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Source: Trump Reviewed Iran Attack Plan, Holding Off For Now; Israel To "Intensify Strikes" After Iranian Missile Hits Hospital; Israel Defense Minister Calls Iranian Leader A "Modern Hitler"; Israel Defense Minister: Khamenei Cannot "Continue To Exist"; Steve Bannon Seen Entering White House This Morning. Aired 12-12:30p ET

Aired June 19, 2025 - 12:00   ET

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

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ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANDERSON COOPER 360: Welcome to Inside Politics. I'm Anderson Cooper, live in Tel Aviv.

MANU RAJU, CNN ANCHOR AND CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: And I'm Manu Raju in Washington. A city that's bracing for war, war summit feared, and others have promoted for decades now. But the question in the Capitol that everyone is asking is a U.S. military strike on Iran imminent. A source tells CNN, President Trump has reviewed attack plans but is holding off for now to see if Tehran is willing to back away from its nuclear program.

COOPER: And here in Israel, an Iranian missile struck a hospital in the southern part of the country this morning. The Israeli health ministry says several people were injured after the strike. The Israeli defense minister said Iran's supreme leader cannot be, quote, allowed to exist.

He went on to call the Ayatollah, quote, modern Hitler. Iran says it was targeting an Israeli military and intelligence facility nearby. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the IDF to intensify strikes on Iran. He visited the scene of the strike today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: We are committed to destroy the nuclear threat, the threat of nuclear annihilation against Israel. We gave them the chance to do it through negotiations. They strung him along. You don't string along, Donald Trump. He knows -- he knows the game. And I think that we're both committed to making sure that Iran will not have a nuclear weapon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COOPER: Overnight the Israeli military confirmed that it hit an inactive nuclear facility southwest of Tehran with strikes for fighter jets. The IDF says the strike was to prevent the facilities eventually being used to develop nuclear weapons. There's a lot to get to. I want to bring in CNN's chief international correspondent, Clarissa Ward. She is with me here in Tel Aviv. The Israeli prime minister, obviously sending a message there to President Trump.

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, strong message. But he's also being careful in how he chooses his words, right? They don't want to be seen Israeli officials to be kind of twisting the arm of President Donald Trump. They want to show that they are grateful for all the support that has been given so far.

And we actually heard Prime Minister Netanyahu talking about that on the scene. As you mentioned, this hospital, Soroka, the largest hospital in southern Israel. There's been a back and forth between Iran and Israeli officials about whether the hospital was the target.

Israeli officials saying the fifth floor of the Urology Department took a direct hit. The Iranians, as you mentioned, saying that it was close by to some kind of a military intelligence command center and that there was only superficial damage as a result of --

COOPER: -- the concussion, the blast of that.

WARD: Exactly. And the Israelis are completely for doing that and saying that's not the case at all. But certainly, this has really upped the ante, right? I mean, you were here this morning. It happened about 7:15. This was the largest barrage that we have heard in a couple of days. Now, there was also damage done in an area called Ramat Gan, a kind of commercial area, not so many serious injuries, but definitely a significant moment. I would say --

COOPER: It was certainly a reminder this morning, this happened around 7 am or so. This morning it was a reminder to people that this is nowhere near over. I think it's been easy over the last several days to kind of get -- we talked about this, it's kind of became routine, whether you even go to the shelter or not.

WARD: Things become routine. People get lazier about going to the shelter. People expect strikes to happen at a certain time. The biggest ones have been happening usually around four or five in the morning. This was about 7:15 in the morning. So just a reminder, essentially, that they're, you know, as much as they may have been diminished in their ability to launch these missiles, they still are able to do so.

And coming back to Prime Minister Netanyahu, you know, he really emphasized, we're grateful for all the support we're getting. We're happy with what we're getting, but privately, obviously singing a very different tune, and really hoping to apply more pressure for direct involvement.

COOPER: Yeah. Clarissa Ward, thanks very much. We'll check in with Clarissa throughout the day. I want to check in now with CNN's Kristen Holmes back in Washington. Other than a couple of social media posts, President Trump is staying with mom. He doesn't have any public events on his schedule today. We'll see if that changes, but we just got word that the U.S. military is taking new steps to protect its assets in the region, amid fears of Iranian retaliation.

Let's bring in Kristen Holmes now live at the White House. Kristen, we hear that the president is back in the situation room this morning. What do you know?

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KRISTEN HOLMES, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. Anderson, we've seen a number of his top officials going in. We saw Pete Hegseth. We saw special envoy to the middle east, Steve Witkoff, Vice President J.D. Vance, all going in. We also just interestingly saw Steve Bannon, his advisor from his first administration. Obviously, he's not part of the White House right now, but he is just going into the White House. Unclear if he's part of that meeting in the Situation Room, or if he's meeting separately with the president or with top advisors.

But what we do know now is that I'm told by a number of White House officials that all options are still on the table. The president has reviewed a number of different options, attack options on Iran, but he's holding off to see if Iran comes to the table for negotiations or steps away from its nuclear program.

One of the things Donald Trump has talked about incessantly behind the scenes and publicly, is this idea that he didn't want to get stuck into a war. He's been asking his advisors, is it possible to -- if we do strike, to strike once or twice and then get out of there? Some of his advisors have told him, yes. On the other side, others are saying no. Once you do this, we are in this war with Iran, and that's part of what he is weighing here.

Now you mentioned moving these different kinds of assets around. We are being told that the U.S. military has started to move ships, planes, all of this to prepare for a potential strike. Also, amid all of these tensions. They're trying to -- with Iran, trying to get things into different positions. One of the other things is that they have positioned extra blood supply, which gives you an idea of where they think things might be headed.

Now, one thing I want to talk about quickly here is this idea of the door still open to these diplomatic talks with Iran. Donald Trump yesterday said, the door wasn't closed. And as we know, Steve Wyckoff again, the U.S. middle eastern envoy, is having a meeting today at the White House with the United Kingdom's foreign secretary.

The reason why that is so important is that on Friday, the United Kingdom's foreign secretary is going to be sitting down with the foreign deputy, or deputy secretary of Iran. That's going to be a conversation with those two, as well as Germany and France and European Union. Right now, Wyckoff is not attended -- is not expected to attend that, but it is critical as we talk about whether or not there are any kind of diplomatic conversations ongoing as we move forward.

COOPER: Kristen, it's interesting that you're reporting that the president has been asking those around him, is it possible to just have this be, you know, just a particular strike, or several strikes on a particular target, and then that's it. And the different answers that he's getting on that, because that does seem to be the crux of it for the United States, is, how deeply does this become regime change? What are the follow-on consequences, the unintended consequences, perhaps?

HOLMES: Exactly. And I think when you look at Donald Trump as president and in the administration as a whole, you see that there are different factions. You see the America First factions who say this isn't our war. You promised you weren't going to get involved in anything. There are other parts of -- there are also parts of the administration who say that it's not just about America First, that Israel can handle this on their own.

But then you see people like Senator Lindsey Graham, who remains a close ally of Donald Trump's, talking to him saying, we need to get involved, we need to protect Israel. And he is taking all of this in. If you talk to these advisors, they're all having conversations in which they're briefing him on this.

And that's why we say he has gone through and reviewed various attack plans, but he is still holding off a lot of that being that he one promise he wasn't going to get engaged in another war. But two, that they don't want to. The administration doesn't want to get into something that's going to be a year's long back and forth in the middle east. And that's why he's asking this question over and over again, what is actually possible here in terms of if we were to get involved?

COOPER: Kristen Holmes, thanks very much. Joining me now is the former Israeli Ambassador to the United States, Michael Oren. Ambassador, thanks very much for being with us. The Israel's defense minister said that Iran's supreme leader, quote, can no longer continue to exist. Given that, can you define an Israeli victory here as anything other than regime change?

MICHAEL OREN, FORMER ISRAELI AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED STATES: It's difficult -- it's always good to be with you, Anderson. It's very difficult, because if you look at the end of the war, what's the end of war? It's not just preventing Iran from getting a nuclear weapon. It's actually changing the nature of the leadership in Iran.

So, it's no longer the world's largest supporter of terror. It's no longer a government that backs Hezbollah and Hamas and triggers a horrendous middle eastern war, a regime that tries to assassinate American leaders. There's a long, long list of truly egregious action on the part of this government in Tehran.

So truly, to eliminate neutralize the Iranian threat, we have to have a different type of leadership there. Israel is being rather opaque about it, though, Prime Minister Netanyahu has several times called on the Iranian people to rise up and overthrow the ayatollahs and even President Trump as the time talked about a type of regime change there and unconditional surrender. So, I think implicitly, implicitly, not only does that remain one of the goals, it kind of is in the inescapable role. [12:10:00]

COOPER: You're a student of history, in addition to being an ambassador and many other things. What is history tell you about efforts to have regime change in this region? Obviously, Americans know well what happened in Iraq. That wasn't expected when the Saddam was removed, when the Ba'ath Party was taken apart by officials.

No, they did not anticipate the insurgency that then became al-Qaeda and Islamic state. We've seen it in Libya as well the unintended consequences of regime change. Who follows the supreme leader and how does Israel influence, who follows?

OREN: Well, I don't think anybody's talking about getting involved in state making, and that's what was going on both in Libya, in Iraq, during the American intervention in Iraq and during the after the aftermath of the Arab spring in 2011 in Libya. No one's talking about that.

Right now, within Iran, there's a tremendous amount of opposition to this government. It's a hated government by a large segment of the population. There have been leaflets distributed last few days calling for a popular uprising. There were five car bombs that went off in Tehran the other day. Israel didn't do it. These are oppositional elements.

So yes, it's a bit of the roll of dice. And you could say the devil we know is the battle we don't know, but this is pretty much a pretty horrible devil. And I think that if you were to ask majority of Israelis, not just Israelis, I think you could ask majority of people in the middle east, outside of Iran, would you like to see a different leadership there. Even that the danger of having a chaotic period there, I think most people would say unequivocally yes.

COOPER: That would be the fear of balkanization of Iran. As you said, there are a lot of different competing interests, a lot of people different motivations. And it's not as if all the Revolutionary Guard would go away the, you know, there are other ayatollahs waiting in the wings. There's the son of the supreme leader. It does risk, I mean, a very chaotic situation at the very least.

OREN: But look on the bright side, OK, if Iran is neutralized in that way, it's not just limiting the Iranian nuclear threat. It's the possibility of reaching a peace agreement between Israel and Lebanon, a peace agreement between Israel and Syria. These are areas that have been trolled by Iran in the past, certainly a peace between Israel and Saudi Arabia. And, who knows, maybe even a peace between Israel and Iran under a different leadership. You're talking about the possibility of a completely different middle east with untold ramifications, not just for the region, the world

COOPER: And Iran is historically weakened. I mean, Israel has seen to that. I mean, it's been very effective, obviously, against Hezbollah. We also have those major attacks and other -- and other the walkie talkies we've seen, obviously, the efforts against Hamas, the change in Syria. So, this is a historically weakened Iranian regime without the access to the proxy forces, though they still obviously have some of that.

I do want to ask you about the Fordo facility. A lot is dependent, it seems, on the U.S. and their technology, their B-2s, their bunker buster bombs, multiple ones that would probably be required. It's located nearly 300-feet or so, or more below ground. Israel had -- if the U.S. does not contribute, their weaponry for this, Israel has in the past.

And I was reading about the operation against, I think was a chemical facility in Syria that Israel used commandos against. Obviously very different. This is probably far more fortified as far deeper underground, but that was a really interesting case study in the effectiveness of special operations forces going and taking out a facility. Do you think that is possible with Fordo, if the U.S. is not going to take part in this?

OREN: I do. I do think it's possible. I've long thought it's possible. Even a mountain has air shafts, even a mountain has doors. And yes, our special forces have been involved, most recently, in Syria and conducting similar very successful operations. The question is time, and the question is danger.

Anderson, as you know, this is a war of attrition. Israeli society is under tremendous duress, being hit by missiles every day. I've got, you know, I've got six grandkids in bomb shelters every morning, and the building shakes, literally. So, it's taking a huge cut. There's no school. There's almost nobody going to work.

And so, it's really a war of attrition to see, you know, what sort of which side is going to cry, uncle first. And the Iranians are trying to wear us down every day. And they don't need 200 missiles a day to do it. They only need 15, as they've done in the last few days. So, it's a matter of time.

So, the United States, with its bunker buster bombs, 30,000 pounds, that can only be carried by a B-1, B-2, or B-52, not by RF-16 and RF- 16 and F-35 are too small. It would be a much quicker, cleaner operation. But I want to caution you that the end of the day, Fordo is an enrichment facility, and it really isn't -- it would be in charge of enriching further uranium in the future by the Iranians, whereas we know there are 408 kilograms, about a thousand pounds of highly enriched uranium, which the Iranians have hidden.

[12:15:00]

And as long as no one's taking care of that, I don't think you can bomb that, Anderson, I think you have to -- you have to take that out through a, an agreement at the end of this war, that Iran is going to remain a threshold state. It's going to remain an ability to put together a nuclear weapon, put that enriched uranium in a warhead, put the warhead on the ballistic missiles that they still have, and Iran is going to have a nuclear weapon.

So again, the end game here is at the end of the war of attrition, someone is going to sit around the table and say, Iran, you can't have the same leadership, at least not with that same support of terror, and you cannot have any enriched uranium in your territory.

COOPER: Ambassador Michael, I really appreciate your time. Thank you very much.

OREN: Thank you.

COOPER: Manu, let's go back to you.

RAJU: Thanks, Anderson. Coming up next for us. The Fox News cabinet versus the four-star generals. Who is President Trump's ear as he makes this critical decision?

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RAJU: At this hour, President Trump is scheduled to be in the Situation Room, meeting with his top national security advisors. Another advisor from the White House today, Steve Bannon. Our cameras caught him, entering the building this morning. And of course, he's a loud opponent of military action, all as President Trump indicates, he's still considering all of his options.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I have ideas as to what to do, but I haven't made a final. I like to make the final decision one second before, it's due, you know, because things change. I mean, especially with war.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RAJU: Our excellent panel is here to break this all down, Tia Mitchell of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, as well as CNN's Jamie Gangel and CNN's Jeff Zeleny, nice to see you all. You know, we don't know if Steve Bannon is actually going to meet with President Trump or certainly seems skeptical, he's actually going to be part of this meeting.

But Jamie, you've been talking to people about the significance of this meeting right now that's happening. As Trump continues to say he's weighing all his options, but he's going to have to make a decision soon.

JAMIE GANGEL, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT: Right. But as we know, Donald Trump likes a cliff hanger. He likes drama. I think that the one thing we know is he can be very unpredictable. So, as he did say, I don't think we can say what decision he's making until we get there. I do think what's interesting about all these meetings is everyone thinks, you know, you frequently hear people say the last person in the room has the most influence.

I've spoken to several former Trump officials from Trump 1.0. They said that's true if those people -- if Trump already agrees with them, that at the end of the day, he trusts his own instincts. So, look, we have these negotiations. The Iranians are going to Geneva. People seem skeptical about whether or not that goes any place, but it does leave the door open. I think by early next week, we will know maybe sooner.

RAJU: Yeah, we'll see how soon it is. I mean, Jamie points out who he's talking to matters, potentially the last person in room, potentially someone who actually agrees with them. There's one some indication that he's talking to some more of the generals now than he has in the past, including his chief of -- the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Dan Caine, who's part of that and as well as the CENTCOM commander. Is that what you're hearing, Jeff, that Trump is leaning more on those than, say, the defense secretary?

JEFF ZELENY, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, there's no question about that. I mean, and we do know that the president has been presented with a plan. Should he make that decision? And that is not, it kind of sounds that sensational, but of course, he has. I mean, that is the whole point of these meetings, that the military advisors, and of course, he's listening to them.

They are relatively new advisors to him in this orbit. I think the Steve Bannon meeting today is very interesting. He could have arrived at the White House in other ways. I think being on camera is something that -- and we don't know if he's meeting with the president. He's certainly not meeting in the Situation Room. We don't believe he doesn't have the security credentials likely for that, although the president could certainly wave him in.

But look, I think the president is trying to bring some outsiders on board, or at the very least to get them to cool their jets.

RAJU: Yeah.

ZELENY: Because this is a something that the president is really not used to. Yesterday, he talked a lot, and he said, look, this is my movement. People believe and trust in me. So, that is one thing that's going on. But I do think that we cannot underestimate the specter of the Iraq war two decades on, is hanging over this decision.

Even though, I mean, there are differences in most every regard, but for the president, he does not want to engage in a long conflict. Of course, no president wants that, but sometimes there are unintended consequences. So, I'm told the president is still pressing his advisors and also seeing if diplomacy is an option. Steve Wyckoff, also in those meetings, so that's a possibility, but he is not rushing to this, a decision. That is clear as we sit here on Thursday.

TIA MITCHELL, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, THE ATLANTA JOURNAL- CONSTITUTION: Yeah. I think part of the calculus for President Trump, it's not just, you know, no president wants war, no president wants a long conflict, but he ran on the platform of avoiding these conflicts --

RAJU: Which is why the MAGA based, that Steve Bannon knows up in arms about this.

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MITCHELL: Absolutely. And it's not -- I don't think again, like Jeff said, it's not by accident that he arrived the way he arrived and wanted people to know he's there. Maybe he's not, you know, in the -- in the actual Situation Room, but I think he's talking to somebody there, and he's likely talking about Israel's conflict with Iran because that's what's on top of mind, and that's what he's been speaking about.

And no, Steve Bannon himself is not going to, you know, be the decision maker for President Trump. President Trump's going to make up his own mind. But I think people like Steve Bannon are giving Trump some insight onto how his base is reacting to the perspective of the U.S. getting more involved in this and how that could have impact.

I mean, Steve Bannon even said, you know, I think his base would get on board if he does decide to participate. But how do you do that? What's the calculus? Again, especially because the America First platform was about avoiding just this very thing, and criticizing Biden for how he wound down some of the previous Catholics.

RAJU: I mean, there's those doveish voices, though, that he's pushing aside. One of them is Tulsi Gabbard, our colleague, reporter of the Director of National Intelligence, has sort of been pushed aside in part because of this video that she posted not long ago, a three- minute video warning about potential nuclear war.

(PLAYING VIDEO)

ZELENY: Look, I mean, the president was asked by our Kaitlan Collins about this on Air Force One just two days ago. And he says, I don't care what she thinks. So, by putting out that video is clearly not wise in terms of staying in the fold here. As far as we know, she is not one of the leading voices the president at this hour is listening.

RAJU: And as they reported here, and as Jamie said earlier too, what Trump says, if it's a line which will Trump believes. That ultimately, is what matters for the president.

All right, coming up. As President Trump moves closer to striking Iran. Can he count on any Democratic support, the top Democrat on the House Services Committee? He'll join me next.

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