Return to Transcripts main page

The Story Is with Elex Michaelson

Tehran's Mehrabad Airport On Fire As Airstrikes Target Iran; CENTCOM - U.S. Forces Have Hit 3,000+ Targets Across Iran; Lebanese & Iranian Media - War Has Killed 1,320 People; Trump - No Deal With Iran Until - Unconditional Surrender; Panetta - Trump Changes U.S. Objective In War With Iran; Trump Admin. Promises $20B In Reinsurance To Get Oil Moving; U.N. Chief - Iran War Could Spiral Beyond Anyone's Control; Sources - Russia Feeds Iran Intel About U.S. Forces; Tass - Putin, Pezeshkian Held A Phone Call Friday; Chicago Memorial Honors Civil Rights Leader Jesse Jackson; Aired 12-1a ET

Aired March 07, 2026 - 00:00   ET

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

[00:00:00]

ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN HOST: -- later a conversation with Senator Raphael Warnock from right here, in Georgia. All that coming up on "The Story Is," it's been a busy week. It was nice to have a moment of levity after everything we've all been through. Laura, have a great weekend.

LAURA COATES, CNN HOST: Hey, have a great show. Thanks, Elex.

MICHAELSON: And "The Story Is" starts now with breaking news.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN breaking news.

MICHAELSON: I'm Elex Michaelson live in Atlanta, and "The Story Is" the war with Iran. Iran is now firing back after Israel launched what it calls a broad scale wave of strikes against Iran a short time ago. New video shows Tehran's Mehrabad airport on fire. And though it's not clear if the airport was struck directly. Iranian state media is reporting explosions from one end of the capital to the other. Meanwhile, United States Central Command says American forces have now hit more than 3,000 targets inside Iran that includes ballistic missile sites, command posts of Iran's revolutionary guards.

Take a look at the destruction in Iran in a new string of satellite images taken on Friday. You're seeing what it looked like before and after those strikes. The images show damage at multiple sites, including a navy and drone base on the Persian Gulf and other military bases across the country. CNN Senior International Correspondent Ivan Watson joins us live from Hong Kong to once again start things off. Ivan, what's happening right now?

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Elex, it's about a week ago exactly that I was here reporting the start -- the announced start of this joint Israeli Iranian bombardment of Iran and the subsequent killing of its Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Today, what a week it's been, we're looking, as you pointed out, at these very dramatic images of Tehran's main domestic airline in flames. The airport in the center of the city, we've seen what look like planes actually that might also be on fire at that installation.

As you mentioned, CENTCOM has claimed that it has hit some 3,000 targets in a week and that most of this, it says is targeting ballistic missile sites, Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps command centers, military communications capabilities while also damaging or destroying some 43 navy ships, one of the intended goals of the Trump administration in this new regional war.

For people on the ground, it is absolutely terrifying. We have Iranian state media reporting that at least 1,200 people have been killed. Here's one Iranian man in Tehran who apparently survived a nearby airstrike. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (translated): Three of four strikes hit at the same time. We were sitting at home with the children and the blast wave, despite the fact that the next door house was hit, threw us over there. We quickly went downstairs to help and evacuate the neighbors. This is not a military zone nor is it a police force or an IRGC base. It is 100 percent residential, and everyone knows that it is a residential area.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WATSON: The furious air war continues with Gulf countries severely impacted. Listen to this. The United Arab Emirates said it intercepted nine missiles and a 109 drones on Friday alone. Saudi Arabia says that it intercepted some 16 drones that were headed towards the Shaybah Oil Field. That's a big oil field run by its state-owned oil company, Saudi Aramco, also a missile that was headed to an air base. It has not stated what the origin point was for those drones headed to the oil field in years past. Houthi rebels had targeted that same oil field, and we haven't seen yet them officially get involved in this conflict. They are, of course, allied with Iran.

On another major front in this conflict, it is Lebanon. We are now reporting more than a 100,000 people displaced by the ongoing fighting between the Iran backed militia Hezbollah and the Israeli military. The death toll continues to tick up there, more than 200 people killed, and the ongoing bombardment of the southern neighborhoods of Beirut, which the Israeli military ordered the complete evacuation of the civilian population there. Hundreds of thousands of people, on Thursday, also fighting raging along the southern borders of Lebanon.

And I think a lot of people surprised at how much fight the Hezbollah militia still has in it considering how many thousands of its fighters were believed to have been killed in a 66-day war with Israel back in 2024 with that famous and notorious pager attack that blew up pagers in suspected Hezbollah, operatives' pockets all across the country. Elex?

[00:05:00]

MICHAELSON: That certainly is surprising. Ivan Watson, thank you. We want to take a live picture right now from Beirut, which we were just showing you as well. So many times, we have seen smoke at time of day in Beirut. We see some of it there, but also clear skies, a tough, tough week to be living in Beirut. President Trump has set a tough new demand for ending the war with Iran. He says, "There will be no deal with Iran except unconditional surrender." He told CNN's Dana Bash on the phone on Friday that Iran's leadership has been, "Neutered, that he's looking for new leadership in Iran that will treat the U.S. and Israel well." He reiterated that he must be involved in choosing Iran's new leader. He needs to be part of that.

In the meantime, Iran is being led by an interim leadership council. President Trump says he is open to having a religious leader in Iran, and he's not worried whether or not Iran becomes democracy. As for what unconditional surrender actually looks like, here's White House Spokesperson Karoline Leavitt.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: What the President means is that when he, as commander and Chief of the U.S. armed forces, determines that Iran no longer poses a threat to the United States of America and the goals of Operation Epic Fury has been fully realized, then Iran will essentially be in a place of unconditional surrender, whether they say it themselves or not.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: One week into the conflict, President Trump's terms for ending the war with Iran appear to be shifting. Former CIA Director, former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, Democrat, tells CNN that the President's comments could undermine the military objective.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEON PANETTA, FORMER CIA DIRECTOR: The problem is that when the President keeps changing the objective here, I mean, it began as regime change. The Secretary of Defense said, no, no. It's not regime change. It's going after nuclear and missiles. And then Secretary Rubio provided an explanation that involved an attack by Israel and trying to respond to that. There's just too many different versions.

And so when the President says that now that it's about unconditional surrender and it's about him being able to name a leader for Iran. That's the kind of unrealistic commentary that that very frankly undermines our focus on the main mission and what the military is all about, which is to destroy their war making capability.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: Let's get a different view now from Republican Congressman Cory Mills, who joins us now from Florida, military veteran himself. Welcome back to "The Story Is."

CORY MILLS, U.S. HOUSE REPUBLICAN: Thanks for having me.

MICHAELSON: You were with us almost a week ago exactly to the minute when you said that your objective was regime change in Iran. And then minutes after that, this whole thing started, and we broke that live on our show. How long is that going to take regime change in Iran.

MILLS: Well, to correct you slightly, I didn't say regime change. I said regime elimination is what I was looking for. And the reason for that is that you've had for 47 years an Islamic radical dictator who has subjugated women oppressed as people and has committed huge atrocities across the entire country. So I think what people are doing is they're muddling words. They're all saying essentially the same thing. The Secretary of Defense talks about military objective, military strategic targets, looking at destroying their mobile missile sites, looking at helping to denigrate the actual IRGC's military capability for counterattack or once airstrikes are gone, which we do control the entire airspace, then that would allow us to be able to go ahead and start handing things over.

And I think that that's the same thing President Trump means when he says unconditional surrender, meaning that the IRGC has been completely denigrated to a point that they can't launch a counter assault or try and seize under some type of a coup away from the transitional government. And so I am happy to report, however, that I technically now have a larger navy than Iran. So there has been success there overall.

MICHAELSON: I mean, what though when you say regime elimination, which is the accurate quote for you from last week, who then leads the country? Who are you comfortable with being in charge?

MILLS: Well, again, I think that one of the things that you saw throughout this entire period was the people in the street chanting Javid Shah, which is essentially return of the king or long live the king.

So it sounds to me like the Iranian people who are the rightful person to go ahead and select the next leader of their nation is looking at someone like Reza Pahlavi, the Crown Prince of Iran, who was him and his family had actually gotten ousted and was on exile for 47 plus years.

[00:10:00]

So I personally don't know what Iranians want or what they'll take, but I think that they're given an indication, the moons in the street who are chanting Javid Shah, that they'd like to see a return to the monarchy of a transitional government for an election as Reza Pahlavi said, he said, I'm here for transitional government. The Iranian people will select their next leader by the ballot box. And so I think that that's a reasonable selection and something I think President Trump is considering.

MICHAELSON: So there isn't reliable polling of the people of Tehran right now, but there is some reliable polling in terms of the American people. We want to put this up on the screen, in terms of the way they're feeling. How much do you support or oppose military action in Iran? Strongly support, 44 percent. Strongly oppose, 56 percent. Why do you think that is? Why do you think more people in America are not behind this? MILLS: Well, again, I think that people don't understand exactly when is it going to stop and what's the objection maybe some messaging could actually help some of this, but also there was people who supported a radicalized regime. There are a lot of the Iranian diaspora that also at one point was supporting Palestine and supporting other things. But I can tell you the majority, in my opinion, the bulk that I talked to, the Iranian diaspora supports the elimination of the regime and the return of the Shah.

And so I would just basically say that, I'd be questioning where that was because when I was in front of 350,000 plus people in Los Angeles just this past Valentine's Day, I can tell you that everyone there was cheering for President Trump and for his actual comments on help is on the way.

MICHAELSON: And I was in the streets last weekend in Los Angeles in Westwood. Huge show of support for President Trump, and many of those people wanting to have the Shah's heir in charge was part of what they were talking about as well. So in -- you're a military guy, armed services committee. You understand how this works. It put it in layman's terms. What should we expect this weekend militarily?

MILLS: Well, again, I think that they're going to continue to focus in on military installations and further denigrating the IRGC's counter capabilities. I think they're going to look at where a lot of these drones are being launched. So utilizing our Lucas system as well, which is essentially our refurbished Shahed 136 that we've been utilizing against Iranian targets. I think that we'll be looking at IRGC headquarters across the country as well as for where areas are that people are trying to collect and potential, like counterattacks or insurgencies later in a transitional government. So, again, looking at HVTs, looking at military hardware, looking at industry, looking at nuclear capabilities, and then, again, just continuing to hit the military targets until we can guarantee that everything is secured.

MICHAELSON: Congressman, Cory Mills, thank you for joining us one week ago tonight. Thanks for joining us once again here on "The Story Is." Have a great weekend.

MILLS: Thank you so much. Have a great weekend.

MICHAELSON: A Gulf official says some oil rich Gulf states are reviewing their foreign investments as the war with Iran strains their economies. Energy production has slowed. Exports have been disrupted because of the fighting. On the map you see here, you can see where gas and oil infrastructure has already been hit. As the conflict widens, the Strait of Hormuz sits basically empty. Many private maritime insurance companies have pulled coverage because of war related damage. Trump administration says it will provide up to $20 billion in reinsurance to get tankers moving again.

But all of this is sending oil prices surging. U.S. crude oil prices jumped 36 percent this week to $91 barrels a barrel. International benchmark Brent crude gained 27 percent topping $93 a barrel. Both of them up since even yesterday by over $10 a barrel. United Nations Secretary General is warning that the war in Iran could spiral out of control. Antonio Guterres called for an end to the fighting and urged for serious negotiations to take place. Iran's UN Ambassador has called on the U.N. to do more to actually stop the deaths of civilians.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AMIR SAEID IRAVANI, IRAN'S U.N. AMBASSADOR: Despite our repeated communication to the security council calling for an immediate halt to this criminal war, the council has remained silent. According to the latest report of the Iranian Red Crescent Society, at least 1,332 civilians, including women and children have lost their lives so far.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: Iran's Internet and communication blackout is making it difficult to hear from people inside the republic, but some messages are slowly getting through. People have deeply mixed emotions, including fear, grief, and hope. Leila Gharagozlou has more on the voices from Iran.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My friends, family, and people around me were all stuck between not knowing whether to be happy or sad.

[00:15:00]

LEILA GHARAGOZLOU, CNN REPORTER: With U.S. and Israeli airstrikes reshaping Iran by the day, it's nearly impossible to hear from voices inside the country. Some Iranians have sent CNN voice memos despite a partial Internet and communications blackout. To protect their privacy, we've distorted their voices.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (translated): The hardship here is, if we want to talk about the impact on the people, is that there is no Internet. We cannot get any news. They have no idea when an attack is going to take place. What I've heard is people say, we just know that something is coming at us in the sky. We don't know if it's ours or theirs.

GHARAGOZLOU: Many Iranians say they have conflicting feelings about the war coming just two months after a bloody and brutal crackdown on anti-regime protesters.

Right now, you can hear what's going on in the background. This is life right now. They come out every night. These are really strange and unknown days. An enemy is attacking us, is carpet bombing us, and yet we aren't upset. The thing is that continuing with what we had before was much harder. I really prefer this situation. I think it should continue and end so we can see these changes.

Meanwhile, for older Iranians, this is just another moment of upheaval in a country with a history of change and uncertainty.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (translated): But don't worry. I'm fine. This isn't the first war I've seen. I even remember Reza Shah leaving. I've seen a lot of these types of events. I'm not scared. GHARAGOZLOU: As Iranians inside the country live through the ongoing conflict, they offer reassurances to their loved ones abroad.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (translated): Don't worry about me. I'm here Inshallah. We're here. You don't need to be worried about us here. Just watch out for yourself. Inshallah, we see each other soon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: Iran is reportedly getting intelligence from abroad that can be used to target U.S. troops. Still ahead, who is providing Tehran with information that potentially could cost American lives?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:20:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MICHAELSON: It is 07:20 a.m. in the morning on Saturday in Beirut. This is a live picture where Israeli strikes are now a daily reality. This image, not as bad as we have seen several recent days at this time. But after days of air strikes and sweeping evacuation orders, close to 0.5 million people in Lebanon are now displaced. That's according to the Norwegian Refugee Council. Lebanon's government says more than 200 people have been killed since the fighting began, and close to 800 are wounded.

Russia is not playing a neutral observer in the war according to multiple sources who spoke with CNN. They say U.S. intelligence shows that Moscow is supplying Iran with intelligence about the location and movement of U.S. ships, planes, and troops. Much of that comes from Russian satellites, but it's still unclear if any Iranian attack can be linked to intelligence received from Moscow. Russia's state news agencies says the two countries' presidents held a phone call on Friday and agreed to continue contacts. For more on this, go live to Washington where CNN's Gabe Cohen is standing by. Welcome to "The Story Is" for the first time, Gabe.

GABE COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. Thanks, Elex. And look one of the reasons "The Story Is" really significant is, because it's the first indication that Moscow is getting involved in this war. Those sources telling CNN that Russia is providing that intel about the location of American troops and assets so that Iran can target them.

And as you mentioned, much of that intelligence is coming from this sophisticated satellite system that Russia has an asset that Iran does not have at its disposal as they have seen their own capabilities for identifying, for locating those American assets degraded over this past week of fighting. Now at this point, we don't know if this means that Russia's involvement is going to expand, especially after that phone call that you referenced Friday between Iran's President and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Now for the White House's part, they've really brushed this story off. We heard Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth tells CBS News that, of course, the President is well aware of who is talking to who, and at this point, they are not concerned about any threat from Russia. We heard Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt say that if Russia is in fact providing this information to Iran, it's clearly not making much of a difference given the success of the U.S. operation thus far.

And President Trump himself snapped at a reporter from Fox News during an event on Friday when he was asked about this new reporting. Here's what the President said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It sounds like the Russians are helping Iran target and attack Americans now?

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: That's an easy problem compared to what we're doing here. But -- but, can I be honest? It's just -- I have a lot of respect for you. You've always been very nice to me. What a stupid question that is to be asking at this time. We're talking about something else.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COHEN: And look, Elex, we know this administration has been laser focused on really emphasizing that narrative about how successful this operation has been in recent days. Just Friday, Trump told CNN that a week ago, Iran was powerful and now they have been, "Indeed neutered." He said he wants to handpick the country's next leader. And we know the President has also said that, hopefully, this would be a four to five week military operation.

[00:25:00]

But with this latest reporting, it's really unclear if that timeline could change at all if other countries like Russia are drawn into the conflict.

MICHAELSON: Yeah. That's the way he responded to Peter Doocy from Fox News. Could you imagine if somebody else asked that question?

COHEN: Right.

MICHAELSON: But I mean, it doesn't sound like, at least publicly, the administration wants to talk about any potential consequences for Russia.

COHEN: No. Absolutely not. They haven't wanted to. And, again, over the past -- even just the past few hours, they have been celebrating their gains in Iran, talking about hitting 3,000 targets, damaging or sinking 43 Iranian ships, hitting bases, destroying command centers. They don't really seem to want to talk about Russia or anyone else for that matter. They seem to be fixated on Iran, although we know that the President did also mention to CNN that Cuba could be next. So potentially putting a bull's eye on that country. But you are absolutely right. They have not seemed to want to call out Russia for any of this at this point.

MICHAELSON: And, of course, if that intelligence potentially led to the death of Americans, that's a very, very big deal.

COHEN: And it's something we don't know at this point.

MICHAELSON: We don't know. Gabe Cohen, great to have you aboard from Washington. Thank you very much.

As bombs rain down on parts of Iran, a CNN investigation reveals the impacts of U.S. and Israeli strikes on civilian infrastructure ahead. What the investigation discovered after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:30:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MICHAELSON: Welcome back to "The Story Is." I'm Elex Michaelson. Let's take a look at today's top stories. Saudi Arabia says it has taken down more than a dozen drones heading towards one of the largest oil fields in The Middle East.

Shaybah's field operator says it has produced 1 million barrels of crude per day. Saudi Arabia's Defense Ministry did not say where the drones came from. Iran is warning other countries not to get involved in the war with the U.S. and Israel. Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister says if European countries join attacks against Iran, those countries will become legitimate targets for retaliation. He says Tehran warned other Gulf states before the war started that if the U.S. attacked Iran, then Iran would target U.S. bases and assets in the region.

President Trump is once again suggesting that Cuba is next on his administration's agenda, telling CNN the regime, "It's going to fall pretty soon." He said that he would put Secretary of State Marco Rubio in charge of the island nation. U.S. has put intense pressure on Cuba in recent weeks, including an oil embargo, which has caused a severe energy shortage.

We'll go to the island in our next hour here on "The Story Is." But now to this, as the war with Iran continues, questions are being raised about the precision of U.S. and Israeli bombing campaign. A new CNN investigation uncovers just how close their strikes have come to hitting civilian sites and infrastructure. CNN's Katie Polglase has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KATIE POLGLASE, CNN INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER: A city under attack. It's also home to millions of people. The U.S. and Israeli bombing campaign of Tehran has been targeting intelligence complexes, police stations, and state broadcasters. But we verified videos and analyzed satellite imagery and found the impact is going beyond that due to the densely packed nature of the city and the large scale weapons involved.

Take a look at this satellite image. This crater is at least 40 foot wide. That means it was likely caused by a 2,000 pound bomb. The target, Iran's state broadcaster, the IRIB. The strike wiped out its communications mast. These bombs used by both the U.S. and Israel are capable of killing or wounding people more than 1,000 feet away. And just a 100 feet away is the Gandhi Hospital, one of the biggest in Tehran.

Glass shattered, walls collapsed, and patients, including babies, being rushed out. As more videos like this one began to emerge, we started verifying them, pinpointing the hospital where each one was filmed. Then we cross referenced with satellite imagery to see the damage caused by U.S. and Israeli strikes.

Like here, you can see the blown out windows of the Gandhi hospital from space. Over in another central part of Tehran is the Motahari Hospital, and just behind it is the Iranian police headquarters. In fact, you can see a police helicopter pad down here. This image is from just before it was struck, and this is after. Entire buildings flattened.

The Motahari hospital is still standing, but we verified this video showing substantial damage inside. It's not the only hospital in the area affected. Over here is the Khatam Hospital. Glass windows shattered and medical staff are seen running out. Further down the same street is the Iranian Red Crescent Society. Smoke billowing from behind the building. Again, people are fleeing. Across Iran as a whole, more incidents like these are emerging. We geolocated this video to the Persian Gulf Hospital in the city of Bushehr. You can see newborn babies being carried out amid the rubble.

[00:35:00]

It's unclear what the target was, but it's close to an airport and military air base. But it's not just hospitals. Other civilian sites are also bearing the brunt of these strikes. This school in Southern Iran was directly hit, resulting in the deaths of over a 160 students and staff according to Iranian state media. Neither the U.S. nor Israel have acknowledged they caused the strike. It was just 200 feet from an Iranian military base. You can see multiple of their buildings hit as well as damage to the school.

Another strike hit this gym in Fars, Southern Iran. There were reportedly 20 volleyball players inside at the time, Iranian media said. It was also right next to a police station. As strikes continue, access to safe medical facilities will be crucial, but the civilian toll is mounting. The human rights activist news agency now reporting over 1,000 dead. Katie Polglase, CNN, London.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: CNN has reached out to U.S. Central Command and the Israeli military for comment on these strikes and the steps they are taking to prevent civilian harm.

Let's bring in now retired U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Andrew Loiselle. He is the CEO of Bucket Defense Solutions. Welcome to "The Story Is" for the first time. Thanks for staying up late with us.

REAR ADMIRAL ANDREW LOISELLE, U.S. NAVY (RET.): Thanks, Elex. I appreciate it.

MICHAELSON: So we just saw that, and clearly the U.S. is trying to not target civilians. How does military leaders decide if a target is worth it? And you've got -- and sometimes they intentionally put something like a hospital right next to a government building. Walk us through the thought process.

LOISELLE: So there's a process called the air tasking order gets done on a daily basis. And it starts out days prior to that with target analysis at the intel level to make sure that we think these targets are worth going after. And that's the first assessment that's made before they go into the weapon.

So when they look at the various assets that are available from different aircraft that are scheduled to go at that particular time period they're looking to strike that target. And then they do a weapon target pairing looking to pair the proper weapon to the damage they're looking to cause, and then they have access to any number of weapons that are low collateral damage or if it's a very target, they'll assign a different type of weapon to that target.

And so while, the potential for civilian damage and civilian casualties is always there, those are very, very much taken into account in the target planning process with the hopes of minimizing and eliminating those eventualities if at all possible. But as you mentioned, it -- they do tend to place these critical targets in areas where there is likely civilian casualty if you take out those targets, and they do this on purpose.

MICHAELSON: And then it becomes a question of is it worth it or not? President Trump has talked about this idea of unconventional surrender. That's what he wants from Iran. What does that look like? Is that even possible?

LOISELLE: Well, I think you have to look at that from the strategic perspective, and the overarching goal of eliminating their ability to generate nuclear weapons. That was a stated goal at the outset, except when you look at the way that Iran has behaved over the years that they've been trying to do this and they're thwarting of various sanction regimes in the Chippewa. When you look at that, it really leads you to believe that the entirety of their political establishment is geared towards achieving nuclear weapons.

And there is no other reason to have 60 percent enriched -- highly enriched uranium other than nuclear weapons. And so unless you are able to take out that regime that wants to produce that such that they can then attack neighbors and continue to fund all of their proxies that are waging war throughout the world. Unless you can take them out, then there is absolutely no way you're going to stop them trying to get a nuclear weapon. So I can understand why he wants to do that.

MICHAELSON: So far, we have seen Iran attacking other countries, attacking U.S. military bases. We have not seen sort of a major attack on American soil. There's been worries over the years about cyberattacks, about sleeper cells, about conventional attacks. Are you surprised that we haven't seen anything like that here? And how worried should people be about that this weekend?

LOISELLE: Well, from spending an awful lot of time in the military, I can certainly tell you that we are thwarting cyberattacks on a daily basis in numbers that people wouldn't believe if they actually saw them.

[00:40:00]

And so, just because it isn't making public news doesn't mean that these threats aren't being thwarted on a daily basis. And so sometimes when these threats are being thwarted, you have to make a decision about how much you want to publicize it, because you're generally speaking, just encouraging more of these types of behaviors. If you give these people the news time to let other folks know that these things are happening.

And so I'm not convinced they aren't happening. I don't have any non- public information on that. But I read the same reports that you have about potential sleeper cells in the United States, and there is a good chance that the apparatus that we put in place is detecting those and thwarting those potential attacks.

MICHAELSON: When you say, like cyberattacks that you thwarted, what would be an example of something like that?

LOISELLE: Well, there's any number of hackers that are working on behalf of the Iranian government. And you mentioned earlier on the newscast about the potential for Russian cooperation. They've certainly got a whole bunch of cyber folks in Russia as well. And so they could be going after anything like, our electrical infrastructure that you saw the power grid and things like that. Telecoms, the links between our satellite infrastructure and ground stations, they can go after any number of things that would be targets they look to disrupt folks in the United States.

MICHAELSON: Yeah. Well, thankfully, the protections are holding at least so far. Rear Admiral, thank you for joining us, and thank you for your service to our country.

LOISELLE: Absolutely. Pleasure to be here. Thank you.

MICHAELSON: After the break, a look at the powerful tributes to the late civil rights leader, Jesse Jackson, at his memorial service. I'll speak with one of his mentees who was there in Chicago to say a final goodbye. He takes us inside the service next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:45:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, FORMER PRESIDENT, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Jesse didn't just speak to black folks. He spoke to white folks and Latinos and Asian Americans and the first Americans. He spoke to family farmers and environmentalists. He spoke to gay rights activists when nobody was talking to gay rights activists and blue collar workers. And he gave them the same message that they mattered, that their voices and their votes counted. He invited them to believe. He invited us to believe in our own power to change America for the better.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: That was former President Barack Obama honoring the late reverend Jesse Jackson at his memorial service in Chicago on Friday. The joyful music filled service traced Reverend Jackson's journey from a child of the Jim Crow South throughout his fight for civil rights to his role as a political powerhouse in D.C.

Former Vice President, Kamala Harris and former Presidents Bill Clinton and Joe Biden also took the stage to reflect on Jackson's influence and legacy. Plenty of great music throughout. Jackson died on February 17th. He was 84-years-old.

For more, I want to bring in civil rights leader and CEO of S Harris Communications, Shane Harris, who joins us from Chicago where he attended the funeral and is dominating the soup game tonight. Shane, welcome back to "The Story Is."

SHANE HARRIS, CEO, S HARRIS COMMUNICATIONS: Good to be back with you, Elex. You are right there, like within the first few rows and seated right by all of these former presidents, the biggest names in the Democratic party. What was it like inside the room? What was happening when the camera wasn't on everybody?

MICHAELSON: Well, I mean, I think there was a lot of, just feelings in regard to all that Reverend Jackson contributed. I mean, people from I know that you mentioned a lot of democratic leadership was there, but there was people from all different parties and perspectives because Reverend Jackson represented the rainbow. He was among the first that launched the rainbow in the political and social context. And so he is someone that really was able to bring together coalitions of all kinds of people.

He was someone who was able to go talk to anyone. And I think there was, so much, I think appreciation in all the people that were gathered, because people understood that this is not a funeral. This is a celebration of a legacy that is going to live on.

MICHAELSON: Did Barack Obama get the biggest ovation?

HARRIS: I think, Barack Obama obviously, really stole the show. I mean, I would say he gave the eulogy, 28 minutes roughly in his speech. And he, of course, has monotones of the black church in often in his speeches, so that was unique. But there were also other great speeches that were given, including Vice President Kamala -- former Vice President Kamala Harris, President Bill Clinton as well as a number of others, and Jesse Jackson Jr., who I share my condolences with and including all of his family, but his speech was very powerful, as well as a call to action for the future not just the now.

[00:50:00]

MICHAELSON: So we're looking at Kamala Harris there, who's showing off a pin from Jesse Jackson. Of course, Barack Obama, the first democratic nominee who was black. Jesse Jackson, helped pave the way for that. Kamala Harris, the second black democratic nominee for President. Here's some of what she said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAMALA HARRIS, FORMER U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: It reads as follows, all caps, Damn straight, exclamation point. It's time for a black presidential candidate. That was a Jesse Jackson pin from those days.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: How did the two different Jesse Jackson campaigns pave the way for a President, Barack Obama, and a Vice President, Kamala Harris?

HARRIS: Well, what Reverend Jackson did in the '84 campaign and then the '88 and the buildup to the '88 campaign, he expanded delegates. He registered more voters. 6.4 million votes significant for African American in 1988. And so the expansion of the delegates as well as the expansion of registered voters Reverend Jackson had a significant impact in regard to the political landscape clearing the way for President Barack Obama.

And might I say, this was the first time today that I've ever heard President Obama really dive into that and say publicly in the way that he did that the reason why there was a Senator Barack Obama and a President Barack Obama was because of the way that Reverend Jackson paved for him.

MICHAELSON: And we just saw a shot of Jesse Jackson crying when Barack Obama won the presidency. He was in the front row. There's so many great Jesse Jackson quotes. He was one of your mentors. Real quickly, what is your favorite Jesse Jackson quote?

HARRIS: I am somebody because what he was saying to the nation is no matter where you come from, no matter what color of skin you are, really the content of your character, not the color of your skin, that you are somebody. You could be from the lowest levels of foster care like I grew up in the system after losing both of my parents, and you can rise to the occasion to become somebody. You could be homeless, and you can be somebody. You can be in the worst of the worst. And this nation really is built in the fabric of the context of what he was talking about. I am somebody. So that to me is the most significant contribution that he gave, because what he was telling people is no matter where you come from, no matter what your background is, and no matter what the challenges you face right now in front of you are, you are somebody.

MICHAELSON: And he kept hope alive for decades as well. Shane Harris, thank you. Our condolences to you, but what a celebration of life today. What a life well lived.

HARRIS: Our condolences to the family of Reverend Jackson.

MICHAELSON: Yep. We'll be back with more of "The Story Is" right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[00:55:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MICHAELSON: Countries around the world are working to get citizens home from The Middle East. More evacuation flights are set to take off in the coming days. CNN's Lynda Kinkade has more on the complex process home.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LYNDA KINKADE, CNN ANCHOR: A seismic shift in air travel. Dubai's International Airport operating at limited capacity that's slowly increasing, but only at a fraction of normal levels. But across the border in Oman, Muscat International Airport is packed with passengers, a hub for many repatriation efforts. The U.K. government is organizing charter flights from Oman. British Airways has added relief flights from there too, as well as Qatar Airways, which is operating limited flights from Muscat and Riyadh.

An evacuee from Portugal says she waited 17 hours just to board her flight after a grueling trip to the airport.

MARIANA CARVALHO, EVACUEE (translated): I'd say we're overwhelmed. The trip was completely exhausting. I think we've been traveling for 36 hours. The ground transport from the hotel to Oman was really difficult, and then there was a wait at the airport.

KINKADE: Flights are trickling out of the region, but there are still risks. A recent Air France repatriation flight was forced to turn back to the UAE because of missile fire in the area. A similar incident happened on Lufthansa over safety concerns.

CARSTEN SPOHR, CEO, LUFTHANSA (translated): Our captain of the Riyadh flight decided together with our security department not to fly to Riyadh, but to turn back to Cairo because we believe that the security situation is such that this is the right decision.

KINKADE: Some passengers are shelling out large sums of money to escape the region. Flightradar24 says private jet activity in The Middle East has surged in the past week, accounting for 31 percent of flight operations from Muscat on Wednesday. The high demand causing prices to skyrocket.

ALTAY KULA, CEO, JET-VIP: The typical cost for a flight from Dubai to Istanbul was something around $50,000, and at the moment, we are close to $100,000.