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Iran Strikes Southern Israel; Mass Casualty Event Declared; Trump Threatens Iran If Hormuz Not Opened In 48 Hours; Israel - Strikes On Iran To - Increase Significantly - This Week; Trump Threatens To Send I.C.E. Agents Into U.S. Airports; Iran - Southern Israel Strike Targeted Nuclear Facilities; IDF Pressing Ahead With Operations Against Hezbollah; Emergency Crews Rescue Hundreds After Major Flooding On Oahu; Aired 3-4a ET

Aired March 22, 2026 - 03:00   ET

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

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BEN HUNTE, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Hello. I'm Ben Hunte in Atlanta. Donald Trump is now threatening an enormous attack on Iran's energy infrastructure. That's if Tehran doesn't allow free navigation through the strategic Strait of Hormuz. The U.S. President posted this warning to his Truth Social account just hours ago saying, if Iran doesn't fully open, without threat, the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours from this exact point in time, the United States of America will hit and obliterate their various power plants starting with the biggest one first.

President Trump's comments come after Iran launched its most devastating attack on Israel since the start of the war. Tehran launched back-to-back strikes on Southern Israel. Meanwhile, Israel says the strikes by its military and the U.S. will increase significantly this week. CNN's Eleni Giokos joins us live from Dubai. Thanks for being with me again this hour, Eleni. Appreciate it.

On President Trump's latest comments, he's issued a 48 hour ultimatum to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, threatening strikes on Iran's power infrastructure. How seriously is that being taken all across the Gulf?

ELENI GIOKOS, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: I think very seriously because one of the biggest issues that President Trump has right now is the rising oil price, and that's having a quite a big economic impact not only domestically in the U.S., but you're seeing fuel shortages in many countries around the world. So opening the Strait of Hormuz that has frankly been weaponized since the start of this war is going to be a big priority for him.

We've been hearing inconsistent messaging in the past 24 hours. The first message was we're going to be winding things down according to President Trump, and then you see this ultimatum coming through and specifically saying the power plants are what at stake.

You -- we -- I was looking at what Iran's response has been in Iranian media saying that Iran is going to also target energy infrastructure around the region. So remember, whatever happens in Iran, the Gulf region is bearing the brunt of that and specifically focusing on energy, information technology, desalination infrastructure as well, and anything related to the U.S. will be targeted.

Interestingly, in terms of the Strait of Hormuz, Iran also responded to that saying they are willing to cooperate with International Maritime Organization and saying they will allow vessels through the Strait of Hormuz that are not linked to the enemy. But the vessels and all other vessels will have to ensure that they negotiate security and safe passage.

Now we've actually heard this messaging from Iran quite a few times over the past few weeks, but here's the reality. Over 20 vessels have been targeted in and around the Strait of Hormuz since the start of the war. And just this morning, off the coast of Sharjah here in the UAE, another vessel was impacted by a non-owned projectile that caused a fire. So, again, this whole notion of just striking and focusing on U.S. and Israeli vessels, that is basically loosely applied. If you see how many tankers and how many vessels, including cargo ships have been impacted better.

HUNTE: And let's talk about Israel as well because after the latest Iranian strikes hitting inside the country, what are we learning about the scale and impact of those attacks, and how significant is this moment in terms of what could happen next?

GIOKOS: It is significant. I mean, we've seen, the breaching of Israeli air defenses a few times since the beginning of the war. And when I look at these images, and they're very dramatic, it's in the city of Dimona, and it's very close to Israel's nuclear facility, a nuclear program, and that's why it is of concern.

If you look at the damage to this one story building, a missile slammed into its security as well as rescue operators say that 20 people were injured, including one 10-year-old boy. But it is causing a lot of concern in terms of what comes next and just, of course, how much military firepower Iran still has in its arsenal to inflict this kind of damage. Iran says that it's in retaliation for Israel striking its nuclear facility, Natanz.

And you're seeing a lot of this back and forth, frankly, of retaliatory strikes into the region depending on what Iran experiences and, of course, the threats that they view on their infrastructure, Ben. But the point is that what we've been seeing over the past few weeks, everyone's asking the question, what is the timeline here? Has, Iran's military been degraded? How much firepower do they have left? And it's a big question and one perhaps that will remain unanswered for quite some time.

HUNTE: So many questions at the moment. Eleni Giokos in Dubai, thank you so much. We appreciate it.

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We're now joined by Mehran Kamrava. He's a Professor of Government at Georgetown University in Qatar. Thank you so much for being with me, sir. We appreciate it. We are now into the fourth week of this war. When you look at where things stand at the moment, do you see either side moving closer to a strategic objective, or are we simply just watching a conflict that's widening without any clear endgame?

MEHRAN KAMRAVA, PROFESSOR OF GOVERNMENT, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY IN QATAR: I'm afraid, we are witnessing, a conflict that continues to escalate. Every day, we're surprised by yet another red line being traversed. And now we are looking at this threat from President Trump saying that Iranian energy facilities and power plants will be hit, and Iran has in turn threatened to hit energy facilities, here in the Persian Gulf region. And if either side carries out that threat, then we're really looking into the abyss, I'm afraid.

HUNTE: We have now seen Iranian missiles hit Southern Israel close to Israel's nuclear research center. What's the significance of Iran choosing that specific area?

KAMRAVA: Well, up until now, Dimona has been off limits to the Iranians. The Iranians are fully aware that Israel has nuclear weapons and that it has at times, implicitly and indirectly threatened to use its nuclear weapons on its adversaries. And so the hitting of Dimona is yet another one of those red lines. We saw that in the 12-day war back in June 2025, the Iranian state very clear of Dimona. And now here, they have demonstrated to the Israelis and to the Americans that not only do they have the capability of hitting the city of Dimona, but also the willpower to do so. And that is yet another one of those red lines that has been passed within the last 24 hours or so.

HUNTE: Iran has threatened and targeted Gulf energy after strikes on its own gas facilities. What message is Tehran trying to send by putting the wider Gulf economy in play here?

KAMRAVA: Well, Iran is trying to spread the pain and to impress upon the states of the Gulf Cooperation Council that their close security alliance with the United States comes with a cost. As far as Tehran is concerned, these states here in the GCC are closely allied with the United States and are actual staging grounds that American military bases are used in the war against Iran. And so what Iran is trying to do is to demonstrate that alliance with the United States actually works to the detriment of the GCC rather than to their benefit.

HUNTE: After weeks of Israeli and U.S. strikes on Iranian military, nuclear, and energy linked sides, how degraded is Iran's military potential at this point, and what does it still retain that could seriously escalate this conflict even further?

KAMRAVA: Ben, that's an excellent question, and I don't think anyone really has the answer to that. And the reason is that we assume this would be or at least the United States and Israel assume that this would be a quick war that decapitation would result in so called regime change or at least a mass uprising and divert Iranian attention.

And as you mentioned, four weeks into it we see that the Iranians can still pack a punch. And so the question is, to what extent can Iran sustain this? We see that they continue to surprise observers by attacking or at least trying to attack Diego Garcia, which is thousands of miles away from Iranian territory. Now they've attacked Dimona in Israel, and they've been able to breach the Iron Dome repeatedly.

And so the question is how long can Iran sustain this? The revolutionary guards a couple of weeks ago said that they could sustain this for six months. Now whether or not they can be taken at their wart is a different question. But so far, their resilience has proven, very surprising.

HUNTE: We've got about a minute left. I want to get one more question in. You are joining us from Doha, and Qatar has obviously been hit directly and in fact impacted by this conflict. What's the mood there this morning, and how much fear is there that the Gulf is being pulled into a much broader war?

KAMRAVA: There is tremendous anxiety and angst, in what is otherwise one of the world's safest countries and Doha being one of the safest cities in the world.

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And if indeed water desalination plants are hit, then we're looking at complete disruption of the normal routine of life here in the region and in Doha in particular.

HUNTE: OK. Well, thank you so much for that, Mehran Kamrava, in Doha. We appreciate your time. Thank you so much.

KAMRAVA: Thank you, Ben.

HUNTE: The conflict has, of course, caused oil prices to skyrocket sending shockwaves through the global economy. Brent crude futures now stand at more than $106 a barrel. That's a small retreat from Friday when they closed over $112, the highest level since July of 2022. West Texas Intermediate is currently more than $98 a barrel. Iran is keeping the strategic Strait of Hormuz largely closed, even though it's used for transporting about one-fifth of the world's oil. About 15 million barrels usually pass through the waterway per day.

The war is causing what some economists call a black swan event. It's an economic shock that no one can see coming, but it's so destructive that it affects absolutely everyone. As we're about to see millions of lives in Asia are upended because of a conflict, but they actually have nothing to do with.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a shock to the system in Asia. The chokehold in the Strait of Hormuz blocking most fuel and energy imports from The Middle East to Asia. Normally, more than 80 percent of the tankers in the waterway carrying crude oil and liquefied natural gas would be bound for Asia, but barely anything is moving now.

Some countries like China, Japan, and South Korea have sizable oil stockpiles to help offset shortages. But other Asian nations only have a month or two of fuel in reserve, and for them, it's crisis mode. There are long lines for gas, particularly across Southeast Asia, where there has been panic buying and a surge in gas prices. The cost of petrol jumping more than 20 percent in Vietnam on Friday.

In Pakistan, a similar price hike at a time when many people were traveling for Eid al Fitr. Some people say they can barely afford increasing bus fares.

JAHAN ZEB, PAKISTANI LABORER (translated): Look, I'm a poor laborer. Apart from this expense, I have to go further. I have to buy clothes, et cetera for the children. So much money has been spent on bus fare. I don't understand what to do next.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: High costs also forcing some migrant workers in India to head home. These workers in Gujarat, India's textile hub, say they don't know when they'll return because cooking gas isn't affordable, if it can even be found.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (translated): We are returning to our village. For five days, we didn't have gas. The company we work for is also about to be shut down. So what can we do? We are starving to death.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Other countries are limiting some official operations to cut energy costs. Sri Lanka says it's closing its government institutions on Wednesdays, but says ports and hospitals will still function normally. The Philippines has switched many of its government offices to a four-day work week, and Bangladesh has closed universities to conserve electricity and fuel. Airlines too are feeling the pinch. The price of jet fuel is skyrocketing, taking ticket prices with it. And with fewer routes available as airlines avoid war zones, tourism could suffer.

Thailand's tourism ministry estimates it could lose over $1 billion if airspace closures last eight weeks. As the war stretches on, economic hardship will expand because what happens in Asia will certainly impact the rest of the world.

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HUNTE: President Trump is threatening to send I.C.E. agents into airports if a funding deal to end the partial government shutdown isn't reached. The shutdown has caused a TSA staffing shortage as workers have gone over a month without pay now. This has led to long lines at airports all across the U.S. It's not clear what role I.C.E. agents will actually have, but Trump says he plans to send them in on Monday.

Democrats have condemned that threat as negotiations with the White House and senate Republicans do continue. CNN's Julia Benbrook has more on President Trump's plan to potentially use I.C.E. agents at airports across the United States.

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: President Donald Trump says that if an agreement isn't reached to fund the Department of Homeland Security, that he is sending immigration and customs enforcement agents to airports to "Do security like no one has seen before." Now I want to pull up one of his post on this where he looks to blame the lapse in funding fully on Democrats as Americans continue to feel the impact.

He said this in part. If the Democrats do not allow for just and proper security at our airports and elsewhere throughout our country, I.C.E. will do the job far better than ever done before.

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Adding, I look forward to moving I.C.E. in on Monday and have already told them to, and then in, GET READY, NO MORE WAITING, NO MORE GAMES.

Now it's unclear what function these I.C.E. agents would play as they're not trained in airport security. It is possible that they could step into a more limited role like managing lines, while TSA agents do the crucial airport screening. And this comes it's important to note as I.C.E. agents in general have been a key part of this argument for funding. Democrats have been withholding their votes to fund DHS as they want to see reforms to immigration and customs enforcement. Those negotiations are still ongoing, but Democrats have said that the White House has yet to make any real concessions.

Now we have reached out to DHS and the White House for more information on Trump's social media post. Traveling with the President in Florida, Julia Benbrook, CNN.

HUNTE: Well, on this, early I spoke with Paul Schmick. He's a former Specialist at the Department of Homeland Security and the current Chief Security and Technology Officer at Alliance Security. I asked him about the TSA staffing shortage and the strain it's putting on the system. Have a listen.

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PAUL SCHMICK, FMR. SPECIALIST, U.S. DEPT. OF HOMELAND SECURITY: This one feels a little different. I think in the layup here, we're looking at I.C.E. agents, coming into airports, on as soon as this coming Monday from the administration release today. Very dangerous. I.C.E. agents have already been stretched that department. And to have them in an airport setting doing property searches, physical searches, I just don't think is a good idea for the TSA and as an asset to help expedite the screening process that I know that it's become unreasonable at this point.

So again, think it looks a little different this time, and hopefully this can be settled soon because I do believe that the agency at this point is in a position of fatigue.

BEN HUNTE, CNN ANCHOR AND CORRESPONDENT: Lawmakers are meeting at a moment to try to break the deadlock over funding. From your experience, how closely do airport operations now depend on whether those talks actually produce a deal in the next 24 to 48 hours?

SCHMICK: They ultimately will because what we're seeing is that just to go back to my position on fatigue is the department is getting tired. You could see it. Hundreds of callouts, resignations ultimately by the day and they're going to be pointed I believe lawmakers in a position of desperation. Also over the last few days looking at potentially closing and moving assets. Those are physical assets, human assets, TSA agents from smaller airports to larger airports. And I just think this will again become unreasonable for the traveling public.

So I'm going to say at this point where we are 37 days in. We're approaching a point of recklessness and there's going to come a point of desperation where a deal is going to have to be made, because it's just going to become just too untenable for the traveling public to live in the environments when they're trying to travel hours and hours of delays without the security risks.

So what I want to definitely underscore for you -- for the viewers are nobody's really talking about the traveling risk to the public in a system that wasn't that's not operating as designed. So there are definitely some increased risk, I would say for travelers as this goes forward.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HUNTE: Iran's Islamic regime has arrested dozens for what it caused spreading rumors online. After the break, we'll speak to the Founder of news site IranWire about the regime's human rights abuses against anti-government demonstrators. See you in a moment.

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HUNTE: Iranian authorities have arrested 25 people for what they call spreading rumors online according to state media. These latest arrests come just days after Iran publicly executed three men tied to nationwide anti-government protests earlier this year. Those protests erupted over economic turmoil and anger at clerical rule within the country. Human rights groups say thousands were killed as authorities moved to crush the demonstrations.

U.S. President Donald Trump had used the regime's treatment of these protesters as a justification for military intervention in Iran, vowing to protect protesters and come to their rescue. As of now, nearly four weeks into Trump's war with Iran, that vow remains unfulfilled. For more, I want to bring in Maziar Bahari, Journalist and Founder of IranWire.

Thank you so much for being with me, sir. The war has transformed the environment inside Iran with new arrests, executions linked to earlier protests, and a much heavier security presence. So how has that changed the willingness or even the ability of ordinary Iranians to protest right now?

MAZIAR BAHARI, JOURNALIST AND FOUNDER OF IRANWIRE: Well, at the moment, many Iranians who dared to protest, two months ago, in December 28th -- on December 28th when in thousands of people came to the streets to protest against the government's economic policies, and then the protest turned into protest against the regime itself. Many of those people, they do not come out because they don't know what the regime is going to do.

The regime is very scared. It's very insecure. And like any other institution that is not securing its position, it's very dangerous at the point -- at this point. So they are going they don't know whether the regime is going to incarcerate them, torture them, or even sentence them to execution.

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Last night, ministry of intelligence at the intelligence unit of IRGC, the revolutionary guards sent a message to millions of citizens all across Iran saying that you should not follow, "antirevolutionary sites and Zionist sites, including Iran International, which is a satellite channel." And they said that at this time in a war situation, you would be persecuted heavily if you continue to follow this.

So, people are still in shock because of the massacre that happened in earlier this year in January and also because of the ferocity of the bombardment since, February 28th. So many people don't know what they're going to do. But even if the Islamic Republic wins this war according to whatever, they say they win or if they are defeated, the economic problems that resulted in people coming to the streets on December 28th is not going to -- go to going away. This regime is going to be a corrupt regime. There will be nepotism. There will be economic mismanagement. And this is a regime that could not provide the basics for the people six months ago.

People did not have enough electricity all around the country. People did not have proper drinking water in many parts of Iran. And I don't think that winning or losing this war is going to change that. So people will come to the streets one way or another, but at this point in time, people are just waiting for the regime for the situation to settle down and see what the regime is going to do.

HUNTE: In moments of external conflict, governments often try to use nationalism and fear to suppress the set, but war can also deepen anger at leadership. Which of those forces do you think is stronger inside Iran today?

BAHARI: Well, there are three kind of -- at least there are three kinds of Iranians. There are -- Iran is a country of 90 million people, and there are maybe 95 million different opinions about different things. But from my conversation, extensive conversations with different people in Iran, I can say that there are at least three different kinds of people. One are people that I would describe as well done Bibi. Bibi meaning that Benjamin Netanyahu. They think that Netanyahu and Trump are their saviors, and they're going to destroy this regime, and they're going to install a new regime or they help people to bring a new regime to power, most probably, Prince Reza Pahlavi. Excuse me.

There is another group of people who are government supporters. They are people who voted for a very con -- 13 million people who voted for very conservative candidate two years ago in a Presidential election. And even if we say that 10 percent of that 13 million people who voted towards Saeed Jalili, they still support the government, and I think it's more than 10 percent. So that's a sizable number of adults in Iran who support the regime. They come to the streets. They come to the protest, and they man the checkpoints.

And then we have millions of silent ordinary Iranians who just want to live. They just want the government to let them alone. They want to do their jobs. They want to provide for their families. They want to have a normal life without persecution, without the morality police, and without the foreign, intervention and bombing. And those are the people that I think any government that deals with the Iranian regime and, they're trying to somehow change the situation in Iran, they have to think about because those people, they want some sorts of order.

They want to have an idea of an order. They want to see a light at the end of the tunnel, because for the past 47 years with this government in power. Every day, ordinary people, they have had to deal with hardship. They have had to deal with turmoil. They have had to deal with nuclear negotiations, protests, killings, massacres, et cetera. So the majority of Iranian people, they're still silent. They are watching all this bombing and horror. They are watching people being incarcerated with her, and they don't know what to do.

So I would say that the majority of Iranians, they just want to have a normal life like most people all around the world.

HUNTE: I've got about 20 seconds. I just want to ask you one more if that's OK. What you genuinely expecting to see happen next?

[03:30:00]

BAHARI: It's very difficult to predict because there are so many different factors, but mostly it will depend on how, what President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu are going to decide. But most probably, we will see this regime survive for a while. But then they will have to wait for protests, because it will still be a very corrupt mismanaged regime.

HUNTE: OK. We'll see what happens next. Maziar Bahari, thank you so much for joining us. Appreciate it.

BAHARI: Thank you.

HUNTE: Still ahead, Iran is responding to Trump's threat to hit and obliterate, "Its power plants if Tehran refuses to reopen the Strait of Hormuz by his deadline." See you in a moment.

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HUNTE: Iranian media is reporting that Tehran will target U.S. infrastructure in the region if its power plants are attacked. It comes after President Trump threatened to hit and obliterate Iranian power plants if the Strait of Hormuz is not reopened by Monday. Iran effectively closed the vital waterway at the onset of the war, which has sent fuel prices soaring worldwide.

Iran says their Natanz uranium enrichment facility was targeted in a U.S.-Israeli strike on Saturday. Iranian state media reports the site was hit, but say there are no radioactive leaks and no danger to nearby residents. The UN's nuclear watchdog says it's looking into the reports, but also has detected no increase in radiation. Israel's military said it's not familiar with any attack on the facility.

President Trump is threatening to send I.C.E. agents to U.S. airports if there isn't a funding deal to end the partial U.S. government shutdown.

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This comes as a shortage of TSA workers is causing long lines at airports. It's not clear what the ace I.C.E. agents will actually do, but Trump said he intends on having them at airports on Monday.

We are following the latest developments in the U.S. and Israel's war with Iran. Iran launched its most devastating attack on Israel since the start of the war. More than 70 people are wounded after an Iranian missile hit the city of Arad in Southern Israel on Saturday. Officials have declared the attack a mass casualty event. Meanwhile, Israel says that strikes by its military and the U.S. on Iran will increase significantly this week.

President Trump is threatening to hit and obliterate Iranian power plants if Tehran does not reopen the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours. We're joined now by Jonathan Conricus, former IDF spokesperson in Tel Aviv and senior fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracy. Thank you so much for being with me, sir.

On the latest strikes, we are seeing Iranian missiles hit Southern Israel with dozens injured and at least some projectiles not being intercepted. What are you hearing about how this attack unfolded?

LT. COL. JONANATHAN CONRICUS (RET.), FORMER IEF SPOKESPERSON: Yes. Thanks for having me on. I'm hearing that the Israeli Air Force, which is also in charge of the air defense, is investigating, trying to ascertain how that missile slipped through and delivered more than half a ton of explosives into a densely populated urban area, another attack by the Iranian regime against Israeli civilians. I'll just for reference here say that all of Israel's casualties in this war against Iran are civilians. Those that have been killed, murdered by Iran, by their missiles that they're firing at Israeli civilians, and those have been wounded. Not a single soldier has been wounded by Iran, and that again goes to show what the Iranians are aiming for and what they really are trying to do.

HUNTE: We know at least some of these missiles landed close to Israel's nuclear research area. How concerning is that from a security standpoint?

CONRICUS: It's concerning, obviously, anytime that an objective the size of a bus with half a ton or a ton of explosives penetrates your air defenses and explodes anywhere, that is of course of concern. Any significant security facility wherever in Israel has additional layers of hard and soft defense. But it is, of course, concerning that the Iranians have been able to they've fired already a few hundreds of missiles against Israel. The success rate of interception is very, very high.

The combined effort of U.S. and Israeli and other air defense systems. But unfortunately, and this has been said by Israeli authorities all throughout, unfortunately, we can never promise 100 percent even though Israeli air defenses are probably best in the world. 100 percent is never obtainable. Special targets, special security infrastructure for instance, in Haifa, we know that the Iranians have been firing at our oil refinery and they've been trying to hit oil and gas infrastructure. Those -- all of those attacks have been thwarted, and all of those incoming ballistic missiles have been thwarted.

So it's a high percentage, and what Israeli authorities tell Israeli people whenever you hear alarms, go to the shelters because we cannot assure 100 percent.

HUNTE: Just wondering from a civilian perspective, with dozens injured, homes hit, fires reported, what does this do to the public mood in Israel right now, especially in the South as people are waking up?

CONRICUS: Yeah. Of course, it's, you know, it's been three weeks for Israeli civilians of millions, many times a day rushing in and out of bomb shelters. I think, I would be dishonest to say that it doesn't affect Israelis. It does. And there is fatigue on the civilian side as well. I'm sure that many civilians would want this to be over and done with. But then on the other hand, Israelis are quite tough and resilient people. We've been through this before.

It isn't, unfortunately, a new reality for Israelis to have to rush to bomb shelter because someone is firing bombs at us, whether it's Hezbollah, Hamas, Iranians, Syrians, Iraqis, or Yemenites. It's -- it matters less, which Muslim or Arab is firing the missiles. It matters more what Israelis can do to defend themselves. And I would say that when you look at public sentiment as reflected in social media, media, and a few polls.

[03:40:00]

Israelis are strong, resolute, and I think many Israelis believe and hope that this round of fighting, this campaign against Iran will be different in the sense that it will change the trajectory and the security situation long-term and not have to return to these endless attacks by different Iranian funded terror organizations around us, whether it's Hamas or Hezbollah or the Iranians themselves, and hopefully really change the security situation. And if that is attainable, then I think Israelis are going to be able to put up with even more, and of course, hoping that air defenses will be even tighter and that civilians will be disciplined and actually take shelter when the alarms sound.

HUNTE: Do you think that this could mark a new phase in the war, one where Iran is able to land more direct and damaging blows inside Israel?

CONRICUS: No. I don't think so. That's the number one question I've been asking and got answers from the IDF and other authorities. I don't think that's the case. What I do think is something that people should be aware of is that Israel and the U.S. enjoy full freedom of action to strike any target that we want or see necessary and fit in Iran. And up until now, the U.S. and Israel have -- not have decided not to strike a lot of targets that are of national and civilian and economic importance.

But if these targets are struck in Israel by Iran, then of course Israel will retaliate in kind and I can assure you and everybody what Israel will do with precise munitions and delivered by pilots, not fired far away by missiles, but delivered by pilots is beyond recognition, anything much more precise and lethal than what the Iranians can do.

Israel has been holding back. Israel is holding back, not wanting to do long-term economic damage or environmental damage to Iran. Iranians, on the other hand, are firing missiles at civilian infrastructure and trying to kill our civilians, trying to hit our gas, electric, and other types of infrastructure. If that unfortunately succeeds, then Israel, I think will retaliate, and that will be an escalation.

HUNTE: Yes. Indeed. These are very scary times. So thank you for going through it with us. Jonathan Conricus, we appreciate it. Thank you.

CONRICUS: Thank you.

HUNTE: OK. Israel is ramping up its operations against Hezbollah in Lebanon too. Ahead, we'll look at how much the militant group has been degraded. Stay with us in a moment.

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HUNTE: Israel says it has launched multiple waves of strikes in Lebanon this weekend targeting key Hezbollah command centers. Israel is pressing on with airstrikes and ground operations as the humanitarian situation goes from bad to worse.

More than a million people in Lebanon have been displaced by this conflict, which is almost one-sixth of the population. More than a 1,000 people have been killed, including over 100 children. That's according to Lebanese health officials.

Israel says it's targeting Hezbollah militants across the border as they repeatedly fired rockets into Israel. The IDF says those operations could continue even after the war in Iran.

Let's now head over to London where we're joined by Fawaz Gerges, a Professor of International Relations at the London School of Economics. He's also the author of the book, The Great Betrayal: The Struggle for Freedom and Democracy in The Middle East.

It is good to see you, sir. Thank you for being with me. Israel says its operation has significantly reduced Hezbollah's missile stockpiles. So how degraded is Hezbollah really right now? What do you think?

FAWAZ GERGES, PROFESSOR OF INTL. RELATIONS, LONDON SCHOOL OF ECONOMICS: Well, I mean, Israel says many things, but the reality is very different on the ground. Hezbollah is resisting. Hezbollah is resilient. Hezbollah continues to represent a major threat to Israel's military operations in the south of Lebanon.

And in the past few days, we have seen some very intense battles on the ground between Israel ground troops in South Lebanon and Hezbollah. So the reality is, this is a very moving target. Things are in flux, and I expect that Israel continues to escalate. And there is plenty of evidence that Israel is planning a much wider ground operations in the next few days and next few weeks.

HUNTE: It's very scary to hear that when we're reporting on a humanitarian situation as it currently stands. Hezbollah has historically been able to regroup and rearm. So is this just a temporary setback, do think?

GERGES: Well, I mean, look, Hezbollah has been degraded a great deal, its military capabilities. But Hezbollah is not just a military organization. Hezbollah is a political and social movement. It's deeply entrenched in the social fabric of Lebanon. It has widespread support among the Shia community, among many Lebanese as well. So the only way for Israel to really eliminate Hezbollah is to occupy most of Lebanon is to go back to the 1982, 2000 in which Israel occupied large parts of Lebanon.

And this is a very, very serious scenario for Israel because Israel does not really seem to have learned the lessons from its past operations in South Lebanon. And that's why the Lebanese government is offering a diplomatic solution. The Lebanese President, Joseph Aoun, has proposed direct talks with Israel, the first ever uttered by a Lebanese President, yet the Israelis have not responded to President Aoun's initiative. They want to really basically, what they're trying to do is to increase the pressure on both Hezbollah's popular support and the Lebanese government.

They really want the Lebanese government to surrender and talk to Israel while Israel conducting large scale operations in the south.

HUNTE: You kind of just talked about it there, but what we're seeing continued Israeli strikes across Southern Lebanon and beyond. What does that tell us about Israel's real objectives at this stage? What about a minute left if you can sum up for us?

GERGES: Well, if I tell you, if I really sum up Israel's strategy in the past few days in two words, collective punishment.

[03:50:00] Israel's blanket evacuation orders, as you just suggested, basically displaced more than 1 million people. Think about the population of Lebanon. It's about 6 million people. More than 1,000 people have been killed. More than 2,500 being killed including 20 percent of those killed are children. And Israel targeted 147 medical and health facilities in the past few days according to health officials in Lebanon. So Israel does not really distinguish between civilian and military targets even though it claims that it does.

And that's why Human Rights Organizations and the United Nations officials are terribly, terribly concerned about the massive humanitarian situation in Lebanon. I don't think Israel appreciates that its mission to eliminate Hezbollah is almost an impossible mission --

HUNTE: Yes.

GERGES: -- because the only way for Israel to really eliminate Hezbollah is to occupy all of Lebanon, and we know it cannot do so. And it tried so between 1982 and 2000, and it failed.

HUNTE: OK. I'm going to have to leave it there, but thank you so much for us, Gerges. We appreciate it. Thank you.

GERGES: Thank you.

HUNTE: And we will be right back.

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[03:55:00]

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HUNTE: Emergency crews in Hawaii's National Guard have been carrying out hundreds of rescues across the island of Oahu after a powerful storm dumped up to three months of rain in just 24 hours. Some stranded people had to be helicoptered from rooftops as flooding cut off roads and engulfed homes. More than 70 people, including a number of children were airlifted from a youth camp after they were trapped by rising water.

And now to March Madness as teams tip-off for a shot at the sweet 16, the third round of the U.S. college basketball championships. Saturday's showdown between 4-seed Nebraska and 5-seed Vanderbilt came down to the final seconds. This driving layup by Braden Frager puts the court huskers on top 74 to 72. Vandy tried to land a half-court shot at the buzzer but couldn't get it to fall. Nebraska now advances to the sweet 16 for the first time ever to face either the top seeded Florida Gators or 9-seeded Iowa. Meanwhile, number 11-seed Texas Longhorns became the first double-digit ranked team to advance to this year's sweet 16. This after an upset over 3-seed Gonzaga. A late 3 pointer by the Longhorns gave Texas some momentum with just 30 seconds left in the game.

Despite pressure from the bulldogs, Texas would close out the game 74 to 68. They now await either the University of Miami or Purdue. America thanks for joining me and the team. I'm Ben Hunte in Atlanta. I'll be back with you at the same times tomorrow. See you then.

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