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The Situation Room

U.N. Nuclear Watchdog Rules Iran Breached Obligations; Trump To Speak With Netanyahu Today; Israeli Strikes Targets Iran's Top Military And Nuclear Leadership. Aired 10:30-11a ET

Aired June 13, 2025 - 10:30   ET

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

[10:30:00]

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Ambassador, thanks so much for joining us. I know you got a lot going on. Does Israel want this strike to push Iran to the negotiating table and reach a deal with the U.S. on its nuclear program, or are we right now past the point of diplomacy and heading towards a full-scale war?

YECHIEL LEITER, ISRAELI AMBASSADOR TO THE U.S.: Well, Wolf. Thank you. Thank you for the question. If we can avoid war, we're all in favor of avoiding war. I think the president has tried to do that now for several months. President and the prime minister agreed in their first meeting at the Oval Office that if it can be achieved through negotiation, let it be so.

We don't believe that after the IAEA report that came out yesterday clearly indicting Iran in severe violation of their agreements that we're going to be left with any time actually to eliminate the Iranian weapon program. We don't have time. This is for us an existential issue.

If Iran gets a nuclear weapon, they're going to use it, and we have to eliminate that possibility. If it could still be done through a negotiation, through the good services of Special Envoy Witkoff, under the direction of President Trump, well, that's fine. Maybe now the Iranians will be in a better position to actually succumb and give up on their nuclear program. But if not, we are committed to seeing this operation through to the point where there is no nuclear weapons program left in Iran.

BLITZER: Well, the Iranians have -- keep saying that they have no intention of giving up their enriching uranium as part of their nuclear program. How close right now -- Ambassador, based on all the information you have, how close is Iran to having enough enriched uranium to actually build a nuclear bomb?

LEITER: They are actually 1 percent away from racing from 60 percent enrichment to 90 percent. The process of enriching uranium begins from the zero to 3.5 percent, that's where 70 percent of the heavy lifting occurs. The rest of it is another 20, 25 percent. But going from 60 to 90 percent is a matter of days. It means it is weapons grade, and then because they've developed a ballistic missile program, a very extensive ballistic missile program, they can then weaponize the enriched uranium and create a nuclear bomb. This is something that we simply cannot allow to happen.

BLITZER: Your concern is that Iran could potentially use a nuclear bomb and drop it on Tel Aviv or other cities and places in Israel. I know that --

LEITER: Wolf, the --

BLITZER: Yes, go ahead.

LEITER: -- important thing is -- let me just say this. You know, the important thing is we talk a lot -- we learn a lot about the Holocaust. You know, it -- the most important lesson is that if somebody says they're going to kill you, believe them. We didn't have an army, an Air Force, the Mossad 80 years ago. And much of the world didn't believe Hitler when he said he plans to annihilate the Jews, and we lost 6 million of our people. This is a new Hitler who repeats every day that his intention, his theological commitment is to eradicate the State of Israel. He even has a big clock in the middle of Tehran counting the days until our destruction. We can't play games.

We're here to live. We're here to live in peace. But those who are going to challenge our will to live in peace are going to have to be challenged by us. And that's what we're in the process of doing now. Iran will not have a nuclear path to a nuclear bomb.

BLITZER: Later today the Israeli prime minister, Netanyahu, is expected to speak to President Trump on the phone. How much coordination, Ambassador, is taking place right now between the United States and Israel?

LEITER: Look I can't speak on behalf of the president. I can just say that as someone who was just on the phone with the White House about an hour ago, the pleasure of dealing with the White House is -- under President Trump is that what he means he says, what he says he means. There's clarity. The president said clearly this morning in his tweet that he was aware of the impending attack by Israel on Iran. And I'll let the White House detail as to the degree of that knowledge and collaboration.

BLITZER: Well, did you, did the Israeli government formally notify of the Trump administration, the U.S. government that it was planning this attack on various targets inside Iran?

LEITER: The president clearly said in his tweet that he was aware of the -- of our plans. To the degree of sites and the details of the plan, that remains to be discussed at a later date. But the president was very clear that he was aware of the plans and that we have a uncontestable right to defend our country.

[10:35:00]

BLITZER: Well, the only question I have is, was he aware of the Israeli plan to attack these various targets inside Iran based on U.S. intelligence information, or a formal notification by the Israeli government? LEITER: I'm not privy to American intelligence. So, you really have to present that question to the White House and White House spokesman.

BLITZER: Ambassador Yechiel Leiter of Israel, thank you so much for joining us.

LEITER: Thank you, Wolf.

BLITZER: And we'll be right back.

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[10:40:00]

BLITZER: And this just coming into the Situation Room right now. Iran's foreign minister is telling the United Nations Security Council Israel will, quote, "come to deeply regret its reckless aggression," end quote. Iran is calling for an urgent U.N. security council meeting. It wants the council to, quote, "strongly condemn the Israeli strikes and to take urgent and concrete measures against Israel."

For more on this, we're joined now by the former NATO Supreme Allied Commander General Wesley Clark. He's also the founder of Renew America Together. General Clark, as usual, thanks very much for joining us. Let's start with your reaction to these Israeli strikes against various targets, military and nuclear, other targets in Iran. How significant are they?

GEN. WESLEY CLARK (RET.), FORMER NATO SUPREME ALLIED COMMANDER AND FOUNDER, RENEW AMERICA TOGETHER: I think it's a very significant attack. I think the methods are innovative. They actually had elements on the ground inside Iran, who -- which were able to go after the air defense and some of the retaliatory systems. And so, they had some additional assurance. The strikes, 200 aircraft, big, big strikes. Now, did it take out the nuclear? Probably not.

So, as they're saying, they're going to go back in again and again and again, and my guess would be they're going to have to put people on the ground to go into those sites and really verify that they've been taken out. And Wolf, I think --

BLITZER: Yes, go ahead.

CLARK: You know, I think this is a major turning point in the region. Look, for over 40 years, you've had a regime committed to the destruction of a people and a civilization, and this should be the end of it. And so, I know there's talk about is it going to be a regime change or not? I think there's a high likelihood that it will be regime change and I think it, certainly, if I were in the Israeli's position, I'd be pushing for it.

BLITZER: Regime change in Iran, that's what you're saying, right.

CLARK: Absolutely. Absolutely. I mean --

BLITZER: This is -- I was just going to say, General -- I was just going to -- these Israeli strikes clearly have killed some of the most powerful officials in Iran, including their highest-ranking military officer and the head of its elite Revolutionary Guard. How big of a blow is this to Iran, and could it affect Iran's response?

CLARK: It is the big blow. It will and probably already has affected the response. But, Wolf, so many of my friends who are -- have connections with Iran have said that the Iranian people are waiting for a strike like this to overthrow the regime. So, I think it -- the consequences here go beyond the nuclear.

BLITZER: Well, we'll see if that actually happens. Israeli officials are saying their Mossad intelligence agents smuggled precision weapons and drones into Iran in the days just ahead of this attack, and this is just weeks after we saw Ukraine actually deploy a similar strategy as they struck key targets in Russia with drones that have been smuggled inside Russia. Give us a sense how this new drone warfare that's unfolding is reshaping the battlefield?

CLARK: Well, it's certainly changing the ability to strike in depth. Previous to this, most military theorists looked at war as a linear process. You add space to it as another dimension, of course. But the idea that you would go in, in peace time and really prepare the battlefield in depth with the forces that could strike, not just with sabotage and blowing up bridges, but with actual kinetic effect on enemy forces.

That's what the Ukrainians did, that's apparently what the Israelis have done. It certainly was what the Soviets wanted to have done should they ever have attacked NATO, they would've had their forces inside Germany before the balloon ever went up, so to speak.

And so, I think all the countries of the West now have to recognize what the difference is now in the depth of the battlefield. You have to have what we called rear area security, much more intensively managed and resourced than we have ever anticipated.

BLITZER: You know, it's interesting some of the experts have suggested to me that Israel's very successful decision to take out the leadership of various Iranian proxy organizations like Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas, destroyed the top leadership of Hamas, destroyed the top leadership of Hezbollah, destroyed the top leadership of various pro-Iranian proxy groups in Syria, for example, before the fall of Bashar al-Assad. That they -- the Israelis are now trying to do exactly the same thing to the Iranian regime as they did to their proxies, whether in Lebanon or Gaza, or Syria. Do you agree with that assessment?

[10:45:00]

CLARK: Yes, and I think it's all part of a long-term plan. I think really that October 7th really let loose the so-called dogs of war in the region. And Israel, which had been suffering and worrying about this Iranian nuclear threat, the threat of Hezbollah, the threat of Hamas, the arc of resistance, so to speak, the Houthis, all of that just unfolded in such a way at such a time with the right Israeli leadership that there's a sense of -- in Israel of taking decisive action.

Not about, oh, let's cap the escalation. Not about, oh, we don't want a regional war for Israel, as your ambassador just said, it is a matter of survival of a people. And they, I think, under Bibi Netanyahu, want to finish the job against Iran.

BLITZER: That's a clear sense that that's what they're going to try to do. And I'm also told, by the way, they're going to try to do to the Houthis in Yemen, another Iranian proxy group, what they did to Hezbollah and Hamas. We'll see if that unfolds in the coming days as well. General Wesley Clark, always appreciate your joining us. Thank you very much.

CLARK: Thank you, Wolf.

BLITZER: And just ahead, concerns over a wider conflict, what the escalation between Israel and Iran means for the rest of the Middle East, including the more than 40,000 U.S. troops stationed there right now. We have details, that's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:50:00]

BLITZER: Returning now to our breaking news coverage of Israel's unprecedented attack on Iran's military and nuclear programs. The Israeli military says it struck 100 targets across Iran in the early hours of the morning, and it's far from over. One source telling CNN, and I'm quoting now, "This is not a one-day attack." Iran was quick to retaliate, firing more than 100 drones toward Israel, according to the Israel Defense Forces.

The executive vice president of the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, Trita Parsi, is joining us here in the Situation Room right now. Trita, thanks very much for joining us.

TRITA PARSI, EXECUTIVE VP, THE QUINCY INSTITUTE FOR RESPONSIBLE STATECRAFT AND AUTHOR, "LOSING AN ENEMY": Good to be with you, Wolf.

BLITZER: So, what's going on right now? Is the region heading towards a full-scale war?

PARSI: Well, it all depends on what the Iranian response is and if they actually have the capacity left to be able to respond. I think they have been taken completely by surprise. Clearly, they were unprepared for this, despite the fact that this had been signaled that an attack would be coming. But the Israelis have pursued the same strategy as they did with Hezbollah, which is to go after the leadership first, and by that, try to paralyze the entire organization, in this case, the entire Iranian military.

So, they haven't -- there hasn't really been much of a response from the Iranians yet. We don't know if that is because they're trying to regroup or whether they actually have lost the capacity of responding.

BLITZER: How significant would the Iranian response be? What capabilities do they have to deal the significant damage to Israel, for example?

PARSI: Well, if they were to shoot the type of missiles they shot in October, as well as the more advanced ones that they didn't use, clearly, we do know that the Israeli air defenses are not sufficient to be able to block all of them, and these Iranians could do --

BLITZER: Back in October, they had a lot of support from the U.S., the U.K., other countries --

PARSI: Exactly.

BLITZER: -- that were helping with the air defense.

PARSI: And still, more than 20 or 30 of them went through. And we also have cases in which the Houthis with a single missile, not a barrage of missile, have managed to penetrate all of those different air defenses, including the American THAAD system.

The question though is if they have the capability of launching a large attack of missiles that would overwhelm the Israeli air defenses as it did back in October. And then of course, whether they choose to go after American assets because of a clear perception that they must have now that the Trump administration was in on this, not just passively watching, but helping out.

BLITZER: Even though Marco Rubio, the secretary of state, denies that?

PARSI: He denies it, but the things that Trump has been tweeting today, whether he's perhaps trying to take more credit for it because it's been deemed to be a success, nevertheless, takes away any plausible deniability.

BLITZER: Three of Iran's most powerful leaders, men, nuclear and military leaders were killed by the Israelis over the past couple days or so. How significant is that in terms of what's going on domestically inside Iran?

PARSI: Well, I don't think the country really has come to a point in which it's clear exactly what direction it will go. The immediate reactions that I've been hearing is that there is that type of surge in nationalism that is quite normal in situations like this. If this ends up becoming a campaign that goes on for weeks and weeks, that could obviously change.

BLITZER: Do you think Iran, if it does start to retaliate against Israel, would also start striking U.S. military positions, whether in the United Arab Emirates or Qatar or Saudi Arabia or elsewhere in the region?

PARSI: They've made that threat. And that would be in case those countries actually were actively helping the Israeli campaign, which is not clear at this point. But reality is I don't think Iranians --

BLITZER: It has threatened to go after U.S. targets.

PARSI: They have threatened -- if the U.S. was directly involved in the offensive part of this. I don't think Iranians want a direct confrontation with the United States. I think they think that that would be exactly what the Israelis are looking for, to pull the U.S. much more actively and openly into that war. So, I don't think --

BLITZER: So, do you think the 40,000 or so U.S. troops in the Middle East are relatively safe right now?

PARSI: I wouldn't say that because we just don't know whatever the plans and the calculations may have been at the beginning of conflict like this will change dramatically as the conflict ensues. So, I think it is absolutely prudent to make sure that those forces are protected. But it would actually be even more prudent to have avoided this altogether because there was a path to a deal. Here was supposed to be more talks on Sunday.

BLITZER: This Sunday in Oman, there's supposed to be U.S.-Iranian nuclear talks.

PARSI: There was supposed to. I'm not --

BLITZER: Is it going to happen?

PARSI: I'm not -- I don't find it likely at all that the Iranians will show up. What we've seen in the past when things like this happen is that they counter escalate rather than moving towards a more flexible position.

[10:55:00]

BLITZER: Trita Parsi, thanks very much for coming in.

PARSI: Thank you for having me.

BLITZER: Appreciate your expertise.

PARSI: Thank you.

BLITZER: Appreciate it very much. And coming up, President Trump is expected to meet with the National Security Council in the next hour over in the White House Situation Room as fears grow of a wider conflict in the Middle East. We're monitoring all of this. That's coming up next.

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