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The Situation Room

Approval For Trump Ballroom Delayed; Americans Attempt to Flee War Zone; Interview With Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT); CNN Reports From Inside Iran. Aired 11-11:30a ET

Aired March 05, 2026 - 11:00   ET

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

[11:00:01]

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: And here are Iranian missile launchers being destroyed. The U.S. military's Central Command says its forces are hunting and destroying the mobile launchers with -- quote -- "lethal precision" -- end quote.

And take a look at this dramatic video. It captures the moment that an Israeli F-35 fighter jet shot down an Iranian warplane over Tehran yesterday.

Our senior international correspondent, Fred Pleitgen, and his team have now crossed the border there inside Iran. And we have to point out that CNN operates in Iran only with government permission.

Here's CNN's Fred Pleitgen reporting.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We just crossed the border and are now inside of Iran. The Iranian government has granted us a visa to come here and to report from the Islamic Republic of Iran.

We're now trying to make our way to the capital, Tehran, as fast as possible. But, of course, the distances in this huge country are immense, and we know it's going to take many, many hours for us to get there. We also don't know what the situation on the road to Tehran is going to look like, how many checkpoints there's going to be.

And, of course, we know at the same time there are massive combat operations also going on. The United States and Israel are continuing their huge aerial campaign against targets inside of Iran. At the same time, the Iranians continue to retaliate, not just with their ballistic missiles, but with their drones, mostly hitting Israel, but then also American military installations, especially in the Gulf region, but, in general, in the Middle East.

In total, the Iranians are saying that they can continue this campaign for a very long time. They say that their missile arsenal is still immense, and they haven't even used some of their most modern missiles. But we also, of course, know that the place that we aim to go to, Tehran, has been under almost sustained attacks with massive airstrikes going on there, and also huge damage being caused, and, of course, many people also having been harmed.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLITZER: That was CNN's Fred Pleitgen, who is now reporting from inside Iran.

Fred, thank you very, very much.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN HOST: All right, and joining us now is the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, Congressman Jim Himes of Connecticut. He's a member of the Gang of Eight.

Nice to see you, Congressman.

So you have been in several briefings with members of the Trump administration about the Iran operation. Do you have a clear understanding now of what that imminent threat was that they say drove this decision to go to war with Iran on Saturday?

REP. JIM HIMES (D-CT): Yes, well, there was no imminent threat. And let's be precise here. They like to use the word imminent. And imminent to most people means that the Iranians have lined up missiles and forces and planes and ships to attack the United States. That is absolutely not what was true.

And it is absolutely not what Marco Rubio has over and over and over again said. And you don't need to take it from me. You can watch the video. Marco Rubio -- and I have heard him now say it three or four times -- has explained this as we were convinced that the Israelis were going to attack Iran.

We were convinced that when the Israelis attacked Iran, the Iranians would retaliate against American bases and assets in the region. And, therefore, the calculus was that, because Israel was going to go and because we were going to get attacked, we should attack first.

The problem with that logic, of course, is that there's nothing imminent about that. And I had been under the impression that we were the greatest superpower in human history. And yet Marco Rubio's explanation suggests that we have absolutely no influence to exert on either the Israelis or on the Iranians in how they might react to an Israeli attack.

So, I mean, imminent is the last attribute of what has occurred. This administration was going to do this. And they finally settled, of course, on a highly unsatisfactory explanation for why they entered into this war of choice.

BROWN: And just to follow up, as you may have heard, Secretary Rubio walked that back after being pressed on it and the conflicting descriptions, including from the president, and said that his reasoning was being cherry-picked and claimed that, as soon as the diplomatic talks broke down, that it was clear that action needed to be taken.

I'm just noting that from his point of view -- Wolf. (CROSSTALK)

HIMES: Yes, there were no real diplomatic talks. You can go back and look at the record here. Witkoff and the president's son-in-law were in Geneva.

And in the morning, they were visiting with the Iranians and then they were walking down the street to the Russian negotiations. As far as I can tell, there have been no diplomats, professional diplomats, involved, and, oh, as it turned out, that two real estate tycoons moonlighting as negotiators.

Look, that is not a real negotiation.

BLITZER: As you know, Congressman, the Senate rejected a resolution yesterday that would have limited President Trump's war powers without permission from Congress. The resolution is also expected to fail today in the House of Representatives.

What can lawmakers opposed to this were actually due to try to rein in President Trump's actions against Iran?

[11:05:03]

HIMES: Well, Wolf, there's a really kind of dark answer to that question, which -- and the answer to that is -- and I hate to be this blunt and honest with the American people, but it's true.

The answer to that question is nothing. Even if the war powers resolution were to have passed the Senate and to have passed the House, there is no reason to believe that Donald Trump would have taken that into account. He would have vetoed that resolution, right?

And so what eventually is going to end this war is what we're beginning to see already just in the fourth or fifth day of this war. Gasoline prices are already up 22 cents a gallon on average across the country. They are now higher than they were when Donald Trump took office.

The stock market is stumbling today. And, by the way, I should have put this first, but, most tragically and most importantly, there are now six Americans dead in this war. Eventually, the pressure of those losses, in context of the administration's inability to tell us how this ends, how or when this ends, eventually, the American people are going to be even more sour on this war than they already are now.

And I suspect what happens then is that Donald Trump just pulls the plug, declares victory, and walks away.

BLITZER: I want to play, Congressman, how some members of the Republican Party have described what's going on with Iran right now. Listen and watch this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And we may have casualties. That often happens in war. We're doing very well on the war front.

PETE HEGSETH, U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: We set the terms of this war from start to finish.

MARCO RUBIO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: Nine thousand Americans have been able to leave the region since the start of this war.

REP. BRIAN MAST (R-FL): Nobody should classify this as war. It is combat operations.

SEN. TOMMY TUBERVILLE (R-AL): I wouldn't call this a war as much as I'd call it a conflict that should be very short and sweet.

SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R-SC): I don't know if this is technically a war.

SEN. MARKWAYNE MULLIN (R-OK): We haven't declared war. So if we haven't declared war, then I don't see that. The president hasn't asked to declare war yet, but we -- they have declared war on us.

MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Do you consider it a war?

REP. MIKE FLOOD (R-NE): It's a significant military operation.

REP. ANNA PAULINA LUNA (R-FL): Strategic strikes are not war.

REP. MIKE JOHNSON (R-LA): They have declared war on us. I don't believe in the semantics. We have talked about the language this morning. We're not at war right now. We're four days in to a very specific, clear mission and operation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLITZER: So, Congressman, is this a war?

(LAUGHTER)

HIMES: Wolf, come on.

(LAUGHTER)

HIMES: It's a laughable question, right?

And in your montage there, of course, you have got the executive branch, the secretary of state, the president, and others saying it's a war, and members of Congress saying it's not a war. Why are they saying that? They're saying that because they know, because they took a passing glance at the United States Constitution before they promised to uphold and support it, that the Constitution is very clear that the Congress gets to declare war.

That's why you have Republicans saying, like, oh, it's not a war. And, look, anybody who's studied any history knows the experience of Vietnam. There was no declaration of war in Vietnam either. It was called a police action. You know, Vladimir Putin right now says that he's running a special military operation.

The fact that you don't call it a war does not do away with the fact that you are brutally abnegating on your constitutional responsibility in the context of six Americans dead, in the context of billions of dollars of taxpayer money being spent, in the context of gasoline prices already up almost a quarter a gallon.

It is the responsibility of the Congress to at least consider whether this is wise or not. And it is shocking to me to see more than half of Congress, the Republicans, say that we don't want to do that. We don't want to do that.

This is not the Congress of the United States anymore, Wolf. It is the Duma, because whatever it is that the dear leader, Donald Trump, wants is what the Republicans here in the Congress are going to deliver.

BLITZER: Yes, I have been calling it a war since day one, Pamela.

BROWN: Yes.

And based on what you have learned since this all started, how concerned are you, given the briefings you have been given, about the prospect of Iranian sleeper cells and possible retaliation against Americans both at home and abroad?

HIMES: Pamela, there's no question that the Iranians are being very badly hit right now. Most of their navy is gone. There's lots of almost MTV-quality videos that you can watch on an hourly basis being released by the White House and by the Department of Defense.

The reality is that the Iranians maintain pretty shocking military capability and asymmetric capability. That's what we -- the fancy term for the terrorists that they have for generations now been planting in the region and, scarily, outside of the region.

So, as this regime gets increasingly desperate, they are going to reach for those tools, at a time, by the way, when the FBI has fired the people who are Iran counterterrorism experts and whatnot. So it is a very, very real danger.

And I just pray that this administration sobers up, takes their eye off of their constant need to praise this president and actually gets into the business of defending and standing for the security of the American people.

[11:10:00]

BROWN: Congressman Jim Himes, thank you.

BLITZER: I thank you as well, Congressman. Appreciate it very, very much.

BROWN: And we're learning more, Wolf, about the six Americans killed in an Iranian airstrike at a makeshift operations center in Kuwait.

The U.S. military has now identified all of them. This is major Jeffrey O'Brien. He was a computer engineering graduate from Ohio State University and had been in the Reserves for 17 years. His aunt described him as -- quote -- "the sweetest blue-eyed blonde farm kid you would ever know," adding: "War is real. Loss is real. He is so missed already. Love you forever, Jeff."

Major O'Brien leaves behind a wife and three kids.

And this is Chief Warrant Officer 3 Robert Marzan. His sister described him as a strong leader who lived by example, adding -- and I'm quoting now -- "My baby brother, you are loved, and I will hold on to our memories and cherish them always in my heart."

The Pentagon said final positive identification by medical examiner is still pending, but that he was present at the scene and is believed to have been killed. And the Pentagon had previously identified Captain Cody Khork, Sergeant 1st Class Nicole Amor, Sergeant 1st Class Noah Tietjens, and Sergeant Declan Coady.

BLITZER: We send our deepest, deepest condolences to their loving families. And to all of these soldiers, may they rest in peace and may their memories be a blessing.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[11:16:03]

BROWN: Well, new this morning, these are Israeli tanks at the border with Israel. The Israeli military is issuing what it describes as an urgent evacuation warning for entire neighborhoods in Beirut's southern suburbs. The order comes just hours after Israel attacked several command centers in the Lebanese capital overnight.

So let's go live now to CNN's Nick Paton Walsh in Tel Aviv.

Nick, what more can you tell us about Israel's ongoing campaign against Hezbollah, which, of course, we should remind our viewers, Hezbollah really widened this war with the initial attacks?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes.

So, just going back to the initial decision by Hezbollah a few days ago now to avenge the death of ultimately their sponsor, Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Israelis said they would then prosecute the remainder of Hezbollah inside of Lebanon, the defense minister saying until they were disarmed.

That has rapidly expanded. Yesterday, an evacuation order for everyone south of the Litani River along the border with Northern Israel should get out, and now the extraordinary decision by the IDF here to tell everybody basically in the most part of Southern Beirut here, predominantly the Dahiyeh southern suburb, where Hezbollah have their strongholds or had significantly weakened now, telling hundreds of thousands of people to get out and even telling them the roads through which they should indeed exit. Adding to that acute anxiety that will be felt now by many Lebanese in

the south of their capital, the Israeli finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich, who is a key influencer in decision-making here, certainly, although not the singular ground zero for policy, he has threatened or said there's the possibility that they may turn Dahiyeh, that southern suburb of Beirut, into rubble, saying they will meet the same fate, a paraphrase here, as Khan Yunis in Southern Gaza, devastated by the Israeli campaign there.

So I think a lot of fear in Southern Beirut now, many people urgently, desperately on the move, and a scope we're beginning to see potentially of the Israeli campaign against Hezbollah, I should point out again significantly weakened by their first very brutal and efficient assault in late 2024.

That's just the lesser of the two fronts Israel is fighting on at the moment. To the east, ultimately, over the skies of Iran, they have just announced their 13th wave of airstrikes. The details we have about the 12 earlier on this morning says it was targeting underground missile bunkers for ballistic and air defense missiles.

I should add too we have been hearing this morning from a U.S.-based human rights group that now 1,100 Iranians have died as a result of this phase of the conflict. So the issue in Iran now, it's seemingly we're seeing Israel persist there in their objectives, a sense of also from U.S. CENTCOM also involved in strikes.

They believe that they are rapidly deteriorating Iran's ability to strike back. But that is not what we're seeing so far this morning across the region.

And I say it's notable that, even though Iran's foreign minister, Seyed Abbas Araghchi, got on the phone to his Qatari counterpart yesterday, the first outreach since the beginning of this conflict to the Gulf neighbors, who surprisingly Iran chose to retaliate against so ferociously, we have now seen 14 missiles launched this morning against Qatar by Iran, 13 of which were intercepted.

You're reporting too about explosions being heard over the United Arab Emirates, a lot really moving here, a sense that Iran is not looking for de-escalation here against its regional allies, hitting them yet again in the way that we saw in the early hours of this conflict, but also too Israel dealing now with two separate fronts with a remarkably fast-paced campaign, it seems, to achieve what they said they wanted to do, which was disarm Hezbollah to the north of where I'm standing in both Beirut and Southern Lebanon.

[11:20:00]

BROWN: All right, Nick Paton Walsh, a lot to capture there. Excellent reporting. Thank you so much -- Wolf.

BLITZER: And up next, Pamela: strong new warnings from Iran this morning, threatening to bomb any U.S. ships in the Strait of Hormuz, a small waterway with a massive impact on the global oil supply.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLITZER: We're continuing our breaking news coverage of the U.S.- Israeli war against Iran. Just minutes ago we learned that multiple flights are now evacuating Americans from the Middle East.

[11:25:07]

Let's go to our senior White House reporter, Kevin Liptak.

Kevin, what are you learning about these new flights?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, and it does seem as if this logjam of Americans who are trying to get out of the Middle East is starting to ease somewhat.

We heard yesterday that the first charter flight organized by the State Department had left the region. We just learned in the last hour that in fact there have been multiple charter flights that are flying out. The State Department is not saying where these flights are leaving from.

They say that's for operational security purposes. Obviously, they're telling the people on the flights where they're leaving from, but they're not announcing them publicly, which I think just underscores the grave security situation that many Americans now find themselves in after essentially being stranded in the region once this war began.

The State Department did not appear to have had a plan in place to evacuate them beforehand, President Trump saying that it all happened too quickly. It has led to an enormous amount of frustration, including about why some other nations, including in Europe, were able to get their charter flights out before the United States, which, of course, is the country that began this war and presumably knew when it was going to start.

The State Department spokesman was on CNN earlier reacting to some of that criticism. Listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOMMY PIGOTT, STATE DEPARTMENT PRINCIPAL DEPUTY SPOKESPERSON: I don't accept that characterization of what we have been able to do here. We saw the implementation of this task force immediately, and we also saw the assistance of Americans from the very beginning. That's why that 10,000 number is so important.

Each one of these countries, of course, with a different situation that people are working with, people are actively overcoming in order to provide those security options where able. But we have seen Americans be able to return to the United States since the beginning. We have been providing that direct security, that direct travel guidance from the very beginning.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LIPTAK: Now, he said that 10,000 Americans had used some of the State Department assistance to get out of the Middle East.

He said, in all, that 20,000 Americans had been able to return. In addition to these charter flights, the administration has said that they're working to secure military aircraft. They're trying to help Americans book commercial flights.

But, of course, those have been extraordinarily limited as the airports and the airspace in these major transportation hubs, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha, have all been closed, intermittently, at least, since the onset of this conflict -- Wolf.

BLITZER: All right, Kevin Liptak at the White House for us, thanks for that update.

And this important note. If you or someone needs help getting out of the Middle East right now, you can call the State Department's consular affairs number at 202-501-4444.

BROWN: And they also have a Web site too. It's called STEP Web site.

Other headlines this morning, "Today Show" host Savannah Guthrie -- quote -- "plans to return to the morning show," NBC has announced. Nancy Guthrie, who went missing more than a month ago, and her daughter and -- they have spent several weeks in Tucson, Arizona, helping with the search.

As you know, we have covered it extensively on this show. And NBC said Savannah Guthrie stopped by "The Today Show"'s home studio for the first time since her mother's disappearance.

Well, new this morning: a dramatic interruption at a Senate Armed Services hearing, as you see right here, Capitol Police forcibly removing an anti-war protester yesterday. The man, Brian McGinnis, is a Green Party Senate candidate. His campaign Web site says he's a Marine Corps veteran.

At one point, Montana Republican Senator Tim Sheehy, a former Navy SEAL, could be seen assisting officers. According to Capitol Police, McGinnis and several officers were injured during this chaotic scene. Authorities said McGinnis now faces three counts of assault on a police officer and three counts of resisting arrest.

And happening now: Dramatic footage shows the aftermath of a small plane crash in Phoenix, Arizona. You can see here what remains of the aircraft after it slammed into two homes yesterday morning. CNN affiliates KTVK and KPHO are reporting three people were injured, including the two people on board the plane.

The Phoenix Fire Department said the NTSB is headed to the neighborhood to remove the wreckage today. It's currently unclear what led to this crash, Wolf.

BLITZER: It's very sad, indeed.

Also new this morning, another roadblock for President Trump's massive East Wing ballroom project. A government commission was set to approve the plans today, but now that vote is delayed by a month after an influx of very critical public feedback.

Our Washington correspondent, Sunlen Serfaty, is here with us in THE SITUATION ROOM.

So, Sunlen, what happened?

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN WASHINGTON CORRESPONDENT: Wolf, people are very unhappy with this project, and that's reflected in the volume of feedback that the commission received during the public comment period of this project.

More than 32,000 comments came in, 9,000 pages' worth. And we dug into our -- into this reporting here, and we dug into many, many pages using A.I. And we also backed that up manually with our team of reporters. And we found that, among all of those comments, 97 percent of them were negative, speaking out in opposition to Trump's planned ballroom project.