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The Source with Kaitlan Collins

Israeli Ambassador: We're At War With Iranian Regime; Senior Official: Iran Vows To Target Regional Bases Of Any Country That Defends Israel; Trump On "No Kings" Protests: "I Don't Feel Like A King." Aired 9-10p ET

Aired June 13, 2025 - 21:00   ET

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

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: Take a look at this video. It was captured today, of a Marine detaining a man, outside the Wilshire Federal Building, in L.A. According to Reuters, who shot this, this is the first-known detention of a civilian by active-duty troops, in this deployment. The man appears to be zip-tied. The Marines took charge of the mission to protect this building, earlier today.

CNN has reached out to the U.S. Marine Corps for more information.

That's it for us. The news continues. "THE SOURCE WITH KAITLAN COLLINS" starts now.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): This is CNN Breaking News.

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KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN HOST: And tonight, Israel and Iran are hurling missiles back and forth, as destruction is raining down from the sky, in the Middle East, in a battle that both nations are promising is far from over.

We're watching the situation live, this hour, in Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, Haifa and Bethlehem, where it's 04:00 a.m., in the middle of what Iran has warned will be a, quote, Dark night for Israel.

Loud explosions have been heard in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, as we've also seen a new wave of retaliatory strikes from Iran, with Israel saying that Iran fired dozens of missiles in the span of just an hour tonight.

This is what the sky looked like, over Tel Aviv, for the more than 4 million people who live in that metro area, as Israel's Iron Dome system raced to stop Iranian missiles and drones that you see here. This is what they heard.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(SIRENS BLARING)

(VIDEO - TEL AVIV HIT IN IRANIAN MISSILE STRIKES) (END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: As you saw there, some Iranian missiles made it through.

Meanwhile, in Tehran, that country's own air defenses sprung into action. In this video that we see from Iran's semi-official news agency, of what they say is their active air defense system, following another round of Israeli strikes there. The state media reports that several explosions have been heard in parts of the Iranian capital.

An American official tells CNN that the United States is playing an active role in helping Israel intercept Iranian missiles.

As for President Trump, he praised Israel's strikes overnight on Iran, and took to Truth Social twice, before Iran retaliated this afternoon, I should note, where he urged Iran to make a nuclear deal, in his words, quote, "Before there is nothing left."

At the White House, the President spent the day, behind closed doors. Though you see here, his Defense Secretary and Energy Secretary entering the West Wing. That's around 10:00 a.m., this morning. Then Secretary Hegseth, and the Joint Chiefs Chairman, retired Lieutenant General Dan Caine, were seen leaving the campus not until closer to 07:00 p.m. this evening.

Here's what the day looked like, behind-the-scenes, from our reporting.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: It's been an incredibly busy day, here at the White House, after President Trump started by convening his top national security aides, inside the Situation Room, to discuss Israel's strike on Iran, overnight.

He's been on the phone virtually non-stop and also having a ton of meetings with aides. Actually saw his envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, darting from one West Wing meeting to another, earlier today.

Witkoff, of course, had been at the center of those talks between the United States and Iran, trying to get a nuclear deal. Now, he was in meetings inside the West Wing as, of course, there are questions on whether or not those talks that were supposed to happen with Iran are still going to happen on Sunday. And also, as that comes as Iran has been responding to Israel, and striking cities, like Tel Aviv.

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COLLINS: I want to get straight to CNN's Chief International Correspondent, Clarissa Ward, in Eilat, Israel.

Clarissa, obviously, it's just after 04:00 a.m. there, in Southern Israel. What have you seen and heard so far since you've been on the ground?

CLARISSA WARD, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kaitlan, we can actually hear a drone overhead at the moment, as we were crossing the border from Egypt.

Because, of course, the airspace over Israel is closed, the airspace over Jordan is closed, we had to fly to Sharm El-Sheikh, in Egypt, and drive in. And as we were driving towards the border, you could see the night sky lighting up, as those Iranian missiles were presumably being intercepted by the Iron Dome. We could also hear a lot of fighter jets in the skies.

Most recently, I would say, about half an hour ago, a little quieter now, except for that drone.

But certainly, the expectation here and across the region, is that things are not going to stay quieter. Things are very much on a course to continue to escalate. A lot of concern and anxiety about what that escalation might look like.

We heard from the Iranians, this evening, essentially promising that they would retaliate against the regional bases of any force that supports or defends Israel. That is very much a not-veiled threat against U.S. bases across the region. Obviously, we have seen the U.S. pull personnel from various embassies.

But even here, Kaitlan, in Israel -- and I should say, we've only been here a couple of hours. But when you talk to people, there's a sense that it's a little different this time.

[21:05:00]

When they saw those missiles making impact, on the outskirts of Tel Aviv, when they saw the damage caused by those impacts, when they heard the force of those intercepts and blasts, it really did feel, according to people we've spoken to, different to cases in the past, when we have seen the sort of usual barrages coming from the Houthis in Yemen, from Hezbollah in Lebanon, from Hamas in Gaza.

And so, there is now a very kind of clear-eyed expectation that this is going to escalate further, that there isn't an obvious exit ramp for either party in this conflict. And certainly, anxiety around what tomorrow will bring, and what the next few days will bring, Kaitlan.

COLLINS: I think that's a good point, Clarissa. Because some people might be watching all of this, and say, Well, of course, it's Israel, it's Iran, it's kinetic in the Middle East.

But there is a question, even among officials in Washington that I was talking to today, about whether or not this is different, and what that difference signifies, and what it means.

WARD: It's absolutely different, Kaitlan.

I mean, we were here, all last summer, when there was a number of back-and-forth between Israel and Iran. That was already a significant escalation.

But the attack that we saw Israel perpetrate against Iran, last night, the scale, the scope, the essential decapitation of Iran's senior military leadership, the intelligence breach, all of this has really taken things to a completely -- a completely new level.

I mean, this really is now territory that has not been navigated. There is, clearly, a lot of anxiety, particularly in the region, a desire to try to deescalate. The Europeans, I came from Europe this morning, a lot of anxiety in Europe as well. Desperate calls from many different countries for both sides to kind of pull back from the brink.

But as I said before, it's not really clear, at this stage, what pulling back from the brink would look like.

We've heard President Trump reiterate, Oh, come on, come to these talks this weekend in Oman. Let's hash out a deal. That's your only off-ramp.

But for Iran to capitulate like that, in this moment, and what that would mean for its domestic political audience, it's difficult to see that that's a viable political move for Iran at the moment, Kaitlan.

COLLINS: Yes.

Clarissa Ward, on the ground, in Israel. We'll check in with you for updates throughout the hour.

Also here tonight is the Israeli Ambassador to the United States, Yechiel Leiter.

And it's great to have you here, Mr. Ambassador.

Because, the question on what we were just talking with Clarissa, about the attacks that are happening, in Tel Aviv tonight, we saw some of those Iranian missiles getting through and hitting on the ground in the area. Can you just update us on what the latest is, in the aftermath of that, and how many people have been injured?

AMB. YECHIEL LEITER, ISRAELI AMBASSADOR TO THE U.S.: Well, we faced three salvos of ballistic missiles fired from Iran today, about a 150 in total. And some 40 people have been injured. One woman was killed. And we expect that the Iranians, who have a considerable volume of ballistic missiles, somewhere in the neighborhood of 2,000, will continue to fire them.

COLLINS: So you can confirm that a woman was killed as a result of Iran strikes in Israel tonight?

LEITER: Yes. Look, it's important to understand, they are firing at our civilians. We are firing at their nuclear infrastructure, and the people involved in the nuclear infrastructure. We have targeted strikes, in Iran, in order to neutralize their nuclear weapons program, because the nuclear weapons program is intended to annihilate us.

Their firing ballistic missiles into civilian population centers, is something entirely different. They're targeting our -- targeting our civilians. This is a criminal state that is on the road to achieve a nuclear weapon, which we have to mitigate. It's that simple. COLLINS: Has Iran's response, and the strikes that they've promised will continue, is it overwhelming Israel's ability to defend itself?

LEITER: No. Israel will not be overwhelmed. We are a very resilient people. We've confronted one of Iran's proxies now, for a year and a half, in the form of Hamas. We've lost many people. We lost 1,200 people on October 7th. We've lost close to another 900 soldiers. By American standards, that would be about 65,000 people in a year and a half.

But we're a resilient people. We are united in this cause. We have learned the lesson of history. When maniacs say that they're going to kill you, you have to believe them.

Just 80 years ago, there was a little man with a mustache, running around Europe, saying he was going to annihilate the Jewish people. And nobody believed them. Everybody sat on their hands. And we lost a third of our people, and the war was thrust into a Second World War, which cost 65 million lives.

Well, the bearded guy in Tehran is very similar to the little guy with the mustache. When he says he's going to destroy us, that's what he intends to do, and we don't intend to allow him to do that.

COLLINS: Does Israel consider itself to be at war with Iran, tonight?

[21:10:00]

LEITER: Israel is in war not with the people of Iran. The people of Iran themselves suffer terribly under this lunatic regime, these mullahs that are really a death cult that celebrate death. So we're in a war against a regime that is intent on achieving nuclear power.

And, look, we're not the only ones who have told the mullahs that they can't have a nuclear bomb. The President of the United States has been very clear, from the moment that he entered office, that President Trump has said, The Iranians cannot have a nuclear weapon. You can't be any clearer than that.

So, we are -- what we are doing is in concert with the policy, the foreign policy of the United States, the security policy of the United States, because we are allies, and we're operating in the best interest, not only of the United States, but really of Western civilization.

COLLINS: Yes.

LEITER: It would be high time for our European friends to come on board as well.

COLLINS: The President also seemed to make clear, in recent days, that he did not want Israel to strike Iran. He was instead hoping to get to those talks, on Sunday, in Oman, where he's trying to achieve a nuclear deal.

Did Israel get a greenlight from the White House, from the Trump administration, to carry out the attack that it carried out overnight on Iran?

LEITER: One of the great things about the Trump administration is that what President Trump says, he means. He means -- and what he means, he says.

He wrote very clearly, this morning, that he was well-aware of the intention of Israel to strike at the nuclear infrastructure in Iran, and he was actually -- struck a congratulatory note. And warned the Iranians, Either come back to the table, negotiate in good faith, stop lying, reach a deal, or you're going to face a kinetic destruction of your nuclear infrastructure.

They could reach it without a military strike. They could have reached it through negotiation. What they had to do is dismantle their nuclear infrastructure, and commit to never having enrichment capability. Because if you have enrichment capability, what you're doing is marching to a nuclear bomb. And if you want civilian nuclear energy, you don't need enrichment.

So, that was very clear, in the President's policy. Special Envoy Witkoff made this clear, repeatedly, to the Iranians. But apparently they're not interested in reaching an agreement. They're interested in the death cult that they adhere to.

COLLINS: Yes, Trump did praise it today. The President called it excellent. I mean, that came after days and weeks of him saying publicly, he did not believe a strike from Israel should happen. Obviously, now that it has, there are questions about the U.S. involvement here.

But in terms of what Israel's objective here is, overall, sir, does Prime Minister Netanyahu want to see a regime change in Iran?

LEITER: We're not dealing with a regime change. A regime of a country is dependent on the people. The people of Iran have to determine what kind of regime they want. All we can determine is whether or not a regime will have the capability to destroy us. And our answer to that is no, they will not have the ability to destroy us.

COLLINS: You're attacking the nuclear program in Iran. Obviously, we saw several nuclear scientists, who were taken out, as part of this attack. But to actually destroy or dismantle that nuclear program, does Israel need the United States' help to do so?

LEITER: We believe that we could implement extensive damage to the nuclear infrastructure, where we won't know precisely how much, until we continue the campaign, complete the campaign. Ask me that question in four or five days, and I'll have a better assessment, after our military assesses the damage they were able to implement to the various nuclear sites.

But I think that we can come very close, according to our analysis, we can come very close to completely neutralizing, for good, the nuclear infrastructure in Iran.

COLLINS: Ambassador Yechiel Leiter, thank you for your time. We'll see you again, in four or five days from now, to ask you that very question.

LEITER: Will do, Kaitlan. Thank you.

COLLINS: The Israeli military tonight has said that it has hit two key Iranian Air Force bases, in a new round of strikes, with the IDF saying that these new strikes, quote, Dismantled a surface-to-surface missile launch site.

Joining me here on that front is CNN Military Analyst, and the retired Major General, James "Spider" Marks.

And it's great to have you here, sir.

Because just in terms of what this looks like, and what Iran is pledging to do to Israel, as a result, as a retaliation. There is an important consideration here that this is an existential moment for Iran too. And I wonder what tonight, so far, is telling you about how strong of a response Iran is actually capable of here.

MAJ. GEN. JAMES "SPIDER" MARKS (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Iran still has some capacity to do damage, and we're seeing that play out right now. But bear in mind, they have been severely weakened, over the course of months.

[21:15:00]

And what you saw Israel do, over the course of the last day and a half, is really a combination of the confluence, if you will, of preparedness, which is continual, an opportunity, because Iran has been severely weakened and is isolated by its neighbors.

So, we have to bear in mind that Iran does have capacity, the IRGC still exists, irrespective of the decapitation of some of the senior leadership in the IRGC. Look, in any military organization, and the IRGC is one of those, what's different with the IRGC is it's embedded in the society within Iran, so it can maintain control. It also has professionalism in its ranks. There will be other leaders that step up that will still have a capability to do damage against Israel. So, we have to be very mindful of that.

But also bear in mind, Iran is incredibly vulnerable, weakened, as a result of ongoing efforts, to include isolation by their neighbors, as I indicated.

So, I tell you -- what did we just heard from the Ambassador? Ambassador Leiter was very clear. Israel is in the process of doing bomb damage assessment. This just is not a series of punch (ph) and counterpunch.

Israel's got a plan. Iran is on its back heels. And Iran, what we're seeing right now is responding. Israel has the initiative, and they will continue to strike targets that they have on their target list that go toward the elimination, or at least the degradation, of the nuclear capacity in Iran.

COLLINS: Yes. MARKS: I don't know what that threshold looks like.

COLLINS: But in terms of that, can I ask you? Because, yes, we're seeing that on the nuclear facility that they did strike, we're told it was -- it was quite effective.

But The New York Times is reporting tonight still that essentially, most of its nuclear program is still intact, even following these strikes, raising questions about whether or not the U.S. would need to get involved.

There is a question here, if this accelerates Iran trying to build a nuclear weapon, is there not?

MARKS: Well, you certainly could lay that out. But it's accelerating the building or achieving the enrichment capacity sufficient to build now, a nuclearized -- to have a weapon, to have a nuclear weapon, at the same time, defending yourself against this onslaught from Israel, which has indicated that they are not finished. Again, we don't know what that threshold looks like.

But also, you can isolate that development of the nuclear capacity, if you go after their missile launchers, if you go after their missile capacity, if you continue to reduce their R&D capacity, if you continue to work on the target, Fordow, which is deeply, deeply buried, but you can cause so much chaos and destruction. It would be that you -- you give yourself plenty of time to respond to what that ultimate end state is going to look like.

You can also go after the surface targets that, again, allow you to -- that will again give you the opportunity to do an assessment that says, Enough.

COLLINS: Yes. Major General "Spider" Marks, obviously, we're going to be watching this incredibly closely. And I'm glad to have your expertise with us tonight. Thank you.

MARKS: Thank you.

COLLINS: And we are keeping a very close eye on what's happening in the Middle East tonight. Well, also the response in Washington. We've seen Republicans in the MAGA world divided over what this looks like. The President seems to be caught in the middle of that. A key Republican, on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, is my source, right after this quick break.

[21:20:00]

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COLLINS: This is a live look at the skies, over Tel Aviv tonight.

As we're hearing from a senior Iranian official that tells CNN, not only will Iran intensify its attacks on Israel, it plans to target the regional countries -- the regional bases of any country that tries to defend Israel, as a part of this. That's a clear and not very thinly veiled threat to the United States and allied countries that have been helping intercept several waves of Iranian missiles that have been launched at Israel today.

A reminder, of course, there are some 40,000 American troops, spread throughout the Middle East tonight, not to mention a number of U.S. military bases and assets as well.

My source tonight sits on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and is also the Chairman of the Middle East and North Africa Subcommittee. Republican congressman, Mike Lawler of New York, joins me.

Do you approve of what Israel is carrying out, and what this strike in Iran has looked like so far?

REP. MIKE LAWLER (R-NY): Yes. And I would point out, in addition to the 40,000 troops, there's 700,000 Americans that generally live in Israel, at least part-time, dual citizens of the United States of America and Israel. And so, this is not just an attack on Israel.

Iran has made it clear, for decades, that Israel is Little Satan and the United States is Big Satan. And just today, they were chanting Death to America, on the floor of their government. And so, at the end of the day, American presidents have said, for decades, that they would not allow Iran to get a nuclear weapon. Israel has made clear they would not allow Iran to get a nuclear weapon.

I was in the Middle East, just two weeks ago, meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu, meeting with King Abdullah, meeting with the Saudi government. Everybody was unequivocally clear that Iran cannot get a nuclear weapon. There was hope, of course, that they would be wise enough to take President Trump up--

COLLINS: Do you think that's--

LAWLER: --on a negotiation.

COLLINS: --that's done now? Is there any viable chance, in your view, that diplomatic talks could actually continue now?

[21:25:00]

LAWLER: No. I mean, let's be real here. I think the President was right to try to give diplomacy a chance. Of course, that should always be on the table. But the reality is, Iran is hell-bent on the death, and destruction, and eradication, of the State of Israel.

And I think what people need to recognize, in this moment, as you see Iran launch ballistic missiles, indiscriminately, targeting civilian populations, the fact is, Israel is front -- fighting a multi-front war. While I was there, the Houthis were launching missiles at Jerusalem.

COLLINS: Yes, and of course, what we've seen in that pales in comparison to what Iran is launching--

LAWLER: Is launching right now. COLLINS: --towards Israel tonight.

LAWLER: And you can see, even with David's Sling, even with Iron Dome, the fact is, they--

COLLINS: It's still struggling.

LAWLER: --they are launching hundreds of missiles at a time--

COLLINS: But can I ask you on that front?

LAWLER: --which overwhelms the system.

COLLINS: That raises the question of U.S. involvement here. We did confirm -- because it wasn't totally clear, last night, from the statement from Secretary Rubio, about whether or not the United States would help Israel defend itself.

The U.S. is helping intercept some of these missiles and drones that are coming towards Israel. Do you think that's enough? Or do you want to see the United States do more to help Israel in this moment?

LAWLER: Well, at a minimum, obviously, as the United States always have -- has, we will defend our ally, Israel. And again, 700,000 Americans living in Israel, 40,000 troops in the region, including in allied countries like Jordan. So, this is vital. We will defend our allies. We will defend our military personnel.

But ultimately, as I think the administration made very clear, if Iran is hell-bent on retaliation, and they take action that impacts the United States, there will be consequence for that.

COLLINS: But does that worry you about--

LAWLER: I fundamentally believe--

COLLINS: --a bigger war that the United States gets pulled into? Because that's what I've been hearing from people who are more of the America-First kind of strain of your party, the MAGA world--

LAWLER: Right.

COLLINS: --that they are worried that the United States is going to get more involved in this.

LAWLER: Well, I think what people have to recognize is we have been dealing with this unholy alliance between Iran, Russia, China, North Korea, for years. China is the biggest purchaser of Iranian petroleum. That's what funded Hamas, Hezbollah, the Houthis. That is what is funding the ballistic missiles program. That is what has funded their nuclear program. This alliance, where Iran is producing drones and giving it to Russia to use in Ukraine, this is all coming to a head.

And I've been saying this for years. People fail to recognize the threat, if they think that this is just isolated to Ukraine, or Israel, or Taiwan. This is an unholy alliance that seeks to undermine the United States, Israel, Western Europe, and the Free World, and we have to be cognizant of that.

COLLINS: People were pointing out today that the current Director of National Intelligence, Tulsi Gabbard, posted in 2020 that, War with Iran would make the Iraq and Afghanistan wars seem like a picnic.

Is that a concern that you have of the U.S. getting more involved?

LAWLER: Well, we should always be concerned about war. I don't think anybody advocates just to go to war. That is precisely why the President put diplomacy on the table. You should always try to avoid war wherever possible.

But the fact is, Iran is not interested in an actual negotiation. They are interested in the eradication of the State of Israel, and the Jewish people, and of the United States of America. And what we have to be careful for -- about, in this moment, is that you have sleeper cells, not just in the U.S., but around the globe, that they will take this moment, to strike any which way they can, and we have to be cognizant of that.

I think Americans, regardless of your politics, regardless of whether you support this administration or not, we are all Americans, and people need to remember that. And so, I just caution, everybody. Take caution. Pay attention to what is happening. Understand the threats that are posed from outside our country. And if you see something, say something, because this is serious stuff right now that we're dealing with.

And Iran is erratic, and they understand one thing. They understand power. And they understand, in this moment, they are very vulnerable, within their own country, to an uprising, especially if their nuclear program is eliminated. And that is something that--

COLLINS: Are you saying that people should be worried about attacks in the U.S.--

LAWLER: I think--

COLLINS: --when you're saying, See something, say something?

LAWLER: I think when you look at what we are dealing with, and what Iran is threatening, not just against Israel, but against the United States, we have to be cognizant of this.

[21:30:00]

People have forgotten, after -- in the aftermath of 9/11, what that was like. And the fact is, for all the criticism of Israel, if the United States was attacked like Israel was on October 7th, or like they have been in the last 24 hours, the United States of America would respond in the harshest possible terms, and nobody would even question it. And so, the fact is, Israel not only has a right to defend themselves.

And I would make one final point, which is that if Netanyahu listened to Biden, or Blinken, or Sullivan? The Middle East would be in a worst place today than it is. Hamas and Hezbollah would be stronger than they are. Assad would likely still be in power. And Iran's air defenses would be intact.

So, this is a critical moment in the Middle East, it's a critical moment around the globe, and we need to be prepared to seize it.

COLLINS: Congressman Mike Lawler, thanks for your time tonight and for coming in.

We have much more happening in the Middle East, including how Israel managed to smuggle weapons inside of Iran and pull off last night's very complicated attack. It turns out, they were deep inside Iran. CNN's latest reporting on that, straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[21:35:00]

COLLINS: We're keeping a close eye on Israel tonight, as Iran has launched several waves of retaliatory attacks, involving over a 100 ballistic missiles. Our sources are telling CNN tonight that the United States and other countries are helping Israel intercept those attacks.

My sources tonight are:

CNN's Jeremy Diamond, our Jerusalem Correspondent.

And Kylie Atwood, CNN's National Security Correspondent.

And Jeremy, just in terms of what this has looked like, this evening, and the Prime Minister of Israel huddling in a bunker, with the Defense minister, other top officials. What are you hearing out of Israel tonight, about how they're watching all of this?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, the Prime Minister spent much of the evening, with his security cabinet, including his Defense minister, Israel Katz. What they've been working on is the next steps of these attacks.

I mean, from the moments -- the first moments of this attack, my sources were telling me, this is not going to be a one-day operation. This is going to be something far more significant than Israel has ever carried out in Iran before.

And so, they have planned out many of the steps that are to come. And this is going to be something that's going to go on for days, could even be weeks, depending on Iran's reaction, depending on the success of Israeli strikes.

But what I was told was that this -- the meeting that the Prime Minister was holding with his cabinet was to talk about the next steps, but critically, not for the reaction to be proportional, meaning that every time Iran retaliates, Israel is going to go up that escalatory ladder, and that is indeed what seems to be happening. We've seen reports already, of strikes near Tehran's International Airport, which could suggest that the target list is also widening, meaning, beyond the nuclear sites, beyond the military targets, the senior Iranian officials, we could also now be seeing some strategic civilian sites, in Iran, also being targeted as Israel looks to widen this campaign.

COLLINS: Is it accurate with what you're hearing, that what we heard from the Ambassador earlier, that Israel has been targeting more military-style sites in Iran. Iran is targeting, obviously, you're seeing the missiles hit in Tel Aviv.

DIAMOND: I think it's hard to tell, at this point. I mean, so much fog of war right now, it's hard to know what was being targeted, what was actually struck, what was an interceptor missile, what was actually a missile.

What's clear is that there have been residential buildings, in the Tel Aviv area, that have been struck. What's also clear is that some of that appears to have been targeting military sites. There is Israel's version of the Pentagon, is right in the middle of Tel Aviv. One of those strikes appears to have hit, if not that site itself, then at least very close to it, Israel's intelligence services in the northern Tel Aviv suburbs.

And then, you also have rocket sirens that have been sounding in Northern and Southern Israel, where Israel has major air force bases.

So, it's certainly a mixture. And we are seeing certainly civilian casualties, at this point.

COLLINS: Yes.

And Kylie Atwood, when we look at this, and what the U.S. is viewing, of what this means for the next few days.

Steve Witkoff is Trump's main envoy to the Middle East. He's been leading the diplomatic talks with Iran, as they've been trying to get to a nuclear deal. I saw him running in and out of the West Wing, going to meetings today.

Mike Lawler, the Congressman, seems to think there's no chance those talks continue. He just said a flat-no, when I asked him a moment ago.

What are your sources saying about whether or not they believe that that really is viable tonight?

KYLIE ATWOOD, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, earlier today, U.S. officials were saying that that was their intention for the talks to still happen, this weekend. I checked in, in the last hour. They are still saying that. That doesn't mean that it's actually going to happen.

But we do know that behind-the-scenes, they have been trying to make sure that the Iranians know that Steve Witkoff, Special Envoy for President Trump, who has led these negotiations to date, is still willing to sit down with Iran, if they come to the table.

Steve Witkoff has been in touch with the Omanis, who have been the interlocutors between the U.S. and Iran, to send that message over the course of the last 24 hours.

President Trump is also publicly making the case that because of these Israeli strikes, Iran should come to the table now. Because if they don't, they're effectively going to face even more harsh strikes against them to come. So, he's trying to say that this is a moment, for them to realize that they really need to make a deal. We'll just have to watch and see if that plays out.

COLLINS: Yes, I think one question, Kylie, is that, is it even totally clear who they would be negotiating with? I mean, what Trump seemed to say, on Truth Social earlier, and we haven't seen him in public today, so we didn't get a chance to ask him about this, was basically that some of the people they had been negotiating with were killed in Israel's strike, last night.

[21:40:00]

ATWOOD: There are certainly people who are involved in the Iran nuclear program that were killed in these strikes. That has been well- documented throughout the day. It has been one of the incredible elements of this Israeli strike.

However, we do know that Foreign Minister, Araghchi, who has been the primary interlocutor for Steve Witkoff, in these talks, he is still alive and well. As far as we know, he has been the one who has been sitting down at the table, discussing, what proposals the U.S. the -- Iran would consider that the U.S. is putting forth. So, it is pretty clear that he would lead these talks. He was set to lead the talks, this coming Sunday. We just don't know if that will actually happen on Sunday, or even at all.

COLLINS: Yes.

Kylie Atwood. Jeremy Diamond. Great reporting from both you. Thank you for that tonight.

And coming up here. There is new reporting, in The New York Times tonight, on Israel's strikes on those key nuclear sites. What they were able to take out still remains a question that we know a lot more about how all of this happened. David Sanger will join me, with his new reporting, next.

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[21:45:00]

COLLINS: All throughout the night, sirens have been sounding across both Israel and Iran, as they have been trading aerial attacks tonight, with Iran's United Nations envoy saying that Israel's strikes there have killed at least 78 people. That includes, of course, senior military officials that we were reporting on here, last night. More than 300 others are injured, they claim. And on the ground, in Israel, we just heard from the Israeli Ambassador to the U.S., who confirmed that one woman has been killed as a result of the strikes there, and about 40 people, they say, have been injured so far in those missile attacks, some of which, as you can see here from this video, has hit residential buildings in the Tel Aviv area. Right now, search and rescue operations are still underway from first responders.

And joining me now is:

David Sanger, White House and National Security Correspondent for The New York Times.

And Beth Sanner, who is the former Deputy Director of National Intelligence.

And Beth, I just want to talk to you. Because the Trump administration has been talking about what their response in these roles -- in these attacks is going to look like, what we've seen so far.

You were saying last night that you believe this is war, and that it is very different than what we've seen before. What are your takeaways, now that we're about 24 hours into this?

BETH SANNER, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST, FORMER DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE: Well, I think we're still at the beginning.

I think that Israel is being very, very selective and careful about what they are targeting, and how they are targeting. They've certainly made a huge effort to eliminate and reduce/mitigate any risk to retaliation to Israel, as we've seen. That is not perfect. That is a work in progress. But they have done a lot in that regard. And they have made a dent in the nuclear program, but not taken it out yet, which shows that there is a lot more ahead.

COLLINS: Well, and David, you're reporting on precisely that tonight, about what the state of Iran's nuclear program is, following these attacks. And in your reporting, in The New York Times, you say, The first phase of the Israeli attacks did not hit the most likely repository of Iran's near-bomb-grade nuclear fuel, and that may have been deliberate.

Tell me what you're hearing from sources tonight.

DAVID SANGER, WHITE HOUSE & NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT, THE NEW YORK TIMES, CNN POLITICAL & NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Well, Kaitlan, that fuel, which is the 60 percent enriched uranium you've heard so much about, it's fuel that is enriched to just below bomb-grade level. Is mostly stored in the City of Isfahan, which was not hit at all last night in the first wave. It's at a vast nuclear complex that's there.

And we know where it is, because just a week or two ago, international inspectors, working for the International Atomic Energy Agency, a U.N. agency, had their eyes on it. They go to measure it and make sure it hasn't been diverted. And so far, the Israelis have not reported hitting it. There were some attacks around Isfahan today, but they were mostly focused on laboratories that did work that would help you actually turn the gases of forms of uranium into a metal that could be used in a warhead.

So, the question then is, why? And I think one of the obvious answers may well be that Israel does not want to be responsible, for creating a radiological incident, where you're getting radioactive material spread around the city, or a populated area, just as it would turn the entire facility into a sort of a giant dirty bomb.

COLLINS: Beth, how real do you think that threat is, and how much of it is a consideration, in your view, for Israel tonight?

SANNER: I think it's a very real consideration. It's something that Israel has focused on in the past. David has written about that.

And the head of IAEA, Rafael Grossi, has already indicated that Natanz has radioactive contamination of some sort, in terms of the efforts there to take out the above-ground enrichment facility. And so, I do think that, that was an easy target above ground, and not a huge concentration like Isfahan is. And so, yes, I think it's a real thing.

COLLINS: David, anything else you've been hearing out of the White House? We both cover the White House. In terms of conclusions coming out of that meeting they held in the Sit Room, this morning, or what this is going to look like, as they're watching this, incredibly closely, to see what it means for the United States' involvement?

[21:50:00]

SANGER: Well, Kaitlan, as you know, in the attacks that we both covered last year, the United States played a very critical role in intercepting incoming Iranian missiles. And I think they're perfectly comfortable playing that role again, although they're not as well- positioned as they were, in October of last year, when Iran did that last big missile attack on Israel. And Israel, of course, used that moment to take out a lot of the air defenses in Iran.

I think their bigger concern, though, is if there is an attack on a U.S. base, either deliberate or accidental, if there are American deaths, then they are brought into the conflict. And I think that's something that it's pretty clear that President Trump really wants to avoid.

And this gets right to that division that you've been talking about all evening, with your guests, inside of the Republican Party, between a MAGA crowd that says, We don't want any more wars in the Middle East -- I can appreciate why you would say that -- and the sort of typical hardliners, what you would have heard from Marco Rubio, before he was Secretary of State and a member of this administration, which was, We will do whatever it takes to defend Israel and if need be, to take out Iran's capabilities.

COLLINS: Yes, major questions about that.

David Sanger. Beth Sanner. Great to have both of you here tonight.

As we are continuing to follow this breaking news out of the Middle East. Also, back here in the United States, following an important story, as we're seeing video, out of Los Angeles today, a U.S. Marine detaining a man, outside a federal building, amid those protests. They're expected coast to coast tomorrow, as President Trump is going to hold a military parade in Washington. My source tonight is one of the organizer of Saturday's protests, ahead.

[21:55:00]

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COLLINS: Tonight, we have new video from Reuters that shows this moment, as a U.S. Marine is detaining a man, while standing guard at a federal building, in Los Angeles. You see the Marine, with a rifle strapped over his shoulder, as he's detaining the man that you can see here.

This is something that we have not seen, as this has been playing out over the last week out of Los Angeles, with the President surging in hundreds of Marines, also members of the National Guard. We're told that 200 active-duty Marines have now taken over the job of defending federal property from the National Guard troops, in response to these protests.

And it comes, as cities, tomorrow, are bracing for the nationwide, quote, "No Kings" protests. More than 1,900 anti-Trump protests and events are expected, with organizers calling it the largest single-day mobilization since Trump returned to the Oval Office.

They're scheduled to coincide with his military parade that's happening in Washington tomorrow. It's something that the White House says is to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Army, while also falling on President Trump's 79th birthday.

Asked about the "No Kings" demonstrations, this week, the President had this to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I don't feel like a king. I have to go through hell to get stuff approved.

(LAUGHTER)

TRUMP: A king would say, I'm not going to get this.

A king would have never had the California mandate to even be talking to him.

(LAUGHTER)

TRUMP: He wouldn't have to call up Mike Johnson, and Thune, and say, Fellas, you got to pull this off. And after years, we get it done? No, no, we're not a king. We're not a king at all. (END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: Joining me now is Leah Greenberg, who is the co-founder of the Indivisible Project, and an organizer of tomorrow's nationwide protests that are expected.

And thank you for being here tonight.

First, can I just get your reaction to the video showing a Marine detaining someone in L.A. today?

LEAH GREENBERG, CO-FOUNDER, INDIVISIBLE, ORGANIZER, "NO KINGS" PROTESTS: Well, it's horrific. It's exactly what one would expect, in a moment like this.

Look, Donald Trump has been sending Marines and National Guard troops that no one in California asked for, in to respond to chaos that he Himself created with his terrorizing raids. And predictably, they're immediately moving into situations that they are not prepared for. These folks are not trained in crowd control. They're not trained to interact with protests. This is -- this is not how they're supposed to be used, and everyone knows it.

COLLINS: We're seeing these nationwide demonstrations that we've been hearing, have been planned for tomorrow. You heard the President there, responding to this idea, this notion, that his critics have said, that he is acting like he is a king in the Oval Office.

What are you hoping to achieve with tomorrow?

GREENBERG: Well, we want to create a big show of people power, right?

Donald Trump, what he is trying to do, like all bullies, he's trying to project strength. He's sending troops to California. He is sending tanks to Washington, D.C., for a birthday parade that nobody wants and nobody asked for. He's spending taxpayer dollars to make himself feel big and powerful.

And what we want to show him is that real power actually comes from the people. And so, we're working with folks, across the veterans community, across unions, faith communities, civil rights. We're building a big tent for everybody who knows that what's happening, right now, is wrong, to come together and to show that power actually comes from the people, and from our communities.

COLLINS: And so, in terms of, when this comes out tomorrow, and when you're seeing this. I know "No Kings" organizers have asked protesters to wave American flags at these protests. I mean, that -- for everyone who's been watching the news this week, that comes after there's been criticism of protesters, in Los Angeles, holding Mexican flags, other flags, as they've been protesting, what's been happening there.

What do you expect that to look like?

GREENBERG: Well, first, we're in favor of everyone in America being proud of their heritage. So, we're pro-all-flags. We are, in fact, embracing American flags. It is our flag.

What we know is that Donald Trump, and the others, or his movement, for too long, have claimed that they are the ones who own American values.

[22:00:00]

But we're the ones who are representing American values in this moment. Because American values are about freedom. They're about standing up for our neighbors. They're about what doing what's right. And so, we collectively really want to hold that, and we want to demonstrate it in action, via a large-scale, non-violent community peaceful protest.

COLLINS: Leah Greenberg, we'll be watching. Thank you so much for joining us tonight.

Thank you all for joining us tonight.

"CNN NEWSNIGHT WITH ABBY PHILLIP" is up next.