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The Situation Room
Middle East on Brink of War?
Aired July 13, 2006 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks very much, Lou. And to our viewers, you're in THE SITUATION ROOM where new pictures and information are arriving all the time. Standing by CNN reporters across the United States and around the world to bring you tonight's top stories.
Happening now -- the Middle East may be teetering on the brink of war. It's 2:00 a.m. Friday in Lebanon, where Israeli forces are trying to choke off the threat from Hezbollah militants with strikes on land, by sea and air. Israel itself under fire tonight with rocket attacks on its third largest city. We have live reports from the hottest spots in the region.
Also this hour, two key players in this escalating conflict, the Israeli ambassador to the United States, Daniel Ayalon and the Syria ambassador to the U.S., Imad Moustapha. And immediate fallout from the Middle East crisis hitting Americans very, very close to home.
It's 7:00 p.m. in New York where crude oil prices are hitting yet another record high. And analysts predict gas prices will soar even more.
I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
Tonight, breaking news from the Middle East -- Israeli aircraft pounding another target in Lebanon, striking the main highway linking Beirut to the Syrian capital of Damascus. Israel's army chief is warning that nothing in Lebanon right now is safe as the nation retaliates for the kidnapping of two of its soldiers. Israeli forces attack the Beirut International Airport twice today and a naval blockade of Lebanese waters now in effect.
Israel took hits as well. For the first time guerrilla rockets reached Israel's third largest city, Haifa. Israel accused Hezbollah militants of escalating an already volatile situation. Also tonight strong new verbal threats, Israel's ambassador to the U.S. is warning Iran and Syria will both face consequences for supporting Hezbollah. Now Iran's president it reportedly suggesting that an Israeli attack on Syria would be considered an attack on the whole Islamic world and would bring a fierce response.
In Germany tonight President Bush is standing behind Israel. Secretary of state Condoleezza Rice, though, is warning that Israel should exercise restraint in its acts of self-defense. We have reporters covering all of this breaking news out of the Middle East. CNN's John Vause is standing by in Haifa. We have Alessio Vinci. He's standing by in Beirut. Ed Henry is traveling with the president in Germany and John Vause is with us as well. John Vause is in Haifa.
In fact, let's go to Alessio Vinci in Beirut first with the latest from there -- Alessio.
ALESSIO VINCI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hello, Wolf. Well there is a sense here that the violence is escalating and coming closer and closer to home. I think most of the people, especially here in Beirut, are used to skirmishes and attacks across the border in the south. But when this morning they woke up to the news that Israeli air jets had -- jets had bombed the international airport, the only international airport in this country, virtually shutting it down, then really there was a realization that the fighting was really increasing and the stakes were actually getting higher and higher.
And we've seen throughout the day repeated attacks throughout this country and here in Beirut we noticed that people who normally stay out in the streets and go out -- work and be with people in general outside, they basically decided to stay at home. And the streets are eerily quiet throughout the day and tonight even in the middle of a summer night, there should be still people outside celebrating, eating at restaurants, at open-air restaurants.
This is not happening at all, Wolf. So there is definitely a sense that something big is about to happen. At the same time, of course, there is also the realization that Israeli jets have dropped leaflets warning civilians in the southern suburbs of Beirut that to stay away from buildings controlled by Hezbollah. That area of course being a predominantly Muslim area where the Hezbollah support is quite great.
And there is, of course, fear that perhaps there might be an attack tonight. All of this of course happening while people are beginning to stockpile on supplies both here in Beirut. We've seen people at gas stations as well as down in the south on -- taking in some food, stuff. So, all this to say that in Beirut tonight there is definitely a feeling that there might be something more happening overnight. Back to you, Wolf.
BLITZER: We'll be standing by with you, Alessio. Stand by for us. Alessio is in Beirut. Let's head down the Mediterranean coast to Haifa. CNN's John Vause is watching the situation there, not very far away from the Lebanese border -- John.
JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, earlier Wednesday evening, two Katyusha rockets, according to the Israeli military, hit this port city of Haifa. The Israeli government views this as a major escalation because this is the first time that Hezbollah rockets have reached so deep inside Israeli territory. It's still unclear precisely what type of missiles were fired. A Katyusha rocket has a range of around 12 miles.
Haifa is about 30 miles away from Lebanon's border. That could mean that Hezbollah has managed to extend the range of the Katyusha rocket, although it could be a different missile all together. Tonight, though, the Israeli military is advising residents here to stay close to safe rooms as well as bomb shelters. Hezbollah denies the missiles which were fired were in fact theirs, but it has claimed responsibility for hundreds of other rocket attacks in the northern part of Israel, killing at least two people, wounding dozens of others. And as Israel escalates its military campaign in Lebanon, residents both here and further north are now bracing for further attacks -- Wolf.
BLITZER: All right, John. Thank you very much. Let's continue to head down the Mediterranean coast. Further south in Gaza, Ben Wedeman is standing by there. It started a couple of weeks ago, almost three weeks ago, Ben, in Gaza. What's the latest from that front?
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Wolf. Well for the first time, really, in several weeks, Gaza was relatively quiet today. The only major incident was that one Palestinian civilian was killed this evening by fire from an Israeli tank in central Gaza. Now, Israel's offensive, which began, as you said, about three weeks ago, following the capture by Palestinian militants of 19-year-old Israeli Army Corporal Gilad Shalit, this offensive seems to have been put on hold, Israel clearly not wanting to fight a full-blown offensives on two fronts.
Now, we are hearing word from Cairo, however, that Egyptian mediators have revived their efforts to convince the militants to release the Israeli corporal. Yesterday, in fact, the (INAUDIBLE), who is the Palestinian prior foreign minister, he's also a Hamas leader, made a point of going around to all the major news agencies to reiterate the group's desires or, rather, demands that would lead to the release of the Israeli corporal -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Ben Wedeman in Gaza for us. Let's go to Germany. That's where the president of the United States is right now. Our White House correspondent Ed Henry is watching all of the developments from there. We heard today and from the president and from the secretary of state. What's their bottom line message?
ED HENRY, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, it's just after 1:00 a.m. here in Germany but just a short while ago, Secretary of State Rice did have a quick briefing with reporters where she said that traveling White House here in Germany, they're heading to Russia tomorrow, they're moderating the Mideast situation minute by minute. She said she and her colleague, national security adviser Stephen Hadley are calling counterparts in the region to get reports and they're also urging Israel to exercise restraint.
The message from Secretary Rice as well as from the president today was that Israel has a right to defend itself but it can't overreact. There is a fear among the U.S. government that an overreaction could topple the fledgling democracy in Lebanon. Secretary Rice also had some tough talk for Iran and Syria.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) CONDOLEEZZA RICE, SECRETARY OF STATE: Syria and Iran have been very much in the opposite direction, encouraging and, indeed, in the case of Syria, sheltering the people who are perpetrating these acts. We have to remember that both the external leadership of Hamas and a number of the Hezbollah activities are carried out from the territory of Syria. And Syria needs to act responsibly and stop the use of its territory for these kinds of activity and needs to bring all pressure on those that it is harboring to stop this and to return these soldiers and to allow the situation to deescalate.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HENRY: This only raises the stakes for the president at the G-8 summit that kicks off Sunday in St. Petersburg. The agenda was already crowded with tough global hot spots from Iraq, to Iran, North Korea, now add another big, big issue to top of that list -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Ed Henry on the scene for us traveling with the president. Thank you, Ed, very much, much more coming up on this story.
In the meantime, though, let's check in with Jack Cafferty. He's got "The Cafferty File" -- Jack.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: You know American presidents historically look a lot older after two terms in office. And given the kind of a plate that George Bush has in front of him right now, it is no wonder they age in office. I wouldn't want to be in his shoes tonight. What a mess.
The violence continuing to escalate on the Israeli/Lebanese border and while that was going on, the U.N. Security Council today voted on a resolution condemning Israel for its attacks in Gaza. The U.S. vetoed that resolution. It demanded Israel halt its attacks in Gaza. It also demanded that Palestinian militants release an abducted Israeli soldier and stop launching rockets at Israel.
Ten other nations voted in favor of that resolution and four nations abstained. The U.S. ambassador to the U.N., John Bolton, says the resolution was already outdated in light of other events going on and Bolton said it would only have helped to inflame passions in the region. So the question is this.
Should the United States have vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution condemning Israel's military incursion into Gaza? E-mail your thoughts to CaffertyFile@CNN.com or go to CNN.com/CaffertyFile -- Wolf.
BLITZER: All right, Jack. Thanks very much. And if you want a sneak preview of Jack's questions, plus an early read on the day's political news and what's ahead in THE SITUATION ROOM, here's what you do. You sign up for our daily e-mail alert. Just go to CNN.com/SituationRoom.
Coming up, much more on our top story. We're going to tell you what's happening right now in the Middle East. We're following all of these developments very, very carefully. The violence there, by the way, causing some turmoil over oil. If the crisis continues, it could push oil prices even higher, making that $3 a gallon you pay right now seem cheap. We're watching the story. We're not going to go away from it.
Other stories we're watching. In southern California, a raging wildfire has scorched 40,000 acres so far, and it's not even halfway contained. And there are also new developments tonight on that recent building blast in New York City. Police have put out a revealing tape and they think they've discovered what set off the blast.
Stay with us. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Now the latest on the escalating situation in the Middle East. Two Israeli soldiers are still missing in Lebanon and Israel fears Hezbollah guerrillas could take them to Iran. Now Iran's foreign ministry is denying that the Israeli soldiers will be brought there. Also, Israel has now hit the main highway linking Beirut to Damascus.
And just a short while ago the United States vetoed a resolution that criticized Israel for its attacks in Gaza earlier. Meanwhile Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is urging Israel to exercise restraint in its attacks against Lebanon. Secretary Rice is also demanding that Syria pressure Hezbollah to stop attacking Israel.
Israel is primary training its words and its weapons at Hezbollah and Lebanon right now but the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad says other nations are helping ramp up the danger.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ZALMAY KHALILZAD, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO IRAQ: I think it's a very dangerous situation. And I believe that it has a lot to do with the evolving situation with regard to the Iranian nuclear issue. It is possible that as the Iranians refuse to cooperate with the proposal that was offered to them and as they come under more pressure to cooperate, that they may escalate things in Lebanon, in Israel, the Palestinian area, as well as in Iraq. So we have to be very careful and be resolute in terms of the future circumstances that we will face.
BLITZER: Because it was interesting, yesterday the immediate reaction from the White House was to say that Iran and Syria have a lot of responsibility for what Hezbollah does and perhaps what Hamas does elsewhere.
KHALILZAD: Well, I don't want to get too far into that in terms of the details, because I'm very much focused on Iraq, and others in the administration are dealing with this issue. But I think that the broader issue of the future relations with Iran over the nuclear issue is going to have a significant impact potentially on both the Iraqi theater as well as on the Israeli, Lebanon, Palestinian theater as well. BLITZER: I want to move on to Iraq. But what I hear you saying is that as the Iranians feel the heat on their nuclear program, they're reacting by maybe encouraging their allies in Hezbollah or Hamas to take these kinds of actions sort of to show that they have some muscle as well.
KHALILZAD: Exactly. I will not rule that out. There is a connection between those two events.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Zalmay Khalilzad, speaking with me earlier right here in THE SITUATION ROOM. Let's get some more now from CNN's Tom Foreman. He's taking a much closer look at this entire region; I think it's fair to say a region that's in crisis.
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It absolutely is. And right now if you look at what the military of Israel is trying to do right now, they're setting up, in effect, a ring of fire around Hezbollah. Let's take a look at the border area, first of all, give you a sense of where you are. Israel down here, this is Lebanon up to the north here. This is the border. This is about 40 miles -- that gives you a range along that.
There are many, many bombs going off on both sides of the border today as people fight here. But out here in the ocean, Israel has set up a blockade, a naval blockade, because they want to stop supplies getting into Hezbollah, which tends to operate autonomously, largely in the southern part of the country and controls the border although they really are not controlled by the government up here. In the airport up here, they've cut off supplies there by bombing all of the runways and the fuel supply there and most recently what we've been hearing about is this.
This is the Beirut to Damascus highway. That has now been hit, as far as we know. Again, cutting off the way for supplies to get in. That's the Bekaa Valley. They've been bombing that also. So right in this middle area here is where this group is really getting bombed very hard right now by Israel. It's not all one-sided.
If you look down here, there have been rockets firing into Israel today hitting Safed (ph), Nahariyya and Haifa. All the way down here. This was a big deal to the Israelis because this is the first time they've reached that far with these rockets from Hezbollah, although they deny it was their rockets. Obviously, people think it was. Why does all this matter to so many people here?
The reason is very simple and very direct, hard to sort out the situation but just think of it this way. Israel is a longtime friend of the United States, and the area that Hezbollah controls -- and Hezbollah itself is a longtime friend of Iran, right over there. That's what the ambassador was talking about. The more you raise these tensions where you have essentially proxies fighting -- Israel and Hezbollah -- the greater the chance of drawing in Iran, of drawing in the United States and having a much, much bigger conflict. That's why the whole region matters. BLITZER: And if the Hezbollah -- if they have rockets or missiles that have 40-mile or 50-mile range, that's a whole new ball game...
FOREMAN: And that's what we're talking about...
(CROSSTALK)
BLITZER: ... right now.
FOREMAN: They're hitting Haifa right now. That's what they're able to do now and that has really ratcheted things up with Israel.
BLITZER: Tom Foreman thanks very much.
Still to come tonight in THE SITUATION ROOM, will the explosion of fighting in the Middle East create more pain for Americans at the pump? We're tracking yet a new surge in oil prices and analysts' worst fears about the cost of gas.
And Vice President Dick Cheney is slapped with a lawsuit in the CIA leak controversy. We're going to tell you who is suing and who else is on the list of high-powered defendants. Stay with us. You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Much more coming up on THE SITUATION, the crisis in the Middle East. We'll speak with the Israeli and the Syrian ambassadors to the United States. First, though, let's bring in CNN's Fredricka Whitfield. She's got a closer look at some other important stories making news -- Fred.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Thanks very much, Wolf. The woman at the center of the CIA leak case, former operative Valerie Plame, is suing Vice President Dick Cheney, his former chief of state, Lewis "Scooter" Libby and White House adviser Karl Rove. The lawsuit claims among other things that they conspired to destroy her career. If you want to see the documents for yourself, THE SITUATION ROOM Internet team has posted them online at CNN.com/SituationReport.
House Speaker Dennis Hastert is at this hour being treated for a skin infection at the Bethesda Naval Hospital just outside Washington. According to a statement released a short time ago, the speaker is suffering from a bacterial infection on his left leg and will remain hospitalized over the weekend. He is reportedly receiving intravenous antibiotics and has been told to stay off his feet for at least three days.
Just a short time ago the House of Representatives voted to approve a 25-year extension to the 1965 Voting Rights Act. Several conservative lawmakers failed in efforts to get rid of provisions requiring increased scrutiny on nine, mostly southern states. The civil rights era law eliminates many once common barriers (INAUDIBLE) blacks and other minorities. A short time ago as well police in New York released this surveillance videotape providing a new look at a massive explosion that leveled a New York City building earlier this week. Investigators now say they have discovered plastic tubing in the debris that they believe may have been used to set off the blast. The Upper East Side Townhouse had reportedly become the focus of a bitter divorce dispute -- Wolf.
BLITZER: All right, Fred, thank you very much. Fredricka Whitfield reporting.
And just ahead, we'll have the very latest on the Mideast crisis. The Israeli ambassador to the U.S. says Syria and Iran are inflaming the situation. I'll ask Ambassador Daniel Ayalon exactly what does he mean, what does Israel plan on doing? And how does Syria respond to that threat? You'll hear the other side as well when I speak with the Syrian ambassador to the U.S. Imad Moustapha. Stay with us.
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BLITZER: Welcome back to THE SITUATION ROOM. I'm Wolf Blitzer in Washington. Let's update you on the latest situation coming out of the Middle East. Israel has now hit the main highway linking Beirut to Damascus. That highway was just one of hundreds of targets Israel struck today in Lebanon.
Meanwhile, Reuters and The Associated Press report that Iran's president is out with a harsh warning to Israel. This is what they're reporting, that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says if Israel were to attack Syria it would be an aggression against the entire Islamic world and the Iranian president reportedly warrants what he calls a very harsh response. The scale, the scope and the significance of this extreme escalation are very much unlike anything that's been in the region, at least in recent years.
So is Israel choosing the best course to handle the overall situation? And how might Syria and Iran play into the equation? Joining us here in THE SITUATION ROOM to discuss all of this, the escalation in the violence, is Israel's ambassador to the United States, Daniel Ayalon. Mr. Ambassador, thanks for coming in.
DANIEL AYALON, ISRAELI AMBASSADOR TO THE U.S.: You're welcome, Wolf.
BLITZER: You earlier were threatening Syria and Iran for what is happening along the border between Israel and Lebanon. What are you going to do about this?
AYALON: Well, absolutely, they are very much responsible for the major escalation that we see. And if we connect the dots of what happened in Gaza with Hamas operation just two weeks ago, what's happening with the Hezbollah, what's happening in Damascus, we see that there is a drive by Damascus and Tehran to upset things in the Middle East, divert attention from the nuclear ambition and the program that they're working on in Tehran and to upset any chance for political dialogue. I think it is high time for the international community to call Iran and Syria to the task and make them understand that there will be consequences that they will pay. And I think with a unified international position, now with the upcoming of the G-8, and the U.N., I think it will be very, very effective to stop the escalation.
BLITZER: We heard in the last hour the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad, make a very similar point that the Iranians are trying to deflect attention from their own nuclear program. The criticism it's facing by perhaps using its influence with Hezbollah and Hamas to change the subject, to show that they have a card as well. But let me rephrase the question. What can you do, Israel, against Syria and Iran, if in fact as you suggest, they are responsible for this situation? Because so far what we've seen are attacks against various Hezbollah targets or other targets in Lebanon.
AYALON: Well, a lot could be done. We hope that the diplomatic efforts will suffice. And I think they will. But our main problem now is the Katyushas, the rockets of Hezbollah from the north. And this is what we have to stop. We have been receiving shells in Haifa, in our major towns in the north. And this has to stop. This is our main concentration now is to deal with Hezbollah, to really defang them in such a way that they will not be able to perpetrate such terror attacks and escalation.
BLITZER: What was the point of taking out the three runways at Beirut's International Airport?
AYALON: Very simple. To make sure that there will not be an ongoing supply flow from Syria, from Tehran to the Hezbollah. They have been using the airport. They are using other ways as well, which we will have to take care of. But the airport was one of the outlets or inlets of equipment and explosives to the Hezbollah. We were quite careful, just runways, and there were no basic infrastructures that were hurt. So things can be amended there quite easily. But right now the objective is to deny the Hezbollah arms from Syria and from Iran.
BLITZER: We did see an attack, a second attack of the Beirut Airport that went after oil storage facilities, huge explosions there.
AYALON: The idea right now is, as I mentioned, to neutralize Hezbollah. We will not allow Hezbollah to be back on our borders. Actually, what we are trying to arrange is for the exercise and the implementation of U.N. Security Council resolutions 1559, 1680, which called specifically for disarming the Hezbollah and for the Lebanese army and government to exercise their control all the way over their territory up to our northern border. If this is the case, I think all of us will benefit from these very trying hours and days that we are enduring right now.
BLITZER: Should authorities in Syria and Iran be worried about Israeli air strikes?
AYALON: Well, Wolf, it's not our customs to make all kinds of threats, certainly not over this medium. Certainly we will not discuss any contingencies plans. But I would say it is high time for Syria and Iran to stop playing with fire. And I think there should be consequences and I think the international community understands there should be consequences if we do not want to see a further deterioration in the Middle East, further escalation. You were quite right, Wolf, to mention that the Iranians and also the Syrians would like to deflect attention from what they're doing on the nuclear ambitions and also they would like to advance their cause. And Iran would like to see an Islamic, radical Islamic Middle East, a la Iran style. They're advancing their pawns right now and we must stop and this is what we will do.
BLITZER: One final question before I let you go. We just heard Condoleezza Rice suggest that Israel should exercise restraint right now. She's especially concerned about the destabilization potentially of the Lebanese government. Do you want to respond that?
AYALON: Well, we've been quite restrained. If you look at the last six years, since the abduction of our three soldiers back in September of 2000 and this was after our full pullout from Lebanon. There is not one inch of Lebanon that we occupy. For them to do what they did, I think they misinterpreted our restraint for the last six years. If we do not want to see further escalation, deterioration, violence, this is the time to stop the Hezbollah and what we're doing is the most effective to stop them.
BLITZER: One of your Israeli colleagues today in Jerusalem suggested that they had indications that Hezbollah was going to try to transfer those two kidnapped Israeli soldiers to Iran. Is that true?
AYALON: It is true. And this goes to show again of the direct contact and connection between Hezbollah and Iran, Hezbollah and Syria, Hamas-Syria, Hamas-Iran. We're talking here about a network of organizations and countries who would like to destabilize the entire Middle East. We will not let them.
BLITZER: The ambassador of Israel to the United States, Daniel Ayalon. Thanks for coming in.
AYALON: Thank you.
BLITZER: Israel and the United States both call Hezbollah a terrorist organization, plain and simple. But like so much else in the Middle East, it often gets a lot more complex. CNN's Brian Todd is joining us from the news room with more on this story. Brian.
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Complex, Wolf, just like every other political equation in the Middle East. Hezbollah is at the same time charitable and lethal.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TODD (voice-over): A classic Middle East contradiction. A political party gaining strength and seats in Lebanon's parliament. A party that runs schools, hospitals, charities in Lebanon and has a TV network with millions of viewers. That's Hezbollah. And, according to the State Department, so is this. SEAN MCCORMACK, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN: Hezbollah essentially are terrorist subcontractors for Damascus and Tehran.
TODD: Founded in 1982 and long listed as a terrorist group by the State Department, experts say Hezbollah has cells all over the world, including the United States. It's been led for 14 years by a youthful, charismatic militant named Hassan Nasrallah and gets some backing from Syria, but experts say most of Hezbollah's support, cash, rockets, training, comes from Iran.
MARTIN INDYK, FORMER U.S. AMB. TO ISRAEL: In these circumstances where Hezbollah initiated military action to kidnap these soldiers, I don't believe it would have done so without coordinating through the revolutionary guards with Iran.
TODD: An official at the Iranian mission at the United Nations says that charge is baseless. Created to counter Israel's operations in southern Lebanon, Hezbollah has been linked to a series of high profile attacks on Israel and the United States, including the 1983 suicide bombing that killed 241 marines at their barracks in Beirut. The bombings of the U.S. embassy in Beirut that same year and the embassy annex in 1984, as well as kidnappings of several westerners in Lebanon in the 1980s.
Analysts believe Hezbollah has long given up its dream of establishing a fundamentalist regime in Lebanon. What does it want now?
HISHAM MELHEM, AN-NAHAR NEWSPAPER: They want to employ Shia in the government. They want the state to invest in the infrastructure in the Shia areas. And they want their place under the sun in Lebanon but definitely they don't want to disarm.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TODD: That pressure on the Lebanese government to disarm Hezbollah has come from Christian Druse and other top political groups in Lebanon that don't want to hinder that nation's recent economic prosperity. The problem according to experts, Lebanon has virtually no control over Hezbollah.
BLITZER: All right Brian, good report, thanks very much. For more now on the role of Hezbollah and the allegations against Syria, I spoke earlier with the top diplomat from Damascus here in Washington.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: We're joined by Syria's ambassador to the United States, Imad Moustapha.
Mr. Ambassador, thanks for coming in.
IMAD MOUSTAPHA, SYRIAN AMB. TO U.S.: Hi, Wolf.
BLITZER: You heard earlier from the Israeli ambassador, Daniel Ayalon, that Iran and Syria right now are, in his words -- are playing with fire and it could have serious consequences.
How worried are you that Israel could take retaliatory action against targets in Syria?
MOUSTAPHA: Well, of course, this is pretty preposterous. The only party to blame for this collision of violence in the Middle East is Israel itself with its continuous occupation and with the atrocities it has committed against the Palestinians, particularly in the past two months.
Now, suddenly, it is Damascus once again, and it's Iran once again. Who is to blame for the results of their occupation?
BLITZER: But you acknowledge that it was in recent days, along the border between Israel and Lebanon, that Hezbollah guerrillas crossed into Israel, killed some Israeli soldiers, kidnapped two others, took them back into Lebanon.
Isn't that an act of war?
MOUSTAPHA: Look, for the past -- past decade at least, the Israelis have abducted many Lebanese. They are still in the Israeli prisons. Hezbollah has repeatedly demanded in the past six months that the Israelis should release their prisoners. The Israelis have done even worse things in the Palestinian territories.
BLITZER: But Israel withdrew from Lebanon six years ago.
MOUSTAPHA: Not all of Lebanon. The Shebaa Farms are still under Israeli occupation.
BLITZER: That's a tiny sliver that Syria -- that your government says it's part of Syria.
MOUSTAPHA: But also -- no, we don't say -- we never have said this is a part of Syria. We have always said this is a part of Lebanon.
But, most importantly, Israel continues to have Lebanese prisoners in its prisons, and Israel continues to infringe on the Lebanese sovereignty. Continuously it has done this, without any cessation in the past two, three years. But an important thing...
BLITZER: I don't want to get into a debate over Shebaa Farms right now.
MOUSTAPHA: Yes, of course.
BLITZER: It's a very complicated, small, little area. But do you justify Hezbollah going in and recent days and starting this escalating situation?
MOUSTAPHA: What I do not justify is that -- for the whole world to sit silently watching Israel doing whatever it wants to do. In the past two weeks, Israel has killed many, many Palestinian civilians. Today, Israel has killed tens and tens of Lebanese civilians. Families are wiped out completely.
And what happens? The United States -- this is very important. You have to compare the attitude of this administration to the past attitudes of all -- all past administrations in the United States.
BLITZER: Does the Syrian -- does the Syrian government want these Hezbollah militants to give up those two Israeli soldiers and to calm the situation down?
MOUSTAPHA: Hezbollah has said they want to exchange their imprisoned soldiers with the imprisoned Lebanese.
BLITZER: So do you support that position?
MOUSTAPHA: Would you agree with me that the Lebanese prisoners are also human beings equal to the Israeli soldiers?
BLITZER: But do you support that position of Hezbollah?
MOUSTAPHA: What we support -- what we support is the following: We want a comprehensive solution to the problem in the Middle East. Israel has stopped -- has to stop its occupation of the Arab territories. Israel has to understand that it cannot go on forever with immunity, doing whatever it wants to do.
Only last week they went into the Palestinian territories, they abducted, the Israelis, tens of civilians from Palestine, cabinet minister, elected members of the parliament. Nobody gave a damn about what the Israelis are doing.
Once two Israeli soldiers are captured by Hezbollah, look -- look at the reaction. And the stereotypical reaction of this administration is to blame Syria.
In the past, you know what the U.S. administration would have done? It would have sent envoys to the Middle East, it would have mediated, it would have calmed down the situation. This administration...
BLITZER: The administration isn't just blaming Syria. They are blaming Iran, too.
MOUSTAPHA: Yes. Yes, this administration typically would only blame other parties and they would do nothing. This flagrant bias towards Israel is not helping the situation in the Middle East.
BLITZER: You heard -- maybe you didn't hear what the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Zalmay Khalilzad, said in the last hour here in THE SITUATION ROOM.
MOUSTAPHA: No, I didn't.
BLITZER: Something similar to the Israeli ambassador, Daniel Ayalon. Said almost the same thing, that they sense that Iran, under great pressure to suspend its nuclear activities, is trying to change the subject now by allowing or encouraging Hezbollah and Hamas to go ahead and kidnap Israeli soldiers.
MOUSTAPHA: There's a dichotomy here. What we say is the following.
Israel is trying to divert attention to what it has been doing to the Palestinians since Hamas was elected democratically by the Palestinian people. Israel has driven the Palestinian economy into collapse. Israel has killed tens and tens of Israeli civilians, including men and women and children in the past three, four months. And everything that is happening has Israel to blame because Israel continues to occupy the Palestinian territories
BLITZER: Is there an alliance now in effect between Syria and Iran?
MOUSTAPHA: No, there is no alliance. Iran is our regional neighbor. We have good relations with all of our neighbors: Iran, Turkey, Jordan Egypt.
We want good relations with everybody. And repeatedly, repeatedly we have invited Israel itself to engage in peace talks with us. It was Israel who categorically refused, Israel because does not want peace to prevail in the Middle East.
BLITZER: That border between Israel and Lebanon had been very peaceful in recent years since the -- relatively peaceful since the Israeli withdrawal in the year 2000. Only two weeks ago you were here in THE SITUATION ROOM, and you said this -- I want you to listen to what you said.
MOUSTAPHA: Very good.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MOUSTAPHA: Once the Israelis left Lebanon, Hezbollah has not been involved in any way whatsoever in anything that has nothing -- that has not to do with the Lebanese issues. This should be clear, and we should not believe Israeli propaganda.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Do you want to clarify what you meant?
MOUSTAPHA: Of course. Let me remind everybody of what's happening.
Israel actually holds Lebanese prisoners who happen to be members of the Hezbollah. Hezbollah has repeatedly invited Israel to engage in a prisoner exchange. It's very similar to what Israel has twice done with Hezbollah with German mediation.
And Hezbollah is saying today the same, we want Israelis, through mediation, through third parties, to involve in a prisoner exchange. Why do you think it's fair for Israel to have Lebanese prisoners while it's not fair for Hezbollah to have Israeli prisoners?
BLITZER: Is there any solution?
MOUSTAPHA: I think the only solution is for the United States to play the role it used to play in the past and to undertake its responsibilities as a superpower, and to impose on its ally, Israel, restraint, not something similar to the -- to the killing that is happening today under destruction in Lebanon, and to ask all parties to involve in real serious peace talks.
BLITZER: Are you afraid of all-out war?
MOUSTAPHA: It is a possibility. Israel is trying to escalate the situation, the tension in the region. We have -- we have to call for restraint.
The United States has a play to role. It is the role of the United States. Today, what did the United States do? It vetoed a United Nation's Security Council resolution.
This is negative diplomacy. We want proactive, positive diplomacy from the United States. The United States has to undertake its international obligations.
BLITZER: Imad Moustapha is the Syrian ambassador here in Washington.
Thanks for coming in.
MOUSTAPHA: You are welcome. Thank you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLITZER: The Syrian ambassador to the United States, Imad Moustapha, speaking with me right here in THE SITUATION ROOM earlier.
Up ahead tonight, we're monitoring other news as well, including new mandatory evacuations in Southern California, where wildfires are burning out of control. We'll take you there live.
Plus, oil prices setting yet another new record, and we're likely to see it go even higher. Fresh fallout from the Middle East crisis, plus all the other news. Mary Snow standing by with the latest. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: We're going to get back to our extensive coverage of the crisis in the Middle East in a moment.
First, though, happening right now, some wildfires are literally burning out of control, and a new mandatory evacuation order has just been issued.
CNN's Chris Lawrence is on the scene for us on the frontlines of this fryer in Morongo Valley. What's the latest? It looks awful behind you, Chris. CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It does, Wolf.
And just now Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has declared a state of emergency for San Bernardino County, meaning there will be more money and resources from the state to help the people living here.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LAWRENCE (voice-over): Two wildfires burning through the mountains two hours east of Los Angeles, more than 1,000 firefighters struggling to stop them from merging into one blaze.
PAT MILLER, EVACUEE: There was fire on both sides of our dirt road. I was at work. Our neighbors got my husband out because I couldn't get in. It was like driving into hell.
LAWRENCE: Morongo Valley resident Pat Miller, her kids and her pets all thank firefighters for the ultimate rescue.
MILLER: We kiss their feet. They're heroes, every single one of them, because they saved our houses.
LAWRENCE: But dozens more have been lost over the past few days as smaller fires burn right into each other.
(on camera): Firefighters tell us this started as two separate fires. But they merged together, caught some good fuel and literally raced right down the mountain.
CAPT. MIKE MUSHKINSKIE, SAN BERNARDINO CO. FIRE DEPT.: It's going this way, so that's why you and I and everybody else needs to get down here as quickly as possible.
LAWRENCE (voice-over): There were warnings as early as 8:00 a.m. when this smoke cloud plumed high over the mountains.
BATTALION CHIEF CHRIS NORTON, SAN BERNARDINO CO. FIRE DEPT.: It's real rare to see an ice cap like that this time of morning. It's going to get big.
LAWRENCE: Crews hiked up steep mountains and cut fire lines by hand. But the weather has been hot, dry and windy, a combination that could push the fires towards Big Bear, where the fuel could act almost like a ladder.
ASST. CHIEF JEFF WILLIS, BIG BEAR CITY FIRE DEPT.: The fire will climb from the grass to the brush to the trees and we get it up around the top and everything changes.
LAWRENCE: Tens of thousands of homes in this residential and tourist area surrounded by a forest that could fuel these fires for weeks.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LAWRENCE: And as firefighters keep a close eye on where it's headed next, the sheriff has ordered a mandatory evacuation for this area after deciding that hundreds of homes in Morongo Valley are in immediate danger -- Wolf.
BLITZER: All right, Chris. Thank you very much for that.
Let's get some more now on the wildfires and the evacuations. We'll check in with our Internet reporter Abbi Tatton -- Abbi.
ABBI TATTON, CNN INTERNET REPORTER: Wolf, these two maps that we're going to show you here from the California Office of Emergency Services showing you just how close these two fires are and the threat that they may merge. This the Sawtooth Complex fire, this about 40,000 acres. Close by, the Millard Complex. It's only about a tenth of the size but it's just a few short miles away, and it's smaller but spreading faster, and that is the worry.
Look at this map here, the areas of fire in red, the areas in brown are these urban areas, these towns. Morongo Valley there has been evacuated. Smaller towns, Rimrock up here and Burns Canyon. Pictures also on the Web of these fires as firefighters fight these wildfires going on right now, the worry now that those two fires might merge -- Wolf.
BLITZER: Thank you very much, Abbi.
Up ahead, more on the crisis in the Middle East and the spillover -- $100 a barrel for oil, $4 a gallon for gasoline? Some experts fear we're heading that way and we're heading that way fast, largely because of the instability in the region. We're going to have a full report.
And Jack Cafferty wonders, should the United States have blocked a U.N. Resolution condemning Israel's ongoing military actions in Gaza? You're responses ahead in "The Cafferty File."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: The escalating violence in the Middle East is helping to drive up oil prices to record level. Let's go to New York, CNN's Mary Snow watching this story.
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, oil hit a new record today, approaching $77 a barrel. The word to consumers, expect to pay more at the pump.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SNOW (voice-over): As fighting escalated in Lebanon and Israel, it triggered new worries in the oil markets. A major concern, traders say it's the fear that this conflict will incite Iraq and choke off the 25 percent of the world's supply of oil that travels through the Strait of Hormuz.
ERIC BOLLING, INDEPENDENT TRADER, NYMEX: I think you'll see a $100 price per barrel of oil at some point and that will translate into $4 a gallon for gasoline. SNOW: Some say it won't take long for ripple effects of the Mid East conflicts to be felt at gas pumps.
JOHN KILDUFF, FIMAT ENERGY: It's going to be rapid and it's going to be sustained over $3 for I think probably the rest of the summer now.
SNOW: Not even halfway into the summer gas prices are almost as high as they were right after Hurricane Katrina hit last year. The most recent Lundberg Survey shows $3 a gallon for gas is the average nationwide with places like Honolulu at $3.27. Many say those high prices with no link to consumer demand has defied expectations.
PETER BEUTEL, CAMERON HANOVER: I really had expected that at $3 and $3.25 that we would see marked changes in the way consumers drive. But so far, that has not been borne out statistically at all.
SNOW: Veteran energy traders like Eric Bolling keep close tabs on hot spots around the globe. Tensions in places like Iran and Nigeria are keep prices high. But Bolling says unless people start conserving, prices simply won't go down.
BOLLING: That's the only real solution to this. It's not a question of we'll find more oil or there's going to be peace in the Mideast. Clearly those aren't going to be two of the reasons why oil comes down.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SNOW: Some say if gasoline does reach $4 a gallon, as expected, it could be the catalyst to force drivers to change their habits.
BLITZER: Mary Snow reporting. Thank you.
Let's stay in New York. Paula Zahn is standing by with a preview of what's coming up at the top of the hour, Paula.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: Hi Wolf, thanks so much. Coming up in just about five minutes or so, we will go in depth on the Middle East crisis and where our experts think it's heading.
Another top story we're following tonight, the Andrea Yates murder trial. On the witness stand, a man whose mistake caused her first conviction to be thrown out. What does he say this time and why does the prosecution want him there in the first place?
Another top story. A man that who says the Marine Corps is a perfect training place for people who hate America. A former white supremacist's disturbing story at the top of the hour. I know that one caught my attention Wolf. Scary stuff.
BLITZER: Mine, too. Thank you Paula, we'll be watching. Paula Zahn right at the top of the hour.
Still ahead, Jack Cafferty wants to know should the U.S. have vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution condemning Israel's attacks in Gaza? Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLITZER: Jack's in New York with "The Cafferty File," Jack.
JACK CAFFERTY, CNN ANCHOR: Wolf, the question this hour is should the United States have vetoed a United Nations Security Council resolution condemning Israel's military incursion into Gaza?
We got this from Ben in Phoenix, "Yes, the U.S. was right to veto the U.N. resolution to condemn Israel. Israel has every right to defend herself from terrorist groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah and the states that sponsor and give safe haven to them as well."
George in New York, "The President has been speaking about diplomacy and working within the framework of the United Nations, that all nations should work together and then today his nation vetoes the U.N. resolution to condemn the Israeli incursion into Gaza. You can't have it both ways."
Peter in Florida, "Every country should have vetoed that resolution. Israel ought to respond with overwhelming might to aggression. That's the only way to deter the fanatics who seek to destroy her."
David writes from Pennsylvania, "The function of the U.N. is to mediate and diffuse dangerous situations throughout the world with the aim of averting violent solutions to disagreements. Since the resolution demanded the return of the kidnapped Israeli soldier and the cessation of rocket attacks against the Israeli territory, in addition to the condemnation of the Israeli incursion into Gaza, the resolution represented a fair and balanced assignment of responsibility for the incident. It offered a face-saving way out of the conflict for both sides. The U.S. ambassador should have recognized this and refused to use his veto."
Beth in Long Island feels differently, "The U.N. is little more than a joke. It's legendary contempt for Israel on display yet again with the Security Council's resolution condemning Israel's incursion into Gaza. It is yet another example of the inability of this body to be a neutral player on the world stage and an effective forum for mitigating complex international disputes. I'm glad we vetoed this absurd resolution."
If you didn't see your email here, you can go to CNN.com/CaffertyFile. We posted a few more of them there for your viewing pleasure, Wolf.
BLITZER: Jack, thanks very much. I remember Monday you were talking about World War III, you may have been on to something. We'll follow up on that tomorrow. In the meantime let's go to Paula Zahn in New York, Paula.
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