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Protests Against ICE Ramp Up; Interview With Sen. Angus King (I-ME); Iranian Crackdown. Aired 11-11:30a ET

Aired January 14, 2026 - 11:00   ET

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

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ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: Happening now, breaking News, a crucial decision for President Trump as he weighs possible strikes on Iran. Intensifying demonstrations have shaken the country for weeks, and now the U.S. is pulling personnel from its biggest base in the region.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Plus: ICE tactics. Federal agents are drawing a lot of scrutiny and public resistance as they swarm Minneapolis right now. But how do their methods line up with what we've seen in the past?

We want to welcome our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer with Pamela Brown, and you're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

And we begin this hour with the deadly protests getting worse and worse in Iran, and one life in particular that's in grave danger this morning. The U.S. State Department says a protester could be executed at any moment now; 26-year-old Iranian Erfan Soltani faces death by hanging.

Keep in mind, President Trump has warned of striking Iran if the regime begins to execute protesters. According to a human rights group, Soltani was arrested at home on Thursday in connection to the protests. Just four days later, his family was told that he was scheduled to be hanged.

His family says he has been denied access to any legal defense or other elements of due process.

BROWN: So, here's what we know. The family also says Soltani's sister, who is a licensed lawyer, has been blocked from his case files. The family says that they've been denied information on the charges and proceedings, and reportedly have been granted only a brief final visit before his execution.

Meanwhile, the regime's crackdown on the anti-government protests is pushing the death toll higher. A U.S.-based human rights group says more than 2,400 protesters have been killed. Those images show bodies lined up at a morgue near the Capitol.

We want to note CNN is unable to independently verify the death toll, but given the government's ongoing Internet blackout in Iran, it could be even higher.

So let's go live now to CNN's Alayna Treene at the White House.

Alayna, the president, has been vague about what he could be sending. What are your sources telling you about what happens next with Iran?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, look, I've had extensive conversations, Pamela and Wolf, with people in that building behind me about all of this.

And one thing that has been made clear in my conversations with them is that the president is increasingly feeling like he needs to act, essentially that he has drawn a red line on wanting to take action against Iran. We know that he has now threatened repeatedly to go and intervene on behalf of the anti-government protesters.

And so what they're telling me is that some action is more likely. Now, of course, we're still waiting to hear what exactly the president is ultimately going to decide. He had another briefing yesterday with his top national security officials, including people like the secretary of state, Marco Rubio, the CIA director. The list goes on.

And, really, they have been laying out a number of options to him, some of them including kinetic options, including the potential of potential airstrikes and military options. The other options, though, are also looking at potential cyber attacks and sanctions.

And so all of this, the president is continuing to seriously consider. Now, I want to go back to what you mentioned at the top, though, about these very alarming reports we are getting out of Iran about the potential of executions, including the potential execution of this 26- year-old prisoner who could be executed as early as this week.

The president was asked about this during an interview with CBS News yesterday. Listen to his response.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We will take very strong action. If they do such a thing, we will take very strong action.

[11:05:00]

TONY DOKOUPIL, HOST, "CBS EVENING NEWS": And this strong action you're talking about, what's the endgame?

TRUMP: The endgame is to win. I like winning. And we're winning. We don't want to see what's happening in Iran happen. And, you know, if they want to have protests, that's one thing. When they start killing thousands of people, and now you're telling me about hanging, we'll see how that works out for them. It's not going to work out good. (END VIDEO CLIP)

TREENE: So, we'll have to see, again, what actually happens if people are executed, these protesters, from my conversations with people in the White House that said they would only embolden Trump further to make good on the threats that he has issued.

One thing I do want to make clear, though, is that, in every conversation I've had, they have been insistent, Trump administration officials, that they do not want U.S. boots on the ground in Iran and they are not looking to get involved in a protracted military operation.

But, again, there's a lot of concerns as well about potential action, including whether Iran will retaliate. We know they have promised to do so against U.S. assets in the region. The president was asked about this yesterday and essentially shrugged off those concerns.

And so we're standing by to learn more, Wolf and Pam.

BROWN: Very busy day at the White House for you. Alayna Treene, thank you so much -- Wolf.

BLITZER: More than 2,400 protesters have already been killed in Iran in just over three weeks during massive anti-government demonstrations, that according to one human rights group.

Jomana Karadsheh has this report on the brutal crackdown inside Iran right now. And we want to warn our viewers, the images you're about to see are grave.

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JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Iranians are risking their lives to show the world the brutality the regime has unleashed, a ruthless crackdown it's tried to conceal under the cover of a communications blackout.

IRANIAN DOCTOR (through translator): There were bursts of automatic fire, screaming, people gathering, protests, the staccato of Dushka bursts, people shrieking and slogans in the street. I opened the window briefly. The smell of gunpowder and tear gas was everywhere.

KARADSHEH (on camera): This is the voice of a doctor who's just left Iran. He's sharing his account exclusively with CNN and the pro-reform news outlet IranWire. He still fears for his safety. So, we are concealing his identity.

We're bringing you this rare firsthand testimony of what he witnessed inside the country.

(voice-over): He says the crackdown intensified dramatically on Thursday. It was just as we began getting pictures of larger crowds out on the streets of Iranian cities.

IRANIAN DOCTOR (through translator): Everything fell apart. At 8:00 p.m., the Internet was cut. At 8:20, I got a call from the hospital: "Doctor, come. You must come."

When I arrived, I saw what we call a mass casualty situation. Every single one of the four operating rooms was full. I was there from 10:00 or 11:00 p.m. until the morning. I don't know how many surgeries I did, maybe 10 or 11.

KARADSHEH: This is one of the few videos to have surfaced from inside Iran's hospitals. It shows some of the injured. But the doctor's testimony paints an even more distressing picture.

IRANIAN DOCTOR (through translator): From midnight Thursday onward, the type of injuries changed. The live rounds started. By Friday evening, all the beds were full. Most had pellet injuries and similar wounds.

KARADSHEH: Throughout these and previous protests, the regime's security forces raided hospitals and hunted down injured protesters and the medical staff treating them, turning places of healing into scenes of horror.

IRANIAN DOCTOR (through translator): There was so much fear. Three patients contacted me through intermediaries. I was afraid to answer, wanting to make sure it wasn't security agents trying to trap me.

KARADSHEH: The true scale of the carnage is only just beginning to emerge. Once again, so many Iranians find themselves abandoned and alone in this nightmare.

IRANIAN DOCTOR (through translator): The hope being pumped by external media is not what we feel inside. Inside Iran, it's a mix of terror, desperation, and a tiny flickering shred of hope.

Jomana Karadsheh, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: And thanks to Jomana Karadsheh for that really excellent, excellent piece. We really appreciate it -- Pamela.

BROWN: All right, and joining us now to discuss the breaking news out of Iran is independent Senator Angus King of Maine. He caucuses with Democrats and serves on the Senate Intelligence and Armed Services Committee.

Senator, as you watch that piece, I just wonder what was going through your mind and what you think the U.S. should do.

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SEN. ANGUS KING (I-ME): Well, it's beyond shocking, I mean, and I don't think there are any countries in the world where the gap between the people and the government is greater.

You have got a pretty educated, modernized, Western-leaning society in Iran and a 14th century theocratic government. And this is a dramatic uprising, probably bigger than there has ever been before. The challenge for us is to help. We -- obviously, our hearts are with

those protesters. And we want to help in some way, but the challenge that the president faces is, we don't want to give the regime a pretext for saying, oh, this isn't a real indigenous, organic protest. It's being sponsored by out-of-the-country forces like the United States, which they will use as a scapegoat.

So the president has to have a rather fine line, I think. How do we help? How do we facilitate the freeing of the Iranian people without it looking like the Americans are doing something in their own interest?

BROWN: Because, you know, the concern would be Iran could use that pretext to be even more brutal against the protesters, right...

KING: Correct.

BROWN: ... if it believes that.

So I wonder what you think about what the president has been saying. He has said that the U.S. will take action if the Iranians kill or execute protesters. Well, now the number is high, right?

KING: That's right.

BROWN: It's in the thousands, based on what we believe we know, although it's hard to independently verify, given the blackout there in Iran.

What window of time do you think the president has to take action?

(CROSSTALK)

KING: Well, I think this hanging that was talked about may be a trigger that he feels he can't wait any longer because it's so public. And if that takes place, I think he's sort of hemmed in. He's made these statements, very strong statements, over the last three or four days.

And, again, I don't think anybody disagrees with the idea of trying to somehow protect and help these protesters. But, again, the question is how to do it in such a way that it doesn't backfire and end up enabling or strengthening the regime.

BROWN: I want to turn to Greenland. Vice President Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio are meeting at the White House today with the Danish and Greenland officials.

You actually co-chair the Senate Arctic Caucus. Is there a world where the U.S. ends up acquiring Greenland from Denmark?

KING: There's no earthly reason we need to do so. The argument that the administration has been making is national security, which is complete nonsense.

We have had a major base in Greenland for 75 years, since 1951. The treaty that established that base also gives us wide latitude to have additional national security assets in Greenland. And, by the way, Lisa Murkowski, senator from Alaska, and I are meeting with those same Danish officials this afternoon.

I consider the White House meeting a warmup for the meeting with us, but that's different.

(LAUGHTER)

KING: But, in any case, this national security argument, just -- it's hollow. It doesn't make sense. You don't have to own real estate in order to have a national security asset.

We could -- the Danes and the Greenlanders have made it clear, and we will confirm this afternoon, that they're open to additional assets, whether it's a port facility, radar, part of the Golden Dome, whatever. I don't think that's a problem.

The best example is South Korea. We have a major presence, military presence, a base in South Korea near Seoul. It's there to deter North Korean adventurism and North Korean invasion of South Korea. We don't have to annex South Korea. And we have got military facilities.

You mentioned on your report that we have facilities in Qatar, and the president is removing personnel. We don't own Qatar. The point is, this idea that we have to own Greenland in order to protect the national security is just flat nonsense.

And what bothers me about it is, it's starting to feel like a pretext, that all this stuff about Greenland isn't about national security. It's something else. And, of course, it...

BROWN: What could that something else be?

(CROSSTALK)

KING: Well, something else could be natural resources.

I mean, last week or two weeks ago, it was all about we had to arrest Maduro because he was a drug kingpin. Within 24 hours, there was practically no talk about drugs, and it was all about oil. And it now looks like the kidnapping or the removal or the rendition, whatever you want to call it, of Maduro was more about getting access to the oil resources in Venezuela.

I'm not saying that's the case. I'm just saying it's suspicious, because anybody that knows about the history of Greenland or national security arrangements in the Arctic knows that there is no earthly reason that we have to control all of Greenland in order to shore up our national security assets in the region.

BROWN: All right. Senator Angus King, thank you for your time, and good luck with your meeting later today.

KING: Thank you, Pamela.

BROWN: Wolf.

BLITZER: And thanks from me as well.

[11:15:00]

And there's more breaking news coming into THE SITUATION ROOM. The FBI just searched the home, yes, searched the home of a "Washington Post" journalist who's been reporting on President Trump's efforts to reshape the federal government.

Let's go live right now to CNN crime and justice correspondent Katelyn Polantz.

What do we know about this search, Katelyn?

KATELYN POLANTZ, CNN SENIOR CRIME AND JUSTICE REPORTER: The details are still becoming clear to us, but as far as we know right now, this reporter, Hannah Natanson, her home was searched and the FBI did remove a phone and two computers from that home as part of this probe.

Now, this reporter has been told, according to "The Washington Post," that she is not a target of this criminal investigation that apparently exists. The attorney general, Pam Bondi, has put a statement out describing that there is a leak investigation where someone has already been arrested, a government contractor accused of leaking.

Bondi says on social media this morning, Wolf: "At the request of the Department of War, the Department of Justice and FBI executed a search warrant at the home of a 'Washington Post' journalist who was obtaining and reporting classified and illegally leaked information from a Pentagon contractor. The Trump administration will not tolerate illegal leaks of classified information that, when reported, pose a grave threat risk to our nation's national security and the brave men and women who are serving our country."

Now, a few things here, Wolf. There is indeed a case that is open against a person named Aurelio Perez-Lugones, a government contractor who formerly served in the Navy and has a top secret security clearance. Perez-Lugones is accused of accessing classified information in a system, taking photos of it, writing things on a notepad.

That charge is sitting in the federal court in Maryland against Perez- Lugones, and, right now, he is detained, though fighting that. There's a hearing scheduled for tomorrow, so this is still very much a developing legal story.

But, Wolf, there are several groups already very, very much condemning what the Justice Department is doing here related to a reporter, not related specifically to the case against Perez-Lugones, in looking at the potential or the alleged leaks.

One of those groups, the Reporters Committee for the Freedom of the Press, has already said this morning this is a tremendous escalation in the administration's intrusions into the independence of the press. BLITZER: Katelyn Polantz reporting for us.

Katelyn, thank you very, very much.

And still ahead: Federal agents are still clashing with protesters in Minneapolis amid an immigration crackdown intensifying by the day.

BROWN: And then, later, we're talking with the former director of ICE about the agency's recent methods in the Twin Cities and across the country.

You're in THE SITUATION ROOM.

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BLITZER: We're continuing to follow breaking developments in Minneapolis, where federal agents and protesters continue to clash a week after the shooting death of Renee Good.

This is a new video just coming into THE SITUATION ROOM from overnight outside the Whipple Federal Building, federal agents using flashbangs against protesters. And things only appear to be escalating, as more federal agents are being deployed to the city.

CNN correspondent Priscilla Alvarez is joining us right now.

Priscilla, walk us through some of the more alarming videos we have seen.

PRISCILLA ALVAREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Wolf, let's start with the fact that the Department of Homeland Security has said they have made more than 2000 arrests in Minneapolis dating back to when this operation started in December.

But that, of course, has fueled simmering tensions already in the city and led to some escalatory actions in these neighborhoods. So let's start with a video showing what happened in one neighborhood when a woman was pulled out of her vehicle by ICE agents.

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(SHOUTING)

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ALVAREZ: So, as you saw their Wolf, just a chaotic scene playing out there. Just before they pulled her out of the vehicle, she had yelled something, and I heard part of the words that she didn't move. She wasn't able to move her vehicle, because as you see, they're crowded there, and then this all unfolded.

These are ICE agents, as best I can tell from the vests pulling her out, but certainly an aggressive maneuver. One where they had also appeared to smash the window. And my sources always say that's the last thing you want to have to do in a situation like that, so, in this case, that scene there turning to be quite chaotic as they are doing these operations.

A second video I want to show you is one that was shot by CNN crews actually yesterday when these operations were under way in a separate neighborhood.

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(SHOUTING)

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[11:25:30]

ALVAREZ: what's really striking there, of course, is that you see this person's head in between the agents' legs as they pile on to try to arrest this individual.

Our correspondent Ryan Young had described that this was a really tense scene from the protesters, from the federal agents. And it is something we are seeing more of, not only in Minneapolis, but also in other cities, where pepper balls are dispersed, where there's clashing between federal agents and protesters.

And the reason that they're in these neighborhoods, I'm told, is because they're conducting what are called these targeted operations. That means they know who they're going after. They bring these big teams in, as our CNN crews had observed here.

But then that also attracts protesters, and that's where these clashes happen. But, again, you see that head there. So that was sort of a remarkable scene.

The next video here is at a Speedway gas station in St. Paul, where a protester was tackled, in this case, by U.S. Border Patrol.

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(SHOUTING)

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ALVAREZ: So, what happened here prior to the tackling of this protester, according to the Department of Homeland Security, is that these officers were conducting an operation.

And that can happen, for example, if there is a vehicle that they are tracking. There was a Honduran national that had a final order of removal that they were arresting in this case. And while they were conducting that arrest, it went -- again, there were protesters that had corralled themselves around the scene.

You heard there someone say: "People hate you." It's unclear who exactly that was. But a U.S. citizen did get arrested in this incident, was carried away, and placed in an SUV. This matters for a multitude of reasons, but also because, if you

think -- if you look at the polling, what Americans are -- where their sentiments are changing is in how immigration enforcement is happening, not necessarily that they're against it happening, or that mass deportation should happen, and they support the president's agenda there.

But it's how it's happening that is starting to create some fissures in the feelings between the American public and the Trump administration.

BLITZER: Priscilla, is that it? Are there any more videos you want to show us? Because they're so disturbing.

ALVAREZ: There's many of them, yes.

BLITZER: Yes. Priscilla Alvarez, good work. Thanks very, very much.

ALVAREZ: Thank you.

BLITZER: Pamela.

BROWN: And Priscilla mentioned the poll numbers. I want to take a little bit of a deeper dive into those poll numbers.

A vast majority of voters say they have seen the video showing the fatal shooting of Renee Goode by an ICE agent. According to new polling by Quinnipiac University, 53 percent of those voters say they did not think it was justified. That's compared to 35 percent who said it was justified.

And that same Quinnipiac polling shows 40 percent of voters approve of the way ICE is enforcing immigration laws, while 57 percent disapprove.

Joining us now to discuss all of this further is former ICE Director Sarah Saldana. She led the agency from 2014 to 2017 under former President Barack Obama.

So thank you for coming on.

I want to ask you first about the specific tactics we just saw that was laid out from Priscilla by Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Take a look at this specific video, which we should warn our viewers they could find it disturbing.

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(SHOUTING)

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BROWN: Does this align with the training that ICE agents get to handle a situation like this?

SARAH SALDANA, FORMER ICE DIRECTOR: Well, it's -- I don't know the whole story about what preceded this. We showed a very short snippet.

But it is way past time for de-escalation here. There needs to be a time-out, because this is not going to lead to any good outcome. I am very concerned that the rhetoric and the actions of both sides is amping up. And I don't know what the final objective is.

Let's not forget, ICE does have a very important mission. Remember visa overstays and the terrorists in 9/11. And there may be some good coming out of these operations.

However, as your poll indicates -- and I think it's very accurate -- the issue is in the manner of enforcement. This is not what the American public expects. And, quite frankly, this is not how policing should be going on.