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Six U.S. Service Members Killed in Refueling Plane Crash; Trump: U.S. Would Escort Ships in Strait of Hormuz If Needed; FBI: Synagogue Ramming a Targeted Attack on Jewish Community. Aired 2:30-3p ET

Aired March 13, 2026 - 14:30   ET

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

[14:30:00]

JESSICA DEAN, CNN HOST: Back now with our breaking news on that deadly plane crash that killed six U.S. service members in Iraq. The Pentagon confirming today the refueling aircraft was not shot down by hostile or friendly fire, but exactly what happened remains unclear.

Iran, meantime, continues ramping up attacks in the critical Strait of Hormuz. 20 percent of the world's oil supply goes through that waterway, or it did until this war began about two weeks ago. Today, President Trump and Defense Secretary Hegseth are downplaying the war's impact on this, which has created a near closure of that critical waterway for oil tankers. In an interview with Fox News, the president said the U.S. would provide military escorts for oil tankers, quote, if we need to.

Let's bring in CNN's Nic Robertson, who's joining us now from Kuwait with more on this. Nic, curious how the Gulf countries are reacting to this. Obviously, a big impact for them as well.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, they've been trying to stay out of this war, not get drawn into it, a war that they see that is the United States and Israel's war. Today, the sort of tempo of the war that's been impacting them seems to be down. Just one ballistic missile intercepted here yesterday.

There were several at the international airport here hit by drones, a civilian building, residential building hit by drones. Today, slightly different. But when you talk to people on the street here and you can see there are plenty of them out here enjoying the evening.

You talk to them and they tell you they feel protected by the country's defense missile systems. And also, they tell you that perhaps this sort of diminution in their number of attacks today is just because this big, heavy rainstorm passed through the region. So I don't think anyone here in the other Gulf countries where the strikes have been continuing but slightly down takes this as a real read that Iran's battle tempo is going down for good. Far from it.

I think where the leaders are here, and again referring back to they keep telling us, the officials we speak to keep saying they don't want to get dragged into the war. Imagine a week ago they'd gone into the war. Now the Strait of Hormuz would be their problem as well along with the United States. Now it's not. It's not their problem.

It's the United States' problem. It's their problem that they can't get their oil out for it. But it's not a war they're fighting.

And I think, you know, in many ways it reaffirms the sort of caution that the Gulf countries have been showing, resisting getting drawn into the war, that at the moment they can turn to the United States and say, we need to get our oil out. We're good allies and partners of you, but this is on you to resolve it. And I think that's where the attention is and of course trying to interpret whether Iran's really on the back foot or not.

DEAN: All right, Nic Robertson for us there in Kuwait. Thank you so much for that reporting. We appreciate it -- Boris.

BORIS SANCHEZ, CNN HOST: Let's get some perspective now with Frank Kendall. He's a former secretary of the U.S. Air Force. Sir, thanks so much for being with us.

First, I want to get your reaction to the Pentagon describing this incident in which six U.S. service members died as not being caused by hostile nor friendly fire. What scenario would then be the case?

FRANK KENDALL, FORMER AIR FORCE SECRETARY: That's very credible to me. The Iranians I think have claimed that they may have intercepted it. But my guess, and it's just speculation because they haven't told us, is that two tankers collided.

There's another tanker that landed successfully, but it had damage to the tail. It's not unusual to have tankers engaged in operations like this refueling each other. So it could have been that kind of an operation happening, or they could have just gotten into the same airspace and been confused somehow.

[14:35:00]

They should be able to investigate this and determine exactly what happened. But I think the Pentagon's explanation is probably accurate.

SANCHEZ: So when you hear Secretary Hegseth say this morning that Iran's missile volume is down 90 percent, their one-way attack drones down 95 percent, what does that mean exactly? If you could put that into context for us, does it still mean that they're capable of launching attacks into the Gulf and other allies?

KENDALL: The Iranians have been ready for a scenario like this for quite some time. In the initial days, they were able to get more off because we hadn't done that many strikes yet. So we have, I'm sure, suppressed to some degree.

Whether we can suppress them enough to create stability and security in the region or not is another question. And it's certainly another question whether we can effectively open the Strait of Hormuz. So the distributed assets, hard to find, don't have much of a signature, launched, and then the vehicles hide.

Those are going to be hard targets to take out.

SANCHEZ: There seem to be conflicting messages from the administration when it comes to the Strait of Hormuz, in part because you hear Secretary Hegseth saying that the only thing prohibiting transit right now is Iran shooting at shipping. But then conversely, we heard the president say that Iran's Navy has been eliminated. If that's the case, why couldn't U.S. vessels begin escorting tankers out?

KENDALL: It doesn't take much of a threat before ship owners are not going to put their ships through the strait. Small boats can deliver mines. They can be delivered by submersible vehicles.

Drones can be used to attack. All these assets are hard to find. There's a long coastline there that Iran has control of, and the shipping lanes are relatively narrow.

So given the will and given the capability, Iran can continue to make it very difficult for people to put shipping through there for some time, I think.

SANCHEZ: What do you think it would take to get those shipping lanes open again?

KENDALL: I think we're at a phase of this war right now where Iran has a lot of control over the timeline. As long as they're ready to absorb punishment and continue the kind of harassing fires that they've been sending, and including in the strait, they can keep that up, I think, for some time. You'd almost have to do a ground operation.

That's very difficult terrain. Again, it's a lot of terrain. We don't have a force in the region that could do that.

Just trying to suppress it from the air and from Naval vessels, I think, would have some degree of success, but not fully successful.

SANCHEZ: I also want to get your thoughts, Secretary, on CNN's reporting that the Pentagon seemed to underestimate Iran's willingness to close the Strait of Hormuz. They seem to think that it would be so costly for Tehran that it wouldn't be an option for them to pursue. Does that reveal to you just to the extent that the leadership is willing to go to keep a hold of power?

KENDALL: I've been looking at Iran's scenarios since the 80s or 90s. The threat that they could close the strait has always been at the front of the planning. I don't understand what led the administration to believe that a decapitation sort of attack that they launched was going to force capitulation.

There's really no basis that I can understand to believe that. The Revolutionary Guards had just suppressed a large-scale uprising, basically a protest. Done it ruthlessly.

They're entwined throughout the country in control. They have the weapons. And I think right now they're trying to teach us a lesson. They're trying to make sure we understand that we should not do this again.

SANCHEZ: Is there any scenario that you would see this operation as having been truly successful if the new Ayatollah, who is more hardline than his father was according to reporting, and now also probably hellbent on getting a nuclear weapon as an act of deterrence, would you see anything less than success if he is not removed?

KENDALL: There's a succession of people there. This is a regime which has a lot of members. They have a chain of command.

They can choose another leader. Just taking out the leader is not necessarily going to get you where you want. What we didn't have was somebody ready to take over that we had been in conversations with and we could support.

We may have had that in Venezuela, but we certainly did not have it in Iran.

SANCHEZ: Secretary Frank Kendall, thank you so much for joining us.

KENDALL: Thank you. Good to be with you.

SANCHEZ: Of course.

Still plenty more news to come this afternoon. A rabbi from the Michigan temple that was attacked yesterday joins us to discuss how the community is trying to move forward.

You're watching CNN NEWS CENTRAL. Don't go anywhere.

[14:40:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DEAN: Just into CNN, heavy barricades now blocking traffic outside Temple Israel. That's the Michigan synagogue where an armed man rammed an explosive packed vehicle yesterday. The FBI investigating that attack as an act of terrorism, calling it, quote, a targeted act of violence against the Jewish community.

And joining us now is Temple Israel Rabbi Jennifer Kaluzny. Thank you so much, rabbi, for being here with us. And we are so sorry.

And we stand with you and all the members of your congregation. I know you'll be coming together for Shabbat tonight. Tell people about the power of that unity and coming together, you know, some 24 hours after this horrific anti-Semitic attack on your synagogue.

RABBI JENNIFER KALUZNY, TEMPLE ISRAEL: We are all waiting to be back together and we are expecting a very, very large group of our congregants to be here this evening. Shabbat is a time for rest and a time for peace and coming together.

[14:45:00] And I can't imagine a time when we all need that more, rabbis included.

DEAN: That's right. You guys need it, too. And I think there's such power in being together.

And I'm glad that you all will get to do that tonight. I think everyone, too, so struck by the fact, and I know the Michigan governor talked about this earlier today, about how many children were there.

Obviously, you have an early childhood center where little kids go and learn and play. And these are children who were under attack yesterday. They smell -- you know, there was smoke, there were gunshots.

How are they doing today? How are their parents doing?

KALUZNY: So we've heard from many parents who want to reach out and thank the teachers over and over and over again, because the teachers were trained and they followed their training. And because they knew what to do and were able to do it, all of our kids came out happy and healthy. I watched a video from my colleague, Rabbi Ariana Gordon, who is the head of our education team of the kids singing the wheels on a bus in a garage where they were taken in the subdivision next door.

And they were singing Shabbat songs, getting ready for Shabbat. And I know that when I went to grab those babies and bring them across the street, we were talking about the clouds and the sun and the sky. And we did everything we could.

But it was truly a joint effort to bring everyone together and make sure that the kids were as safe as they could be. And we'd like to say it was a miracle. And in many ways, it really was a miracle.

But it was only a miracle because of our unbelievable security staff and our teachers.

DEAN: Yes, and the preparation that they have undergone and the training that they've undergone. And that you all feel like that's something that needs to be done right now. I mean, it also speaks to the world that we are living in.

I want to listen to something from Governor Gretchen Whitmer this morning. We'll just play a quick clip from her.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. GRETCHEN WHITMER, (D) MICHIGAN: This is not a political moment. This is not a political debate. This is targeting babies who are Jewish.

That's anti-Semitism at its absolute worst. And that's why we cannot lose sight of that. The importance of keeping everyone in Michigan safe by being responsible in how we talk about issues and how we treat one another.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEAN: And she and Senator Elissa Slotkin were also making the point that wherever the rhetoric's coming from, it doesn't matter, right, left, whatever, that anti-Semitism spreads online, radio, TV, wherever people are talking and foments. And people can then take those words, and it grows into action and that everybody has the responsibility to push back on that. How are you thinking about that in this moment?

KALUZNY: Unfortunately, the entire Jewish community, no matter where we are in the world, we have to plan for things like this. And we have to have the security, the training, the budgets in order to keep ourselves safe. And there is no doubt that misinformation, disinformation and just blatant anti-Semitism leads to attacks like this.

You know, we're just a community that loves our babies, loves our kids, wants to come together for holidays, wants to comfort each other when we mourn. We don't understand why anyone would choose us and our building and our babies to be attacked. And unless the temperature is cooled, unless the rhetoric is toned down, God forbid this is not going to be the end of these kinds of attacks.

And I have children. I want my children to live in a more peaceful world than that. I want my children to have the opportunity to sit in a synagogue where they don't have to go through a metal detector or there isn't a police car in front all the time.

I really believe we can we can get there. But until everyone agrees that we have to take the temperature down, that we have to look at each other as human beings, it's not going to happen.

DEAN: Yes. And I think if people haven't been to a synagogue or a Jewish place of worship or Jewish institution, maybe they don't realize that you're going through a metal detector in a lot of cases, that there are armed security guards or even police officers, members of law enforcement out there on regular days just because and that that is the reality, to your point. And lastly, I just want to come back to this this idea of Shabbat, of coming together.

Obviously, that will be really, hopefully healing for you all to be together. And it seems to me it will allow you to hold kind of those two things, which is the joy of being together, the joy of being a Jewish community with also, I think, the fear that you're talking about as well.

[14:50:00]

KALUZNY: We are so blessed to have incredible neighbors. We are back at the Kent -- the Chaldean Country Club where we took shelter yesterday. They are hosting us and we feel safe here.

We are taking as many measures as we would across the street in order that people feel comfortable and safe coming here. And they will. People have been texting us all day telling us how glad they are that we are having Shabbat services, that we can come together. And there is something about being able to look at each other face to face, to be able to hug each other. And we had our Torahs, our sacred scrolls taken out of the building today. And I got to hold one and I was in tears.

It was it was such an emotional moment. And we're keeping one of them with us during services so everyone can see it because it is that symbol of Am Yisrael Chai. The people of Israel live, our traditions live.

We're going to keep coming together. We're going to keep celebrating Shabbat. And that, yes, we may need security, but we need to keep coming together and supporting each other.

DEAN: Rabbi Jennifer Kaluzny, thank you so much. And we're all thinking of you. We appreciate it.

KALUZNY: Thank you.

DEAN: Boris.

SANCHEZ: Now, some of the other headlines we're watching this hour. Republican lawmakers in Florida have passed a bill requiring every voter's citizenship to be verified using government databases before they can cast their ballot. Proponents of the bill say Floridians already provide citizenship data to obtain a real I.D. and so they won't be adversely affected by the new rules. Democrats, though, argue that Republicans are seeking to disenfranchise young voters. The measure now heads to Governor Ron DeSantis's desk for his signature.

Also, the Big 12 making a court change ahead of the semifinals of its men's conference basketball tournament. The early rounds were played on glass floor with LED panels that some players complained was slippery. After consulting with the coaches, the conference decided to switch to a classic hardwood surface for the remaining games.

A glass floor was used for the NBA's 2024 All-Star weekend events. This is the first time that they were used at an official non- exhibition game in the U.S.

And Tinder is expanding its use of A.I. to improve the dating app experience. The company says their chemistry feature is going to curate recommendations for you based on Q&A and camera roll scanning. Tinder says this A.I. powered feature will ultimately deliver more personalized matches to their users.

So who will get one of these coveted golden statues over the weekend? After the break, we're going to go live the Oscars red carpet where Hollywood's big winners are going to be crowned. Stay with us.

[14:55:00]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DEAN: It is set to be one battle after another at the Academy Awards Sunday. Could Sinners or Marty reign supreme? And it will be in a ceremony unlike any other, with multiple races like best actor, best supporting actress and best supporting actor and best picture all considered to be quite tight.

A little unpredictable. CNN's Elizabeth Wagmeister is joining us now from the red carpet in Tinseltown. Elizabeth, good to see you. This is fun that we don't know the automatic ending to some of these categories.

ELIZABETH WAGMEISTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: That's right. This really is a wide open race in essentially every category except for best actress, which best actress everyone in town has been predicting from day one of the Oscar season that Jesse Buckley is going to win. Other than that, wide open race.

And it really is going to be a showdown between Sinners and One Battle After Another. Now, Sinners coming in with 16 nominations. That's not just the most nominations this year, Jessica.

It is an Oscars record. No film has ever had this many nominations in a single year before. So when it comes to the best picture race, it really does look to be neck and neck between Sinners and One Battle After Another.

But then also when you look at the best actor race, this was already a stacked race with all five really in contention. But the race actually got even hotter because Timothee Chalamet said something actually on our town hall with Variety, put his foot in his mouth. Let's take a look and then let me explain.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TIMOTHEE CHALAMET, BEST ACTOR NOMINEE: If people want to see it like Barbie, like Oppenheimer, they're going to go see it and go out of their way to be loud and proud about it. And I don't want to be working in ballet or opera or things where it's like, hey, keep this thing alive, even though no one cares about this anymore. All respect to the ballet and opera people out there.

I just lost 14 cents in viewership. But I just took shots for no reason.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WAGMEISTER: So those comments from Timothee Chalamet are really upsetting his fellow artists in the community. But here is the catch, Jessica. Those comments went viral after voting had closed.

So it looks like Timothee might sneak by. But I have to tell you, Michael B. Jordan, the race really seems to be heating up for him because he won the SAG award, which could be a good indicator of what could be to come this Sunday.

DEAN: And quickly, any bold predictions Elizabeth?

WAGMEISTER: Yes, so I'm going to stick on that best actor race. We are really only talking about Michael B. Jordan and Timothee Chalamet, but I think that we need to open up the conversation even more. I am calling it right here.

I would not be surprised if we had an upset and it was neither of them. And it was actually either Wagner Moura or even Ethan Hawke. So I'm telling you, Jessica, I'm usually good with predictions.

I have no idea what is happening.

DEAN: She's honest. Elizabeth Wagmeister, thank you so much. Good to see you.

END