Return to Transcripts main page

CNN News Central

Iran Escalates Retaliatory Strikes Across Middle East; Trump Says, U.S. Has Enough Munitions to Fight Forever Wars; Oil Prices Hit Eight-Month Highs as Energy Markets React to Iran War. Aired 7-7:30a ET

Aired March 03, 2026 - 07:00   ET

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

[07:00:00]

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: The State Department orders all non- emergency government personnel out of six countries. Iranian drone strikes hit a U.S. embassy. And this morning, Israel unleashes new attacks on Tehran and Beirut.

SARA SIDNER, CNN ANCHOR: Also this morning, a U.S. official telling CNN that a major uptick in attacks are imminent and President Trump weighed in overnight, new comments this morning.

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: And it is Election Day in Texas. Huge primaries there that have members of both parties on the edge of their seats. Could a powerful Republican senator fall?

I'm John Berman with Kate Bolduan and Sara Sidner. This is CNN News Central.

BOLDUAN: The breaking news this morning, American assets and allies across the Middle East under attack as Iran launches new retaliation and the U.S. vows to hit that country even harder. U.S. embassies in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia are now closed after suspected Iranian drone attacks, and we have new video in showing a massive fire at an oil refinery in Saudi Arabia, one of the largest in the world.

The death toll for U.S. forces since this war has began now stands at six after a counterstrike against a U.S. facility in Kuwait. The State Department is warning Americans leave the Middle East immediately.

The Israeli military is unleashing simultaneous new strikes on Iran and in Lebanon. Smoke rising from the suburbs of Beirut as Israel targets Hezbollah command centers and weapons storage facilities.

While inside Iran, new images are also coming out, showing blasts and destruction across the country. The U.N.'s nuclear watchdog is now confirming the first damage to an Iranian nuclear facility since the bombing and the operations began. President Trump is warning Iran also that the worst is yet to come. The largest strikes, the big wave, that still has not yet been launched.

Today, top Trump administration officials are going to be briefing all members of Congress on this ongoing operation. CNN's following all of this late -- all of these developments, and much more from the Middle East to the White House.

Let's start with CNN's Nick Paton Walsh in Northern Israel. Nick, what's the latest from there?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, scenes over the Tehran skyline suggesting that a ferocious bombardments since this morning have been underway with the Iranian Red Crescent talking over 700 dead so far since the beginning of this U.S.-Israeli campaign. But you join me here though on the border, the Northern Israel, connecting with Southern Lebanon.

In the last minutes before we started talking, I've heard what must be an Israeli jet flying low, the sounds of an explosion on the other side of that hill. Directly behind me is Southern Lebanon. And this is a new front in the war here. Some may have predicted potentially that Iran's long-term ally, its proxy, Hezbollah in Lebanon, would potentially come to its assistance, you might say, but Israeli sees the opportunity to try and vanquish, frankly, the remnants of its long-term foe over the border here. Beirut persistently hit by explosions, what the Israelis called a center of gravity struck in the southern suburbs in the last hours.

But on the other side over here, an interesting development, the first land move essentially of this war so far in the region, not particularly significant, but ultimately a bid, it seems, for the Israeli forces to protect an area like this, Kiryat Shmona, which was evacuated in late 2024 with the major Israeli assault against Hezbollah. They don't want that to happen this time, signs of life clearly evident here. And instead, they are deepening, they're widening the buffer zone along the border here.

Five Israeli positions have maintained since the ceasefire began much with Lebanese protest. But Israel says this morning that they'll be putting more troops in, not to extend deeper into Lebanon, but to widen the area in which they kind of have this buffer, essentially to protect an area like this.

But I think the extent of that Israeli ground force application gives you a sign as to how weak they perhaps think Lebanese Hezbollah are indeed right now. They were heavily hit during 2024.

[07:05:01]

We have seen some impacts it seems, or certainly smoke along the skyline here on our way in. That may be the result of the warnings that were given out by the IDF saying that were incoming rockets potentially on the way here. We do hear drones above which are likely to be Israeli, clearly intensifying Israeli action here, and so far a comparatively muted Hezbollah response. We'll have to see if that maintains in the hours ahead. Kate?

BOLDUAN: Absolutely some critical hours ahead. Nick Paton Walsh, thank you so much, Nick, for your reporting. Sara? SIDNER: All right. Breaking overnight, President Trump touting that the U.S. has a, quote, virtually unlimited supply of weapons. The president posting on social Truth Social in part, wars can be fought forever, quote/unquote, and very successfully using just these supplies. The United States is stocked and ready to win big. Those are the president's comments.

Today, though, the president is expected to discuss the war with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and the White House.

CNN's Alayna Treene is at the White House for us. What are you learning? We see this long post on Truth Social where he used the word forever. It's got to make a lot of people think.

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and it also comes, Sara, as there're still so many questions about, you know, the justification for this, the objectives. We did hear several top administration officials really for the first time since these strikes in Iran began overnight, Friday into Saturday morning, hearing them try to articulate this message to the American people and begin to try and sell this war to the American people, particularly at a time when a lot of people are very wary, including many of the president's supporters about exactly what you just said, this idea of getting into a protracted military engagement, let alone a war of this magnitude in the Middle East.

Now, I do want you to listen, because we heard the vice president, J.D. Vance, come out and for the first time, really since all of this began as well speak publicly about this, and he addressed this issue really pushing back on the notion that this is going to be a long-term engagement. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

J.D. VANCE, U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: There's just no way that Donald Trump is going to allow this country to get into a multi-year conflict with no clear end in sight and no clear objective. Well, the, it's pretty clear. It's pretty simple, and I think that means that we're not going to get into the problems that we've had with Iraq and Afghanistan.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TREENE: Okay. So, that's what we're hearing from the vice president. I will say we did hear Trump yesterday. He spoke with our colleague, Jake Tapper, saying that we haven't even hit -- we haven't even started hitting them hard, referring to more strikes coming in Iran, saying that the big wave hasn't even happened. And then we also heard, Sara, from the president overnight just referencing the stockpiles and the munitions that the U.S. military has as its disposal.

I want to go back to that phrase that you highlighted at the start here saying that wars can be fought, quote, forever and very successfully. I agree with you that word is going to be a bit concerning to people who have long been saying no forever wars, you know, with long memories of what happened in Iraq and Afghanistan in the early 2000s.

All of this though as we are hearing in different justifications for these strikes in Iran. We heard one, you know, laying out -- we heard Rubio yesterday laying out one version of events and one objective and reasons for why they went hearing a little bit different from the president.

So, still a lot more work, I think, this administration has to do in kind of making clear the reasoning, the objectives, and the end goals for this entire operation in Iran. Sara?

SIDNER: Yes. I mean, it was the president himself who said that we should do no more forever wars, and now he's using that word forever. We'll see what that actually means over time. Alayna Treene, thank you so much live there from the White House for us. John?

BERMAN: All right. One other aspect of this, the supply war with wave after wave of Iranian drone strikes, could the U.S. and its allies run out of what they need in terms of air defense?

And oil price is surging this morning after Iran cuts off one of the most important shipping routes in the world.

And an incredible rescue in Texas after a hot air balloon crashes into a cell tower almost 90 stories in the air.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:10:00]

BERMAN: All right. New video into the CNN of explosions over Doha in Qatar as air defenses there intercepted incoming Iranian missiles. Also in Doha, Qatar's government tells CNN there were attempts to attack the airport there. Overnight, the U.S. embassy in Saudi Arabia was hit by suspected Iranian drones. A series of explosions were heard Erbil, in Northern Iraq, and sirens have been sounding over Bahrain.

Now, in the face of this Iranian onslaught, there are questions about whether air defenses can keep up. Since the war began, Kuwait says it has intercepted 178 ballistic missiles, 384 drones. The United Arab Emirates says it has intercepted 169 missiles out of 182 that have been fired. They also say they've intercepted 645 drones with an additional 44 hitting their territory. Bahrain, an island off the coast, reports intercepting 70 missiles and 76 drones. Qatar, the peninsula there, has intercepted 101 missiles, they say, out of a total of 104 shot as well as 24 out of 39 drones. They also say they shot down two Iranian bomber aircraft.

[07:15:00]

The defense has largely been successful, these countries say, but how long can they sustain it? Do they have the supplies?

CNN Senior Producer Bijan Hosseini is in Doha this morning with the latest on this. What are you seeing? What are you hearing? What's the latest from the ground there? BIJAN HOSSEINI, CNN INTERNATIONAL SENIOR PRODUCER: Hey, John. Yes, it's been an absolute bombardment of Iran's retaliation. We're now in day four of that. And just moments before you came to me, we saw a C- 130 flying very low overhead heading over my left shoulder.

But I want to focus on what you said there at the end, those two Iranian bombers, those SU-24s, that is extremely significant. We got confirmation of that last night from Qatar's Ministry of Defense. This is the first confirmed instance we have of a Gulf country shooting down an Iranian aircraft. So, a huge escalation there.

I also want to say that we've been hearing from Qatar ministers over the last couple days saying that that is their right, that they have the right to respond to Iran's aggression, and we clearly saw that take place overnight.

Onto the missiles, Qatar and the UAE are pushing back against reports that their missiles are deteriorating. They say that they have a good supply of Patriot missiles at the ready. John?

BERMAN: Yes. And, again, which will be necessary given the pace with which Iran seems to be striking, particularly the drone attacks, which they might have a much greater supply of.

When Qatar responds with air defense is shooting down Iranian planes, I can't think of anything like that. That feels to me unprecedented in a completely different level in terms of Gulf nations taking direct action against Iran, even in self-defense.

HOSSEINI: Yes, it's exactly right. And that's why it's the first case that we have seen and that we've had confirmed to us. But we do know that regional leaders here have been really vocal, that this is a threat on their sovereignty and that they reserve that right to respond. And we saw that play out last night and more to be seen, if we see more of that in the coming days. John?

BERMAN: Yes, it may represent a major political and diplomatic shift.

Bijan Hosseini in Doha, please stay safe there, a lot of activity on the ground. Kate?

BOLDUAN: Yes. And with all of this oil prices surging as Iran now threatens to attack any ship that tries to pass through one of the busiest shipping channels in the world, of course, sparking new concerns for U.S. gas prices.

And also no warning, no sirens. There are new details coming in about the Iranian strike that killed six U.S. service members.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[07:20:00]

BOLDUAN: As the war with Iran continues to expand, and with President Trump promising and threatening that the biggest wave of strikes is still yet to come, one place, feeling the impact immediately, oil markets. And Iran is now threatening to attack any ship traveling through the critical shipping channel, the Strait of Hormuz, that sees about a fifth of the world's oil production go through.

CNN's Matt Egan joins us now. All signs point to it's going to go higher and higher. Give us some perspective on this.

MATT EGAN, CNN SENIOR REPORTER: Yes, Kate. Look, another day, another spike for oil prices. And this is rattling investors around the world and it's causing a historic increase for gas prices here in the United States. Let's look at oil prices at the moment, 6 percent for WTI, that's the U.S. benchmark, 5 percent for Brent Crude. I have seen this morning even higher numbers than this.

We're looking at another major increase in oil prices, and this is after a 6 percent increase yesterday. When you look at the trend, this is suddenly looking like a major increase in oil prices. For the past few months, prices were safely below $60 a barrel, but now heading well above $70 a barrel. At one point this morning, crude hit 77. That's the highest since last June after the U.S. and Israeli attacks on facilities in Iran.

And look at this massive increase in gas prices. This -- $3.11 is the new national average, up by about 11 cents in one day, Kate. That's the biggest one day increase since Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and it's all because of this war with Iran.

BOLDUAN: Been wiping out any gains that have been made over the last year.

EGAN: Yes. Look at this. Now, gas prices are actually slightly higher than they were at this point last year.

So, why is this happening? Well, of course you got to look at the Strait of Hormuz. You mentioned the fact that now Iran is threatening to attack vessels that go through that narrow waterway right off the coast of Iran. That's the most critical choke point for oil on the planet. Not only that though, but maritime traffic has basically crawled to a stop there because of the war.

BOLDUAN: Yes. I mean, it's essentially shut down, essentially, right?

EGAN: Right. And insurers have dropped their coverage for ships going through here. On a typical day through the Strait of Hormuz, there's about 60 oil tankers. But on Sunday, there were just five, likely even fewer than that yesterday and today. And that's a big problem because that's how all the Gulf oil producers, including Saudi Arabia, they get their oil out to the market.

Now, all of this is not sitting well with investors. We saw steep losses in Asia overnight, steep losses in Europe. And let's look at live stock futures right now, looking at a 1.4 percent drop for the Dow, almost 700 points, a little bit steeper for the NASDAQ. And that's after U.S. markets barely flinched yesterday. But the higher oil prices go, the more damaging it'll be to the stock market, the more damaging to the economy, and, of course, the more painful for all the consumers at home. BOLDUAN: Which is why the question of how long is this operation going to last becomes a -- continues to be a critical question on multiple fronts, including this.

[07:25:05]

Thank you so much, Matt.

EGAN: Thank you, Kate.

BOLDUAN: Sara?

SIDNER: All right. Thank you, Kate.

Ahead, Iran's drones are a key part of their offensive. What we know about the drones and just how powerful they can be and how far- reaching.

Also a terrifying flight after a hot air balloon tangles with a radio tower. How rescuers were able to get everyone to safety 900 feet above the ground.

Those stories and more ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SIDNER: All right. The breaking news for you this morning, the U.S. embassies are closing in two places, the Middle East in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, as Iran escalates its retaliation against Israel and U.S. assets and allies in the region.

[07:30:02]

Now, Iran has several missiles and drones in its weapon arsenals, some capable of hitting targets all the way in Europe.