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U.S. And Israel Attack Iran: Tehran Retaliates Across Middle East. U.S. And Israel Launch Attack On Iran; Iran Launches "Large- Scale" Drone Attack On Israel; Trump Pushing For Regime Change In Iran. Aired 9-10a ET
Aired February 28, 2026 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[09:00:31]
WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Happening now, breaking news. The United States and Israel attacking Iran overnight. Tehran quickly retaliating. The U.S. military and several countries in the Middle East now targeted by Iran. President Trump calling for regime change.
A major military escalation in the region unfolding right now. Straight ahead, we'll have all the latest reporting from the front lines.
Welcome to our viewers here in the United States and around the world. I'm Wolf Blitzer. You're in The Situation Room.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN Breaking News.
BLITZER: And we start the hour with the breaking news. Major combat operations now underway in Iran. The United States and Israel launching strikes across the country. President Trump calling for the Iranian people to overthrow their own regime. And Iran now retaliating across the region.
There's also new video coming in from the Israeli military purportedly showing a drone strike on missile launchers in western Iran. Just some of the hundreds of targets across the country. And take a look at the scenes of destruction in Iran's capital, Tehran. We're also told this is the square where the former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is known to live. Iran's state media reporting at least 57 students were killed in a strike that hit a girl's school in southern Iran.
CNN has not independently verified that. Sources saying this is just the beginning of several days of planned attacks.
This satellite image showing smoke billowing from the compound of Iran's supreme ayatollah leader Ali Khamenei. Sources say the Israeli strikes targeted several senior Iranian officials, but Iranian state media say they are just all safe. Blasts have also been heard in several other Iranian cities. The extent of the damage right now still unknown.
That's it. The sirens going off in Israel and Tel Aviv, Haifa, Jerusalem, as Iran responds with a large scale drone attack. Iran also launching missiles toward U.S. military targets across the Middle East. And U.S. embassies across the region now calling on Americans to shelter in place.
That's a missile heading near a U.S. Navy base in Bahrain. The home of the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet reportedly struck the service center for the Navy's Fifth Fleet. And these images, take a look at this from Qatar. You can see a missile fragment falling to the ground and exploding in Doha. President Trump announcing the strikes overnight while most Americans were sleeping, calling the operation, and I'm quoting him now, "massive and ongoing warning that American lives may be lost and calling on Iranians to take over their government."
We're going to play the president's message in its entirety right now. If you haven't seen it, even if you have, watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: A short time ago, the United States military began major combat operations in Iran. Our objective is to defend the American people by eliminating imminent threats from the Iranian regime, a vicious group of very hard, terrible people. Its menacing activities directly endanger the United States, our troops, our bases overseas, and our allies throughout the world. For 47 years, the Iranian regime has chanted death to America and waged an unending campaign of bloodshed and mass murder targeting the United States, our troops, and the innocent people in many, many countries.
Among the regime's very first acts was to back a violent takeover of the U.S. embassy in Tehran, holding dozens of American hostages for 444 days. In 1983, Iran's proxies carried out the Marine barracks bombing in Beirut that killed 241 American military personnel. In 2000, they knew and were probably involved with the attack on the USS Cole, many died. Iranian forces killed and maimed hundreds of American service members in Iraq.
[09:05:10]
The regime's proxies have continued to launch countless attacks against American forces stationed in the Middle East in recent years, as well as U.S. Naval and commercial vessels international shipping lands. It's been massive terror and we're not going to put up with it any longer. From Lebanon to Yemen and Syria to Iraq, the regime has armed, trained and funded terrorist militias that have soaked the earth with blood and guts. And it was Iran's proxy, Hamas that launched the monstrous October 7 attacks on Israel, slaughtering more than 1,000 innocent people, including 46 Americans, while taking 12 of our citizens' hostage. It was brutal, something like the world has never seen before.
Iran is the world's number one state sponsor of terror and just recently killed tens of thousands of its own citizens on the street as they protested. It has always been the policy of the United States, in particular my administration, that this terrorist regime can never have a nuclear weapon. I'll say it again, they can never have a nuclear weapon. That is why in Operation Midnight Hammer last June, we obliterated the regime's nuclear program at Fordo, Natanz and Isfahan. After that attack, we warned them never to resume their malicious pursuit of nuclear weapons.
And we sought repeatedly to make a deal. We tried. They wanted to do it, they didn't want to do it. Again, they wanted to do it, they didn't want to do it. They didn't know what was happening.
They just wanted to practice evil. But Iran refused, just as it has for decades and decades. They've rejected every opportunity to renounce their nuclear ambitions and we can't take it anymore. Instead, they attempted to rebuild their nuclear program and to continue developing long range missiles that can now threaten our very good friends and allies in Europe, our troops stationed overseas and could soon reach the American homeland. Just imagine how emboldened this regime would be if they ever had and actually were armed with nuclear weapons as a means to deliver their message.
For these reasons, the United States military is undertaking a massive and ongoing operation to prevent this very wicked radical dictatorship from threatening America and our core national security interests. We are going to destroy their missiles and raise their missile industry to the ground. It will be totally again obliterated. We're going to annihilate their navy. We're going to ensure that the region's terrorist proxies can no longer destabilize the region or the world and attack our forces and no longer use their IEDs or roadside bombs, as they are sometimes called, to so gravely wound and kill thousands and thousands of people, including many Americans.
And we will ensure that Iran does not obtain a nuclear weapon. It's a very simple message. They will never have a nuclear weapon. This regime will soon learn that no one should challenge the strength and might of the United States Armed Forces. I built and rebuilt our military in my first administration, and there is no military on earth even close to its power, strength, or sophistication.
My administration has taken every possible step to minimize the risk to U.S. personnel in the region. Even so, and I do not make this statement lightly, the Iranian regime seeks to kill. The lives of courageous American heroes may be lost and we may have casualties. That often happens in war. But we're doing this not for now, we're doing this for the future, and it is a noble mission.
We pray for every service member as they selflessly risk their lives to ensure that Americans and our children will never be threatened by a nuclear armed Iran. We ask God to protect all of our heroes in harm's way. And we trust that with his help, the men and women of the armed forces will prevail. We have the greatest in the world, and they will prevail.
[09:10:09]
To the members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard, the armed forces and all of the police, I say tonight that you must lay down your weapons and have complete immunity or in the alternative, face certain death. So lay down your arms. You will be treated fairly with total immunity, or you will face certain death. Finally, to the great, proud people of Iran, I say tonight that the hour of your freedom is at hand. Stay sheltered. Don't leave your home. It's very dangerous outside. Bombs will be dropping everywhere.
When we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take. This will be probably your only chance for generations. For many years, you have asked for America's help, but you never got it. No president was willing to do what I am willing to do tonight.
Now you have a president who is giving you what you want. So let's see how you respond. America is backing you with overwhelming strength and devastating force. Now is the time to seize control of your destiny and to unleash the prosperous and glorious future that is close within your reach. This is the moment for action.
Do not let it pass. May God bless the brave men and women of America's Armed Forces. May God bless the United States of America. May God bless you all.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Our team, our CNN team in the region and indeed across the world and has been following all the breaking developments since these strikes began a few hours ago. Let's go live right now to CNN's Paula Hancocks who's joining us from Abu Dhabi.
Paula, you and your teams are hearing new explosions where you are all the time, right?
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Wolf, there was another wave of incoming missiles, or at least we heard the blasts of what we assumed to be the interceptions by the defense here in the UAE. This has been happening for hours now. So we're certainly seeing no let up in the retaliation from Iran. We've heard from the Ministry of Defense here in Abu Dhabi saying that they have been intercepting missiles. They also say that one person has been killed by falling debris after an interception.
We've seen images of smoke near the Al Dhafra base here in Abu Dhabi as well. So potentially not all of those missiles were intercepted, but we're certainly seeing no let up in this retaliation. We've seen it as well in Doha, in Qatar. They just recently had another wave of incoming missiles. Officials there saying that they are intercepting them as they come in.
There are shelter in place, orders across the Gulf nations, airspace has been closed. We know in Bahrain, where the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet is based, that they have been targeted as well. And the same in Kuwait. We have heard reports in Jordan as well.
There is anger as well as concern amongst these Gulf nations that they have become targets themselves. Many of them had said to the United States they were unable to use their bases if they were going to strike Iran. They had said that their airspace must not be used as well. They wanted to put some distance between themselves and what the U.S. president was ultimately going to decide to do. We've heard statements, for example, from Saudi Arabia saying that they give the strongest condemnation of this blatant and cowardly Iranian attacks, also pointing out that there have been incoming into Riyadh and the Eastern Province.
Qatar has called it a flagrant violation of its national sovereignty. The UAE condemning and denouncing this as well in the strongest terms, the blatant Iranian missile attack. So there is concern in these Gulf nations who are unaccustomed to this level of intense missile attack, but there is also anger that they have found themselves on the receiving end of this as well. Remember back in June when the U.S. and Israel carried out those strikes on the nuclear facilities in Iran, it was Qatar only that was targeted, and that one was fairly restrained. That is not the case now.
Wolf.
BLITZER: Very quickly, before I let you go, Paula, are the folks there in Abu Dhabi where you are, are they pleased that the United States and Israel have launched this strike against Iran, or are they nervous and upset about it.
[09:15:04]
HANCOCKS: Publicly this is something they said they did not support at all. They have been calling since these incoming missiles happened as well for a return to negotiations, saying that this is not the way to solve anything. This is not a country that wants to see incoming missiles, that wants to see a continuation of war in the region. This is a country that wants to continue with economic prosperity, with trade, with international business. They do not want to find themselves in the midst of yet another war here.
BLITZER: All right, Paula Hancocks, stay safe over there. We'll be in close touch with you. Paula is in Abu Dhabi.
Our breaking news coverage of the airstrikes in Iran and the retaliation will continue. Iran launching drone attacks right now in -- at Israel in retaliation. We'll have a live report from there when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:20:03]
BLITZER: We're back with our major breaking news out of the Middle East. Right now, the United States military and the Israeli military have launched coordinated airstrikes against Iran. President Trump broke the news with a video posted overnight on social media. He called the operation, quote, "massive." And the president is also warning Americans there could be U.S. casualties.
Listen.
Sirens and explosions have been heard across Israel today as Iran launched several waves of retaliatory missiles towards the country. The Iranian military also says it has now launched its first large scale drone attack against Israel.
Want to go live to CNN's Jeremy Diamond, he's on the scene for us in Tel Aviv right now.
Jeremy, what's the latest on the situation in Israel right now?
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, over the last hour, Wolf, Israelis have been going back and forth between bomb shelters and their homes as we have had one air raid siren after the next. No reports so far of any significant impacts but it is clear that Iran is upping the pace of its ballistic missile attacks on Israel. For now, it appears that the majority, at least of those missiles have been intercepted by Israel's air defense systems, which are also currently being supplemented by U.S. air defense assets that were placed in theater prior to this attack taking place. That includes U.S. patriot missile defense systems as well as the THAAD high altitude air defense system. There is an aircraft carrier just off the coast of Israel that is also positioned to assist with air defense.
And so far it appears like that air defense is indeed largely holding up. But we are still really in the early hours of what is likely to be a very broad and very serious conflict in the Middle East that has now erupted over the course of the day since we learned this morning at 8:15 a.m. local time that Israel and the United States had begun striking Iran. We have seen the potential that this conflict has to really be very combustible and not just in the kind of traditional sense of an Israel, Iran tit for tat. We have seen these Iranian attacks that have taken place at U.S. air bases in the Gulf across the Middle East. And this does signal a much wider scope of a conflict certainly than what we saw back in June during the 12-day war between Iran and Israel.
Wolf.
BLITZER: I know Prime Minister Netanyahu just spoke a little while ago to the Israeli public. What was his bottom line message?
DIAMOND: Well, the Israeli prime minister, very similarly to President Trump, is making quite clear that these strikes are aimed at multiple layers of Iranian targets, Iran's ballistic missile program, its nuclear facilities, and also critically, at least on the Israeli side in terms of Israeli military action, they have also been targeting senior Iranian leaders, all with the goal here of clearly creating the conditions on the ground for regime change to take place. And we heard that message from President Trump, for example, who urged Iranians to take back their country effectively from the Iranian regime once U.S. strikes have concluded.
I've also been speaking with Israeli sources who are sounding quite optimistic about the likely success of their strikes on senior Iranian leaders. We know that Israeli officials have indicated that they targeted the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, but also a number of other senior Iranian officials, from the defense minister to Iran's military chief of staff, the commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps. And Israeli officials are telling me and my colleagues that they are feeling quite optimistic about the likely success of those strikes, although for now we're staying away from giving any specific names because there hasn't been an official assessment yet of the conclusiveness of some of those strikes.
BLITZER: All right, Jeremy Diamond on the seat for us in Tel Aviv. Stay safe over there. Thank you very, very much.
And joining us to talk a little bit more about these major developments is Barak Ravid. He's a CNN political and global affairs analyst and a global affairs analyst for Axios as well.
Barak, what more, first of all, are you learning about the objectives for both the U.S. military and the Israeli military with these clearly very coordinated attacks against Iran?
BARAK RAVID, CNN POLITICAL & GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Well, Wolf, I think there is -- the goals are more or less the same. There's one small but significant difference. The U.S. goals are degrading Iran's ballistic missile capabilities, taking out whatever is left of the Iranian nuclear program and taking out Iranian military capabilities. When it comes to Israel, it's more or less the same thing, ballistic missiles, nuclear sites. But there's also a bigger thing here.
[109:25:10]
And the Israeli goal, one of the Israeli goals is to create the conditions for the collapse of the regime. This is why the Israelis have been targeting for the last few hours, dozens and dozens of Iranian officials, both political and military, from the supreme leader down. And the Israelis hope that if they manage to take out enough leaders and manage to degrade enough of Iran's military capability, that could create the conditions for another uprising in Iran. And I think we could -- we could -- we saw both in Prime Minister Netanyahu's comments and President Trump's comments that they are urging the Iranian people to come out and overthrow the regime once the military activity is over.
I think President Trump even said it clearly. He said, now we're taking military action. He called on Iranians to stay home, to take shelter. And he said, when we're done, it's your job now to overthrow the regime.
BLITZER: What do you make, and I'm just curious about this as somebody who has covered U.S.-Israeli relations for a long time, what do you make of the fact that the U.S. military is now labeling this Operation Epic Fury, Operation Epic Fury, while the Israeli military is calling it Operation Roaring Lion? Do they always have different names for these kinds of coordinated military attacks? What do you think?
RAVID: Well, I think, Wolf, first, I really think what we -- what we saw in the last few hours is really unprecedented, that the U.S. and Israel would go together on a joint military operation against one of the biggest countries in the region. I think this is something that, until a few months ago, if I told you this, you would think I'm crazy. Since last June when we saw the first joint military action, but again, it wasn't in that big of a scope and size as we see now, it became more of a reality. But I think this is really unprecedented moment in history.
BLITZER: All right, Barak Ravid, as always helping us appreciate what's going on. Thank you very, very much.
And to our viewers, stay with us. We'll have much more on all the breaking news that's unfolding right now as the U.S. clearly initiates a military attack against Iran together with Israel that is likely to last at least for days, if not longer. We're going to hear the latest details to come out of the Trump administration. Straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:32:04]
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
BLITZER: We're following the major breaking news out of the Middle East right now. The United States and Israel launching a massive and coordinated attack against Iran. And now Iran is retaliating big time. The Israeli military releasing video of what it says is a drone strike on missile launchers in western Iran. Look at that.
In the capital of Tehran, a satellite image shows black smoke billowing from the compound of Iran's supreme leader, the ayatollah Ali Khamenei. And Iran's state TV has said the country's top officials are safe.
President Trump announced the mission overnight in a video posted on social media, and he's urging the Iranian people, once the dust settles, to take over their government.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: To the great, proud people of Iran, I say tonight that, the hour of your freedom is at hand. Stay sheltered. Don't leave your home. It's very dangerous outside. Bombs will be dropping everywhere.
When we are finished take over your government. It will be yours to take. This will be probably your only chance for generations.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLITZER: Iran is responding with drone and missile attacks on Israel and countries where the U.S. has military bases, including Bahrain. The president warning that American lives could be lost in this operation.
Responses are pouring in from lawmakers. We just got this here into THE SITUATION ROOM, the Senate majority leader, John Thune, saying in part, "For years, Iran's relentless nuclear ambitions, its expanded ballistic missile inventory, and its unwavering support for terror groups in the region have posed a clear and unacceptable threat to U.S. service members, citizens of the region, and many of our allies. Despite the dogged efforts of the president and his administration, the Iranian regime has refused the diplomatic off-ramps that would peacefully resolve these national security concerns. I commend President Trump for taking action to thwart these threats," end quote.
We have our CNN correspondents and analysts deployed around the world right now. They're following all of these important developments. Right now, I want to go live to our White House correspondent, Alayna Treene. She's in West Palm Beach, right near the president's Florida home at Mar-a-Lago.
Alayna, what are you learning, first of all, this morning, and will we hear directly from the president once again later today?
ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: So for the latter part of your question, Wolf, we are not currently expected, that's according to a couple of White House officials, say that they are not currently tracking or expecting the president to deliver another speech today. Of course, that can change. Everything that is happening on the ground in Iran and in the Middle East is developing and so they cautioned that that could, of course, change. But for now, he is not expected to give another speech. I should note he does have a -- he's scheduled to meet with the Super PAC MAGA Inc. later this evening.
[09:35:07]
So, unclear if we're actually going to have a chance to see him at all. But look, I think one of the big things from those remarks that we did hear from him discussed this morning I think were twofold. One is that he called this a massive and ongoing operation that is in line with what we are hearing from our sources. My sources tell me that this is likely to last several days. These attacks and then also pushing effectively for regime change in Iran.
I know that currently the president is at Mar-a-Lago. He's monitoring the situation while he meets with his top advisers. And they're trying to sort out now, you know, the continuing message they're going to deliver to many of his supporters who are wary of involving the United States in another protracted military conflict.
BLITZER: All right. Alayna Treene on the scene for us in West Palm Beach, not far from Mar-a-Lago, where the president is spending the weekend. Our thanks very much, Alayna, for that.
Joining us now, CNN military analyst Cedric Leighton. He's a retired U.S. Air Force colonel. He's joining us now. First of all, what's your reaction to the scope and the scale of this U.S.-Israeli strike?
COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Well, I think the Israeli strike and the U.S. strike combined with, with those seem to be quite massive because we've got several cities in Iran that are actually being impacted by this, Wolf. And not only is Tehran and targets like the senior leaders' compound being impacted, but we also have places like the holy city of Qom, Khorramshahr, and some other places.
So, this is a major development. And what it could signal is that they're trying to roll up the regime as much as possible using air power. As we've discussed before, it's a limited option that they have but it is the one option that they're using right now both the Israelis and the Americans. And that's going to have an impact on exactly how this unfolds.
BLITZER: Two Israeli sources familiar with the operation tell CNN that the strikes targeted senior Iranian figures. That includes Iran's supreme leader, the ayatollah, president -- and its president and the armed forces chief for that matter as well. Does that align with the goal of taking out Iran's nuclear capabilities?
LEIGHTON: Not necessarily. And, you know, sometimes when you take out the leadership of a country, then all of a sudden you don't have people that you can negotiate with, and that could be a problem. But it seems like we're not on that page anymore where we're not negotiating a nuclear deal with the Iranians. We basically want to eliminate their nuclear program by force. That's at least seems to be the direction that we're going right now.
And in this particular case, the decision seems to have been made to not only eliminate the nuclear program but also to eliminate the leadership that sponsored that program.
BLITZER: And I'm sure when the U.S. and Israel launched these strikes, they anticipated there would be massive Iranian retaliation.
LEIGHTON: I believe they did. I don't know if they anticipated the exact scope of the -- of the Iranian retaliation because there's been some significant -- there have been some significant attacks in the gulf states and in Israel. Most of the ones that we know about so far have been thwarted by the air defense and missile defense assets.
But the goal of the Iranian attack, especially with the drones is to overwhelm the Israeli air defense system and by extension, the American ones. So, that's -- it remains to be seen how effective everything is. But so far, so good, at least on the Israeli side of things.
BLITZER: All right. Colonel Cedric Leighton, thank you very, very much. We're watching all of these developments in our coverage of the breaking news. We'll continue this morning. What will be the diplomatic ripple effects around the region to come from the strikes in Iran.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:42:36]
BLITZER: A missile fragment falling to the ground and exploding in Doha, the capital of Qatar. It's part of the retaliation from Iran after the U.S. and Israel launched a massive and ongoing military campaign across Iran. U.S. embassies across the region are now telling Americans to shelter in place. And just in the state department is now urging all U.S. citizens in Lebanon to get out while commercial options are still available.
So many airports in the region are shutting down. Airspace is closing up, including at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv and Israeli airspace for that matter as well. Lets' bring in CNN global affairs analyst Kim Dozier. Kim, the president has called for Iranians to take charge right now and overthrow their government. What are the prospects of that?
KIMBERLY DOZIER, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: Really hard to do when you're facing an organized, entrenched military that not only is heavily armed and very well trained, but also is knit into the fabric of the country's industries, et cetera. Now, we saw a strike on Ayatollah Khamenei's compound. We've seen video of that. There are reports from various media outlets in Israel that rescuers are digging in the rubble, but we don't know if Ayatollah Khamenei was killed.
There are other reports that he was whisked away to safety before the strikes. However you work it out though, we're looking at a period of chaos depending on who was killed and who remains in contact with the levers of power and with access to heavy munitions.
BLITZER: There's a report now that the Saudis are saying that Iran launched a strike against some targets outside of Riyadh.
DOZIER: Yes. It is not clear exactly what was targeted, but the U.S. military training mission is on the outskirts of Riyadh. So there are targets that would have significance connected to the U.S. attack on Iran. You know and initially, it seemed like Saudi Arabia had been left out, that the recent diplomatic engagement between Saudi Arabia and Iran had saved it from targeting. But now it seems like Iran is lashing out at any area where the U.S. is based.
BLITZER: So you can add Saudi Arabia to the list of other Arab countries in the region that have received attacks, retaliatory attacks from Iran, attacking U.S. bases or U.S. troops in those countries, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, Jordan and Kuwait.
[09:45:11]
And now you can add Saudi Arabia to that list. That's a pretty -- a pretty hefty list.
DOZIER: Yes. And we're only on in the first hours of day one. The U.S. has said this is going to last for several days. The Iranians have always been known for having a network across the Middle East, but also having sleeper cells in places like Europe that intelligence analysts have warned in the past they might trigger an existential crisis like this.
Similar warnings were given in the first Trump administration when they targeted the head of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Soleimani and took him out. After that there were plots against people like Ambassador Bolton and Brian Hook, one of the main Iran officials of that time. But this is different. This is a threat to the regime's existence. So, they might enact more plots faster just to strike back while they're still in power.
BLITZER: Yes. So this thing is, I suspect, at an early stage. It could really escalate and explode even a lot more.
DOZIER: Yes, that's the Pandora's box of a situation like this. Intelligence briefers may have told President Trump, we think the Iranian regime is brittle and could collapse. But they don't know what a regime pushed against the wall for survival will do.
We also don't know if they've taken certain figures out, perhaps like Ayatollah Khamenei. Will there be some sort of fight for the crown among those who survived?
BLITZER: Yes. And I think the fact that the Iranian regime, the republican guard and all, slaughtered so many thousands of Iranian -- fellow Iranians, protesters on the streets of Tehran and elsewhere, that has played a significant role in all of this.
DOZIER: Yes. It shows how brutal they're willing to be to stay in power. Intelligence officials prior to this have predicted that the most likely scenario is that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps asserts its power and that Iran becomes far more authoritarian if they manage to stay in control.
BLITZER: Kim Dozier, as usual, thank you very, very much. We'll continue this conversation down the road to be sure. We're following all the breaking news this morning. The United States and Israel launching strikes, coordinated strikes against Iran, and Iran retaliates as President Trump is now calling for regime change in Iran.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:51:45]
BLITZER: Sirens and explosions heard across Israel today in Tel Aviv, Haifa, even in Jerusalem as Iran fires waves of missiles in retaliation to joint U.S. and Israeli strikes. The Iranian army also says it's launched a large scale drone attack on Israel. President Trump calling the strikes on Iran a massive operation with the goal being to force regime change in Tehran.
I'm joined now by Daniel Shapiro. He's the former U.S. ambassador to Israel. Ambassador Shapiro, thanks so much for joining us.
I understand you are now in a shelter in Tel Aviv. What caused you and your associates to go to the shelter? What happened?
DANIEL SHAPIRO, FORMER U.S. AMBASSADOR TO ISRAEL: Thanks for having me, Wolf. So, early this morning, for the first time, a siren sounded and where I was staying we all rushed to a shelter. That's now happened about seven or eight times today here in central Israel. The last one, which just occurred a few moments ago, was followed by a series of boom.
Sometimes you (INAUDIBLE) which is an interception of an incoming missile. And earlier in the day, we heard one or two of such booms. But in the last round we heard over two dozen.
So, it seems that the Iranians have changed their tactics as the day has gone on from individual or small numbers of missile attacks to at least the last one being a larger salvo, which they've used in the past to try to saturate and penetrate Israeli air defenses. BLITZER: Do you get a sense that the Iranians and their missile attacks, their drone attacks, are going after specific Israeli military targets or just launching them to kill people and destroy as much as possible?
SHAPIRO: It's impossible for me to know from the places I've been able to be today exactly what they're targeting. In the past they have put a lot of emphasis on military targets, intelligence targets, but some civilian targets. There are still buildings destroyed in central Tel Aviv from the war last June.
So -- and because Israel is a small country and a lot of civilian population lives alongside various other installations and these missiles are not that accurate. It's entirely possible that they could shoot for a security target and hit an apartment building or a neighborhood.
So, they're probably going to cause as much damage as they can, given the pressure they're under from combined U.S. and Israeli strikes that the president announced this morning.
BLITZER: Clearly, a lot of targets for the Iranians in the Tel Aviv area. And good luck over there. Just stay safe.
What do you think regime change in Iran potentially could look like? Do you see a clear path to who might actually take over if there is regime change?
SHAPIRO: I think this is one of the big question marks hanging over what the president announced last night. First of all, I think many Americans probably woke up this morning surprised to discover that were at war in the Middle East, something the president said he was going to try to avoid. And he really didn't do very much to prepare the public or discuss with the public what his strategy was, what the goal was, why it was imminent, and why it was necessary to take this action now. He mentioned what we know very well about this terrible Iranian regime, its nuclear program, ballistic missile program, its abuse of its own people, and its sponsorship of terrorism.
[09:55:04]
But why now? And it was surprising to me that he laid the predicate that the goal of this is regime change, because that is not something that can be done just by airstrikes. What he said, and he's probably right about this, is that only the Iranian people on the ground are going to be able to overthrow the regime and replace it with something else, but replace it with what?
Most intelligence experts who you consult with suggest the most likely near-term replacement for the current regime is a military dictatorship under the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. Beyond that, it's a big question mark. Whether there is a sufficiently consolidated opposition, whether it could be done peacefully or democratically, whether different splinter groups, ethnic or regional splinter groups might try to break away from the main state. So, it could be a very chaotic situation even if the president's goal of regime change is successful.
BLITZER: Ambassador Dan Shapiro, thanks very much for joining us. Stay safe over there.
SHAPIRO: Thank you, Wolf.
BLITZER: And our breaking news coverage of the military strikes on Iran will continue right at the top of the next hour. The U.S. and Israel launching a massive and coordinated attack. We have details. We'll be right back.
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