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Platner Holds Town Hall After New Allegations In NYT; Trump: Iran Has Agreed Not To Acquire Nuclear Weapons; 11 Cities Ramp Up Security For World's Biggest Tournament. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired June 07, 2026 - 15:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: New episode drop daily on the CNN app.

[15:00:05]

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST: Hi, hello again everyone. Thank you so much for joining me this Sunday. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

All right, right now, all eyes are on Maine. In just hours, the state's leading Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, Graham Platner, will hold a town hall with voters as new scandals threaten to engulf his campaign.

Platner has denied being aware of the Nazi ties to a tattoo that he once had and admitted to sexting other women while married. He is also defending himself against a "New York Times" report detailing allegations of unsettling and toxic behavior in his past relationships.

All of this, as voters in Maine prepare to head to the polls on Tuesday to determine whether the embattled candidate is their pick to take on Republican Senator Susan Collins.

Joining us right now to share her insights into this critical race, reporter for "The Maine Morning Star," Emma Davis.

Emma, great to see you.

EMMA DAVIS, REPORTER, "THE MAIN MORNING STAR": Great to see you.

WHITFIELD: So what should we be watching for at Platner's scheduled town hall tonight?

DAVIS: Yes, so, I mean, we got a sense of what the town hall tonight may look like with his town hall previously on Friday, up in Bar Harbor. And from the looks of it, from the large, enthusiastic crowd, you probably couldn't really tell the scandals that have been going on this past week. They looked a lot like his town halls have since the start of his campaign.

WHITFIELD: And does it look like those who have been in support of him are unshaken by these reports that have come out about his relationships with past girlfriends or, you know, cheating on his wife or even the tattoo that he says he didn't really understand the origin of it. DAVIS: I'd say average voters I've spoken with are mixed, but overall, the latest accusations don't seem to be changing their calculus one way or the other.

The recent accusations, of course, are new, sure, but the fact that Platner has a messy past is not. Voters have been considering that generally since very early on in his campaign. So after the latest from those I've spoken to, at least, his supporters are dug in more and his skeptics are perhaps even more skeptical.

I mean, a lot of voters in Maine, too, are thinking about the larger stakes of this race. I know a lot of people who perhaps are going to vote for Mills in the primary or even lesser known Democrat, David Costello, but that they say they will back whoever the nominee is ultimately in the general.

All right, well, listen to what some Democratic lawmakers have been saying, including at least one who talked to our Manu Raju earlier today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MANU RAJU, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Are you concerned about Platner's viability, given all these controversies?

SEN. CATHERINE CORTEZ MASTO (D-NV): Well, I can tell you, at the end of the day, I have concerns like some of my colleagues.

RAJU: Are you concerned about his viability as a candidate?

SEN. PETER WELCH (D-VT): That's going to be up to Maine voters. You know, we haven't even had the primary yet.

RAJU: I mean, Janet Mills is suspending her campaign. Do you think she should unsuspend her campaign?

WELCH: She is still on the ballot.

SEN. JOHN FETTERMAN (D-PA): She is the sitting governor and upstanding as a committed Democrat. You know, and it seems like the only thing wrong with her is she happens to be 78.

RAJU: Are you still supporting Graham Platner?

SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D-NY): As I said, I endorsed Graham Platner. We are going to take back -- we are going to beat Susan Collins and take back the Senate.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So how influential are these Democrats on a national level as it pertains to this race?

DAVIS: Well, I mean, I guess I'd say in terms of -- Platner you're asking or in terms of the Democrats who just spoke? WHITFIELD: Well, those Democrats were speaking about Platner and whether he has a viable chance to take on Susan Collins, their concerns about whether Susan Collins is going to keep her seat, their concerns as expressed about these allegations.

So how influential are what those lawmakers have to say to Maine voters as they head to the polls on Tuesday?

DAVIS: Yes, I mean, I guess I'd say I mean, I think Maine voters themselves will decide for themselves. I don't know if they're looking to their state Democratic leaders for advice.

I know, at least when I've spoken to several this past week, they have urged more of a focus on what Platner's policies are, or perhaps even talking about Susan Collins' record. So I think, we are seeing voters consider more their own priorities how -- what they want to see in an elected official. I think there has also been, of course, understandably, a lot of focus in this race on tensions within the Democratic Party.

But there is also another bloc of voters that could be consequential on Tuesday, and especially later in the general election, and those are voters that are unenrolled with a political party. Now that bloc, Democrats and Republicans each make up roughly a third of registered voters. And Maine started having semi-open primaries in 2024.

[15:05:07]

So that means Independents can vote in the Democratic Senate primary if they so choose to and we have seen historically that these unenrolled voters have a really big impact on general elections. Even last time Collins was up for reelection, she, of course, drew a lot of support from Republicans, but also from unenrolled voters.

WHITFIELD: Well, this will be an intriguing Tuesday.

Emma Davis, thank you so much.

DAVIS: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right, and a reminder to our viewers at CNN, we will have live coverage of Tuesday's primary in Maine and other races in Nevada, North Dakota and South Carolina. That starts at 7:00 P.M. Eastern, right here on CNN.

All right, new today, President Trump declaring that Iran has agreed not to pursue nuclear weapons as part of a potential peace deal with the U.S. Trump also revealing more details on why he demanded changes in the language of the proposal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: They have conceded the fact that they will not have nuclear weapons. We had a clause in there that we will not develop nuclear weapons, and everybody was very happy with it except me. And I said, well, what happens if they not develop, but they go out and purchase, they acquire? I want to put the word if they buy or purchase or acquire, you know, you've got to have that in there too, because that's not developing.

So they don't have the right to develop or purchase, acquire or buy.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: In a wide-ranging interview with NBC News, Trump also said the U.S. has no plans to unfreeze Iranian assets or lift sanctions as part of any agreement. It has now been 100 days since the start of the war with Iran.

CNN's Julia Benbrook is near President Trump's New Jersey golf club, where he is spending the weekend.

Julia, this isn't the first time the President has said this about Iran and nuclear weapons or a potential agreement.

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No, it is not. We've heard him say in several recent interviews that Iran has agreed not to pursue a nuclear weapon. He is providing a bit more insight with these comments on some of the specific language, though that is being considered. Some important context, though, here is that this language would not be entirely new.

In fact, the Obama era nuclear deal in 2015, the JCPOA, which Trump has been highly critical of in its first paragraph, stated this: "Iran reaffirms that under no circumstances will Iran ever seek, develop or acquire any nuclear weapons."

So it is unclear how that language that Trump is considering would be different. It is also unclear at this time how, if the United States and Iran will be able to come to an agreement to end this conflict.

In a recent interview with CNN, a top Iranian official said that the negotiations were at a deadlock and that that was partially over $24 billion in frozen nuclear assets -- frozen Iranian assets, excuse me, and that they warned of the potential for a wider war here.

Now, in this recent interview with NBC's "Meet The Press" with Kristen Welker, Trump touched on a number of the top topics here, including how long this has gone on. As you pointed out, this is the 100th day, a hundred days since those first joint U.S.-Israel strikes against Iran and throughout this process, Trump has thrown out a number of different timelines, but has continued to say that this conflict is going to end soon.

He is now pressing back against any criticism for how long this has gone on, saying that things like this take time, sometimes even years to resolve.

Welker also pressed him on the possibility of getting some U.S. troops out of the Middle East. Thirteen U.S. service members have been killed in connection with this conflict, so she pressed him on the 50,000 troops that are deployed to the Middle East right now. Does he have plans on bringing any of them home? And he essentially said, no, he does not have plans to do that right now. He may need to use them at some point. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: It costs us very little to keep them there. I don't consider them in danger. We have the best defense anyone has ever seen. We have the best offense anyone has ever seen. So I don't consider it a danger.

I would say it would be foolhardy to do that, because maybe we may use them. It is unlikely, but I think we will keep them there until such time as we have a completion.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BENBROOK: And during that interview, Trump pressed back on an assertion that he had broken a campaign promise, saying that related to keeping the United States out of new military conflicts. He said, "First of all, I didn't guarantee no war," adding, "Why would I have built the strongest military in the world?" -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, Julia Benbrook, thank you so much.

All right, still to come, with the World Cup just days away from kicking off across North America, an enormous security operation is moving into place.

We will show you the unique challenges of protecting the world's biggest sporting event.

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Plus, new Waymo incidents are raising new safety questions and intensifying scrutiny over self-driving cars. CNN looks into the problems that are worrying government officials as the company seeks to expand into more cities.

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WHITFIELD: All right, the biggest sporting event on this planet is the World Cup, and it comes to North America beginning this week.

For the first time ever, three countries are playing host and the field is larger than ever before, expanded to the national teams of 48 countries. The U.S. will host a majority of the matches in 11 different cities from coast-to-coast.

We will see millions of international visitors with a unique passion for soccer, football, all of which brings a substantial security challenge.

CNN's Ryan Young has more. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARKWAYNE MULLIN, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: Through 11 different cities, we are going to have 78 Super Bowls in 38 days.

RYAN YOUNG, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Across the U.S. and Canada and Mexico, this year FIFA World Cup on tap to be the largest tournament in history.

With stadiums averaging nearly 70,000 seats, organizers expect the event to draw five million fans. That will also mean intense security. Some recent unprovoked attacks give people reason to worry.

In Los Angeles, where the U.S. tournament kicks off, police say someone stabbed and beat a 70-year-old woman back in March, leaving her with a broken neck. Not far away in Long Beach, California last month, police say another woman was stabbed and left hospitalized. And last week in Atlanta, police say a woman was fatally stabbed on a train operated by MARTA, the city's public transportation line.

In months past, the Transportation Department called for improved safety measures in cities to include Chicago, D.C., , New York, L.A., Charlotte and Philadelphia.

Now, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy wants an investigation in Atlanta, saying, "Every American should be disturbed by the horrific crimes we have seen on MARTA in the last month."

YOUNG (on camera): There is a big focus on safety and whether or not MARTA can meet the need when it comes to all the international guests that will be coming to town, and some things have really frightened people in the city, especially a deadly stabbing that happened just last week having people asking questions: Is MARTA safe enough and ready for the World Cup?

GARY GALE, ATLANTA TOURIST FROM CALIFORNIA: I think there should be extra security for sure on a day to day basis, especially with the World Cup coming up.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Traveling alone would not be an option right now for me on MARTA.

MORGAN BANDERLINDEN, ATLANTA RESIDENT: Safety is an issue for sure --

YOUNG: Okay.

BANDERLINDEN: -- based on what happened last week. So definitely hesitant, but still doing it. It'd be great to see a little bit more security on the trains.

YOUNG (voice over): MARTA continues to tell its riders this system is safe.

SCOTT GRAHAM, MARTA POLICE CHIEF: This was a senseless crime and violence would not be tolerated on MARTA. YOUNG (voice over): Atlanta Police recently ran a mass casualty training exercise showing the public just how prepared they are. And from the feds --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: FBI Atlanta will lead drone ground intercept teams around stadiums and fan fest locations.

VINCE VELASQUEZ, RETIRED ATLANTA POLICE OFFICER AND SECURITY CONSULTANT: The fans are going to come in and enjoy this World cup experience and not have an idea of all the security measures that are going on.

CHIEF JIM MCDONNELL, LOS ANGELES POLICE: Let me be clear, anyone who seeks to turn the celebration into chaos, who threatens the safety of our residents or visitors or who comes here intending to commit crimes, you will find no refuge in this city.

YOUNG (voice over): Ryan Young, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right, for more perspective on this, I want to bring in CNN's senior national security analyst, Juliette Kayyem.

Juliette, always good to see you.

So describe for us kind of the level of cooperation and coordination that needs to happen ahead of a global event like this. Multiple cities, multiple agencies.

JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: To give people the sense of the World Cup, people who don't follow the sport, FIFA anticipates five billion people will be watching. This is like one in every one-and-a-half people that exists right now is going to be at least watching one game.

Three countries, 16 cities, six weeks, four time zones, this is big and what it means, I have a part of this as well, what it means is every jurisdiction is focused on its events. The challenge, of course, is threefold. One is, these are big events that are going to be high profile. If someone wants to do damage, they will likely look to these events. The second is you've got -- how do I put this nicely? You've got soccer fans, you've got football fans. They are different.

WHITFIELD: A lot of excitement.

KAYYEM: And then other fans. That's exactly right. They are excited.

WHITFIELD: Right.

KAYYEM: And so -- and because of the nature of how FIFA chooses who advances, these cities don't know who is coming. Unlike a Super Bowl, which you're going to know weeks in advance what teams are coming, they don't know who is coming to their stadiums until the next round, and therefore who is following. And then the third is just like, this is a long time to keep a security apparatus engaged. Most cities drop out relatively early, you know, I was looking at the calendar by early July, it is just in the U.S., a week later, it is really only in a few cities, but that's exhausting for these security apparatus.

[15:20:07]

WHITFIELD: So it will be a real test, not just for, you know, manpower, but also for technology, because I understand Boston Dynamics, I mean, it is a robotics company said that its robot dogs will actually be deployed around the World Cup venues to assist in security personnel. I mean, how different is security going to look to people? Because oftentimes the idea is to not really see security working, but the eyes are on everybody, in this case --

KAYYEM: Yes.

WHITFIELD: -- I mean, that's hard to miss.

KAYYEM: That's exactly right. So there is going to be -- there is a whole apparatus people are not going to see and you can guess what they are and that's at the local, state and federal level. The federal government has been very engaged. The Department of Homeland Security, very engaged on this front.

You have a challenge, though, which is, of course, these are fun events, and so the more you have a security overlay, the harder it gets. It is what we call secure flow.

So there is just a tension about getting people in, getting people seated. I am going to be going to a couple of matches. You're getting all sorts of alerts, like, you know, give yourself a lot of time to get in.

I will say for people who are nervous, one of the benefits of the World Cup is not only that this has been planned on the security side for a long time with a federal overlay, but there is no new construction. And what that means is, look, Gillette Stadium outside of Boston, we are holding football games all the time. So, it is not like an Olympics where they might build a whole bunch of new things, and no one is quite sure how they work, these are built.

And so from my perspective, you do have (AUDIO GAP), you have worries about drones and the federal government has pushed out a lot of money and technology to help, whether it is just a jerk putting up drones or nefarious, but I would say people in the security apparatus are very ready for the potential of everything from drones to -- I just came in from outside to a heat wave -- all of them are safety issues that are being planned for.

WHITFIELD: All right, so that's the football madness. You know, what about the NBA madness tonight, let's say in New York City --

KAYYEM: I know. WHITFIELD: -- because you've got the Knicks playing against the Spurs, and the President will be there, too. Okay, so you know Secret Service, a major city like New York, they know what to do and how to handle a presidential visit. But, you know, this is really just ahead of also the city hosting World Cup. Excitement and passion.

So how does all this blend together?

KAYYEM: Yes, this is a little bit different because the President is, you know, not terribly popular in New York City, I would say, you know, that's fair to say. And so you have a political overlay, which I would say FIFA has been trying to avoid. We've got some politics with the Iranian team. The United States should let the entire team in. And, you know, this is now getting silly and petty.

In New York, you're going to have American citizens who have a right to protest, right to heckle. That's all going to happen. No one should be surprised about it. That's America. But what you do have on the security overlay, and I think the Secret Service, and unfortunately, this just has to happen given that Trump is coming, is, they are going to basically control the outer perimeter, that means New Yorkers are going to be -- not going to have the experience that they want, including the watch parties. You'll have watch parties elsewhere. That's the price of having a President visit one of these.

I hope, it is the only one, because I do think regardless of who the President is, this would happen in any situation. It is just an increased burden. And unless absolutely necessary, like an Olympics, generally, presidents do -- sitting presidents avoid things like that because of the burden on safety and security.

You really don't see sitting presidents come to events like this for that reason. So, you'll see the mayor adapt. I think he did the right thing, however reluctantly, in terms of closing those watch parties nearby and then maybe open up more watch parties outside of the secure zone.

WHITFIELD: All right, Juliette Kayyem, always great to have you. Thank you so much.

KAYYEM: Going to be a summer, we will have that!

WHITFIELD: Yes, it is indeed. It has already started. Thank you.

All right, this breaking news out of Israel where it is believed that Iran has launched missiles toward the country.

CNN's Jeremy Diamond is in Tel Aviv for us.

Jeremy, what more do you know?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Fred, this is major breaking news.

Iran has now fired at least two waves of ballistic missiles towards the state of Israel, sirens sounding in Northern Israel tonight, including in the city of Haifa. We have no reports of impacts as of yet. But make no mistake, this marks a major escalation, the first time that Iran has fired missiles towards Israel since the ceasefire took effect in April.

[15:25:10]

It follows hours after Israel carried out strikes in the Lebanese capital of Beirut, targeting Iran's proxy there, Hezbollah. Iranian officials over the course of the last week have warned that any Israeli strikes on Beirut would be considered a major escalation and would have grave consequences. That was the warning from Iran's Foreign Minister.

And now, hours after Israel did indeed decide to carry out strikes in the Lebanese capital, Iran has chosen to fire missiles at the state of Israel. The question now is what happens going forward? The Israeli Prime Minister is indeed holding a situational assessment as we speak, meeting with his top security officials.

I would say that it is very likely that Israel will carry out a response to this ballistic missile attack from Iran, and where do things go from there? Because, again, over the course of this ceasefire, while we have seen sporadic fire around the Strait of Hormuz between the United States and Iran, we have not seen this level of attack from Iran or from Israel, should Israel decide to carry out strikes inside of Iran tonight.

But make no mistake, Fred, this is showing that there is a real risk of this region tilting back towards all-out war. This was a scenario that it seemed like many parties in the region were trying to avoid. There was negotiations. There was diplomacy between the United States and Iran. President Trump repeatedly promising that a deal was almost at hand. But now Iran firing missiles towards the state of Israel, Israel very likely to retaliate. Where things go from here will determine the future of this region -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: Yes, indeed. All right, Jeremy Diamond, keep us posted.

We will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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WHITFIELD: All right, we continue to follow breaking news just into CNN. The Israeli military has said it detected incoming ballistic missiles from Iran for what appears to be the first time since early April. The military sent alerts warning of incoming fire to residents of Northern Israel.

CNN's Jeremy Diamond is back with us now from Tel Aviv. What more can you tell us -- Jeremy.

DIAMOND: Well, once again, Fred, over -- in the last two minutes, we just got another early warning of ballistic missiles being fired towards Northern Israel. This is at least the third wave of Iranian ballistic missiles that is now being fired. All of those waves, it is important to note, are being fired towards Northern Israel, not Central or Southern Israel, which we know Iran also has the capacity to reach.

And so what you can read from that is that there is a clear message that this is connected to what Israel has done to Lebanon, targeting Hezbollah in the Lebanese capital of Beirut.

Northern Israel is also where Hezbollah has fired rockets towards Israel as well, which the Israeli government said prompted its strikes towards the Lebanese capital. But what we know over the course of the last half hour, we have seen a major new escalation in this conflict. The first waves of Iranian ballistic missile fire towards the state of Israel since April, since the ceasefire went into effect between the United States and Iran, a ceasefire that included Israel as well, by proxy, and was also meant to have included the Lebanese front as well.

But what we have witnessed over the course of the last week has been Israeli attacks in Lebanon, continuing Hezbollah rocket fire toward Israeli troops in southern Lebanon, and also earlier today, Hezbollah fire towards Northern Israel.

And subsequent to that was Israeli fire towards the Lebanese capital of Beirut. And the Iranians had warned earlier this week that if Israel targeted the Lebanese capital, then there would be grave consequences for that, effectively warning about the potential resumption of war between the two countries.

Now, we don't know where this is headed. It is very likely that Israel will retaliate for this ballistic missile fire with strikes on Iran, but we do not yet have that confirmed as of yet. What happens next remains to be seen. Will this be a kind of limited tit-for-tat between these two countries, or will this tilt this region once again towards the kind of all-out war that we had before that April ceasefire went into effect.

WHITFIELD: And then, Jeremy, were those missiles intercepted that Israel says were fired from Iran?

DIAMOND: Well, so far we don't have any reports of any actual impacts. We know that there are instances where these missiles can be intercepted. Sometimes you have missiles that fall in open areas where they are intentionally not intercepted, because they are not expected to hit any population centers in Israel. And then what we've also seen over the first two months of this war was Iran's use of cluster munitions as well, which were very difficult to intercept, but resulted in these smaller bombs being dispersed, oftentimes over populated areas, causing damage, sometimes causing injuries and even fatalities. But by and large, if people are in shelters, they will be safe from those cluster munitions.

So far, we haven't seen any reports of interceptions, any reports of injuries. I am checking again right now as I am speaking to you, Fred.

[15:35:00] But what we've heard so far from Magen David Adom, Israel's Rescue Service as of -- this was 15 minutes ago now -- they said that they had not received any calls to their Dispatch Center and that they would provide further updates if necessary.

And as I am speaking to you now, Fred, again, that third wave that I was talking about, where we got the early warning for Northern Israel, there are now air raid sirens going off across Northern Israel, south of the city of Haifa, still in Northern Israel, but those -- but a different area than was targeted earlier in the night.

I can show you briefly on my phone here, you can see some of these alerts beginning to go off. This is the area where those alerts sirens are going off, warning again of incoming Iranian ballistic missiles.

WHITFIELD: Okay, Jeremy diamond, thank you so much. Be safe. We are going to take a short break and we will get back to you right after this.

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WHITFIELD: All right, we continue to follow breaking news just into CNN. The Israeli Military has said it detected incoming ballistic missiles from Iran on what appears to be the first time since early April.

With us now is CNN military analyst, retired Air Force Colonel Cedric Leighton. Great to see you, Colonel. So what does this mean, in your view, as it pertains to a ceasefire that started somewhere in April?

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Yes, somewhere in April, Fred, and I think that's going to be, you know, perhaps something that we look at in our rearview mirrors as being, you know, kind of a path that we would like to see repeated.

But now what we are dealing with, I think, is possibly a rupture in that ceasefire and I think it is -- you know, we may be looking at Iranian reaction to the Israeli attacks on Hezbollah in Lebanon.

So the Iranians have never been pleased with the fact that the Israelis were going after the Hezbollah targets in Lebanon and that may have precipitated this action on the part of the Iranians. And this I think what we are looking at here is perhaps a very high volume of attacks, and if that is the case, then it is pretty definite that the ceasefire is at the very least in danger and may be over if that is, in fact -- if that in fact does turn out to be true.

WHITFIELD: All right, Jeremy had just reported moments ago that this was the third wave of Iranian missiles. Is that considered high volume that you speak of?

LEIGHTON: I would say so, yes, absolutely, Fred, I think what you are looking at here is, you know, when they do one-off missiles that go after certain targets, say, in the Persian Gulf region, like the attack on the Kuwait Airport, that is a discrete attack.

This, right now is an attack that involves a lot of volume. We don't know yet exactly how many missiles, but a third wave indicates that they are trying to overwhelm the Israeli air and missile defense system, the Iron Dome and the David's Sling and the Arrow Systems. So those systems are, you know, definitely in play right now. They are definitely being used to try to protect Israel and Israeli installations from these Iranian attacks.

But this whole Iranian idea of basically overwhelming these air and missile defense systems is predicated on the fact that Iran basically wants to take this war to Israel, and that is where I think this is headed, and this could have significant implications for any effort to start peace negotiations or to make that ceasefire more permanent.

I think that's something that we are -- you know, is now in the past is kind of in the rearview mirror at the moment.

WHITFIELD: So right now, we understand that the targeted area involve Northern Israel, what will you be watching for, I guess in the, you know, in the coming moments, because we don't know how long this could, you know, carry on. But what will you be looking for that might indicate something about, you know, Iran's strategy here? Or if this is a prelude to something else?

LEIGHTON: Yes, I think what we will have to see is what kind of targets they are looking at. So what Northern Israel -- targets in Northern Israel tells me is that they are going after the Israeli Military units that are directly involved in activities in Lebanon. So, that would mean all the IDF Army Units that are stationed along the border. They don't want to hit targets in Lebanon, probably because of the fact that they could potentially hit Lebanese civilians, so that may limit their ability to hit targets in that area.

But they are definitely looking at, I would presume at this point that they are going after supply depots, communications links, command and control nodes that the Israelis have in that area, and that's a significant escalation. But, it would not be as much of an escalation if they limit it to that particular area and they don't go after other targets like command and control centers for the entire Israeli Defense Force.

So if they go after those targets, which would be in the Tel Aviv area, that would then indicate that, you know, we are getting into an all-bets are off kind of situation. I don't think we are there yet based on what we see so far, but if the targets expands beyond Northern Israel, then I think we might get to that point.

[15:45:10]

So I think we are at, you know, a dangerous juncture at this moment, and I think it is something where this could rapidly escalate into something that would involve perhaps an Israeli response on Iran against Iranian targets by the Israelis themselves.

And if that happens, then this could really spiral out of control if it is not contained.

WHITFIELD: And in the world of both diplomatic and military strategies, when this is happening on the heels of the President of the United states talking about, you know, progress being made with its peace deal with Iran or saying it is hopeful. The latest words coming from the President was, you know, we are close. Is this Iran's way of speaking a little bit louder, more vociferously, in a different way about where things stand through this kind of military action?

LEIGHTON: Yes, absolutely, because the Iranians, if they were convinced that they were on the path to some kind of a ceasefire or some kind of resolution to the issue with the United States, they would not be conducting attacks like this, because we have to remember that the Iranians see what is happening in Lebanon as part of the same conflict.

They do not make a distinction with what is happening in Lebanon, with what is happening in Iran or along their coastline. So given all of that, the Iranians are looking at this and they are saying we -- you know, not only think that this peace process or this effort to get a cease fire is basically reaching a dead end. They see the impasse, for example, with the $24 billion or so in Iranian assets that they want to actually take possession of before they limit their actions in the Strait of Hormuz, and of course, the United States is saying, no, you have to limit your actions in the Strait of Hormuz. You have to reopen the Strait before any of those moneys are sent in your direction.

And that, you know, is an impasse and the Iranians are looking at that as probably an effort to force the issue, to try to get things more favorable to their side of the negotiating table, but they also see this as a possibility where they want to make sure that their position not only is heard, but they also want to dampen expectations, possibly even on the part of their own people, as to whether or not there is going to be a real ceasefire at this point.

WHITFIELD: All right, very tenuous moments here.

Colonel Cedric Leighton, thank you so much.

We are going to take a short break for now. We will be right back.

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WHITFIELD: All right, we continue to follow breaking news into CNN. The Israeli military has said it detected incoming ballistic missiles from Iran for what appears to be the first time since early April.

CNN's Jeremy Diamond is in Tel Aviv for us. What more are you learning, Jeremy?

DIAMOND: Yes, I am getting some new information, Fredricka, and that is that the Israeli Military will respond to Iran's ballistic missile fire towards Israel. My colleague, Tal Shalev and I are told by two sources that that response will be, "powerful." So you can read into that, that the Israeli Military is likely to strike Iran tonight. We will see how powerful, as these sources are describing that attack actually is.

We are also getting new information about the Iranian ballistic missile fired towards Israel. As I told you in recently, Fredricka we've seen at least three waves of Iranian ballistic missiles. An Israeli source now telling us that there have been at least 10 missiles in those barrages that have been fired towards Israel. The Israeli military also saying that it has intercepted all of the missiles that have been fired by Iran thus far.

Again, those missiles have been directed towards Northern Israel as Iran carries out the threat that it had issued earlier this week, that if the Israeli military carried out strikes on Beirut, on the Lebanese capital, then Iran would retaliate towards Israel, and that is indeed what is unfolding right now, hours after the Israeli military carried out strikes in the Lebanese capital, we are now seeing this quite fierce Iranian response to that.

And again, we are expecting that the Israeli Military will carry out strikes against Iran in retaliation. We will see whether or not this can then be contained or if this is going to spiral once again into the kind of regional war that gripped this region for two months, up until that ceasefire took effect in April.

WHITFIELD: And then, Jeremy, once again, is Iran saying this is it strikes or missiles targeting Northern Israel, is in retaliation for Israel targeting Lebanon?

DIAMOND: Well, we have not yet seen any official Iranian government comment tonight on this, but you can be clear, based on the facts that Iran has carried out these strikes following Israel's strikes in Beirut, the fact that Iran is targeting Northern Israel, where Israel would be carrying out many of its operations against Hezbollah, the Iranian proxy that is based in Lebanon, based on all of that information, it is quite clear that Iran is indeed carrying out these strikes tonight against Israel in retaliation for Israel striking the Lebanese capital of Beirut, following through on a threat that, again, we've heard senior Iranian officials make over the course of the last week.

And this is what Iran has really tried to do over the course of these negotiations that we've seen between Israel and Lebanon. We have seen efforts by Iran to kind of link these two conflicts to ensure that any broader ceasefire between the United States and Iran, between Iran and Israel, would also include Lebanon, because Iran is trying to desperately protect its most powerful proxy in the region, and that is the Lebanese militant group, Hezbollah.

And so while earlier this week, we saw an effort to say, if Hezbollah doesn't strike Northern Israel, Israel wont strike Beirut, we saw Hezbollah carry out rocket fire towards Northern Israel; Israel then decided that it is still going to strike the Lebanese capital of Beirut. And now, we find ourselves in a situation of crossfire between Iran and Israel.

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WHITFIELD: All right, Jeremy Diamond, thank you so much for all of that.

We will check back with you. We are going to take a break for now. We will be right back.

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ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Breaking News.

WHITFIELD: Hello again, everyone. Thank you so much for joining me this Sunday. I am Fredricka Whitfield and we begin with this breaking news.

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WHITFIELD: Sirens going off as the Israeli Military says it has intercepted a wave of incoming ballistic missiles from Iran.

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