Return to Transcripts main page

The Situation Room

U.S. and Iran Trade New Strikes After Trump Says Ceasefire is Over; Iran Says It Hit U.S. Military Sites in Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar; Crowds Gather in Mashhad City in Anticipation of Khamenei's Burial. Aired 10-10:30a ET

Aired July 09, 2026 - 10:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:00:00]

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Happening now, breaking news. Ceasefire crumbles. The U.S. and Iran trading a new round of strikes overnight, and into the morning, the U.S pounding close to 90 Iranian targets, and President Trump saying the attacks could get very soon much worse, his words, much worse.

Plus, live from aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, a Situation Room exclusive. Our Pamela Brown is the first journalist to report from aboard the U.S. aircraft carrier as the U.S. military is forced to once again tighten its posture in the region.

And Mississippi mystery, the family of Nolan Wells calling for more answers and a deeper investigation after the 18-year-old was found dead following a weekend trip with friends. But there are still a lot of unanswered questions about what happened, and the effort to figure it all out.

Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer, and you're in The Situation Room.

We begin with the breaking news, a fresh round of strikes from the United States. This is new video just coming into The Situation Room from the coastal, the area of the coastal Iran. The U.S. military Central Command saying it has struck 90 Iranian targets to keep the Strait of Hormuz open to shipping.

The targets run the gamut. Among them, air defense systems, coastal surveillance assets, missile and drone storage sites, naval capabilities, and military infrastructure along Iran's coastline.

And Iran immediately responded by targeting U.S. military bases in Kuwait and Bahrain for the second night in a row. Iran's army says it had targeted a U.S. military site in Qatar, the first time Tehran has acknowledged targeting that Gulf Arab nation. And Jordan now says it successfully intercepted eight Iranian missiles earlier this morning.

Let's begin our special coverage this hour with a Situation Room exclusive and our own Pamela Brown. She's aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Arabian Sea, where members of the U.S. military are maintaining right now a posture of readiness.

PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: A lot going on here on the USS Abraham Lincoln. I'm on what's called Vulture's Row, so we really have a front-row seat to all of the action that's happening here. There have been planes landing, fighter jets, F-18s, F-35s landing throughout the day.

And I want to show you this destroyer right behind -- right by the ship. It's actually pulling up close to the ship. This is the Frank E. Petersen Jr. Destroyer. This is the point of the spear. This is one of more than 12 destroyers that have been sailing with this aircraft carrier to protect it.

It is literally the shield for this ship. It has Tomahawk missiles that can go to land for offensive strikes, but it also has a lot of defensive capabilities air and missile defense capabilities. It's has anti-submarine capabilities. So, they defend against a submarine threat, and they also have an 18-man certified team on board that can go onto the ships and search and seizure.

So, there's a lot that these destroyers can do. And now look, you see a plane just landing right here (INAUDIBLE) with the hook. You see how fast it goes on this landing strip, not very long. It has a hook and it catches one of several wires.

So, as you can see, a lot of activity as tensions continue to escalate between the U.S. and Iran.

And, Pamela, how has the tone aboard the carrier changed since this latest escalation?

BROWN: The stakes are raised. They have been in this conflict and engaged in some way for five and a half months now, or been ready to jump back in to go to war. I can tell you today, given the fact that there were overnight strikes on Iran just these last (INAUDIBLE) taking on a new meaning.

I asked the admiral who oversees the ship as well as the destroyers if there is a heightened threat alert. He said, look, you know, we are always looking for threats. And he didn't necessarily say that there was a heightened threat alert, but I do think it is notable that you have the destroyer here coming close to the ship in this moment of high intensity, right? You had the ceasefire, things calmed down. There was the funeral in Iran where there was a pause in the negotiations. And these last few days have really changed the calculus.

And so we'll have to wait and see if there will be more strikes. We know that the two aircraft carriers are capable of that as well as these destroyers that we know have been used since the beginning of the war with those Tomahawk missiles targeting land targets in Iran.

But also that destroyer right there, among several others, it has intercepted ballistic missiles and drones that were directly targeting the Abraham Lincoln. This ship I'm on right now is considered a high- value target, and that destroyer right there (INAUDIBLE). that destroyer right there has intercepted multiple threats from Iran, with Iran trying to hit this ship.

Now also, it's worth noting that part of Iran's military strategy has been this sort of cost imbalance with these cheap drones and the military using more expensive ballistic missiles and other ways of taking it down. I'm told that they're trying to evolve and use cheaper weapons. But it's a very active dynamic environment out here.

BLITZER: Very active indeed. Pamela, thank you very much and stay safe over there.

We're going to get another update from Pamela. That's going to be live from aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln right at the top of the next hour.

Right now, I want to go live to CNN's Alayna Treene over at the White House. Alayna, what is the president saying now about this new escalation with Iran?

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Look, we saw a second round of strikes yesterday ordered by the president himself, Wolf.

I just want to give you a little sense of the scope of these attacks over recent days. U.S. forces have struck more than 170 Iranian military targets in these two rounds of strikes. They say that they were included -- targeted air defense systems, drone and missile storage sites, military speed boats, and logistics infrastructure, all of them around the Strait of Hormuz. So, that just gives you a sense of how broad the scope these strikes are, even as they're really trying to target the strait.

Now, as for what the president is saying, I think it's very unclear what the state of this ceasefire and that memorandum of understanding that the president signed just a couple weeks ago around the G7 summit, what the fate of that is and what the state of that is at this point.

Now, we did hear the president speaking with reporters yesterday. He made a point to argue that if Iran is going to attack ships in the strait, try to attack the U.S., that the U.S. will hit back 20 times harder, while also leaving open the idea that perhaps negotiating could still be on the table. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, U.S. PRESIDENT: We just hit them very hard, and I say we hit them 20 to 1. Every time they hit us, we're going to hit them 20.

REPORTER: Are we returning to a full-scale military conflict, sir?

TRUMP: I don't know. I don't know. We'd win it very quickly. It's another way of doing -- we have many ways we can win, but we've already won militarily. They have very little -- they have very little left. And they want to make a deal so badly. They called a little while ago. They want to make a deal so badly. I just don't know if they're worthy of making a deal. I don't know that they're going to honor the deal. That's --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TREENE: So, you've heard the president saying there, you know, they want to make a deal so badly, something he's said often.

Just to give you a look behind the curtain though, Wolf, in the conversations I've been having with officials here in Washington, they tell me that, one, the president has just been so frustrated, one, with the pace of negotiations and specifically this idea that Iran is slow-walking nuclear talks, but also he wants the strait back open. I'd remind you, that was a key part of that text of the MOU, something that they haven't seen. So, that's contributing to, I think, a lot of the lack of patience you're seeing from the president, the frustration in recent days.

BLITZER: Yes, extremely tense moment right now.

Alayna Treene, thank you very, very much.

CNN Military Analyst and retired U.S. Air Force Colonel Cedric Leighton is here with us in The Situation Room. Colonel, thanks very much for joining us.

The Jordanian government now says it intercepted eight missiles launched from Iran toward Jordan right now. The U.S. embassy also alerted the incident just minutes ago. Iran said it was targeting a U.S. base in Jordan. Tell us a little bit about what's going on, because in the past when Iranians have fired missiles that went towards Jordan, they were designed to continue towards Israel.

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: That's right, Wolf, and one of the key things to note is this is the area right in here where that U.S. base actually is.

[10:10:04]

So, we're talking in that northeastern corner of Jordan. So, any type of flight of a missile that would go from Iran into either Israel or Jordan would basically take the same flight path. That flight path, you know, would probably go across the area where that Al-Muwaffaq Air Base is, which is the one that the U.S. uses quite a bit. There's also, of course, activity near Amman, Jordan, which is right close to that point right there on the map.

So, Jordan is clearly in the path if Israel were to be attacked, but it looks like what the Iranians were trying to do was attack the U.S. base in Jordan at this point.

BLITZER: Right now, the Iranians are accusing the U.S. of committing what they're calling blatant war crimes by striking two bridges on a railway route. Does this signal an expansion to various civilian targets inside Iran?

LEIGHTON: So, this is a key point right here, Wolf. Normal targets are the ones that you see right here along the Persian Gulf Coast, and these targets are, you know, quite frankly, a really important part of the U.S. military effort. But that railroad bridge that you're talking about, that was right here in Aqqala, Iran.

And when you look at what is happening up there, this is on the route, on the railroad route that goes to Mashhad, Iran, which is right here. And this is where the ayatollah, the late supreme leader, is going to be buried today. So, any travel that pilgrims or mourners made from Tehran to Mashhad was through Aqqala.

So, the whole idea was to hit this railway bridge and knock out what is basically a dual use facility. They can use it obviously for civilian purposes, but also military. But in this particular case, it looks like this is more of a political statement to basically tell the Iranians that we can cut off their transportation on either side, whether it's military transportation or civilian transportation.

BLITZER: You know, we've been checking the military presence that the U.S. now has. There are 19 U.S. military naval ships in the Northern Arabian Sea right now. You can see some of them right there behind you. Tell us what's going on right now with this buildup.

LEIGHTON: Yes, so what you're seeing here is you have everything from destroyers to, of course, the aircraft carriers, like you have Pamela Brown on the Lincoln which is one of those aircraft carriers. We have amphibious assault ships, which are designed to basically work in the way in which you would actually mount an amphibious assault against a coastline. You have the cruisers that are part of the naval inventory. And then you have transport docks, dock landing ships, and a sea base.

So, this would be the type of equipment that you would need to go in and go after a target like, for example, Kharg Island right here. You would use those kinds of vessels to go after Kharg Island, or possibly any of the other areas in the Strait of Hormuz that you would potentially, potentially want to take as part of an accelerated military effort in this area.

BLITZER: And I assume the Iranians have been targeting a lot of those U.S. naval vessels that are in the area right now.

LEIGHTON: Yes. In fact, one of the key things, and Pamela also mentioned this, is aircraft carriers are, of course, a very much a high-value target, and they target those. But one of the key things also is to have their protection there. So, those would be the guided missile destroyers and any of the assault ships and cruisers. Those become key elements in any type of action that the Iranians would take.

And we have to remember that when you look at the geography of all of this, yes, Iran is getting attacked right here along the coastline, but the key thing is this, our ships are basically in this area right down here. And the fact that they are here means that they are vulnerable to some of Iran's missiles.

BLITZER: Yes, it's a serious matter indeed.

All right, Colonel Leighton, we'll have you back. Thank you very, very much.

We're watching all of this very, very closely. Much more special coverage of the breaking news on this escalation in the war with Iran will continue.

CNN is also on the ground inside Iran, thousands mourning in the final stage of a week-long funeral of the Ayatollah Khamenei as the U.S. and Iran trade strikes. The late reporting coming in. You're in The Situation Room.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:15:00]

BLITZER: Welcome back to a Situation Room special report and all the breaking news coming outside of this war with Iran right now. State media in Iran is now reporting new U.S. strikes on various Iranian coastal cities. This is new video from Bushehr Province in Iran.

And Jordanian officials now say their air defenses intercepted eight missiles launched from Iran, that according to state media as well.

Let's go live right now to CNN's Fred Pleitgen. He's on the ground for us in Tehran. We should note CNN operates in Iran only with the permission of the government there, but maintains full editorial control of its reports.

Fred, update our viewers. What are you learning now?

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi there, Wolf. Well, it certainly seems that the situation between the United States and Iran is continuing to heat up. You mentioned some of those strikes that the Iranians were talking about in the Bushehr Province.

Now, just to get our viewers up to date, Bushehr is in the northern part of the Persian Gulf, so not actually near the Strait of Hormuz. And the Iranians are saying that the perimeter of a nuclear reactor, a nuclear power plant there, appears to have taken some damage. However, there are also some military installations in that area as well.

[10:20:01]

So, it's unclear what exactly the target of that was. But that's certainly something that happened over the course of today and was not part of those overnight strikes that we saw by the U.S. on areas in Iran, specifically in the Persian Gulf in those overnight hours that then led to that Iranian retaliation.

The Iranians, Wolf, now also acknowledging that they fired ten ballistic missiles at one of the main U.S. air bases in Jordan. It's unclear what exactly the damage of that was, but it certainly seems to show that the Iranians now also using longer distance and heavier munitions to try and target U.S. assets, not just in the Gulf region, but in the wider Middle Eastern regions. That could also be an indication that maybe things are escalating. One of the things that's actually causing a lot of anger here, Wolf, in Iran, is that the Iranians are saying that two railway bridges were targeted by the United States overnight, and that's very important in the context of this day, because, as we know, Wolf, today is the day that Iran's slain supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, gets laid to rest in Mashhad, which is the holiest city here for Shia Islam in Iran. And those railway bridges are actually on the main rail line from Tehran to Mashhad. And the Iranians are saying that a lot of people who wanted to get to that ceremony didn't manage to do that.

Nevertheless, video that we're seeing from Mashhad shows thousands if not hundreds of thousands of people on the streets. They're lining the streets in that procession of mourning that then again will see the slain supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei get laid to rest in Mashhad in his hometown, that the culmination point of an almost weeks-long really marathon of funeral ceremonies. Wolf?

BLITZER: All right. Fred Pleitgen on the scene for us in Tehran, thank you very, very much.

And still ahead, our special coverage of the breaking news will continue. Coming up, the U.S. and Iran trading new strikes as this war escalates. What options does President Trump now have? We'll talk about that and get analysis after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[10:25:00]

BLITZER: We have a series of very special reports this morning here in The Situation Room. Our Pamela Brown is aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln. She's the first journalist to report from that aircraft carrier, and we'll go back to her in the next half hour for more of her exclusive reporting.

Also, right now, fresh fire in the Middle East after President Trump said the fragile ceasefire was over. Iran now says it was targeting a U.S. base in Jordan after Jordanian officials said their air defenses intercepted eight Iranian missiles launched earlier this morning. And this comes as the U.S. military says it carried out at least 170 strikes on Iran over the past two nights alone.

Joining us now in The Situation Room is Admiral James Stavridis, retired admiral, I should say. He's CNN senior military analyst, a former Supreme Allied Commander of NATO. Admiral, thanks very much for joining us.

I know you've said you support new U.S. strikes on Iran because it overplayed its hand. What do we, what do you make of what we're seeing over the last two nights alone, because it's clearly intensifying?

ADM. JAMES STAVRIDIS (RET.), CNN SENIOR MILITARY ANALYST: Look for further kinetic action, Wolf, and I don't see this quieting down any time soon. On the other hand, I don't see it escalating to the point of U.S. boots on the ground or seizing Kharg Island. So, I think we're in for a pretty bumpy period here in which the Trump administration is going to use bombs. They're going to use blockade. Watch for that blockade to come back. And they're going to hope to put economic pressure on Iran. I think that's why that railway bridge was just dropped, for example.

And by doing so, they are hoping to get the Iranians back to the table. But buckle up for the next few weeks.

BLITZER: And what do you make of this latest development, Iran coming out and saying it fired ballistic missiles at a U.S. military base in Northern Jordan, where the U.S. has built up a significant presence during this conflict with Iran?

STAVRIDIS: Unsurprising. Clearly, the Iranians still have let's say 30 percent of their pre-war ballistic missiles. They're going to use them sparingly. Note the numbers here. The Iranians have fired 10, 15 missiles. We dropped almost 200 bombs. Watch for us to use volume. Watch for them to use more precise signaling, hence Jordan showing, as you're showing on the map, how far they can reach with these ballistic missiles, clearly a signal not just to the United States, but to the Arab world as well.

BLITZER: And to Israel as well, because, normally, in the past when Iran has launched missiles towards Jordan, they're designed to continue from Jordan and go into Israel and hit various targets in Israel. But in this particular case, it looked like they were going for that U.S. military base in Jordan and not necessarily directing those missiles towards Israel. Is that right?

STAVRIDIS: That is absolutely correct. And let's face it, Israel itself is a hardened target. It's the toughest air defense system to break into.

[10:30:00]

So, when you have fewer missiles to expend, like the Iranians do, look for them to go after softer targets, places where they can create an --