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U.S. and Israel Launch Attack on Iran; Blasts Seen and Heard in Abu Dhabi, Bahrain and Qatar. Aired 5-6a ET

Aired February 28, 2026 - 05:00   ET

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

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): This is CNN breaking news.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): And thank you for joining us. We have viewers with us from around the world. This is CNN's breaking news covering of the U.S. and Israel's strikes on Iran.

I'm Victor Blackwell at CNN's world headquarters. Here's what we know right now.

Explosions rocked multiple cities across Iran, including its capital, Tehran. Videos from Tehran show smoke. You see it here billowing over the city. And now we're getting reports of explosions in Gulf Arab countries hosting U.S. military bases.

Live look now at Abu Dhabi, where explosions were reported in addition to Bahrain and Qatar. The video now of an explosion in Bahrain. Officials say a missile hit the service center of the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet in the country.

These strikes have been barely a day after the latest round of indirect nuclear talks between Iran and the U.S. and sources tell CNN the U.S. military is planning for these attacks to last for days.

Israel said the same and both president Donald Trump and Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu are now calling for regime change.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: 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)

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BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, PRIME MINISTER OF ISRAEL (through translator): We have a common enemy. The regime, the Revolutionary Guards, they are the ones who put this country into this position.

And therefore, I'm telling you, anyone who put down their weapons, including in the regime, will make sure that he is going to be safe. The Farsi, the Kurds, as are the revolution there, vacuum (ph), this is your opportunity to put together a new free Iran.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: And President Trump also added in his address, American lives may be lost in these strikes. Iranian media says that Iran is preparing for a revenge and a crushing response.

Now you just heard sirens in Tel Aviv. I think we have those.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL (voice-over): Iran media reported just hours ago that Iran already launched dozens of ballistic missiles at Israel. And Qatari officials say that Qatar already intercepted two Iranian missiles, indicating Iran is carrying out that plan to retaliate.

Our team is up and covering this breaking story from around the world. We'll get to Zach Cohen and Alayna Treene in just a moment. But I want to start with CNN's Jeremy Diamond first. He's in Tel Aviv.

Jeremy, have any of the Iron Dome intercepted any of those missiles?

Is there a timing on when those might arrive?

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, we certainly know that Iran has already fired a barrage of ballistic missiles at Israel. We had sirens going off not only here in Tel Aviv but also in Jerusalem, in northern Israel, in southern Israel.

Pretty much Israelis everywhere across the country, millions heading to bomb shelters as those ballistic missiles came in. It does appear that there were several intercepts. We have not yet gotten reports of any actual impacts as a result of those ballistic missiles.

But all of this kicked off this morning around 8:15 am local time. Israelis were woken to the sound of sirens, not announcing incoming missiles but rather alerting Israelis to this new state of emergency that is in place, as Israel announced that it had struck targets in Iran.

We then quickly learned that it was not just Israel but that these are joint strikes carried out by the United States and the Israeli militaries, targeting a range of targets inside of Iran.

I'm told that there were dozens of targets that were struck by both militaries. We have been watching, of course, for weeks now, as the United States has been carrying out this enormous military buildup in the region but, simultaneously, a diplomatic track was taking place.

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But this morning, that diplomatic track was completely cast aside in favor of this military action by the United States and Israel.

We heard from president Trump making clear that this is not just about going after Iran's ballistic missile and nuclear programs but setting the conditions for regime change. And we have heard similar comments as well from the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.

We know now that Israel is at a very heightened state of awareness. Most Israelis are either in their bomb shelters or very close by, awaiting the ramifications of this, as we are already watching Iran launch missiles not only here but at other sites across the Middle East. Victor

BLACKWELL: Jeremy Diamond for us there in Tel Aviv. We will get back to you in just a few moments.

President Trump is monitoring the strikes from his Mar-a-Lago resort and he calls on Iranians to stand up to their government and warns the fight could put American lives in danger. He also says the U.S. has done everything it can to keep American troops safe in the region. Earlier, president Trump explained the mission behind the operation

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TRUMP: 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 countries.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: All right. Let's bring in CNN's Alayna Treene. She's reporting from Palm Beach, Florida.

Alayna, the president said on Friday that he was not happy with where the talks were with Iran. And now we're seeing the consequences of that.

ALAYNA TREENE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. And I think you're right to point out that the context of all of this is incredibly important. We have been hearing, Victor, in recent days, really in the leadup until this strike, this -- these strikes this morning, the president saying that he wanted diplomacy.

He was hoping a deal could be reached. And from all the conversations I had with people at the White House, that was sincere. But, of course, at the same time, you saw the Trump administration and the president directly order the most large or the most massive military buildup in the region since essentially the 2003 war with Iraq.

And so that leverage was there. And I think a lot of people were waiting to see whether the president would move on that. And, of course, he did.

I also found it very remarkable just to see the president in that video statement, giving it and releasing it on social media having that be the way that he delivered it. But look, there's a couple of things I took away Victor from those remarks from the president.

One is that he said that this is going to be a massive and ongoing operation and that comes as sources are telling our colleague, Zach Cohen, and I (sic) that the United States is planning for there to be several attacks or several days of attacks.

This is going to be a long operation and could ultimately be the largest military operation the president has ever overseen, including during his first term.

But another moment that I found very striking as well is that he essentially and effectively called for regime change in Iran.

The president said in those remarks, quote, "When we are finished, take over your government."

That was a message directly to the Iranian people.

"It will be yours to take. This will probably be your only chance for generations."

That is a huge statement particularly as really, over the past year or so, ever since the president went into office for his second term, all of his top advisers were trying not to say that directly.

And even though the president didn't say it directly, he came as close as he ever really has to acknowledging that one of the goals in this larger operation is to potentially see if the Iranian people can use this weakened state that the regime now finds itself in to kind of overthrow and push against the government there.

So that was a remarkable thing as well. I also think it's worth pointing out -- and you mentioned this, Victor -- just how disappointed and frustrated the president seemed yesterday when talking about the negotiations that were going on.

Just two days ago in Geneva, between the president's top advisers, Steve Witkoff, and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, with the Iranians. And intermediaries in Switzerland saying that they did not go far enough.

And what we know that the United States wanted from Iran was, to, one, be very clear that they had no goals and did not want to ever make a nuclear weapon and also that they would commit to zero enrichment of uranium, things that the president argued they were not able to get to.

And so that is what led us to this moment. But, of course, so many big questions.

[05:10:00] I think that many Americans still have about what the future of this is going to look like. And that has been a big struggle for a lot of people I know in the White House and the top levels of the administration.

There are a lot of Americans and a lot of Republicans, I should say, many members of the Republican base, who do not want the United States involved in another foreign war and particularly a protracted, long engagement.

And we've actually heard some of that pushback from members of Congress this morning, making that point. And so that is going to be a crucial thing that the president and this White House needs to do moving forward, is to articulate exactly what their goal is as we move ahead in the days ahead with these operations.

BLACKWELL: Yes, we'll expect that the recorded message that the president posted will not be the last we hear from him on justification for these strikes, considering that his promise to the American people was that there would be no new wars ahead of his 2024 reelection.

Alayna Treene for us there, near the president's resort in Florida, we'll get back to you. Thank you.

And we're getting reports of dozens of explosions across the Gulf, including Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Qatar, all home to major U.S. bases. A senior official in Qatar says that the country intercepted two Iranian missiles fired toward its territory. Let's bring in now CNN's Zach Cohen.

Zach, what have you learned?

ZACHARY COHEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Victor, U.S. officials really only describing the retaliatory strikes by Iran as an active situation.

But as you mentioned, it does appear that multiple U.S. bases in the region have been targeted in response to this ongoing U.S.-Israeli operation targeting the Iranian government, it seems.

And look, this is a risk and a potential threat that Donald Trump was well aware of before he ordered this ongoing operation targeting Iran, which he says is intended to carry out effectively regime change or to facilitate regime change.

He was very concerned about the potential risk to U.S. forces in the region and even alluded to that in his video message, saying and acknowledging in a very frank way that this operation could result in U.S. casualties.

And we've reported previously that that was a major concern of Donald Trump's top general, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Dan Caine, that he voiced concerns about the potential for U.S. casualties ahead of this operation. But still, obviously, that concern not outweighing what Donald Trump

says that he wants to carry out here and that is to encourage the Iranian people to rise up and take back their government.

But we've also reported that there is not really a clear indication inside the U.S. government of what would come next, even if they can successfully facilitate regime change in Iran.

So while we know that this operation is expected to go on for several days or at least the Israeli and U.S. sides are both planning and preparing for that possibility, what would happen after that is very, very unclear at this stage.

BLACKWELL: Yes, supremely significant and sobering acknowledgment from the president. And he acknowledged it when he said he doesn't take it lightly, that there could be American lives lost in this exchange.

Zach Cohen reporting from Washington, stand close. We'll get back to you.

And you stay with us. Our breaking news coverage of the coordinated attack on Iran continues after a short break.

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BLACKWELL: We're following the breaking news across the Middle East. The U.S. and Israel launched an attack on Iran. Iranian state media reports airstrikes in several Iranian cities.

President Trump calls the strikes a, quote, "major military operation." And Iran has now retaliated, launching strikes of its own. Let's bring in now our Becky Anderson.

And we understand, Becky, that you had to clear out of this position a short time ago because some of the strikes have been there in Abu Dhabi.

BECKY ANDERSON, CNN HOST: There was a wide alert on our phones. And so we just stood down for a couple of minutes to ensure that the staff here were all safe.

But we have had retaliatory strikes now from Iran here in the in the UAE, in Abu Dhabi and, indeed, some reports of explosions in Dubai, in Bahrain, in Kuwait and, indeed, in Qatar. These had been threatened by Iran, should they be attacked by the U.S.

And the statement has just come through from the authorities here in the UAE. And I'll read this for you. The ministry of defense, the MOD, announced that the UAE today was

subjected to a blatant attack involving Iranian ballistic missiles, noting that UAE air defense systems dealt with the missiles with high efficiency and successfully intercepted a number of those missiles.

Authorities in the UAE also handled the fall of some missile debris in a residential area, which resulted in some material damage. And they went on to say, Victor, that the fallen debris also resulted in one civilian death of an Asian nationality.

The authorities confirming that the security situation in the UAE, they say, remains stable and that all concerned entities are monitoring developments around the clock.

And they go on to say the ministry strongly condemns the attack, affirming the UAE's categorical rejection of any targeting of civilian objects or facilities and national institutions.

It stressed that such acts constitute a dangerous escalation and a cowardly act. They say that threatens the safety of civilians and undermines stability.

And the ministry further stated that the targeting represents a blatant violation of national sovereignty and international law, affirming that the UAE reserves its full right to respond to this escalation and to take all necessary measures to protect its territory, citizens and residents.

And to safeguard its sovereignty, security and stability.

And lastly -- and I am just hearing some booms while we are speaking -- they are ready to deal with any threats.

[05:20:00]

They say, stressing that all necessary measures are being taken to firmly confront any attempts to undermine the country's security and stability. It added the safety of citizens residents and visitors remains a top priority. That cannot be compromised.

It's a long statement. But one certainly to reassure the public and asking them to rely only on official sources for information. What I've just read out is information from the ministry of defense.

And again, as we speak, I continue to hear booms here. And there is a U.S. base some distance away from where I'm broadcasting from. And so one has to assume that the strikes are targeted at that base.

I have to be absolutely clear that the UAE has said for some weeks now, since the escalatory nature of the narrative that the -- there will be no use of UAE airspace in coordination with any U.S. attacks and no use of bases here.

And we're hearing a similar refrain from around this region. This region is being -- calling in a concerted message for de-escalation, not of escalation. They -- whilst I think it's absolutely clear -- And if you talk to anybody around this region, Victor, you know, this

is not a regime that people are fond of. However, what this region of the Gulf does not want to see is escalation and civil war.

I want to bring in CNN's military analyst, retired U.S. Air Force colonel Cedric Leighton. We've also got Jasmine el-Gamal. She's a former Pentagon Middle East adviser, joining us now.

Cedric, let's just step back for a moment and just consider what we understand to have happened in the last three hours. We started getting reports into CNN just about three hours ago of strikes on Iran, across Iran, Tehran and around the country.

The U.S. president then, of course, released a video statement on his Truth Social channel, suggesting that this was the beginning of a massive military offensive in coordination with Israel.

Since then, we've seen the outgoing launch of ballistic missiles from Iran into Israel and indeed around this region. We are hearing interceptions again and again here. And I'm hearing reports of interceptions of ballistic missiles around this region of the Gulf.

What do you make of what we are hearing and seeing?

COL. CEDRIC LEIGHTON (RET.), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Well, Becky, what we're seeing right now is the Patriot missile systems that are in place in places like where you are in Abu Dhabi. And the -- it appears that, in Israel, the Iron Dome and its associated systems are also being activated.

So this is the defensive posture that has been established over the past few months and actually years in the Gulf region that is now being basically put to the test as the Iranians respond to the initial attack from the United States and from Israel.

So this is going to be something where there's going to be part of a tit-for-tat response. But it is going to, I think, be a much more extensive Iranian attack, based on the fact that we have people going in, you know, into all these different areas.

So as you're getting this kind of -- these kinds of alerts, you are seeing a lot of different responses and potential strikes on civilian areas in these areas as well.

ANDERSON: You may have heard my phone alarm going off. Once again, we continue to get emergency alerts to ensure that people are taking precautions here due to a current situation.

This last one says a potential -- and potential missile strikes. Do seek immediate shelter in the closest secure building. We are, you know, I have to say, secure in this building where I am, Cedric. Thank you.

Jasmine el-Gamal, it's good to speak to you again. You're a former advisor to the Pentagon for this Middle East region. So you're, you know, you've been imbued and immersed in the security situation, the defense situation around this region.

President Trump has good relations with his allies around this region and had promised that they would be defended.

What do you make of what we are seeing at this point?

JASMINE EL-GAMAL, MIDDLE EAST ANALYST AND FORMER PENTAGON MIDDLE EAST ADVISER: Well, first of all, Becky, I'm glad to hear you say that you're that you're safe where you are right now.

[05:25:00]

I mean what we're watching unfold certainly feels surreal but also not entirely unexpected. Iran has been telegraphing for weeks in the midst of U.S. threats and U.S. posture in the region that they would hit back hard with all that they have.

And that is partly because they know that, this time around, the U.S., alongside Israel, would likely try to go for regime change. They've tried negotiations before. This is from their perspective.

The U.S. is saying we've tried negotiations before. Nothing has worked. We -- we're not seeing a path to a deal. And that's why we decided to strike.

So the Iranian response was expected. And I think we can expect to see many more U.S. strikes, Israeli strikes targeted at Iranian offensive and defensive capabilities in the coming hours and days to try to neutralize that Iranian retaliatory response.

ANDERSON: Cedric, have you been surprised by the speed at which Iran has responded?

Given that, as I say, we only heard the first reports of the strikes on Iran in the past three hours. When we've seen similar activity in the past, over the past year, for example or so ,in June of 2025 and before that, it's taken Iran some time to respond.

What do we know of the extent of their missile arsenal?

And we have to assume at this point it is in a position to retaliate.

LEIGHTON: Yes, certainly, Becky. And yes, they have about 2,000 to 3,000 missiles that they are capable of launching. The problem that they have -- is that they don't have, at least according to the intelligence estimates, don't have the launchers that they had. So they may have about a third of the launchers that they had before the June attacks.

So if that is true, if those intelligence estimates are correct, one would think that the Iranian response would have been delayed a bit. But they clearly were able to mount a response very quickly, more quickly than I expected them to. I expected them to mount a response but not a response of this magnitude at this particular moment in time.

So they were clearly getting ready for this. They were prepared. And as Jasmine mentioned, they had this basically planned out.

ANDERSON: Jasmine, you and I have talked about the weakening of this regime and the weakening of its proxies around the region as we are seeing the escalation, as we speak, of Iran's -- with Iran's retaliation on these four Gulf countries.

What are your expectations about a regional -- a wider regional conflict at this point, given that, although these proxies are weakened, they are not down and out at this point?

The Houthis, for example, still a force to be reckoned with.

EL-GAMAL: That's right, that's right, Becky. And even though we have, you know, you and I have spoken before and we've talked about how Iran is no match militarily for a combined U.S.-Israeli sustained attack, that doesn't mean that they can't inflict significant damage.

And remember that, you know, the Israeli public, the U.S. public, they have a very low tolerance for casualties, especially in the U.S. right now, with the -- with public opinion really squarely against this war with Iran.

You have the Gulf states who really are just, you know, sitting ducks, for a lack of a better term. You know, they haven't had much say in this other than to say to the president, please let diplomacy run its course.

We don't want to see what could be an uncontrolled escalation, multiple opportunities for miscalculation and the president has not heeded that call.

And Becky, I think we also need to underscore and keep in the back of our heads here that, as we're talking about the tactical, you know, operations ongoing right now, we have to remember that there was no imminent threat from the Iranian side to the U.S. or its allies in the region.

They were in the middle of negotiations once again when they were struck. And I think that's going to be really important for domestic U.S. considerations and Congress coming in and talking about this.

But also in larger conversations about accountability and international law and impunity. And I think we need to keep those things very much in mind in the coming days.

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ANDERSON: Cedric and Jasmine, thank you very much indeed for joining me.

And Victor, it was just in the past 24 hours that the Omani FM -- remember, Oman one of the GCC countries here, who has been mediating those indirect talks between the U.S. and Iran -- he was in Washington in the past 24 hours.

He's done an interview with a U.S. network, during which he certainly messaged that he believed these talks were going in the right direction. But his point was -- and he made this very specifically -- that his point was that he needed time.

Well, clearly that time, at least on this occasion, has run out. Those talks are still scheduled, as we understand it, though, to continue in Vienna in next week. Whether those are now are carried out really remains to be seen at this point.

We are going to take a very quick break and then we will be back with our breaking news here on CNN, a massive military operation underway, as announced by the U.S. president, in coordination with Israel, on Iran.

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ANDERSON: Well, this just in to CNN. Sources tell us the Israeli strikes on Iran targeted senior Iranian figures, including supreme leader ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the president Masoud Pezeshkian, amongst others. President Trump said earlier this morning this is a massive and ongoing attack on Iran by the U.S. and Israel.

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He warns that American lives may be lost. And sources tell CNN the U.S. military is planning for several days of attacks. Both president Donald Trump and the Israeli prime minister are calling on the people of Iran to take down their government.

BLACKWELL: And the Israel Defense Forces says that the U.S. and Israel spent months of close and joint planning ahead of the attack. In response, Iran has targeted U.S. military bases in the region with reports of explosions in Bahrain, Qatar and there where Becky is, in Abu Dhabi.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking foreign language)

BLACKWELL (voice-over): U.S. officials confirmed a navy base in Bahrain was targeted by Iranian missiles and described it as an active situation.

In response, Israel says it has now launched a new wave of strikes against targets in Western Iran.

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BLACKWELL: We have Fred Pleitgen with us now.

Fred, from your vantage point, as this now has become a deadly volley between the U.S. Israel and Iran, what are you seeing? FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, there, Victor. Well, it certainly is a full-on war that's going on right now between the U.S. and Israel on the one side and the Iranians on the other side.

As far as the Iranians are concerned, I've been speaking to some sources on the ground, as all of this has been progressing this morning. Certainly they have witnessed a lot of those airstrikes that we've been speaking to in central Tehran, also in the east of Tehran. But other areas of the Iranian capital as well.

You guys just mentioned that some of the targets included Iran's -- allegedly included Iran's supreme leader as well as the president. We heard from the Iranians earlier today that, at the very least, the president of Iran, Masoud Pezeshkian, they say, is safe and in good health unless there's been another strike since then.

The Israelis also at some point claiming to have taken out the head of Iran's judiciary. The Iranians also claiming that that person is also in good health.

The Iranians also coming out a couple of minutes ago and saying all the military commanders are -- have not been hit and are conducting and running the military operation.

In general, it seems as though the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps aerospace forces, which, of course, are the ones that right now are in action, they are responsible for air defenses and missile forces as well as drones in Iran.

Certainly seem to have been a lot better prepared this time than they were in the past June. We've already, as you guys have noted and as Becky, of course, has felt first-hand, seeing the Iranians fire back, not just at Israel but at various countries in the Gulf, at least at U.S. military installations in those countries.

And then also possibly at Jordan, U.S. military installations there.

One of the things that we have to keep in mind is that the Iranians had said, if they deem the next war, the one that's going on right now, to be existential for the survival of the Islamic Republic of Iran, that their response would be one that would be a lot more powerful than the one that we saw last June.

That certainly seems to have been the case. It also seems to be the case that they seem to have had all these plans on the shelf and have been preparing for this.

Because the volleys of missiles that they're sending around the region right now certainly look a lot different than the near decapitation of Iran's military leadership that we saw this past June. So clearly they've been prepared.

Another -- some more telling signs, Victor, if you will, some of the other things that we're hearing from the ground is that the Iranian interior minister, interior ministry, is saying that services for government offices are going to operate at 50 percent. So they're clearly trying to keep that going.

Also that banks are going to continue to operate so that people can get money. We have heard that there are some lines at gasoline stations, which is also something that I saw firsthand in June as well. Obviously people stocking up.

And they've called on people to leave the immediate area of where fighting is going on, especially in Tehran, if they can but otherwise to shelter in place. But it seems as though right now what the Iranian leadership is projecting is that they are still in power, that they do have the situation under control and that they are fighting back.

And that certainly seems to be what folks definitely in the greater Middle Eastern region are feeling. Nevertheless, people that I've been speaking to on the ground did speak of some very heavy airstrikes, especially in the central part of Tehran.

Of course some of that around the area where the compound of the supreme leader is located. The Iranians also saying that several residential buildings, not just in Tehran but in other cities, have also already been hit -- Victor.

BLACKWELL: Fred Pleitgen reporting there from Berlin.

And Becky, as Fred mentioned, missiles being targeted at countries and states across the region.

[05:40:05]

Jordan, their military, has now said that they've intercepted two ballistic missiles. And residents in Amman, they've heard explosions as well. And at U.S. embassies across the region in Israel, in Qatar, Jordan, Bahrain, Kuwait, all telling Americans there to shelter in place.

The supreme leader promised that there would be a regional response. And we are now seeing that.

ANDERSON: Yes, absolutely. And the same shelter in place advisory for U.S. citizens here in the UAE.

So we have seen a volley of missiles targeted at countries around the Gulf region, not least that of Qatar. And I want to bring in Bijan Hosseini, who is in Doha in Qatar.

And you witnessed some of those interceptions. So just explain what you saw and heard.

BIJAN HOSSEINI, CNN PRODUCER: Yes. Hi, Becky. We have seen and heard two waves of what we believe were air defense missiles. It's unclear whether they intercepted Iranian missiles.

But we did see and hear those air defense missiles going off in West Bay (ph) in Doha, a place you're familiar with, a place that houses a lot of businesses, a lot of residential areas.

And we're just getting word from the ministry of defense, saying that they have the right to respond to any external threat. They said they successfully intercepted these missiles. Like I said, we didn't see that happen. We did see the air defense missiles take place here in West Bay (ph).

Traffic, I can see right now behind me. And I might just add that we are in a safe and protected space right now. But traffic has died down. There's very few cars on the road. People have been told to shelter and stay in place.

We've received at least four emergency alert systems. Added on to that two alerts from the U.S. embassy here in Qatar, saying to shelter and stay in place.

ANDERSON: That's right. Now al-Obeid air base, of course, is the biggest U.S. military base in the Middle East. It's hosted in Doha. As I understand it has all -- everyone has left, bar the Qatari essential staff.

And as I understand it, that those evacuations were made some time ago just out of a matter of caution, really, more than anything else. But, Bijan, thank you.

A big military base, the biggest military base, of course, for the U.S. is in Qatar. Military installations and bases, of course, around this region, not least here in the UAE, in Bahrain and in Kuwait.

And we've heard reports of missiles being intercepted in Kuwait as well. It's a busy, busy time in the Gulf region today. We are, what, 3.25 hours after the initial reports of strikes on Iran.

An hour or so after that, we had the Truth Social post, audio video post by the U.S. president, announcing a massive military operation in coordination with Israel on Iran.

And we are seeing effectively the blowback of that, the retaliation from Iran, from those strikes around this region of the Gulf as we speak.

Our breaking news coverage continues after this short break. Stay with us

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[05:45:00]

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BLACKWELL: All right. Back now to our breaking news.

The United States and Israel are conducting a joint attack against Iran. Here's the latest. Explosions have been reported in several Iranian cities, including the

capital of Tehran. President Trump describes the campaign as a massive military operation, with the goal of preventing Iran from putting U.S. lives at risk. He's warning Americans there could be U.S. casualties.

The Iranians are retaliating now with missile and drone attacks. Air raid sirens have been going off in Israel for several hours now, with people rushing to safety in bomb shelters.

Michael Oren joins us now from Tel Aviv. He's the former Israeli ambassador to the United States.

Mr. Ambassador, thank you for being with us. Let me start here, just not 10 days ago, you wrote that, "Preferably together with the United States but, if absolutely necessary, alone, Israel must act."

Why is now the moment for what we're seeing today?

MICHAEL OREN, FORMER ISRAELI AMBASSADOR TO THE U.S.: Well, we didn't have much time. It's good to be with you. Iran was very rapidly rebuilding its missile capacity. Now we mean missiles. We don't mean, you know, firecrackers, missiles that not just take down an apartment complex and take down an entire neighborhood.

About 1,200 pounds of explosives. And they were going to build their missile capacity up by a third, moving it from 2,000 to 3,000 of these missiles, which basically is a strategic threat to the State of Israel.

So we did not have enough time. Now we didn't want to be in a situation where we were being perceived as dragging America into war. That was a decision made by the president of the United States and his administration.

But Israel was going to have to act because we were facing what we perceived as an existential threat, ideally with the United States, which, as the president outlined in his speech several hours ago, was also a strategic threat to the United States, Iran.

So there's a conflict of interests here, which were quite acute, and the timing from Israel's perspective certainly could not have been better.

BLACKWELL: We know that the Israeli strikes have been focused on, among others, the supreme leader; president Pezeshkian there in Iran. But I'm just getting this in, that an Israeli military official says that the focus of the operation is not regime change.

Reconcile those two, the focus of the strike but that this is not -- regime change is not the goal.

OREN: Well, I would maybe parse it this way. The immediate goal may not be regime change.

The immediate goal is to neutralize the missile threat. The -- neutralize Iran's support for what they call the proxies, which are the terrorist groups that are trying to destroy us -- Hezbollah, Hamas, the Houthis, the Iranian -- pro-Iranian militias in Iraq and Syria. Yes, all that.

But if the ultimate outcome of this operation is the fall of the Iranian regime and its replacement by a peaceful, democratic government in Iran, such as existed before 1979 -- and we had excellent relations with that country -- I think Israel would be very, very satisfied indeed.

BLACKWELL: But, Mr. Ambassador, it doesn't sound from president Trump or from prime minister Netanyahu that this is an if/then proposition. Just listen to their words.

From president Trump, "When we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take."

From the prime minister to the people of Iran, "Cast off the yoke of tyranny and bring about a free and peaceful Iran.

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"Our joint action will create the conditions for the brave Iranian people to take their destiny into their own hands."

It sounds like these leaders are telling the people of Iran, overtake this government.

And is that the only definition of success here?

I mean, this military leader says that's not -- regime change is not the goal. But that doesn't seem to be what we heard from the two leaders.

OREN: No, I think actually there's no contradiction here with the two leaders both saying this to the Iranian people, to overthrow the regime. It's not the same that the military action of destroying the missile capability, the Iranian nuclear facility is going to bring down the regime. It probably won't.

The only way they can bring down the regime is if the Iranian people rise up, as they tried to rise up in the past but were brutally, brutally suppressed. And as these demonstrations have now been recurring in the last week, they can bring down the regime.

And, of course, were the -- this regime, which is responsible for the deaths of tens and tens of thousands of people -- I cannot stress this enough -- since it came into power in 1979, tens of thousands of people, certainly tens of thousands of Muslims throughout the Middle East, Jews here in Israel and Americans elsewhere.

Nobody, nobody would welcome that more certainly than the people of Israel and the people of Iran.

BLACKWELL: Ambassador Oren, one more before we go. The president promised total immunity for Iranian forces if they laid down their weapons. He said you can lay down your weapons and have complete immunity or

face certain death.

Is that something that you believe the Israeli government would support that, if the IRGC specific members were identified for having been involved in specific attacks, that if they, in this war, lay down their weapons, they would also receive complete immunity?

OREN: I think that's for the Iranian people ultimately to decide. I think what the president is saying -- and I'm not a spokesman for the White House, don't --

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BLACKWELL: Sure.

I'm saying, do you believe the Israeli government would support total immunity?

OREN: I think it's -- that's a decision, I think, for the people of Iran, it's not for the people of Israel. I think if there were specific individuals who we knew were involved in horrendous attacks against Israel, that involved in large scale deaths, I think that immunity would not be considered.

That's been the case with Hezbollah and Hamas as well. You know, Israel has suggested that that Hamas people who lay down their arms in the area of Gaza controlled by Hamas would not be subjected to the type of retribution, which we would then try to exact when people were specifically involved in the October 7th attack.

And that's different. And that has been the case. That's been Israel's policy. Let's extrapolate and assume that would be the case with Iran. Be much more difficult to prove.

Iran, of course, is much, much further away and a much, much bigger government than -- we may not have the same type of depth of information that we have of who is responsible for which attack. But certainly, again, that is a decision to be made by the people of Iran.

BLACKWELL: All right. Former Israeli ambassador to the United States, Michael Oren, I thank you for being with us as we continue our coverage of this breaking news.

We'll take a quick break and we'll be right back

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ANDERSON: Well, I'm Becky Anderson in Abu Dhabi. Back to our breaking news in the U.S. and Israel, carrying out military strikes against Iran and calling for the overthrow of the regime.

Well, I want to bring in our CNN international diplomatic editor, Nic Robertson.

And Nic, this attack came early in the morning around 10, around 9:00 Iran time, as people would have been emerging from shelters, getting their day started.

What do you make of that?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, I think it's very significant. Becky, if we look back at previous air strikes and air campaigns of this nature in the Middle East that the U.S. has done.

Generally these things start overnight. I'm thinking of attacks in Iraq. I'm thinking of the 12-day war last summer between Israel and Iran and the United States getting involved, of course.

The opening salvos that are usually targeting military government, other types of installations, normally happen overnight in darkness. Now there's been an effort, if you will, or an expectation to create a narrative that diplomacy was still on track.

There were talk about technical talks starting up in Vienna on Monday. The Omani foreign minister was meeting with the U.S. vice president in Washington yesterday with apparent concessions from the Iranian side.

It appeared that the stage was set for more diplomacy. So when you have these early morning strikes in daylight, as you say, when people were coming out of shelters, it is quite possible in the planning here and would seem very probable, in fact, that the planning here was to hope to hit key senior figures.

Who had who had thought perhaps, you know, the threat of strike overnight Friday into Saturday had gone away, that everything was OK. They go back to a pattern of life, a pattern of life that U.S., Israeli, other intelligence had tried to predict and therefore make them an easier target when they were less suspecting.

So this may be part of the picture of what we're looking at here, Becky. And the rationale for doing something different and striking in daylight in the morning when people have thought they'd survived the night.

ANDERSON: Nic Robertson, reporting from London. Nic, thank you.

And do stay with us, folks. Our team coverage of our breaking news continues at the top of the hour.

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