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The Story Is with Elex Michaelson

Israel Launching New Wave Of Strikes Across Tehran; Hundreds Return From Dubai As Limited Flights Allowed Out; Iranian-American Reporter In Tehran: "People Are Suffering." Israel Launches Wave of Strikes in Beirut and Tehran; Iran Says at Least 87 Killed in U.S. Strike on Iranian Ship; Global Markets React to War in Middle East; Travelers Stranded by Flight Disruptions in Middle East; Investors Digest Market Turmoil Caused by War With Iran; Oil Prices Moderate After Two-day Surge Amid War; South Korean Lawmaker Says Seven Tankers Stuck in Middle East Amid War. Aired 2-3a ET

Aired March 05, 2026 - 02:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:00:30]

ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: This is CNN breaking news.

ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: And because of that breaking news, we welcome you a special third hour of THE STORY IS, Elex Michaelson live in Atlanta this week.

Right now, the top story is the escalating war with Iran. Here are the very latest developments as we come on the air. Israel says that Iran has launched a fresh barrage of missiles overnight, prompting authorities to send precautionary warnings to people's mobile phones in the targeted areas. The Israeli military says its latest strike on Tehran dismantled dozens of ballistic missile arrays. Videos released by Israel shows Air Force planes carrying out that mission.

The Pentagon says a U.S. Navy submarine sank an Iranian warship in international waters. Iranian officials report at least 87 people were killed, and Iran's foreign minister calls the attack an atrocity.

NATO Air Defense System shot down an Iranian missile traveling towards Turkey's airspace on Wednesday, it is believed to be the first time that NATO forces have intercepted an Iranian missile traveling towards a member country since the conflict began.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration says it expects to have complete control of Iranian skies in less than a week.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: In a scale of 10, where would you rate it? I said about a 15, and we're going to continue to do well. We have the greatest military in the world by far, and that was a tremendous threat to us for many years. 47 years, they've been killing our people and killing people from all over the world. And I think we have great support.

And I think if we didn't do it first, they would have done it to Israel, and give us a shot, if that was possible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: CNN is covering the war from around the world. Paula Hancocks is standing by in Dubai, but we begin with our Jerusalem bureau chief, Oren Lieberman in Tel Aviv. Oren, what is happening right now? What kind of strikes are we seeing?

OREN LIEBERMAN, CNN JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF: Well, the Israeli military just put out video a short time ago of additional strikes in Lebanon as they have targeted not only southern Lebanon, but also the capital of Beirut itself, and the Dahieh neighborhood that's in southern Beirut viewed as a Hezbollah stronghold. Israel says they are going after Hezbollah targets there, and now releasing videos of the strikes they're carrying out there.

In addition, it was yesterday that Israel went from issuing evacuation warnings for specific villages to now issuing an evac warning for pretty much all of Southern Lebanon, south of the Litani River. This as Israel has already seized more positions along the Israel Lebanon border, and appears to be clearing the way for the possibility, at least, of a larger ground incursion, or ground invasion into southern Lebanon, as the Israeli military says all options are on the table.

Meanwhile, that's just one front here. Israel continues to carry out strikes and, frankly, pound Tehran itself, going after the Iranian regime, its intelligence apparatus, ballistic missile arrays, ballistic missile launchers, we have seen Iran continue to be able to carry out launches towards Israel. There were alarms in the middle of the night, about 3:00 local time that, as far as we know, were intercepted.

So, Iran has been able to keep up some level of ballistic missile attacks here, and yet you get a sense of how Israel views the threat in that as of right now, as of this morning, in fact, flights have started returning Israel, starting with one an hour incoming, and they have started to ease the restrictions. So that gives you an idea of how Israel views what they see as a diminished missile threat and a diminished threat from Hezbollah. That again, as we see punishing strikes on both Iran and Hezbollah coming from Israel in coordination with the U.S. there.

MICHAELSON: There's got to be just extraordinary demand for that one flight an hour.

LIEBERMAN: And they're trying to arrange that, if it goes well, the Israel Airports Authority says they'll allow in two flights an hour and slowly begin to expand that first flight landed at Ben Gurion International Airport, in fact, not that far from where we're standing right now, about three hours ago or so, so there should have been more flights that one came from Athens, but Israelis have been stranded with the airspace closed for the last five days. So, it is a process, but Israel again trying to get back to some sort

of some sort of normalcy in what could be the very beginning of this war. But again, you see, as they begin to ease the restrictions they view here, the threat as diminished. We'll see if Iran and Hezbollah agree with that.

[02:05:01]

MICHAELSON: Meanwhile, the U.S. sunk an Iranian Navy warship. What can more you can tell us about that sounds very dramatic?

LIEBERMAN: This occurred in international waters off the coast of Sri Lanka. And that's something Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth made sure to point out in his press briefing yesterday, he said he thought the Iranian warship believed they were safe in international waters, and yet they were targeted by a U.S. submarine launching a torpedo in international waters, making it the first time we have seen a submarine with a torpedo down a ship since World War II. Not the only first we've seen in the course of the first five days of this war, an Israeli F-35 became the first F-35 to down a manned enemy aircraft in wartime.

In terms of the results of sinking that Iranian warship, the Sri Lankan Navy, Sri Lankan officials said 87 bodies have been recovered from the water. 32 others were rescued. It is estimated there were 130 people on that ship.

So, it may be that there are search and recovery efforts that continue at this point. Iran's foreign minister responded on social minister -- social media, Abbas Araghchi. He said, the U.S. has perpetrated an atrocity at sea 2,000 miles away from Iran's shores.

We heard yesterday from Hegseth and the top U.S. military officer General Dan Caine, the U.S. unapologetic for targeting Iran, going after their Navy and sinking at this point about 20 of Iran's Navy ships as this continues past the five-day mark here.

MICHAELSON: But Oren, in terms of where you're standing in Tel Aviv, are you hearing those warning sirens less? Are you feeling a difference on the ground?

LIEBERMAN: It seems like it. We did have incoming overnight, again, at about 3:00 in the morning, but if you walk around the streets here, people are starting to come out. There still are home front command instructions, and many are still staying close to -- fairly close to shelters. But you see more people on the streets. It looks like you see a few more cafes open.

Look, after the past 2.5 years, Israelis have gotten used to incoming and it seems like there is less of it. Iran has spaced those out. But it appears, instead of big barrages here, it's a couple missiles, or a couple missiles from Hezbollah that are generally intercepted. And Israelis have a lot of faith in that missile defense array, even as the homefront command warns, look, you have to stay near shelters. People are getting used to it and getting into some sort of routine here, at least from what we can see here in Tel Aviv. MICHAELSON: That Iron Dome really is remarkable technology intercepting a lot of those missiles and drones. Oren Lieberman, with us, once again, live from Tel Aviv. Oren, thank you.

Western governments are rushing to help stranded travelers in the Middle East. CNN's Paula Hancocks live in Dubai with more on the slow- moving travel situation.

Paula, Oren was just talking about some changes in Israel when it comes to travel. What are you seeing in the UAE?

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Elex, we're definitely seeing changes here. Hundreds of passengers have managed to get out of Dubai in just the last 24 hours. We know that Emirates, the flag carrier here, has carried out a number of flights. One landed in Dublin, Ireland last night. The airport there saying that it's the first flight they've seen from Dubai in almost five days. We also saw a flight going to Bulgaria, one going to Australia, another expected.

And other airlines say that they are hoping to have repatriation flights soon, Virgin Atlantic, SriLankan, Air India, Fly Dubai so we are seeing the wheels starting to turn quicker here. It's certainly nothing like it usually is.

Dubai Airport is the world's busiest International Airport. You usually have up to 676 to 700 flights a day, leaving tens of thousands of passengers. Now they're not giving official figures of how many flights are getting out but my colleague Maisa (ph) did manually count from flight radar, and there were more than 130 flights that had departed in just the last 24 hours. So, we are seeing a ramping up of the effort to get people out.

Now, it's a prioritization of people who had a ticket. It's been canceled because of the last six days. So they are the people who are top of the list at this point.

We know Qatar Airways as well is hoping to start a limited amount of relief flights, despite the fact its airspace is still closed, but it will start flights from other areas, like Oman, for example, that are open. So, we're definitely seeing some change here, Elex.

MICHAELSON: So, when we joined you 24 hours ago, you had just seen an intercept -- when we joined you 24 hours before that, you had just seen an intercept right around this time. What about today?

HANCOCKS: I'm more misreticent to say it, because I don't want to tempt fate, but it has been relatively quiet here, Elex, I have to say the last 24 hours we haven't heard many intercepts. Now we have the actual figures from the Ministry of Defense here. These are not completely up to date figures, but we can see 189 missiles have been fired since the start of the Iranian retaliation. That's just three missiles more from my tally, from about 24 hours earlier than that. So, we are definitely seeing less missiles coming in.

[02:10:25] The amount of drones, though, that appears to still be quite significant. 941 have come in since this started, and that's about 130 more over the 24-hour periods before.

So, we are definitely still seeing a drone interception here. We are hearing many more fighter jets in the air as well as we spoke yesterday. We now know that France has fighter jets flying in the air above the UAE as well, because they had one of their military bases in Abu Dhabi targeted. So they have come in to try and intercept some of those threats coming in from Iran as well.

But we are seeing and hearing less. There is no doubt about that. We heard it from Dan Caine, the Joint Chiefs of Staff leader, yesterday, saying there's a significant drop in missiles and drones, and we're seeing more people out on the streets.

We are still nothing like we usually see in this very international city, but it is definitely more of a sense of normality than 24 hours ago when I spoke to you.

MICHAELSON: Well, great to see progress in Dubai. Great to see progress in Israel. Let's go to Washington now. Paula, thank you. And check in with Brian Todd. And when we talked with you about 24 hours ago, you were calling the federal government, you got a message that basically said, sorry, you're out of luck. Now there's a new message and some progress from the United States.

BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Elex, an amazing difference in 24 hours the State Department clearly responding to just widespread criticism, you know, 24 hours ago, of its response in the attempt to get Americans out of the Middle East. Now a completely different set of messaging and the efforts have really ramped up.

Here is the new information that we have at this hour. We do know, according to the State Department, that one charter flight of Americans has left the Middle East. Now we got that word roughly six hours ago. We don't know where the plane took off from. We also do not know where it is landing and when, and we have pressed the State Department on that. We are trying to get information as to where exactly that flight will land and when it will land, because, of course, we're eager to talk to the people on board that flight.

This is the first confirmed evacuation flight facilitated by the U.S. government since the war started five days ago, and the State Department says additional flights will be surged throughout the region.

We also have this additional new information, Elex from Dylan Johnson. He is the Assistant Secretary of State. He says more than 17,500 Americans have returned to the U.S. from the Middle East since the war began on Saturday, February 28, he said that includes more than 8500 Americans who returned to the US just on Tuesday alone.

Now, we do -- we can say that it's likely that many of them were able to make their way out of the Middle East on their own simply because of everything that we have been talking about over the past 24 hours, the lack of a coherent response by the U.S. government in these initial days in trying to get Americans out of the region.

Now, we do, though, have to acknowledge that Dylan Johnson, that Assistant Secretary of State, says the task force there has assisted nearly 6500 Americans at this point with security and travel assistance.

Clearly, Elex, the State Department ramping up their efforts to get Americans out. They've also improved that hotline that they set up, just being much more responsive on that hotline than they were 24 hours ago.

MICHAELSON: Yes, I mean, that hotline really couldn't have been any worse 24 hours ago. Basically said, good luck.

So, this is a phone number now that people are being urged to call, we have up on the screen if you are having travel problems that also posted on the X account of the Department of State.

Meanwhile, Brian, in the hours ahead in Washington, there's going to be a big vote in the House after a big vote in the Senate.

TODD: That's right, Elex, and we have to emphasize these votes are pretty much symbolic, because they -- you know, what is being debated here is whether the president of the United States has the authority to wage war against Iran without the approval of Congress. Democrats have introduced a resolution in the Senate, trying to limit his powers to do that without Congress's authorization. That went down on Wednesday, that was defeated by a vote of 53 to 47 on Wednesday.

And we do know that the house is going to introduce a similar motion on Thursday in the coming hours, and that is also unlikely to pass.

Our Manu Raju caught up with three Republican members of the House of Representatives, Congressman Tim Burchett of Tennessee. Congressman Brian Mast of Florida. He is the chairman of the House Foreign Relations Committee and Congressman Mike Flood of Nebraska. Take a listen to what they had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

[02:15:18]

MANU RAJU, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Why shouldn't Congress have to vote to authorize it?

REP. TIM BURCHETT (R-TN): I just don't think that's within constitutional parameters.

RAJU: But in Iraq and Afghanistan, there were AUMFS authorizing the use of force.

REP. BRIAN MAST (R-FL): There was an entirely different set of mission that I think has absolutely no relevance in looking at this operation.

RAJU: Why not just vote to authorize this war?

REP. MIKE FLOOD (R-NE): Well, I think the president has the authority.

RAJU: Would you consider it a war?

FLOOD: It's a significant military operation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TODD: So, clearly, you know, even among Republicans, there is some anxiety in the body language and the way they're answering Manu's questions. You know, look, they're there to support the president. They are supporting the president in his power to wage war here.

But many Republicans have significant questions about whether this is open ended, when this is going to end, how messy this is going to get, but they are still lining up behind the president at this point, that resolution in the House that has been introduced, that vote coming in the coming hours here, Thursday morning, again, expected to not pass the Republican chair -- excuse me, the Republican Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson, has said he believes he has the votes to defeat it. Elex.

MICHAELSON: Yes, you mentioned they're there to represent the president. They're there to represent their constituents, right? And traditionally, Congress has the job in the constitution to declare war. This Congress did kind of letting this go, which is why he did not want to say this is actually a war, because only Congress can declare war. But every indication is and CNN certainly determining that this is meets the qualification of what a war is.

Brian Todd in Washington. Thank you for your tireless reporting hour after hour. We appreciate having you here with us.

When we come back, a journalist based in Tehran gives us unique insight into what's actually happening on the ground. It's very rare that we hear from people in Tehran. We have that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:21:38]

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): I held her. She was gasping for air, breath by breath. We brought her down 15 flights and gave her to someone to take to the hospital. She was still trying to breathe and take little breaths. Blood covered her head. Her body was bloody. I still have her blood on me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: A heartbreaking, harrowing account from a Tehran resident who tried to save a 3-year-old girl after her home was totally destroyed in the strikes in Iran. After carrying the 3-year-old out of the building, the man and his father went back inside where they rescued her brother. They found the child's mother and a newborn sibling under the rubble. That the baby did not survive. A former CNN correspondent based in Tehran says that he rushed to get

his daughter to safety when the explosions began. Reza Sayah spoke to CNN's Erin Burnett earlier about the unfolding situation on the ground. Here's part of their conversation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

REZA SAYAH, JOURNALIST BASED IN TEHRAN, FORMER CNN CORRESPONDENT: People are suffering, in the view of many, they're suffering unnecessarily.

I've seen some terrible things. Airstrikes every day. That familiar sound of a jet flying over and seconds later, you hear a large explosion and the plumes of smoke.

I live here. I have a seven-year-old daughter and the day where the initial strike happened that hit the supreme leader, she was with me. And I heard this earth shaking, boom.

And I knew what it was, and I put her in my car, and I raced to the northern part of the town. She's away from Tehran now. She's along the Caspian Sea with her mother where she's safe. But I miss her very much. I want to hold her, and she's safe.

But many other people are not. Innocent people -- and I can't tell you about the gruesome images that I've seen. Men, women and children, innocent civilians in their homes, in their cars, in their motorcycles, in these airstrikes come and they're ripped to shreds. And in so many instances where people are being pulled out of the rubble. Children -- saw that school that was hit and that these people have nothing to do with this conflict.

And my heart breaks for them and my heart as an American, I'm an Iranian American. It breaks for Americans, too, because they don't deserve to be viewed as someone who supports what many believe is a war machine.

So I'm speaking from the heart, and I appreciate you listening to me, but there has to be a way to make this end. As journalists, we have to hold these people accountable. And we can't let these individuals start a war without them clarifying why. Why is it necessary?

ERIN BURNETT, CNN HOST: So, Reza, when you talk to people there, and as this is continuing, how do they view the United States? I mean, I guess I'm asking you this. Can you separate it from how they view Israel? But right now, how do they view the United States?

SAYAH: Well, you know, first of all, there's 90 million Iranians with 90 million voices. And one of the things that's sometimes amusing being a correspondent is someone comes to me and says, what do people -- what are people thinking? And I don't know what 90 people are thinking.

[02:25:18]

What I can tell you is, you know some people don't like this government. They don't mind that the supreme leader is gone. And they celebrated his death.

But there's millions of Iranians who are mourning his death. They loved him. He was their spiritual leader.

And I think most people, millions of others, are just terrified. They feel helpless. And they want this to end.

And I think, in general, Iranians adore Americans. They're -- there are -- a lot of them are Americanized themselves. They can relate to the culture. It's the government they have an issue with.

BURNETT: Yes.

SAYAH: It's the government.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAELSON: Reza Sayah in Tehran on ERIN BURNETT OUTFRONT earlier today, really interesting insights from him there.

The White House says the U.S. has more than enough weapons to wage an extended war with Iran. That comment from the press secretary coming just days after President Trump complained that supplies were not as extensive as he'd like. U.S. is less than a week into that war, President Trump originally said it would last for four to five weeks, but that there was capabilities to go far longer. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Caine on Wednesday, addressing concerns the U.S. is digging too deeply into its munitions stockpiles.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEN. DAN CAINE, CHAIRMAN OF THE JOINT CHIEFS: I know there have been a lot of questions about munitions. We have sufficient precision munitions for the task at hand, both on the offense and defense. But I want to tell you teammates, as a matter of practice, I don't want to be talking about quantities, and I know there's been a great debate about that, and I appreciate the interest, but just know that we consider that an operational security matter.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: Earlier here on THE STORY IS, I spoke live with retired General Wesley Clark. He says there's no problems when it comes to the munitions. I asked him about the notion of potentially arming Kurdish opposition to help topple the regime in Tehran, and whether he thinks that that is a good idea.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEN. WESLEY CLARK (RET.) FOUNDER, RENEW AMERICA TOGETHER: I think it is. I think it's one more means of pressuring the government Iran. Look, when we did the coastal operation in 1999 the coastal Liberation Army was there. It forced the Serbs to defend themselves. It made them targets of NATO air power to some extent, and it was -- it was part of the campaign. So, in this case, if you want the Iranian people to take back their

government, they're not going to do it without arms. That's for sure. You've got a million Iranians under arms in this for this regime, both the regular army and the Revolutionary Guards and the Quds Force.

So, it's a little unrealistic to expect Mayo bombing and then some unarmed protesters out in the street, and suddenly the regime is going to surrender.

I hope that will happen, but I think it's unlikely. So, I think it's a natural thing that that Iranians would take up arms against the regime, whether they're Kurds or Persians or Azeris or Balducci or members of different tribes inside Persia, there are weapons in there, and I think that this regime has lost the support of the Iranian people.

I think they are going to call on their family members that are in those security forces to get out. And I think the -- they could well disintegrate, but if they don't, there will be fighting, and unfortunately, that's what happens when you have a tyrannical government such as Iran has had for 47 years.

MICHAELSON: But are there potentially unintended consequences of arming an opposition? Certainly the U.S. has done that before, and it hasn't always worked out so great.

CLARK: It may not work out. It's one of those things. You don't know how something's going to end when you start. But I think this was an inevitable war, and I think, I hope that our friends in Europe and around the world will understand that when a nation's sole purpose is to require weapons to destroy another state that eventually a war will come to that state.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: General Wesley Clark, they're calling it an inevitable war. He also gave President Trump credit for his decision to go in and do this.

Now, could the war reach the shores of the U.S.? Some security experts say we can expect Iran to try to take action against Americans at home. We'll talk about some scenarios with somebody who studies this issue for a living. Next.

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[02:34:03]

ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN HOST OF "THE STORY IS": Back to our Breaking News. The war with Iran continues to widen across the Middle East. Israel says it struck Iran-backed Hezbollah command centers in Beirut. All this part of a wave of strikes in both Lebanon and Iran.

Top U.S. officials have warned that its operation is still in its "early days," and the military will start striking deeper into Iran. Meanwhile, a U.S. submarine sank an Iranian warship in international waters off the coast of Sri Lanka. Iranian officials say more than 87 people were killed, and Iran's foreign minister calls it an atrocity.

The attacks have some Americans worried about possible retaliation from Iran, both overseas and here in the U.S. Richard Kolko is a retired FBI Supervisory Special Agent and a retired Navy Commander. He's with us from Fort Myers, Florida.

First off, thank you for your service.

RICHARD KOLKO, FBI SUPERVISORY SPECIAL AGENT (RET.): Thanks, Elex. Thanks for having me here tonight.

[02:35:00]

MICHAELSON: You say that there are three or four basic scenario when it comes to attacking Americans here at home, what potentially Iran could do. So let's walk through them all. Let's start with what you call a directed attack. What is that?

KOLKO: A directed attack may be exactly what many people are thinking of. This is where Iran might have sleeper cells already here in the United States, people that they've planted here for --

(CROSSTALK)

MICHAELSON: Define what a sleeper cell is for people that may not understand.

KOLKO: Sure. These would be Iranian agents that had been placed here in the United States weeks, months, or even years ago. People that are living here waiting for that go order from powers to be in Iran. And Iran actually has a history additionally of not only using their people, but in other parts of the world, including the U.S., hiring a criminal element to carry out the deed for them.

And if they were to do this, this would be what we would think of would be a kind of mass casualty attack. The one people are most worried about, a sporting event, a school, a shopping mall, public place where many people might gather and always a concern. But, right now, I know that the intelligence and law enforcement community rates this one as the lowest possibility right now.

So from that perspective, that's good news.

MICHAELSON: Something that may be the highest possibility is a lone wolf attack. What does that mean?

KOLKO: Yes.

MICHAELSON: And is what happened in Austin sort of an example of that?

KOLKO: Yes, looking at what happened in Austin looks exactly like what we would call that inspired attack, that lone wolf attack. This is somebody who is upset with what's going on in Iran or in the region. They're sitting in their house, they're reading the computer, watching the news around the world. And what this does is this drives them to take action.

This is complex because what they're doing makes it very difficult for law enforcement or the intelligence community to track them because they don't have a lot of outreach. They're not talking to many other people. And so, the law enforcement or the intel community is not getting that lead that they need to get started on the investigation.

We've seen a lot of these in the past from -- we had Bourbon Street a couple of years ago on New Year's Day. There was the -- same time, there was an attack in Las Vegas. We've seen some of these different attacks throughout, driving a car down the New York City, remember, on the walking path and killed people several years ago.

Those are those inspired attacks. Somebody decides to take action on their own and law enforcement, unfortunately, considers this much more of a possibility.

MICHAELSON: Yeah, in that Austin attack, the suspect was seen in a photo with a sweatshirt that said 'property of Allah.' Meanwhile, another possibility is what you called an enabled attack. What does that mean?

KOLKO: That's somebody who thinks they want to do an inspired attack, but they haven't really figured out how. In that case, they might reach out to Iran or whoever in this case. It might take them a while to do that, but what happens is they're asking for help. How do I carry out an attack?

And there are people in that host nation, in Iran and seven (ph) other parts of the world, and they'll provide them that guidance, that training, the planning, tell them what to do, even help them pick out a target and then they go and carry out that event.

I think that one's also pretty low risk right now. That will take a little bit longer time and that depends what the infrastructure is remaining in Iran. But so, all of these, the directive attack that we talked about first, for law enforcement, that's the easiest because there is some communication, there's leads to follow.

The National Security Agency might pick up on overhears coming from different parts of the world, giving law enforcement that help. Same with that enabled attack, there's some communications, but when you get to the inspired attack, that's the one to be concerned about.

MICHAELSON: Yeah, that lone wolf because they may not be talking to anybody, so you can't pick up on communications.

Meanwhile though, it's 2026, and perhaps the worst attack could be a cyber attack, right? We know this is stuff that the U.S. has done to Iran, that Israel has done to Iran, that Iran has tried to do to the U.S. Where are we at in terms of cyber attacks and do we know if there's even been attempts at this already?

KOLKO: There have certainly been attempts at this already. The cyber attack that was launched by the U.S. against Iran was spectacular, basically taking down their air defenses, taking down their infrastructure, their computers and very successful.

So, and Iran has in the past had that capability. They still may have some of that capability organically or in Iran, depending on where their infrastructure is. But they could also have people in other parts of the world that could reach out and do that same kind of thing. So certainly, the possibility of an attack exists.

However, different than the other attacks we talked about where your viewers might feel that they're potentially a victim here. For a cyber attack, they're going to go after some of the bigger things, infrastructure, water, power companies, finance companies, things like that.

[02:40:00]

As computer users, we'd all be victimized down the line, but it's not something you might see or feel immediately.

MICHAELSON: Although if they're able to attack like a water infrastructure or power infrastructure, that would certainly impact people in a very big way.

KOLKO: Or you get online and you open up your bank and all of a sudden, your bank account shows zero. Things like that are certainly a possibility or potential, or taking down cellular phone networks or --

MICHAELSON: Yeah.

KOLKO: -- things like that, that would greatly complicated the day- to-day life for us.

MICHAELSON: The good news --

KOLKO: But we talk about all these attacks and the one thing I want to say was --

MICHAELSON: Yeah.

KOLKO: We get very concerned about them as a whole, as a nation, and they are a problem and it is an issue, but your chances of being caught up in a specific terrorist attack are very slim. We don't want to panic people. We want people to go about their lives, fortunately, they can. (Inaudible).

(CROSSTALK)

MICHAELSON: And the good news is we don't know of any of those that have actually happened so far as well. Richard Kolko, thank you so much for your perspective, staying up late for us. And again, thank you for your service to our country.

Global markets are adjusting to the ongoing war in the Middle East and disruptions to oil and shipping. Analysts looking at how the conflict could impact economies around the world. I actually have some good news on that front in the live report from the region, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[02:45:00]

MICHAELSON: Authorities in Qatar say they are evacuating residents living in the vicinity of the U.S. Embassy. Qatar's Interior Ministry called the move a temporary precautionary measure. CNN Senior Producer, Bijan Hosseini joins us now from Doha. And Bijan, it seems like things are not quite as intense on that front as maybe a couple hours ago.

Not sure if he can hear us, but we do --

BIJAN HOSSEINI, CNN SENIOR PRODUCER: Hey, Elex, sorry, I'm having some IFB problems, but I believe you mentioned those evacuations that took place around the U.S. Embassy last night. We got confirmation of that from Qatar's Ministry of Interior. We actually have a CNN team member who was on the ground.

They live about four kilometers away from that embassy. They got a knock on their door around three o'clock in the morning, police asking them to evacuate. Around two hours later, they were able to return to their house. Police said that they were outside of that safety parameter. We know that it was a safety precaution. Our team member there on the ground not hearing or seeing any interceptions or missiles that took place around that area.

We also heard from Qatar Airways just a short time ago that they are resuming some flights in the region, specifically out of Muscat and Riyadh, nothing leaving Qatar. The airspace here still remains closed with the next update coming not until tomorrow, leaving thousands of tourists here stranded. We spoke to some of them yesterday.

Here's what they had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OLIVER SIMS, AMERICAN STRANDED IN QATAR: We took off and about an hour into the flight, I noticed on the map that we had turned around over the Persian Gulf.

HOSSEINI (voice-over): Oliver is one of thousands of travelers stranded as tensions escalate across the Middle East.

HOSSEINI: Have you heard any of these interceptions or any of these attacks from Iran?

SIMS: Yes, I have. I actually was woken up out of my sleep from it.

HOSSEINI (voice-over): Here in Qatar, authorities say 8,000 transit passengers were unable to continue on with their journeys.

HOSSEINI: In addition to all those passengers who were caught during transit, there's also these two cruise liners at Doha's old port behind me. This big one right here, that's the Mein Schiff 5. We know that they have a capacity of 2,500 passengers and 1,000 crew. That itinerary finished on March 1st, but we know that passengers are still on board, waiting until they can fly out.

HOSSEINI (voice-over): Some tourists, however, are trying to make the most of an unexpected delay, venturing out to explore the city even as officials urge people to stay indoors. Others are far less relaxed about the situation. This group of Polish tourists say they've had little communication from their government about when they might be able to leave.

HOSSEINI: And how is everyone feeling? Are you feeling OK? Are you feeling scared?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, we are very sad and we are --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Frustrated, just frustrated that we cannot. There is no information and we just need to wait.

MARCO RUBIO, UNITED STATES SECRETARY OF STATE: With up to the minute safety and security information --

HOSSEINI (voice-over): The United States is urging its citizens abroad to register with the State Department and to reach out if they need assistance. But for travelers like Oliver, help has been limited.

SIMS: I went to the number that they had provided and I called it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If you are calling about the crisis in the Middle East, please press one.

SIMS: Yeah, so then this music was on and whenever this music was on, like I was waiting for like 30 minutes, they eventually answered and they said, to sign up for the STEP program, we really don't know what we can do.

HOSSEINI (voice-over): For now, thousands of tourists remain in limbo, waiting for tensions to ease and flights to resume.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOSSEINI (on camera): So Elex, as you can see, a lot of frustration here as these tourists have to wait at least another day until they hear any information about being able to potentially fly home.

MICHAELSON: Bijan Husseini, live for us in Doha. Thank you so much.

More of "The Story Is" right after this.

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[02:53:16]

MICHAELSON: "The Story Is" your money. Global markets are digesting the turmoil caused by the U.S. and Israeli war with Iran. Here's a look at key markets in Asia right now, looking good.

Investors are keeping a close eye on the Middle East and disruptions to energy markets and global shipping. Here's a look at oil prices at the moment. They were relatively steady on Wednesday after two days of soaring prices.

Early Brent crude fluctuated, finishing above $81. Now, it's just below $80, with some of the highest prices we've seen since January 2025. CNN's Eleni Giokos is following the markets from Abu Dhabi.

What are you seeing on the market front?

ELENI GIOKOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, a lot of uncertainty and frankly, just a lot of people being jittery as well. You've got Asian markets that have recovered today, specifically the South Korean KOSPI that had lost significant volume over the last few days, and then today, up around 10 percent.

What is interesting is that you had Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent talking up the market yesterday and also saying that they've got mitigation plans in terms of stepping in on the oil front. Remember, that insurance policy that President Trump wants to assist vessels to pass through the Strait of Hormuz where you're seeing massive blockages, but also assisting with naval escorts.

But here's the thing, he also spoke down what is happening in the region. Listen to Scott Bessent.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SCOTT BESSENT, UNITED STATES TREASURY SECRETARY: The region is not on fire. What is happening is that someone with an iPhone, and look, it is terrible when a hotel gets hit in Bahrain, when there is a drone that hits the airport in Doha, but those are one-offs. The Iranian attack capabilities have been substantially degraded.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

[02:55:00]

GIOKOS: Well, what we have seen is critical energy infrastructure that has consistently been targeted, and this, of course, is going to play a big role in the way that oil prices perform. At the end of the day, you've got people looking at the supply-demand dynamics.

You've got the Strait of Hormuz, closed. You've got issues in Saudi Arabia with one of the largest oil refineries there. You've got the LNG facility completely shut down in Qatar, and that is going to cause major supply disruptions.

We also know this really has to do with how long this war is going to last. That four-week timeline that President Trump talks about perhaps won't have a significant impact just yet, but there is a lot of uncertainty. And today, there's a recalibration, a new reality. You've got the Dow Jones, the S&P, and the Nasdaq showing a negative start to the trading day because whether we like it or not, there's uncertainty that's been injected into this and despite the mitigation plans in place, you also have vessels, and specifically South Korean vessels, that are stuck in the Strait of Hormuz. We're also speaking to experts saying there are other ships that are anchored and waiting to move. MICHAELSON: Eleni Giokos, thank you for that. And thank you all for watching "This Story Is." I'm Elex Michaelson. The news continues with Rosemary Church, next.

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