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One World with Zain Asher

Israel Issues New Evacuation Order In Southern Lebanon; Drones Shot Down Over Iraq's Kurdistan Region; Kuwait Hit By Multiple Iranian Strikes; U.S. Military Weighs Strategies In Strait Of Hormuz; Oil Market Cools As Trump Says Iran War To End "Very Soon"; Lebanon Calls For Israeli Peace Talks; Denounces Hezbollah; Historic, Cultural Landmarks Damaged By War In Iran; War In Iran Might Cost Iraq A Berth In The 2026 World Cup; Aired 12- 1p ET

Aired March 10, 2026 - 12:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:00:36]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN Breaking News.

ZAIN ASHER, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Coming to you live from New York, I'm Zain Asher. You are watching the second hour of "One World."

$5 billion. That was the cost of the munitions and the U.S. rather military burn through in just the first two days of its war on Iran. CNN has learned

that Pentagon assessment of being shared with members of Congress, even as President Donald Trump and his defense secretary, give contrasting versions

of how long this war will last.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETE HEGSETH, U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: This is not endless nation building under those types of quagmires we saw under Bush or Obama. It's not even

close.

Instead, we're winning decisively with brutal efficiency, total air dominance, and an unbreakable will to accomplish the president's objectives

on our timeline.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: Hegseth's comments come less than 24 hours after the president said that military operations were, quote, very complete, pretty much the

president's words.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're achieving major strides toward completing our military objective. And some people could say they're

pretty well complete.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You've said the war is, quote, very complete, but your defense secretary says this is just the beginning. So, which is it? And how

long should Americans be prepared (INAUDIBLE)?

TRUMP: Well, I think you could say about the beginning. It's the beginning of building a new country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: All right. In about two hours from now, we're expecting to hear from the White House when it gives a news briefing.

Meantime, in Beirut, new images are coming in after a large explosion. The IDF has said that it is carrying out targeted raids against Hezbollah in

Lebanon and in Tehran. Residents face terrifying strikes overnight. One person told CNN it felt like one of the worst nights since the war began.

According to Iran's U.N. envoy, more than 1,300 civilians have been killed so far.

CNN's Jeremy Diamond is tracking all the developments. He's joining us live now from Tel Aviv.

Just in terms of what we know about what's happening with southern Lebanon, the Israelis are essentially beginning targeted ground raids, perhaps

signaling a much deeper push into the country. Jeremy, what can you tell us about that?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that's right. Well, for the moment, what we know about are these targeted raids inside of Lebanon,

including in the town of Nabi Chit in the eastern part of Lebanon.

Those, so far, have not included the kind of broader ground defensive in Southern Lebanon that we have been watching very closely for, but we do

know that it is under consideration. And it was the topic of discussion as the Israeli prime minister, last night, held a security consultation on the

situation in Lebanon with the Israeli military considering a possible ground operation in Southern Lebanon to expand Israel's security zone

effectively in that part of the country.

We know that already they have multiple positions in Southern Lebanon where there are Israeli troops.

But amid these renewed anti-tank missile attacks by Hezbollah, there has been a push by some in the military to say, you know, that the Israelis

should expand that zone to put the residents of Northern Israel out of reach of that kind of eight kilometer range of those anti-tank missiles by

Hezbollah.

We have certainly seen amassing of tanks and troops at that northern border, but for now, no decision seems to have been made about a wider

ground offensive.

And this is all happening as Israel is continuing to carry out a series of airstrikes in the Southern suburbs of Beirut targeting in particular

Hezbollah's financial institutions, which seems to be an effort to try and degrade Hezbollah's ability to pay salaries and to kind of weaken support

for Hezbollah inside of Lebanon.

Meanwhile, the Israeli military is also continuing to carry out airstrikes in Iran as well as is the United States.

As far as Iran's attacks here in Israel, we have been watching as those sirens have continued to sound today and yesterday, although again, we are

seeing smaller barrages. Today, we've seen a much slower cadence of those attacks, but the Israeli military now telling us that about half of all of

the ballistic missile attacks by Iran, over the course of the last 10 days, have been using cluster munition warheads, which we have started to observe

the damage of some of those in Tel Aviv and in the area, these smaller bombs that kind of deploy from the -- the head of these missiles and can

cause damage. In fact, two people were killed near a construction site just a couple of days ago.

[12:05:19]

ASHER: All right. Jeremy Diamond, live for us there. Thank you so much.

Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region has been hit with drone strikes. Three drones armed with explosives were shot down over Erbil on Monday.

That's according to Kurdish authorities. Two drones were aimed at the consulate of the UAE with a third directed at the Erbil airport. No

casualties were reported. Pro-Iranian militias in Iraq have claimed responsibility.

Our chief international correspondent Clarissa Ward is in Erbil, Iraq for us. So, Clarissa, what does this suggest about the potential for this

conflict really widening and -- and escalating?

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think this is a very interesting shift in strategy, Zain, because up until this point

Erbil has been getting hammered with drones and strikes and missiles, both from Iran and Iran-backed militias.

But up until now, they've really focused on two main targets. Number one, Americans, wherever they may be, whether they be officials or with the

military or potentially just working here, even they've gone after hotels before.

And then the second thing that they have focused on are these Iranian Kurdish opposition forces. Of course, I'm sure you remember at one stage,

there was a lot of speculation that they might get further involved with the fighting inside Iran. And then President Trump appeared to change

course on that idea.

But this is the first time, certainly, that I can think of, that we have seen these Iranian-backed militias in Iraq firing drones at the UAE

consulate.

Now, the drones were intercepted. There were no casualties. We have heard the UAE calling for an investigation to try to find out who was responsible

for this.

But effectively, the leadership here already knows who was responsible. And they have been pressuring, Zain, Baghdad to try to rein in these Iran-

backed militias that have operated with a certain level of impunity for quite some time now, but which are now really putting a -- a strain on the

relationship between the leadership here in Iraqi Kurdistan and the government in Baghdad. Because up until this point, it seems that Iraqi

security forces have not been able to tamp down these attacks.

Now, we have seen a number of U.S. airstrikes on these militias, at least four, according to some reports, were killed in one strike earlier today

near Kirkuk. But again, they have shown themselves to be quite tenacious and quite resilient.

The irony of all of this, Zain, is that for the targeting that they have engaged in towards Americans, they have yet to kill or injure, in

Kurdistan, at least, a single American. Instead, it has been ordinary Kurdish Peshmerga forces, security guards, who have two of them, at least,

been killed in these attacks.

So, while they have not been very effective, they have become a real security concern. And the KRG, the -- the Kurdish Regional Government

today, calling a meeting to address this threat and think of ways to respond to it more forcefully, Zain.

ASHER: All right. Clarissa Ward, live for us there. Thank you so much.

All right. Let's go to our Nic Robertson who is in Kuwait, which has taken a significant amount of the Iranian attacks in the region.

So, Nic, one of the things that we learned today from Pete Hegseth is that today is probably going to be one of the most sort of brutal days, just in

terms of the U.S. pounding sites in Iran.

We know that Iran has been retaliating against other Gulf nations, not just the UAE, but Kuwait, where you are. In fact, Kuwait's emir has been very

outspoken, just in terms of saying that they consider Iran to be a friend. And they don't understand why another Muslim nation is attacking it. We

know that Kuwait's international airport was attacked. So it is likely that Kuwait is bracing itself from the fallout of Pete Hegseth's comments, just

in terms of Iran retaliating against it.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes. More -- more than 200 ballistic missiles, more than 400 drones fired here for a size of the

country and per capita population, five million people. It's very high. They're taking a high toll and death toll as well. Four service personnel

have been killed here. An 11-year-old girl, more than 90 people injured as well.

Of course, as the U.S. service personnel fatalities and injuries here. Government buildings have been hit. Government workers are -- are working

from home. They're still -- the streets are still relatively busy, but nothing like they would be.

[12:10:02]

So, yes, they're -- they're bracing themselves. They don't know what's going to be the targets. They've seen U.S. bases be the targets for the

civilian airport has been hit. Fuel storage there has been hit in the past few days.

I think what is interesting and what people here will be looking at tonight in particular, a relatively light level of attack last night, just one

drone and two ballistic missiles.

Now, that's significantly down from what they've -- what they've recently had over the past week or so.

And the emir of Kuwait, as you say, very clearly, criticizing Iran, questioning their motives, stating, again, as we've heard from Saudi Arabia

and others, that the bases, the U.S. -- the bases here that the United States uses are not being used in an offensive capacity. They're being used

in a defensive capacity to protect against the ballistic missiles and the - - and the drones.

But, you know, when -- when the -- the Pentagon and when Israel both speak about degrading Iran's ability to fire back, maybe Kuwait sort of was a

beneficiary of that last night.

But again, to -- to Pete Hegseth's comments and how Iran will respond to that, will Kuwait find itself in the crosshairs again tonight? Not clear.

ASHER: Yes, that is the question. All right. Nic Robertson, live for us there. Thank you so much.

All right. This is a -- take a look here, the Strait of Hormuz. This is the critical international waterway, even reporting on in which about 20

percent of the world's oil passes through.

As the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran stretched into its second week, the United States is now looking at options for protecting vessels navigating

the Strait.

Here's more from the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEN. DAN CAINE, CHAIRMAN, U.S. JOINT CHIEFS OF STAFF: If tasked to escort, you know, we'll look at the range of options to set the military conditions

to be able to do that. And then like we always do with every potential mission, come to the secretary and the president with both, what are the

resources required, what is the command and control required, and what are the risks and how do we mitigate those risks.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: CNN military analyst Colonel Cedric Leighton joins us live now.

I mean, with the -- the sort of closure of the Strait of Hormuz, Iran is really hitting the US where it hurts. And when we look at what Pete Hegseth

said earlier, this idea or the administration rather, this idea that if this continues to happen, if the Strait of Hormuz continues to stay closed,

then the U.S. will essentially hit Iran 20 times harder.

As it pertains to this strategy that Dan Caine was speaking about, this idea of the U.S. escorting its own vessels through that Strait, it's

something that the U.S. has done in the past, in other conflicts, but walk us to what the risks are of doing that.

CEDRIC LEIGHTON, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Yes, Zain. It's great to be with you again.

The risks are actually many. So for one thing, as we know, the Strait of Hormuz is only 21 miles across. And the shipping channel is only two miles

across. So that makes it very hard to -- to defend area.

And the Iranians being on the north shore of the -- of the Strait of Hormuz, they have a -- a very easy way of -- of actually striking at

targets within them. They can use artillery. They can use fast boats. They can use standard naval vessels of which they have far, far fewer.

Now, with the over 50 vessels, Iranian vessels being some were destroyed, that -- that part is gone. But the fast boats and the artillery and drones

are really the ways in which they can bottle up the Strait of Hormuz.

And then the -- the big thing though that they have in their arsenal are the mines. So they can -- they have somewhere around estimated 5,000 mines

that they could potentially deploy into the Strait of Hormuz. That would effectively shut down that shipping channel for some time. Mine sweepers

would have to come in and take those out, obviously, to ensure safety of navigation.

But this is a very complex area. And it would require the United States to obtain not only air superiority over the area, but also what amounts to

maritime superiority over that particular area. So it would be a difficult problem set for the military to solve, for the U.S. Navy in particular to

solve, but it could definitely be done if they concentrated their efforts on securing the Strait of Hormuz and in particular that north shore of, you

know, the Strait of Hormuz.

ASHER: Colonel Cedric, just when Pete Hegseth says that today is going to be the most intense day of the war so far, why? I mean, explain the

strategy behind today. Today of all days being the most intense. Walk us through that.

[12:15:01]

LEIGHTON: Yes. So every day seems to be more intense than the previous day. And if everything holds true to what Secretary Hegseth said, then what that

would mean is that the volume of strike against Iranian targets would increase.

We've seen a very high volume of attacks, you know, at the very beginning of this -- this war with Iran. And -- and the way they do this is they

basically increase the number of sorties of basically of flights over a particular target area.

So some targets might be struck multiple times. And the idea would be to totally decimate things like their missile emplacements, like their

launching facilities, like their anchorages for -- for boats. And that would be the kind of thing that they would have to do.

In essence, things would be struck and re-struck and possibly struck a third or fourth time in order to achieve that military dominance that they

would have to have in order to, not only secure objectives, but also to meet that threshold of the most intense strikes that they've -- that

they've been able to launch yet.

ASHER: One of the objectives is, of course, regime change. But then you have President Trump saying that he expects the war to be over soon. How do

those two things go together?

LEIGHTON: Well, they don't. And so here's -- here's part of the problem. You know, on the one hand, if the regime change is an objective, then that

would require a much greater application of military force than we've seen even to this point in -- in the conflict.

So what would -- you know, what would really is happening here is they're reducing the objectives. The objective is no longer regime change. We might

call it leadership change or leadership personality change, but it's not really a change given the fact that, yes, the person is different because

it's the son rather than the father in the form of Mojtaba Khamenei.

But the policies from Iran are probably going to be the same. And the efforts that the Iranians are going to make to basically avenge the attacks

on them are probably going to be quite intense.

Now they might take a while to, not only formulate their plans and carry out their -- their attacks, but they're going to have, not only a long

memory, but also a long time horizon. And that long time horizon is going to make a real difference in the way this conflict is carried out and how

long this conflict really lasts.

We might see a cessation of U.S. strikes and possibly Israeli strikes after a period of time, like in the next week or so perhaps. But after that, the

Iranians will probably respond one way or the other. And that's -- that's where there's going to be a difference between what's being said at the

Pentagon and what is actually happening on the ground, on the sea, and in the air around Iran.

ASHER: Yes. I mean, both of the objectives, which is a regime change as we talked about, but also this idea of retrieving uranium, both of those very,

very difficult to achieve.

Colonel Cedric Leighton, live for us. Thank you. Thank you so much.

All right. Still to come, oil is, of course, a precious commodity and an indicator of volatility across the world. So, when can we see calm in the

oil markets? We'll ask our expert, our resident expert, Richard Quest, after the break.

Then lives upended on a massive scale. Israeli attacks on Lebanon are deepening an already dire humanitarian crisis, enforcing hundreds of

thousands of civilians to flee with nothing but the clothes on their backs.

And Iraq's men's national football team have waited 40 years for a berth in the World Cup, but it could all possibly slip away as the war in Iran rages

on.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[12:20:31]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Normally when I put in 20 to 30 bucks, I get five, seven gallons. Now I've only got two, three gallons, you know what I mean? So

it's not like -- it's not like it's supposed to.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: Well, affordability has, of course, already been a major issue with Americans recently. And a surge in gas prices is doing nothing to help with

that.

On Monday, the price of crude oil soared to more than $100 a barrel. A level we haven't seen, by the way, since 2022 when markets were, of course,

rocked by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Right now, let's take a look and see where things stand right now. WTI crude, $85 a barrel, down slightly, down 10 percent, actually. Prices came

back down a bit after President Donald Trump said that the war in Iran was nearing an end.

But the world's biggest oil exporter, Saudi Aramco, says the consequences will be catastrophic if oil transport through the Strait of Hormuz does not

resume.

President Trump says that the U.S. won't be affected as much as other countries.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: You have to keep the straits flowing. With all of that, it affects other countries much more than it does the United States. It doesn't really

affect us. We have so much oil. We have tremendous oil and gas, much more than we need. We have Venezuela now as our new partner, great partner.

We're in a very good position, but very unfair to other parts of the world, like China, as an example. I mean, we're doing this for the other parts of

the world, including countries like China. They get a lot of their oil through the straits.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ASHER: Richard Quest joins us live now.

So, Richard, when the U.S. president says, you know, the fact that the Strait of Hormuz is basically closed for vessels passing through, even

though 20 percent of the world's oil passes through that, it doesn't really affect us as much as it does other countries, because we have Venezuela,

which we know that's going to take a lot of time to come online.

How much truth is there to the president's words, Richard?

RICHARD QUEST, CNN BUSINESS EDITOR-AT-LARGE: Quite a lot of truth. And it's much more, as in all ways, it's much more nuanced and sophisticated than

just we're not as badly affected.

The reality is that the U.S. imports between four percent and six percent or seven percent of its crude oil imports from other parts of the world.

Its main import of crude comes from Canada. So, if you add in what it produces itself, the huge amounts of shale oil and the Canadian imports, it

doesn't need that much from the rest of the world.

Now, that tech gets you so far, but, of course, your differences between the light, sweet, crude and the heavy Venezuelans and the very heavy oils

that can come out of Texas.

So, you need a bit of everything, frankly, Zain, to -- to make up a proper market. But the U.S. is not going to be as badly hit. Most of the oil from

the Gulf goes east to Asia and China.

ASHER: And just in terms of some of the comments we got from the CEO of Saudi Aramco, about the potential implications if this war drags on and

what -- what it would do to global markets and how the economy would be affected. What did he have to say, Richard?

QUEST: OK. So, I've been talking to the Chief Executive of Maersk, which is the world's largest shipping line and one of the top ones in the world.

Now, Maersk, if -- if we go back to our map of the Strait of Hormuz, and I'll be able to just sort of get an idea of the Strait of Hormuz. On the

left side, Maersk says it's got about 10 container ships stuck in the upper Gulf.

[12:25:10]

It's got many dozens more sort of waiting in and around. It's closed off the strait. It's closed off access to -- it's no longer going through the

Red Sea. And so Vincent Clerc made it clear, there are going to be widespread implications.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VINCENT CLERC, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, MAERSK: This is going to create ripple effect, I think, for a -- for a while, as we -- as we need to see

how this is going to sort itself out.

In the short run, we can -- we can, manage this, but if this was to endure, this would create, I think, serious congestions and serious issues across

the global supply chain.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUEST: Now, the inherent contradiction of the president's comments last night on the one hand it's nearly over, but I'm going to go much harder.

The -- the -- the inherent contradiction can be solved, you know, depending on what the Iranians do.

Mr. Trump would say at the moment, it's nearly over. But if the Iranians continue, which they seem likely to do, to -- to choke off the strait, then

it will continue and it will get much worse and that's what's worrying the market.

So, Zain, when you point out as you've just done a moment ago that the -- that the price of oil is down at a further 10 percent, I suggest that is

about as thin and weak that reduction as scotch mist and would disappear in an instant assuming --

ASHER: Oh, I'm sure.

QUEST: Yes, assuming something nasty what to take place.

ASHER: I'm sure. I mean, this is -- we're -- we're buckling up, Richard. This is just --

QUEST: Yes.

ASHER: -- the beginning. We'll see -- we'll see what happens the next few days.

Richard Quest, thank you.

All right. Still to come, some of Iran's most treasured cultural sites and historic landmarks are being damaged in this war. We'll have details on

that as well, ahead.

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ASHER: All right. Welcome back to "One World." I'm Zain Asher.

The Israeli military is carrying out what it calls targeted raids in Southern Lebanon. It comes as the IDF is weighing a deeper ground push into

the country.

[12:30:09]

On Monday, Lebanon's president denounced Hezbollah and actually called for direct talk to the Israel and an immediate ceasefire to end the fighting.

Hours later, the Israeli army launched attacks in Southern Lebanon after issuing immediate evacuation orders.

CNN's Nick Paton Walsh has the very latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): As the war fast spills over and twists, here Hezbollah rockets meet Israeli air defense. The fight thickening on the northern border Sunday

night.

WALSH: We've been hearing that for about an hour now. Probably airstrikes over there in Southern Lebanon.

WALSH (voice-over): Blasts through the dark. With daylight, it persisted, joined by Apache attack helicopters throwing defensive flares. As Israel

said, it had overnight led its second targeted raid on the Iranian ally here.

(GUNSHOTS)

Small arms fire close by. Israel has demanded much of Southern Lebanon empty out, but there were no open signs they were yet here in number enough

for a full invasion. Instead, picking off targets.

The goal, to disarm Hezbollah forever, not yet in reach, their rockets constant.

(SIREN)

WALSH: Right over our head.

WALSH (voice-over): The house where we took cover had 28 alerts last night.

WALSH: How long is it? Is it about 10 seconds?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, it's immediate. You need to hear the --

WALSH: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: -- the horn, the (INAUDIBLE) the siren, but it's the moment that you need to be inside the shelter.

WALSH: Don't you get tired of this?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We get tired. We don't have any choice.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's our home.

WALSH (voice-over): Devastated Lebanon, their view here has a feeling of repeat from late 2024 where Israel took on Hezbollah and whole towns

evacuated, but now many are staying put.

In fact, this shop opened three days before the new conflict began.

Owner Ori (ph) saying he's working 250 miles an hour doing mostly home deliveries.

WALSH: But it was a difficult business decision to open a supermarket 200 meters from Hezbollah or not?

WALSH (voice-over): It wasn't an easy decision, he said, but I had no doubt that if other people lived here, I could as well.

Life here, trying to act as if nothing is happening, although it surely must if Israel's goals are to be met.

Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Metula, Israel.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ASHER: All right. Amid escalating violence, the humanitarian situation in Lebanon is growing rapidly worse. The U.N. says nearly 700,000 people,

including 200,000 children, have been forced out of their homes since the U.S.-Israeli war began with Iran.

The civilian death toll is mounting. The Lebanese health ministry says nearly 500 people have been killed. One of them, this priest who chose to

stay with his congregation in their village near the border with Israel, even as it came under fire from Israeli tanks.

The World Health Organization says that Lebanon's hospitals are now under extraordinary strain with some of them out of service altogether.

The International Rescue Committee, meantime, says that more than 70 percent of Lebanon's population was already in need of humanitarian

assistance before the latest violence began.

Kim Ghattas is a distinguished fellow at Columbia University's Institute of Global Politics and a contributing writer at "The Atlantic" magazine. She

joins us live now from Lebanon.

So, Kim, one of the things that I thought was interesting this week is that you had the president of Lebanon, Joseph Aoun, essentially come out and say

that he would be willing to negotiate with the Israelis.

The Lebanese people are very tired, of course, of being dragged into conflict. And there is a shift, even among Shia Lebanese, a lot of Lebanese

people are sort of distanced themselves from Hezbollah.

Just walk us through what sort of consequences and ramifications this might have on this group, especially given that they have been so weakened

already by the last few years of conflict with the Israelis.

KIM GHATTAS, CONTRIBUTING WRITER, THE ATLANTIC: Great to be with you, Zain.

[12:35:02]

The Lebanese feel stuck between Israel and its designs of, you know, military victories as it describes their military campaigns and military

supremacy launching war against Lebanon, against Iran, and stuck between that and Hezbollah, which was ostensibly seen in -- in years past when

Israel still occupied Southern Lebanon.

It was seen as a resistance movement against Israeli occupation, but is increasingly seen as purely upon of Iran.

And there's a lot of anger inside Lebanon because Hezbollah launched these rockets at Israel on the second or third day of the war between Israel and

Iran in revenge for -- or to avenge the death of the Iranian supreme leader.

And that comes despite the fact that Hezbollah had -- Hezbollah members and leaders had given assurances to Lebanese politicians, they would not get

involved. So

It's become clear that the Iranian Revolutionary Guards have much more say about what is happening inside Lebanon and how Hezbollah conducts itself,

which is why we have now seen the Lebanese president and prime ministers speak out so forcefully, perhaps a little bit, you know, too little too

late, but speak out so forcefully against what Hezbollah's doing at the moment and its actions.

The offer to sit down to negotiate with Israelis has, for now, not been met with much enthusiasm in Washington or even in Israel, because it's very

clear that Israel feels that it needs to continue with its military campaign to try to degrade Hezbollah further and further as much as

possible, even if the war with Iran wraps up.

And just one last point, even if the Iranian regime were to collapse, which I don't actually foresee, not in the near future, Hezbollah is an entity

that operates also locally, that has a constituency still to this day, and that has members of parliament and a milieu in which it operates and which

it can rely on.

So the campaign in Lebanon is almost independent. The Israeli military campaign against Lebanon and Hezbollah is almost separate from the war

between Israel and Iran.

ASHER: So, what are Joseph Aoun's options here? I mean, obviously, as you lay out, it's going to be very difficult to negotiate directly with the

Israelis -- the Israelis sort of their -- their beef, if you will. Their problem is not necessarily with the Lebanese people, it is with

specifically Hezbollah, but unfortunately, Hezbollah has set up shop inside Lebanon. It's very difficult to separate the two for the Israelis just in

terms of their military campaign.

So, what are Joseph Aoun's options here?

GHATTAS: You know, the Israelis often say, you know, our problem is not with the Lebanese people, it's with Hezbollah, but it is 700,000 Lebanese

people who are displaced and who are suffering from this onslaught, this military onslaught against the country.

You know, whole villages are being destroyed in Southern Lebanon, not every single one of these homes belongs to a member of Hezbollah. So this is

collective punishment, whatever Israeli officials say.

I don't think President Aoun has many options other than offering for -- offering these negotiations and see whether Israel is willing to sit down

at this point.

I believe that they will continue with their military campaign. And once they feel that they've degraded Hezbollah enough, then they will be willing

to sit down.

Because the perception in Israel, which is not completely incorrect, is that the Lebanese government and the Lebanese army have not done enough

over the last year to disarm Hezbollah, or at least to make sure that it is no longer operational militarily south of the Netanya, which sort of

delineates the area that is closest to -- to Israel and from where Hezbollah can launch rockets and -- and missiles at -- at northern -- at

northern Israel and -- and beyond.

The fear in Lebanon has always been that trying to take on Hezbollah militarily could lead to a civil war internally, because of course

Hezbollah is a Shia militia, but every single member of Hezbollah has relatives that are maybe not in Hezbollah. Maybe he has a cousin who's in

the army. Maybe he has a -- a brother, a cousin, a friend, et cetera.

So, it's a mosaic of -- of a community that is not homogeneous, that is not all within Hezbollah, but family ties and -- and -- and -- and friendships,

et cetera, political ties, and business ties, make it difficult to tackle this group militarily.

And it's important to remember, Zain, that there are no military victories anywhere in history that are not accompanied by diplomatic negotiations and

diplomatic offers. And this is what we are truly lacking at this point in Lebanon, but also with Iran, and across the last two years of Israeli

military campaigns following the massacre of October 7th. There have been many tactical Israeli military successes but zero diplomatic initiatives.

[12:40:31]

ASHER: And both sides, especially as it pertains to the Americans and the Iranians. Both sides appear to be dug in, even though you have the U.S.

president saying that he thinks this war is going to end soon. Some people are speculating that perhaps the Americans are going to have to settle for

a lot less than regime change, given how difficult that is to accomplish.

GHATTAS: Oh, absolutely.

ASHER: Kim Ghattas.

GHATTAS: And this was very clear from the beginning.

ASHER: All right. Kim Ghattas, live for us there. Thank you so much.

All right. Some of Iran's treasured historical and cultural sites are being damaged as the war continues for a second week. CNN's Leila Gharagozlou

reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LEILA GHARAGOZLOU, CNN PRODUCER: Images are emerging of one of Iran's most beautiful cities being struck by U.S. and Israeli bombardment. Now, one of

those sites, Chehel Sotoun, has been damaged by U.S. and Israeli bombardment just meters away.

This video released by state media shows windows shattered and latticework broken. Elsewhere in Isfahan, striking images show the Naqsh-e Jahan Square

with a plume of smoke from an airstrike highlighting the proximity of this war to Iran's historic and cultural landmarks.

And in Tehran, the Golestan Palace, the setting for many coronation ceremonies of Iranian kings, famous for its intricate mirror work, now left

in ruins, shattered by debris from shockwaves of an airstrike.

Images show extensive damage to what UNESCO calls a masterpiece of the Qajar era.

The U.N.'s World Heritage arm has put out a statement expressing concern and a reminder, cultural property is protected under international law.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(EXPLOSION)

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ASHER: All right. You're looking at video over a beach in Dubai on Sunday. You can actually see fighter jets firing a single missile at what appears

to be an Iranian drone. It's unclear whether the missile hit the drone.

This incident comes as Gulf nations, including the UAE, fend off Iranian attacks as the impact of the conflict ripples throughout the region.

CNN's senior producer Bijan Hosseini reports from Doha, Qatar.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

[12:45:04]

BIJAN HOSSEINI, CNN SENIOR PRODUCER: More international involvement coming in to help defend these Gulf countries against Iran's retaliation. We heard

from the Australian prime minister.

They're also sending a E-7 Wedgetail. It's this massive reconnaissance aircraft. It can, you know, a long-range surveillance. It can help with

early system monitoring. So, a very welcomed piece of military tech coming to the U.A. there.

We also heard from the U.K., they have been involved since day one, helping intercept a lot of these attacks on -- on behalf of a number of Gulf

countries.

We heard from their defense secretary, John Healey earlier, here's what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN HEALEY, BRITISH DEFENSE SECRETARY: Typhoon successfully took out two drones, one over Jordan, the second heading to Bahrain. The third Wildcat

has now arrived in Cyprus. And we've now deployed additional RAF operations experts in more than five countries in the region, helping coordinate

regional military and civilian airspace.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOSSEINI: The U.K. ministry of defense has been paramount in helping defend some of these attacks. We know here in Qatar specifically, they operate a

joint typhoon squadron with the Qatari Air Force.

That, since day one, I think on March 1st, we heard from the U.K.'s ministry of defense that they were intercepting. And that was way back

when.

We know a couple of days ago as well, they announced that they were going to send four additional Typhoon fighters here to country.

Now this all happens as things, not as intense in the Gulf as the past couple of days. Unfortunately, in Bahrain, overnight, one person did die,

eight more injured when an attack hit a residential building.

And we do know that alarms sounded earlier in the UAE today. But here in Qatar, we haven't received a emergency alert system for at least 22 hours.

It brings a little sigh of relief to the people living here.

And actually looking outside, there is a slow sense of a return to normalcy. Albeit a very slow one.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ASHER: Our Bijan Hosseini reporting there.

All right. Coming up, a moment decades in the making, maybe in peril as chaos ensues in the Middle East. Why Iraq's men's national football team

may have to wait a little bit longer for another shot at the World Cup.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ASHER: All right. The war in Iran touches all aspects of life, including sport. Iraq's men's national football team is just one game away from

actually qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, a feat that they have not achieved in decades, but the violence in the Middle East could actually

cost the team its next shot.

[12:50:12]

CNN World Sports Don Riddell is here with more. I mean, this would be tragic. They're so close. They're so close. This would be the first time in

40 years. And because of the violence in the Middle East, they might not be able to make it to Mexico. So, this would be, essentially, snatching defeat

from the jaws of victory. Walk us through it, Don.

DON RIDDELL, CNN WORLD SPORT: Well, let's hope it doesn't come to that. But, yes, Zain, there are now so many complications arising from the

situation in the Middle East, impacting the upcoming FIFA World Cup tournament this summer.

I mean, one is will Iran play? They've hinted that they might withdraw from the tournament and they have already qualified for it.

Iran has been lobbing missiles and drones against Qatar and Saudi Arabia. Two teams who are playing in the tournament. Iran also would be playing in

the U.S., hosted by the country with which they are at war.

And then there's the Iraq situation. Now, the Iraqi team, as you say, they haven't been to the World Cup in 40 years. This is their biggest game in

all that time. They are due to be playing in Mexico on March the 31st against the winner of either Bolivia or Suriname. So just 90 minutes away,

potentially Iraq from the tournament.

But right now, they don't think they can get there. The coach is stuck in Dubai. His medical team is stuck in Qatar. And 60 percent of his players

are stuck in Iraq, where they've been told that the airspace will not be opened until April the 1st at the earliest. And they're supposed to be

playing the day before that. So it is a predicament. And they are asking FIFA for some help on the matter.

I recently spoke with the Iraq coach, the Australian, Graham Arnold, and asked him how he's feeling and -- and how they're navigating this really,

really complicated situation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GRAHAM ARNOLD, HEAD COACH, IRAQ NATIONAL FOOTBALL TEAM: FIFA needs to obviously make a quick decision on this, because it's -- it's a bit -- a

bit unfair at this moment with what we would have to go through.

But, you know, if, for example, that Suriname can still play Bolivia, if we can't get there and we could always play the winner just before the World

Cup in -- in America and let us prepare properly and do it's required to -- to be successful.

RIDDELL: It wouldn't be fair if you could only get kind of a B team to this game, right? That would not be a satisfactory solution.

What has FIFA's engagement been like with you? Are they -- are they receptive to your -- your issues and concerns?

ARNOLD: Yes. The communication with FIFA and the AFC has been very good with the (INAUDIBLE). You know, what we can do is I've got to prepare that

the game is on and we're going.

I would -- as I said, for me, you know, the question, there's a couple of big questions. One is, is Iran going to go to the World Cup? Or if they're

not going to go to the World Cup, it would give FIFA time to make that decision, if we had that playoff game the week before the World Cup starts.

Bolivia and Suriname can play in -- in March. They've got no complications with flights or anything. They -- they can get themselves there straight

away. And we could play the winner of that -- of that game just before the World Cup starts. The winner stays to play the World Cup and the loser goes

home.

That's -- and that would also give FIFA the time to, you know, deal with the Iran situation if they go or if they don't go. But at this moment in

time, I'm just focused on ourselves. I'm focusing on the game going ahead to make sure that the players and everything's ready.

But, as I said to you, Don, it's -- the complications at this moment and the preparation is -- is very difficult.

RIDDELL: FIFA told you when they'll make a decision on this?

ARNOLD: No. Not at this moment. We're just in communication. I've got great communication with the FIFA people and so is the organization. And it's one

step at a time, one day at a time. And it's stressful. You know, a lot of sleepless nights wearing about, obviously getting that planning right.

But it's very, very hard to do that when you're -- when the -- the airspace that we've been told by, again, we've been told the airspace in Baghdad,

where so many of the players and staff is, will not be reopened until the first of April.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RIDDELL: Yes. It's such a difficult situation. Graham Arnold there, saying that they're planning for this game and they're preparing for it, even

though they're scattered all over the Middle East, they're not even together. And they don't even know if it's remotely possible that they can

get there.

They said there was a possible alternative where they could maybe have taken a 30-hour bus ride out of Iraq to another country, but then they

would have had issues getting visas for those countries. And even as it is, they're struggling to get visas to be able to access Mexico, because many

embassies in the Middle East are now closed.

I guess it's true what they say, sometimes the last mile is the hardest. That is where Iraq find themselves at the moment with regards to their

World Cup qualification attempt. They already have had to cancel a training camp they'd scheduled in Houston coming up, which would have allowed them

to acclimatize to both the weather and also the time zone, but that's now off.

And so this really does remain in limbo, but we do understand that FIFA are hoping or planning to make some kind of decision by the end of this week.

And as Graham Arnold has proposed, if they can leave it until much close to the tournament, essentially the week before the tournament, then they can

play that game, then they will know what the deal is with Iran, because if Iran pull out as the next best team in Asia, Iraq feels as though they

should get that place anyway. And that would basically negate all of the issues they're currently trying to deal with.

[12:55:43]

But there's an awful lot still to be figured out. Hopefully though, the Iraq team will know soon if things are any simpler for them.

ASHER: All right. Don Riddell, we are crossing our fingers and hoping that they make it to Mexico. Thank you so much.

And that does it for this hour of "One World." I'm Zain Asher. Appreciate you watching. "Amanpour" is up next.

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[13:00:00]

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