran itself.

We see, obviously, what's going around in the Gulf. I mean, obviously you have offices there in Abu Dhabi so you can see what's going on. We don't have the same sort of access inside Iran. All we're getting from Iran is really what the state wants us to see.

ANDERSON: I've been talking to sources around the region on a regular basis, on a daily basis, and one Gulf official, senior Gulf official from and I won't name the country specifically, but describing to me one of two scenarios that they are certainly looking at the moment. And this is scenarios towards the end of this month, one that Iran and its capabilities are severely weakened and attacks drop, knowing that the Iranian militia is also attacking from Iraq.

Option two is that the cache of weapons in Iran that were hidden pop up attacks keep going and Houthis then jump into action. And of course, we are approaching the end of Ramadan. It is Eid in region tomorrow. And there's been much talk that the proxy group to a degree, the Houthis may join this fight if they haven't already.

Either way, this Gulf official said to me the Strait of Hormuz is an absolutely critical issue. And she went on to say, Europe is making a mistake. The U.N. Security Council all endorsed the protection of the GCC against Iranian aggression. This is enshrined in international law the right to respond at present, that is in self-defense.

They said they had the easy in. And this is for the Europeans to say that they are coming to our defense, but they are so annoyed at Trump that they said no which is a bit of a fail for their relationships with the GCC. I wanted our viewers just to hear that kind of narrative and get your response to it because of course, Donald Trump extremely angry about the fact that the Europeans seem to be sitting on the sidelines when it comes to this international coalition to police the strait.

What do you make of what is going on? One, from the posture of these GCC plus Jordan countries that are being attacked and two, the kind of wider international community here.

ANSARI: I mean, I completely understand their frustration, to be honest. I mean, I think it's eminently reasonable for them to expect that they might get some support. I mean, when, you know in the last year when, you know, Israel was subject to drone and missile attacks, the Europeans did, you know, step up and sort of help with the defense and I don't see why that isn't happening here. And there's clearly a very distinct national interest. Whatever you think of what's going on in the White House, there is clearly a national interest in maintaining the freedom of navigation.

So, I don't entirely understand. I mean, we can see where they're coming from, but I don't think it's actually in the long term, particularly productive for the Europeans to be sitting back in this way. I'm not saying that they should join in. Certainly the, the war, but they certainly could be doing more to help their Gulf allies, certainly in the defense. And I completely understand that level of that level of frustration -- I mean, let's be honest, Ukraine --

ANDERSON: Do you see an off ramp at this point, a diplomatic off ramp at this point?

ANSARI: There are possibilities. I mean, it really depends who the Iranians put up, you know, in terms of -- you know, one person we haven't heard at all from is Rouhani. I mean, Rouhani could be someone who might be a -- you know, appealing to both sides.

[05:15:00] I mean again, I think in the Iranian case, we're not seeing enough of what's going on inside the country. And they're projecting a very sort of robust position because they have to. I mean, they really don't have much choice and everything you're seeing at the moment is, is a country with its back against the wall, a regime with its back against the wall. I mean, that's what's going on here.

And I think we need to be very careful about sort of assuming that they're doing well. I mean, I don't think they are particularly doing well. I think they -- what they're basically worried about is that they may be facing collapse. And that's what worries them.

ANDERSON: So always good to have you, Ali. Thank you very much indeed for your perspective.

ANSARI: Thank you.

ANDERSON: Ali Ansari there, thank you.

Well, controversy on Capitol Hill after the national intelligence director testifies before a Senate hearing. We'll explain why Tulsi Gabbard's comments have had or certainly got some lawmakers alarmed.

Stay with us.

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SOLOMON: Welcome back.

Top Trump administration officials have now testified publicly for the first time since the launch of the war with Iran nearly three weeks ago. But it's comments from National Intelligence Director Tulsi Gabbard that are drawing the most attention. She said it's not her job to determine what constitutes an imminent threat, even though the administration has argued military action was necessary because of an immediate risk from Iran.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JON OSSOFF (D-GA): Assessment of the intelligence community that there was a, quote, imminent nuclear threat posed by the Iranian regime. Yes or no?

TULSI GABBARD, DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE: Senator, the only person who can determine what is and is not an imminent threat is the president. It is not the intelligence community's responsibility to determine what is and is not an imminent threat.

OSSOFF: It is precisely your responsibility.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: Later, CNN's Manu Raju asked Senate Democrat Mark Warner about Gabbard's comments. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: What is your what is your takeaway from her for not saying this is imminent threat? I mean, she was asked repeatedly, what do you draw from that?

SEN. MARK WARNER (D-VA): I draw that the -- I draw the same conclusion I've made since day one of this war. This was a war of choice. There was no imminent threat.

Now the Iranian regime was awful. The unfortunate thing it is still awful. And if anything, we've ended up with a worse and more repressive leader right now and again, with -- I don't see any of the four goals the president laid out, regime change, getting hold of the enriched uranium, eliminating all of the ballistic missile capability and drone capability.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SOLOMON: Gabbard notably did not read a part of her opening statement that said that Iran's nuclear program was quote, obliterated by U.S. bombs last year. E.U. leaders are meeting in Brussels this hour to discuss the potential fallout from the Iran war including energy issues. European Council meeting comes after a day of attacks on energy facilities in Iran and neighboring countries, which sent oil prices to their highest levels since 2022.

Now, as those talks take place, Iranian dissidents are also gathering in Brussels calling for tougher action against Iran and for the Iranian people themselves to be the ones to lead any potential regime change in the country.

Let's get to CNN's Clare Sebastian, who is following these developments for us from London.

Clare, walk us through what we've heard, the agenda and what we can expect to come from the summit

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Rahel, clearly soaring energy prices is the biggest issue these leaders are facing today. It was an issue before the war with Iran started, and obviously now a much bigger issue as a result of this and what we've heard from leaders going into the summit, I think is a real sense of frustration that they're back on this cycle again, just four years after having to face a major energy crisis as a result of the war in Ukraine.

They're now doing it again. There's concern that they're going to have to undertake short term measures, quick fixes which could threaten the real long-term structural changes that they're trying to put in place. You know, things like decarbonization and increasing energy independence.

And one of the key measures that is now up for debate again, is the so-called ETS, emissions trading system, essentially Europe's carbon market that's been in place for several decades. And now there are calls to reform it. And there was palpable concern from several leaders going in this

morning about that. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROB JETTEN, DUTCH PRIME MINISTER: Iran is also affecting us in terms of higher energy prices. So, we have to look at how we can protect our consumers and companies against two big impacts of this war. But let me be clear. The ETS system was crucial to speed up the transition in Europe. And without the ETS system, we would now be importing billions and billions of fossil fuels from outside of Europe.

PETTERI ORPO, FINNISH PRIME MINISTER: When we do short term measures to find solutions for high energy prices, we need to continue decarbonization. ETS is a cornerstone of our climate policy. It's a cornerstone of our industrial policy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SEBASTIAN: Well, of course, the second big issue that European leaders are facing is, of course, the war in Ukraine the longer the war with Iran goes on, of course the more Russia stands to profit from higher energy prices. But they're facing their own internal strife around Ukraine as well because Hungary is still holding up a 90 billion euro loan that was painstakingly agreed by European leaders in December over the issue of the Druzhba pipeline. This pipeline that carries Russian oil through Western Ukraine to Hungary and Slovakia. It was damaged in a Russian strike, Ukraine says in January now they've agreed to repair it.

But Viktor Orban of Hungary, who is facing an election in several weeks, by the way, really dashed hopes going into this that there was any likely movement on that saying that until they see the oil, which President Zelenskyy has said could be, you know, over a month away, there will be no pro-Ukraine policies approved.

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So, a very delicate situation. And we are expecting President Zelenskyy to address the summit this morning.

SOLOMON: Okay, we'll wait for that.

Clare Sebastian for us there in London -- Clare, thank you.

Well, still ahead for us. Families are fleeing the intense bombardment in Lebanon. Coming up next, we'll talk about the fight between Israel and Hezbollah and the toll that it's taking on civilians.

We'll be right back

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ANDERSON: Welcome back. I'm Becky Anderson in our Middle East programming headquarters here in Abu Dhabi. The foreign ministers of 12 Arab and Islamic states have called on

Iran to, quote, immediately halt its attacks and respect international law.