Return to Transcripts main page

CNN News Central

New Attacks on Iran; No Warning Before Strike on U.S. Service Members; DHS Secretary Testifies before Senate; Primary Day in Texas. Aired 9:30-10a ET

Aired March 03, 2026 - 09:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:31:49]

JOHN BERMAN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, the breaking news, the markets just opened. And you can see where they are right now. And it's not good. Pretty sizable drops at the opening bell. About one and three quarters percent across the board. This after yesterday. The drops largely stabilized. Yesterday was not the shaky day on the market that many expected. But today appears to be something very, very different. The Dow down more than 800 points. Obviously, one of the major concerns is the possibility of surging oil prices. Oil prices have been up substantially in one day, and prices at the pump just rose some of their largest amounts in the United States over one day in some time. So, this, obviously, is a concern and it has to do with the closing of the Straits of Hormuz, where nearly 20 percent of the oil passes through.

Let's talk more about the situation right now, not just with the oil, but also what we're seeing from a military standpoint. With us now is CNN global affairs analyst Brett McGurk.

And, Brett, good to see you.

Kate was just talking to Barak Ravid of "Axios," another CNN analyst, who said that he is getting word that Israel just carried out a strike in Tehran. Tehran is under all those blasts right there.

BRETT MCGURK, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Yes.

BERMAN: Israel and the United States have been going after Tehran quite hard.

MCGURK: Yes.

BERMAN: But the target was a building where the so-called council of experts was meeting. That is the group that is meant to pick the next supreme leader of Iran.

MCGURK: That's right.

BERMAN: They may even have been voting at the very moment. So, what do you make of that? MCGURK: That's right. So, Iran has a constitution. They have an

interim council that they say is running the government now. It's the president, the chief justice and a cleric. And they hold power until this assembly of experts meets to choose a new supreme leader. Really for only -- that will be the third time in Iran's history since the '79 revolution.

What has just been reported is that Israel struck that building as the assembly was actually meeting to choose a supreme leader. Hugely significant. And, again, shows the level of intelligence, penetration and dominance that Israel has over Iran, if that's accurate.

BERMAN: It also shows that Israel intends to disrupt the Iranian regime, if not change the Iranian regime. The United States insists regime change is not a goal here. Secretary Rubio, last night, gave a justification for this conflict. He said the reason why now is because the United States knew that Israel was going to attack Iran, and the United States basically needed to get out ahead of that.

I just spoke to Senator Jeff Merkley of Oregon, and he was concerned by that explanation. Listen to what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JEFF MERKLEY (D-OR): What essentially he's saying is that Netanyahu was leading Trump around by a nose ring. This is, like, basically, we're like, we're the uppy on the leash, and Netanyahu yanks the leash and we have to act. That is -- that is horrific.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BERMAN: Now, you've worked for administrations of both parties.

MCGURK: Yes.

BERMAN: What do you think of that assessment?

MCGURK: I'd say a couple things. I think what's being lost in this, and I think the administration messaging has been all over the place, is, there was the protests in Iran, and President Trump laid down a warning, and the supreme leader ordered this historic massacre, crackdown.

BERMAN: Yes.

MCGURK: That led to the military maneuvers into the region. That was kind of the timeline. So, we have to keep that in mind.

I also watched Secretary Rubio's full clip, and he said something important.

[09:35:00]

He said, within a year, in their assessments, the production of Iranian missiles and drones, they would have a line of immunity. Meaning, if you worked to degrade those missiles and drones now, you're acting at probably moderate, significant risk. If you wait a year, you actually can't act against them. They have a zone of immunity. That's the kind of assessment that comes into a White House. You have an option now, at moderate, significant risk. If you wait, you'll have no option and Iran will basically have total deterrence because they will have so many missiles and drones, which they can then proliferate around the world. Those missiles and drones are under U.N. sanctions. This is not just a U.S.-Israeli issue.

So, I think there will be more, I hope, over the coming day of explaining this, but I think it's a little more complex than that. I wouldn't -- I wouldn't buy that narrative.

BERMAN: Wouldn't buy the narrative from Senator Merkley of Oregon there.

The president, this morning, putting out this statement. Again, in terms of what we've heard from the president out loud, it was five minutes at a news conference yesterday, then a series of phone calls with reporters.

MCGURK: Yes.

BERMAN: A lot more on Truth Social and tape videos. The president wrote this morning, "their air defense, air force, navy and leadership is gone. They want to talk. I said, too late."

You're an expert on talking. I mean you spent decades talking and negotiating. Do you believe that there is no more talk here, no room for discussions.

MCGURK: Again, I just go back to this mixed messaging. The president has said to other reporters over the last two days that, you know, we're looking for somebody to have a kind of Delcy Rodrguez Venezuela type scenario. Now he's saying, no, there will be no talks.

I thought General Caine did a good job yesterday of saying, what are we trying to do? And he laid out military objectives. And he's a military tactician. He's a military adviser to the president. And he said, there's a main military objective, to degrade Iran's power to exert -- to exert power outside its borders. That's missiles, drones, the navy and the apparatus of the -- of the regime and the nuclear. I think we'll see some nuclear sites. Those are military objectives. When you're talking about orchestrating political outcomes militarily, particularly from the air, almost impossible.

On your one question about Israel, though, this is a joint campaign. And I suspect we'll see some other countries actually joining it in self-defense here over the coming period, particularly perhaps some of these gulf states given that they've been getting attacked.

BERMAN: Yes.

MCGURK: When you're in a coalition type operation, having alignment of objectives gets even more tricky and difficult.

BERMAN: We've already seen -- MCGURK: To not only Israel and U.S., but we might see when we have some more militaries engaged. You want to have a broader coalition. That gives legitimacy. It gives you more effect. But it also gets very complicated. Coalition operations are more complex. I've done that in the past.

BERMAN: We've already seen Qatar say they've shot down two Iranian planes, which is relatively unprecedented.

Brett McGurk, great to see you. Thank you very much.

MCGURK: Thank you.

BERMAN: Kate.

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: And there were no sirens and no warnings. Those are some of the new details that CNN is learning this morning about the Iranian strike that killed six U.S. service members in Kuwait Sunday. Video shows smoke rising from a makeshift operation center where the service members were at the time of the attack.

CNN's Zach Cohen has more reporting on this and he's joining us now.

Zach, what more are you learning about what has turned into a tragedy?

ZACHARY COHEN, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Yes, Kate, we're told that U.S. service members really had no time to protect themselves before this makeshift operation center took a direct hit from a suspected Iranian drone. As part of that initial wave of Iranian retaliatory strikes that happened over the weekend, as you mentioned, the U.S. military acknowledging that the U.S. death toll as part of this ongoing military operation in Iran is steadily increasing, rising from -- to six after the remains of two additional service members who were killed in that initial strike in Kuwait were recovered.

Now, U.S. Central Command putting out a statement yesterday saying, quote, "as of 4:00 p.m. Eastern on March 2nd, six U.S. service members have been killed in action. U.S. forces recently recovered the remains of two previously unaccounted for service members from a facility that was struck during Iran's initial attacks in the region." It goes on to say that the identities of those service members are being withheld while the families are notified."

So, we're learning more, though, about this strike that took place in Kuwait and that resulted in the death of these six service members. We're told it was targeting effectively what has been described as a triple wide trailer of sorts, with an office space inside, where these service members were congregated, and that it was ultimately struck by an Iranian drone.

Interestingly, Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said yesterday that, yes, a tactical operations center was hit as part of these strikes. But he said that it was fortified. So, a little bit of a different characterization of the type of facility that these troops were in. But ultimately, the descriptions of the devastation of this strike are really striking. Our sources telling us that the facility remained on fire for hours after the initial strike took place. Also said that the walls were completely blown out and the interior of the facility was completely blackened.

So, we do expect as President Donald Trump has said, more potential U.S. casualties. And so this number of six is almost certainly expected to increase.

[09:40:04]

BOLDUAN: Yes. Zach Cohen. Thanks for the reporting, Zach. I really appreciate it.

John.

BERMAN: All right, happening now, we have live pictures of Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem testifying before the Senate. Needless to say, there are a lot of questions for her about the month's long immigration crackdown.

And does their silence speak volumes? Iran's women's soccer team returned to the pitch for the first time since this new round of the war started.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BOLDUAN: All right, you're looking live at Capitol Hill. Right now the secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, is testifying before the Senate.

[09:45:04]

This is her first time appearing before Congress since the Trump administration's immigration enforcement surge in Minnesota that has faced so much criticism. She is also facing questions right now about potential threats to the United States homeland since the attack on Iran.

CNN's Annie Grayer is on The Hill following all of this.

What have we heard so far, Annie?

ANNIE GRAYER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Kate, we are expecting this to be a long and contentious hearing today because Kristi Noem has come under fire from both Democrats and Republicans, both for her handling of immigration enforcement, and the fact that her agency is not currently funded by Congress. Democrats have demanded changes to how her agency conducts immigration enforcement before they give any more federal dollars to her. Republicans are now arguing that with the U.S. strikes in Iran, that the -- this is not a time to play with funding with DHS, that this agency really does need its funding.

And on top of that, DHS doesn't just do immigration enforcement. FEMA and TSA agents are also starting to feel the pinch from this shutdown. So, we're sure to hear that from Secretary Noem today. But the chairman of the committee, Republican Senator Chuck Grassley,

just asked Secretary Noem what she is doing to secure the homeland in light of the U.S. strikes. Take a listen to how the secretary answered that question.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KRISTI NOEM, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: We work every single day with our intelligence agencies and law enforcement partners to make sure that we are investigating and finding any threats to the homeland here within our borders. We work with the FBI often and homeland security investigations specializes in this kind of work each and every day. Not only that, we go back and we are revetting some of the individuals and some of the programs that we may have concerns about looking at social media, also going through those interviews that are necessary for some of our programs that the Biden administration abused and perverted under their time there as well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GRAYER: Now, the stalemate in Congress continues though. We are expecting a vote in the House on furthering DHS funding. This week we are not expecting there to be any changes in votes. Democratic leadership is still confident in their position.

But we also know that Democrats and Republicans on this committee are going to ask Noem about her agency's immigration practices after the deadly shootings that we saw take place in Minnesota. Even Republican Senator Thom Tillis, who sits on the Judiciary Committee, has called for Noem's resignation. So, I'm particularly going to be watching for his questioning of the secretary there.

And she has come -- she has really been criticized for how she has handled this across the board. So, it -- we are expecting it to be a contentious hearing. And it will be a long day here for Secretary Noem.

BOLDUAN: Yes, I believe Thom Tillis even called her incompetent, among other things, in terms of her leadership of the department so far.

Annie, thank you so much. That, as we see, Senator Durbin, who was just on the show with us talking about this, he's continuing his line of questioning. We'll continue to give you updates as they come from there.

Also next for us, polls are open and voting is underway in three states. The first primaries of this midterm election season. We're going to take you live to Texas for the very latest there.

And members of the Guthrie family return to the home of Nancy Guthrie for the first time since she went missing more than a month ago now.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[09:52:43] BERMAN: The Iranian women's soccer team stepped onto the field for their first major event since the U.S. and Israeli strikes began. They lost their first game in the Asian Cup to South Korea three-nothing. The Iranians stayed silent during the anthem and they declined to comment. It's worth noting, the Iranians men's team is scheduled to play in the United States at the World Cup this summer.

Savannah Guthrie and her family seen laying flowers outside her mother's home in Tucson. It's been one month since her mother, 84- year-old Nancy Guthrie, was reported missing. Investigators say they are still receiving tips. Obviously the search continues.

Kate.

BOLDUAN: Wow, more than a month now.

Let's turn to this. It is primary day and the polls are open in North Carolina, Arkansas and Texas. These are the first primaries of this midterm election season. And at stake, of course, is the control of Congress.

There are two races that people are paying especially close attention to right now, both in Texas and having to do with the Senate. So, let's go there.

Arlette Saenz is at a polling place in Dallas.

What's the latest from there, Arlette?

ARLETTE SAENZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, polls have been open here for just a few hours, Kate, as Democrats and Republicans are turning out to vote in these consequential U.S. Senate primaries. Now, the GOP race is a three-way contest that has grown increasingly heated in recent weeks. That is between incumbent Senator John Cornyn, State Attorney General Ken Paxton, and Congressman Wesley Hunt. Polling has shown a very tight race. And if no GOP candidate reaches the 50 percent threshold, that contest is likely heading towards a late May runoff.

Now, John Cornyn has been in the Senate, in Congress, for quite some time. And he has tried to argue that Ken Paxton's past legal and personal scandals could jeopardize the Republican ticket come November. But that is something that Paxton has pushed back against as he's campaigned here in Texas.

And this morning we caught up with one Paxton supporter outside this polling location, explaining why he decided to vote for the state's attorney general.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SAENZ: Who did you support in the Senate race today?

JOHN CALANDRO, TEXAS VOTER: Ken Paxton.

SANEZ: And why is that? CALANDRO: I think we've seen Cornyn for a long time. And I didn't like

the way he didn't support our president on a few issues firmly.

[09:55:02]

And I think Paxton does. And I support our president.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAENZ: Now, one person who notably did not get involved in this race is President Donald Trump. He really declined to endorse any Republican candidate in this primary, though he's left the door open to potentially doing that in the runoff.

Now, that's the Republican side. On the Democratic side we've also seen a very contentious contest between two rising stars in Democratic politics in the state. That's Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett and State Representative James Talarico. But they are operating in very tough, political terrain here in Texas. No Democrat has won statewide in the state in more than 30 years.

BOLDUAN: More than 30 years.

Arlette, thank you so much for that.

And be sure to watch our special election night coverage beginning at 8:00 p.m. Eastern tonight right here on CNN. You can, of course, also watch on the CNN app.

BERMAN: So, where'd Sara go?

BOLDUAN: Poof, she disappeared.

BERMAN: I didn't -- I didn't know she was gone.

BOLDUAN: She'll be back. Don't worry, guys. She had a thing.

BERMAN: Well, she -- she left.

BOLDUAN: She had a thing. We all --

BERMAN: The show -- the show ends at 10:00. Did someone tell Sara.

BOLDUAN: What? I didn't know that. It's fungible. Our math is very fungible.

BERMAN: All right, thank you for joining us. This has been CNN NEWS CENTRAL.

BOLDUAN: Look at John calling her out.

BERMAN: Maybe Sara's on "THE SITUATION ROOM," up next.

BOLDUAN: Maybe not. Maybe. Maybe so.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)