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Isa Soares Tonight
White House Holds Briefing on 11th Day of War with Iran; White House: U.S. Moving to Dismantle Iran's Missile Production; U.S.: About 140 Service Members Injured in War with Iran. Aired 2:00-3p ET
Aired March 10, 2026 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[14:00:00]
ISA SOARES, HOST, ISA SOARES TONIGHT: Hello, and a very warm welcome, everyone, I'm Isa Soares. Tonight, we'll show you live images coming to us
from the White House where any moment, we are expecting, as you can see there, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt to brief reporters about the war in
Iran.
It looks like very pretty full rooms, of course, we'll wait for that. We'll bring you that as soon as it begins. Right now, though, I want to bring you
up-to-date with the very latest developments that we are seeing. And we are seeing more mixed messages just hour after U.S. President Donald Trump
declared that the war was very complete, pretty much his words.
The U.S. Defense Secretary is vowing that today will be our most intense day of strikes. Pete Hegseth says the war will end on our timeline.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETE HEGSETH, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE, UNITED STATES: The President has set a very specific mission to accomplish, and our job is to unrelentingly
deliver that. Now, he gets to control the throttle. He is the one deciding. He's the one elected on behalf of the American people, when we're achieving
those particular objectives.
And so, it's not for me to posit whether it's the beginning, the middle or the end. That's his, and he'll continue to communicate that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Well, CNN's team in Tehran is reporting heavy bombardment. More on that from our Fred Pleitgen and team shortly. Israel launched a new wave of
strikes in the capital, one resident describing it as constant shelling.
After Monday's surge, oil prices are retreating today, but some experts warn that if the flow of oil through this critical Strait of Hormuz remains
blocked, those prices could skyrocket to $150 per barrel by the end of March.
Meanwhile, sources tell CNN, the U.S. military burned through more than $5 billion worth of munitions in just the first two days of the war. The $5.6
billion figure was part of a Pentagon assessment provided to Congress.
Let's get more on those strands. Jeremy Diamond is in Tel Aviv for us, Alayna Treene is at the White House. And to you, my apologies in advance if
I have to interject. We are keeping an eye at the White House. Karoline Leavitt is expected to speak.
So, Alayna, let me just get it -- go to you first. We have seen stock markets, oil markets facing a whiplash. As our viewers, to be completely
honest, as they try to make sense of Trump's -- President Trump's inconsistent messaging. Are we likely, do you think to get more clarity
from Karoline Leavitt?
ALAYNA TREENE, CNN WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Well, I definitely think it's going to be a question that many reporters are going to pose to her.
Unlikely, I think that we're going to have some sort of definitive timeline laid out, because that's by design.
I mean, we heard the President kind of address this yesterday with different, you know, conflicting messages over three hours. You know, at
one point saying that he believes that the end was near, and that the United States had completed the majority of its objectives with this
conflict in Iran.
But on the other side, you heard him saying that they might go further than that, and that this could just be the beginning of building, you know, a
new building of Iran for the future. And we heard similarly from Pete Hegseth; the Defense Secretary this morning when he gave a press
conference, really trying to say that they're working on their own timeline, and that it's up to the President to decide when this war ends.
But the reason I say that's by design is because this administration, from my conversations with them, they recognize that many Americans are not --
you know, completely sold on this war. There are a lot of Americans and a lot of people within the President's own base, Isa, who are very wary of a
protracted military engagement of this magnitude.
And so, they are trying to be careful about one not being on a strict timeline so that they can, you know, move as needed. But they also don't
want Americans worrying about this long-term -- potential long-term engagement.
And it's something I know that many of the President's advisors in particular, I should say, even more so people outside of the
administration.
Some of his outside allies trying to tell the President to be very clear about his objectives, and be very clear that he does not think this is
going to be, you know, a situation like we saw back in the early 2000s with the United States going to war with Iraq and Afghanistan and having it be
such a long-term thing.
So, all of that, I think is playing into this, but again, we'll have to see how Karoline addresses this, and we'll have to see whether or not they will
actually try to give more clarity about the President's own thinking when he has gone back-and-forth a bit on this exact issue.
[14:05:00]
SOARES: Yes, indeed. Let me go to Jeremy for us. And Jeremy, we have seen meantime, if we leave the politics and focus on the battlefield, Israel
really piling the pressure on Hezbollah as it targets -- it has a ground raid, I believe.
This, of course, at the same time as we see humanitarian crisis worsening, I think something like 700,000 people displaced. Just talk us through the
very latest when it concerns Hezbollah.
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Well, there's no question that, as you say, Israel is piling on the pressure on Hezbollah. This
Iranian proxy operating in Lebanon, and it's doing so in multiple ways.
Indeed, Israel is carrying out more of these kind of targeted special operations raids inside of Lebanese territory, including in areas that are
not in what is known as kind of southern Lebanon, where we've seen Israeli ground troops operate before.
But deeper inside of Lebanon, we're also witnessing continued Israeli air strikes in southern Lebanon as well as in the southern suburbs of the
Lebanese capital of Beirut, where as you noted, there are more than half a million people who are now displaced as a result of Israeli evacuation
orders.
And amid all of that, we're watching as the Lebanese government is kind of caught between Hezbollah on the one end and Israel on the other.
With the Lebanese President now reaching out, calling for a ceasefire with Israel and calling for direct negotiations in order to not only implement
such a ceasefire, but also to return to the task of disarming Hezbollah, which we have seen this Lebanese government begin to tackle in a pretty
unprecedented manner.
But now, with Israeli bombs and missiles flying in Lebanon, the Lebanese military withdrawing from that task of disarming Hezbollah and instead
seeking negotiations.
SOARES: Jeremy there for us, Alayna Treene, thank you to you both. And as we've just been hearing from Alayna Treene there at the White House,
there's still not a great deal of clarity on what precisely the endgame is in Iran, with no firm answers on when or indeed how this war might end, or
even exactly what the U.S. is looking to achieve.
I want you to take a listen to some of the mixed messaging we have been hearing from the Trump administration.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HEGSETH: This is not Iraq; this is not endless.
DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're already substantially ahead of our time projections.
MARCO RUBIO, SECRETARY OF STATE, UNITED STATES: I don't know how long it will take. We have objectives. We will do this as long as it takes to
achieve those objectives.
KAROLINE LEAVITT, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: The achievable objectives of Operation Epic Fury, we expect to last about 4 to 6 weeks.
HEGSETH: This is only just the beginning.
TRUMP: We've already won in many ways, but we haven't won enough.
Because we're achieving major strides toward completing our military objective. And some people could say they're pretty well complete.
Could call it a tremendous success. Right now, as we leave here, I could call it -- or we could go further and we're going to go further.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Then you said it would be over soon. Are you thinking this week it will be over --
TRUMP: No, quick soon --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You're talking about days --
TRUMP: I think soon.
HEGSETH: This is not endless nation-building.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Meantime, the U.S. Defense Secretary saying just this morning, the war with Iran will, quote, "end on our timeline." Joining me now is CNN
political and national security analyst David Sanger. David, good to see you. Apologies if I have to interject. We are waiting to hear from Karoline
Leavitt --
DAVID SANGER, CNN POLITICAL & NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: True --
SOARES: The White House Press Secretary. But let me -- I mean, let me get your thoughts on this kind of whiplash, political whiplash that we have
been seeing from this administration. No clarity on what the endgame is.
And I wonder whether that is to keep Iran guessing or this deliberate ambiguity because of the political pitfalls. Just help us make sense.
SANGER: Well, I wish I could help you make sense of it, but it's not only been strategic ambiguity for the public and for the world, but I think
within the White House as well. When the President first announced the beginning of this operation, he called on the Iranian people to rise up and
overthrow their government.
That sounded like regime change. When Secretary Rubio spoke yesterday to reporters and others, he left regime change off the list of achievable
objectives. He said it was to destroy the Navy and destroy the missile program.
In fact, he left nuclear -- destroying the nuclear program off the list. And then, of course, in between, we've had every variant of that. Why is
this concerning? Part of it is that you need more than just military objectives.
You need some political objectives. And so, if we don't know what the objectives are going in, it's very hard to make the call about when you've
achieved enough to get out. And, you know, I know the President will say, well, he'll feel it, he'll know it.
But the fact of the matter is, if you've left an Iranian regime in place there, he's going to have a hard time -- a current regime with the Islamic
Revolutionary Guard there. He's going to have a hard time saying he accomplished what he went in to go do.
[14:10:00]
SOARES: Yes, or he'll have a feeling based on fact as we have heard from Karoline Leavitt --
SANGER: Yes --
SOARES: Said before regarding the President's decision. Look, let's add in here, really, David, the economic toll, which is growing as we've been
talking about oil prices, stock markets, the Strait of Hormuz pretty much at a standstill.
I wonder whether advisors would be suggesting to the President, you know, take an off-ramp. I'm sure he will want to take -- claim victory. But the
other side will do the same, would it not? So, how do you read the next -- the strategy from the White House here?
SANGER: Well, I'm sure the political advisors to the President are saying look, what most Americans care about is gas prices. Don't let those go up
on your watch. What Americans care about is making sure that their stock market gains and other gains are not -- are not wiped out unnecessarily.
And all of that would point toward getting out sooner, and giving the markets a relief. You saw just yesterday that the markets had a big plunge,
and then came back when it seemed like the President was suggesting that he might get out quickly.
The problem for President Trump there, though, is that your military strategy becomes hostage to the S&P 500 and gas prices. And so, you would
have wanted them to go into this, sort of anticipating that, being ready to release more oil from American stockpiles into the market, basically to
send the market the signals that would avoid the panic, that then redounds back on the military decisions.
SOARES: So, give our viewers then, David, a sense of how this is being -- the war is being received at home. We heard Alayna Treene at the White
House saying, Americans are not sold on this war. We've got -- we've heard clips of people complaining about high oil prices, gas prices.
Meanwhile, as you probably heard at the top of the show, the U.S. military is burning through more than $5 billion in munitions. And that's in the
first two days of this war with Iran --
SANGER: Absolutely --
SOARES: How is it -- yes, right. How is that being received?
SANGER: Well, not well as you would imagine, particularly after the President a year ago was sending DOGE out to cut what they declared were
going to be first $2 trillion, then hundreds of billions, then billions, and in the end, not very much.
And it's very possible this war could end up costing far more than DOGE actually saved, along the way. And I'm not sure that was the swap Americans
had in mind. But the fact of the matter is that all wars have economic impact.
And I think when the history of this is written, the question is going to be, did the President and his aides anticipate what that would be, and do
what they could in advance to mitigate it. You can't mitigate all of it. And you know, war is unpredictable business.
I am not sure that they fully estimated the degree to which the Iranians had planned out how to hit a dozen or so American allies and other Iranian
neighbors in a way, to sort of spread the pain here, or how successful they would be just with the threat of closing the Strait of Hormuz. We've seen
very little traffic going through it.
SOARES: And let me give you a sense, then, of what we're hearing out of Europe. And I was just listening to the German chancellor before I came
down, and he was speaking out about the war in Iraq -- in Iran, but also concerned about the lack of a joint plan to end the war. I think we have
that clip. Do we, have it? Let's play it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FRIEDRICH MERZ, CHANCELLOR, GERMANY (through translator): The United States and Israel have been waging war against Iran for over a week. We
share many of these goals, but with each day of the war, more questions arise.
We are particularly concerned that there is apparently no common plan for how to bring this war to a swift and convincing conclusion. Meanwhile, we
are witnessing a dangerous escalation. Iran is indiscriminately attacking countries in the region, including close partners and allies of ours, we
condemn this in the strongest possible terms.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Speaks David, to the point that you were making right off the top, the lack of clarity that -- from this administration. But I wonder whether
we are likely to see a shift, not just this being communicated with allies not in Europe, but also those in the gulf.
SANGER: Well, it speaks to something else as well, which is, if you don't go into this with your allies, and most of them didn't even know the
timing, then it's hard to sort of gather them all together for the endgame, because they say, hey, I didn't sign up for this at the start.
And so, each one of them is going to have, you know, their own set of important demands. And we have seen some other allies come in.
[14:15:00]
The British offered some aircraft carriers, the President turned that down. The French are in fact sending an aircraft carrier into the region. I don't
know how coordinated that's going to end up being with the U.S. We'll have to go look for that.
The Ukrainians offered some anti-drone technology, they actually offered it last Summer. "The Washington Post" reported recently, and they were turned
down for it then, but it's been accepted now. But in return, they're not getting more of the interceptors that they've been asking for.
And in fact, those are being burned off in the war in Iran. So, you're seeing a lot of difficulties with alliance management, not a particular
surprise, given that the President has made it pretty clear, he does not plan to do these kinds of operations with allies the way some past
administrations, Republican and Democratic have.
SOARES: David Sanger, always sharp analysis, really appreciate you coming on the show. Thank you very much, David, good to see you --
SANGER: Great to be with you.
SOARES: And as David was talking, we were showing you -- let's show you again, these images coming to us from the White House. We are waiting to
hear from the White House Press Secretary, Karoline Leavitt, who will address, of course, a room full of media.
The press will bring that to you. Over the questions that, you know, I was just discussing with David Sanger, White House correspondent as well, and
that is the mixed messaging coming from this White House. In the meantime, U.S. military planners say they are looking at how they can help escort
ships through the Strait of Hormuz.
The Strait is a critical shipping route, one fifth of the oil consumed around the globe goes through there. Iran has threatened to attack any ship
that tries to traverse it, while Iran's security chief says Hormuz can be for peace or it can be a Strait of defeat and suffering. You can see there
from Ali Larijani.
President Donald Trump responded by saying that if Iran blocks the Strait, the U.S. will hit back 20 times harder. Nic Robertson is tracking the story
in the gulf from us in Kuwait. And Nic, we are waiting from Karoline Leavitt, so if I have to interject, apologies in advance.
Just on the Strait of Hormuz, and you know, I wonder how seriously, from your vantage point, gulf countries and the U.S. administration are taking
this threat that we just posted there from Ali Larijani; Iran's security chief, and what can be done from your vantage point and your experience
here on the ground to stop Iran targeting these vessels?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, look, I think threats that the Iranians are making are being taken seriously, because
countries like Kuwait, you know, have received hundreds of ballistic missiles, hundreds of drones, citizen service members have been killed.
So, they take it seriously. I'm looking out to see in this direction, I can see lights on the horizon there at sea. And earlier on, we saw some tankers
out there. And these are exactly the sort of vessels that would want to take the oil from Kuwait and traverse through the Straits of Hormuz and out
of the gulf.
Iran's about -- from where we stand, about 50 miles away. So, it's a very clear and present threat. So, the threats are taken seriously. And I think
the gulf countries will understand that Iran has had a strategy for how to fight this looming war, and part of the strategy, of course, we're seeing
playing out drive up oil prices.
Part of the strategy they've used it before so many times is trying to close the Strait of Hormuz. So, it's reasonable and rational to think that
Iran will have tried to stockpile, hide, deceive western Intelligence, eyes and satellites of where they may have missiles, additional drones along the
Strait of Hormuz.
President Trump, Pete Hegseth; the Secretary of Defense, Secretary of War, have said that the Iranian Navy is pretty much disabled, but it -- that
doesn't really get to the fact that large tankers, and even if you put in military battleships escorting them through, are vulnerable to attack from
the shore.
Again, to break this down, the Houthis; who are a proxy of the Iranians, have had a lot of experience of doing that in the Red Sea. They've tried to
shoot at a lot of ships there. They had some successes, a lot more failures. But it's hard to protect against everything.
And I think the other sort of piece of experience I would bring to the table here is back in 2019, we were covering Iran, putting pressure on
ships in the Straits of Hormuz back then. But they didn't do it with battleships, and they didn't actually do it with missiles or drones --
(CROSSTALK)
SOARES: Nic, apology to interject, Nic, apologies. I promised we'll bring you Karoline Leavitt, let's listen in.
LEAVITT: And your drone attacks are down by approximately 85 percent since the start of Operation Epic Fury. The United States is also annihilating
the Iranian regime's Navy, and we have destroyed more than 50 Iranian Naval vessels, including a major drone carrier ship.
None of the regime's vessels are operating in major regional waterways, and the Iranian Navy has been assessed as combat ineffective.
[14:20:00]
The trend is clear. U.S. combat capabilities are increasing and growing more lethal and dominant by the day, while the Iranian terrorist regime's
ability to respond has rapidly declined. Now, the U.S. military is moving to dismantle Iran's missile production infrastructure.
Our incredible B-2 Bombers recently dropped dozens of 2,000-pound penetrator bombs on deeply buried missile sites. Last night, President
Trump reiterated his commitment toward keeping oil flowing through the Strait of Hormuz. So, the United States and all of our allies can receive
their energy needs.
President Trump will not allow rogue Iranian terrorists to stop the freedom of navigation and the free-flow of energy. Let me be clear. It is a good
thing to wipe out terrorists who indiscriminately target civilians and attempt to hold the global economy hostage.
And President Trump could be -- should be commended for doing so. As the President made unequivocally clear to the remaining elements of this
terrorist regime in his statement yesterday, if they do anything to stop the flow of oil or goods within the Strait of Hormuz, they will be hit by
the world's most powerful military, 20 times harder than they have been hit thus far.
Moving forward, the stated objectives for Operation Epic Fury remain the same: destroy the terrorist regime's ballistic missiles, raze the Iranian
missile industry to the ground, ensure their terrorist proxies can no longer destabilize the region, and ensure that Iran never obtains a nuclear
weapon.
President Trump remains confident these goals will be accomplished in swift fashion. As for the oil, President Trump fully expected the rogue Iranian
regime to try and disrupt the global markets. That's why President Trump and his energy team have been planning for this long before the strike, and
have moved quickly to address these temporary disruptions.
Thus far, the Trump administration has offered political risk insurance to tankers operating in the gulf. The Treasury temporarily waived certain oil
related sanctions, and the commander-in-chief has offered the U.S. Navy to escort tankers when necessary.
The President and his energy team are closely watching the markets, speaking with industry leaders, and the U.S. military is drawing up
additional options following the President's directive to continue keeping the Strait of Hormuz open.
I will not broadcast what those options look like, but just know the President is not afraid to use them. Rest assured to the American people,
the recent increase in oil and gas prices is temporary, and this operation will result in lower gas prices in the long term.
Once the national security objectives of Operation Epic Fury are fully achieved, Americans will see oil and gas prices drop rapidly, potentially
even lower than they were prior to the start of the operation. And we will live in a world where Iran can no longer threaten the United States or our
allies with a nuclear bomb.
On another matter here at home, President Trump is urging Congress to pass the Save America Act, one of the most critical pieces of legislation in our
nation's history. The Save America Act is overwhelmingly popular with all Americans because each provision is rooted in common sense.
The Save America Act has five simple requirements as requested by the President of the United States. Number one, voters have to show ID to cast
a ballot in an American election. Very simple. Ninety percent of Americans, including more than 80 percent of Democrat voters agree with this.
Number two, the Save America Act will require all voters to show proof of citizenship in order to register to vote in American elections. Again, this
is popular and rooted in common sense. Only American citizens have the right to vote in American elections.
But after Joe Biden and the Democrats allowed tens of millions of illegal aliens into our country, it's more important than ever to ensure that only
American citizens are registering to vote in our -- on our nation's voter rolls, and Congress needs to pass this.
Number three, the Save America Act abolishes the incredibly unsecure practice of universal mail-in ballots, which throw the door wide open for
fraud. Importantly, the Save America Act maintains exceptions for Americans to use mail-in ballots like for illness, disability, military or travel
reasons.
The bipartisan 2005 report of the Commission on Federal Election Reform, chaired by, of all people, former President Jimmy Carter and former
Secretary of State James Baker, concluded that, quote, "absentee ballots remain the largest source of potential voter fraud, and it is time for
Congress to finally address this."
Number four. The Save America Act permanently bans men from competing in women's sports. President Trump signed a landmark executive order upholding
the promise of Title Nine and ending this dangerous and unfair practice. But now, it's time for Congress to codify this into law.
[14:25:00]
Number five. The Save America Act bans transgender mutilation surgery for children. Again, President Trump signed a common-sense executive order to
do this and kept his promise to the American people. But now, Congress needs to do the same and codify it.
It's well past time for Democrats in Congress to stop perpetuating the radical and false claim that you can somehow change a child's sex. You
cannot. Passing the Save America Act is the most important thing that Republicans and frankly, Democrats can do to strengthen election integrity
and protect our democracy.
It's what the American people elected Republicans to do, and they must deliver on it as soon as possible. The President is calling on Congress to
get the job done, and send this historic piece of legislation to his desk immediately for signature.
So, with that today, I will take your questions. Bennie(ph), thank you for being here, and why don't you start us off?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you, Karoline. So, my first question is actually about the Save America Act. So, one of the biggest things that the
Democrats are saying, the claims that they're making is that the Save America Act, it would prevent married women from voting in elections or
make it harder for them.
What do you have to say to those claims? Is there any validity to them? And where do you think they're getting this from?
LEAVITT: There is zero validity to these claims, and I'm glad that you brought them up, because you have the Democrats who have created this myth,
and it has been perpetuated, unfortunately, by many in the mainstream media.
Let me be very clear. The Save America Act does not prohibit anyone from voting, with the exception of illegal aliens. And the greatest way to
disenfranchise American citizens from voting in American elections is to allow illegal aliens to vote, which is what Democrats want to do.
We see it taking place in Democrat jurisdictions at the state and local level across this country. So, the Save America Act corrects that. And as
far as married women who have changed their name, if they're already registered to vote, they're entirely unaffected by the Save Act.
And for the small fraction of individuals who have changed their name or their address, they can still register to vote. Of course, they just have
to go through their state processes to update that documentation.
And this is something that the American people, married women and minorities and people all across this country who Democrats are insultingly
saying cannot do this, they're already doing it every day.
Going to the Social Security office, going to the DMV, and I think it's frankly insulting that the Democrats are saying that. There are certain
groups of people in this country who aren't smart enough to update their documentation to allow them to vote. Again, this is a huge myth, and thank
you for giving me the opportunity to address it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Of course, and then just one more question about DHS, the funding issue. It's been three-plus weeks now. I was actually -- so, I
was at the airport this morning in St. Louis, Missouri, and it was early in the morning, and one of the TSA agents I saw, she was kind of tearing up.
She was crying, and I asked her, I was like, what's wrong? And she was like, I can't make my phone payment, my -- I can barely make my car payment
that's coming up. I want -- what do you -- I think a lot in the beltway, there's so much noise between Democrats, Republicans. It's the Democrats
fault. It's the Republicans fault.
But what is the White House's message to the American people that are struggling because they're not getting that paycheck? It's -- take away the
politics. What do you have to say to those people?
LEAVITT: President Trump wants the Department of Homeland Security, he wants TSA, he wants FEMA, he wants the brave men and women of our United
States Coast Guard to receive their paychecks, and he wants this department to be fully funded and fully reopened.
And so, to any American out there who is struggling without a paycheck, we know there's more than 100,000 of you across the country, to any American
out there who is showing up to an airport and facing incredibly long-wait times in lines, call your Democrat member of Congress and tell them to fund
the Department of Homeland Security.
That's what President Trump wants to do. And it's completely ridiculous that the American people are suffering as a result of these partisan games
that are being played by Democrats on Capitol Hill. Thank you. Steve(ph)?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, thank you. You said the operation was going faster than anticipated. What is your current timeline for how long the war will
last?
LEAVITT: So, look, as you know, Steve(ph), the President and the U.S. military's initial timeline was about 4 to 6 weeks to achieve the full
objectives of Operation Epic Fury, again to destroy their missiles and their ability to make them, destroy their Navy, permanently deny them
nuclear weapons forever, and to, of course, weaken their evil terrorist proxies in the region.
We know that the U.S. military and our brave warfighters are quickly and expeditiously executing these objectives well ahead of schedule, but
ultimately, the operations will end when the commander-in-chief determines the military objectives have been met, fully realized, and that Iran is in
a position of complete and unconditional surrender, whether they say it or not.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Does the President still want Iran's unconditional surrender?
LEAVITT: Well, when President Trump says that Iran is in a place of unconditional surrender, he's not claiming the Iranian regime is going to
come out and say that themselves. What the President means is that Iran's threats will no longer be backed by a ballistic missile arsenal that
protects them from building a nuclear bomb in their country. I could make an empty threat, but if I have no actions to back it up, then it's an empty
threat. And so, President Trump will determine when Iran is in a place of unconditional surrender, when they no longer pose a credible and direct
threat to the United States of America and our allies. Adriana.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can you explain why the energy secretary posted and then appeared to have deleted a post on X saying that the U.S. Navy
escorted an oil tanker through the Strait of Hormuz?
LEAVITT: Yes, I was made aware of this post. I haven't had a chance to talk to the energy secretary about it directly. However, I know the post
was taken down pretty quickly, and I can confirm that the U.S. Navy has not escorted a tanker or a vessel at this time, though, of course, that's an
option the president has said he will absolutely utilize if and when necessary at the appropriate time.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And if this was something that was posted erroneously, could it be because of a staffer or what -- you know, what --
I guess, will there be any consequences for this? I know you still have to consult, but just generally speaking.
LEAVITT: Yes, again, I would defer you to the Department of Energy to answer that question.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And if I could just follow up really quickly.
LEAVITT: Sure.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In terms of oil sanctions, the president said that there would be some sanctions. What -- that will be lifted. Would those be
on Venezuela, Russia? Could you give some specifics there and then timing for that as well?
LEAVITT: Sure. I know it's something that the Treasury Department and the president's energy team continue to discuss, and they will ultimately
consult with the president before decisions are made. I don't have any announcements on new sanctions or the lifting of new sanctions for you
today. Alex.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you. Reuters has reported that about 150 U.S. service members have been injured so far. Can you confirm that number and
elaborate on that?
LEAVITT: I can't confirm the exact number. I know it's within that ballpark, but I would defer you to the Pentagon for a specific number of
wounded or injured thus far.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And then secondly, if I can, I wanted to ask about -- excuse me, there was a briefing on the Capitol Hill today and some senators
came out and said they were more convinced than ever that there were the U.S. boots on the ground. Senator Blumenthal said that, in fact. Your
reaction to that and any update on President Trump's thinking about it?
LEAVITT: Look, I would say that Democrats on Capitol Hill are clearly being quite disingenuous. Three years ago, not a single Democrat voted for
the against the resolution condemning Iran as the world's leading state sponsor of terror. Yet now, with President Trump as commander in chief,
finally taking the action that so many Democrats have called on the commander in chief to do for many, many years to wipe out the threat of a
rogue Iranian terrorist regime.
Now, all of a sudden, Democrats are playing politics with this longstanding bipartisan policy of the United States. And they, 53 of them in the House
recently voted against the resolution condemning Iran as the world's state sponsor of terror. So, I wouldn't take Democrats at their word. As for
boots on the ground, the president has talked about this repeatedly, wisely. He does not rule options out as commander in chief.
So, again, I would hesitate to confirm anything that a Democrat on Capitol Hill says right now about the president's thinking. Garrett.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Karoline, you outlined to Steve the military components of what would be involved in ending this war, but it seems like there's a
political component, too. The president said to Fox earlier today that he doesn't believe the new ayatollah can live in peace. He made a variety of
comments suggesting that he should be involved in picking the new Iranian leader. Is the ending of this war also contingent on Iran selecting a
leader that the president finds acceptable? And if so, how is that not the definition of a regime change war?
LEAVITT: Look, as President Trump has blatantly and frankly stated, it's obviously within the best interest of the United States and the West to no
longer have a radical terrorist in charge of Iran, especially as we see their reaction to Operation Epic Fury. They had their missiles turned
towards our Gulf and Arab partners in the region.
Again, this was a regime that chanted or still chants death to America. We look at the way that they are holding the entire world hostage with the
restricting of the free flow of energy through the Strait of Hormuz. So, the president, I think, is making quite an obvious comment.
Again, as for the timeline of the military operations with respect to Iran, we have objectives that we have laid out that the commander in chief wants
to see achieved. When they are achieved, then it will ultimately be up to the president to end this operation.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. So, I think you're not exactly addressing my question, though. Is that political objective also necessary for the
president to decide to end this war?
LEAVITT: Look, again, I just told you the objectives of Operation Epic Fury. When those objectives are met, the president will dictate the end of
these operations when he deems that Iran no longer poses a credible threat to the United States of America.
[14:35:00]
And again, it goes back to, what does that unconditional surrender look like? Iran can talk all they want, and their words will be very empty when
we've completely annihilated their Navy, as we are doing, when we've taken out the threat of their ballistic missile capability, when we can firmly
finally ensure that they can no longer make a nuclear bomb to threaten the United States and our allies and our troops in the region. And that's what
President Trump is ultimately seeking to do with respect to this operation. Jennifer.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There was a shooting outside of a synagogue in Baltimore. Do you know if the president has been briefed on that? And do
you have any more details on what happened?
LEAVITT: I don't, but we certainly will get you more details, Jennifer. And I don't know if the president has briefed, but I'll check on that when
I get back to the Oval Office after this. Sure.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thanks, Karoline. The president said yesterday for the first time that he had to strike Iran because he believes that Iran was
going to strike U.S. targets within seven days. And then he then bumped that down later to three days. Where is he getting that?
LEAVITT: Well, that's not the first time the president has said that he chose to launch Operation Epic Fury because he felt as though Iran was
going to strike the United States and our assets in the region first. Again, I addressed this in the last briefing. This was a feeling the
president had based on facts, facts provided to him by his top negotiators who had been engaged with the Iranian regime in a good faith effort.
The Iranian regime was lying, deceiving the United States of America, clearly trying to continue their nuclear program to create a bomb that
would, of course, threaten the United States of America. Again, their ballistic missile arsenal, they were rapidly and aggressively increasing
that by the month to a place where they would essentially build immunity for themselves, where a future president or President Trump would not be
able to launch this incredibly successful operation.
And so, the president, again, as I have reiterated and he has said, was not going to sit back and allow the Iranian regime to threaten or to attack the
United States of America any longer.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But there are no U.S. leaders or Israeli leaders who are making those same claims. So, is he making this up to justify his
decision to go to war now?
LEAVITT: The president is not making anything up, Nancy. He is looking at this every single day based on intelligence, based on facts, and based on
intelligence that he himself and his negotiators have consumed based on their, again, negotiations with the rogue Iranian regime over the past
year. And the president and his team tried in a good faith way to reach a diplomatic deal through peaceful means with the Iranian regime. And Iran
chose this path to death and destruction.
Iran wanted to attack the United States of America, and the president was not going to sit back and allow that to happen. He was not going to sit
back and allow that to happen, and everyone in this room should be grateful for it. John.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thanks a lot, Karoline. Two questions for you. One has to do with a follow-up to your statement that you made at the beginning of
the briefing regarding the Save America Act. Yesterday, the Senate Majority Leader John Thune spoke on the effort to potentially have a filibuster
broken, the rules for the filibuster broken. He said the votes aren't there, one, to move the filibuster, and the votes aren't there for a
talking filibuster. He says that's the reality. What's your reaction to what Senator Thune said?
LEAVITT: Look, I think President Trump, the urgency behind his need to pass the Save America Act and his desire to get this country-saving
legislation passed has been made quite clear. He wants all options on the table, and he wants the Senate to move as quickly as possible through
whatever means necessary.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And then, secondly, just regarding the president's trip tomorrow, looking ahead, why Ohio and why Northern Kentucky?
LEAVITT: Well, why not? These are two great states with great Americans.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just wanted to know why they were chosen.
LEAVITT: Great states with great Americans. The president will be joined by lawmakers from both states who he greatly admires and respects and
supports, and he'll be meeting with business owners in both of these places and talking about the economy, which is, of course, the utmost importance
to him.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Karoline, thank you. Last week, the energy secretary issued a waiver for India to get oil, Russian oils, during this energy
crisis. Have you spoken to the president about it? What's the idea behind this?
LEAVITT: Have I spoken to the president about it?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
LEAVITT: Yes, I have spoken to the president about it. And the president and the secretary of treasury and the whole national security team came to
this decision because our allies in India, as you know, Lalit (ph), have been good actors and have previously stopped buying sanctioned Russian oil.
So, as we work to appease this temporary gap of oil supply around the world because of the Iranians, we have temporarily permitted them to accept that
Russian oil.
And this Russian oil was already at sea. It was already out on the water. So, this short-term measure, we don't believe it will provide significant
financial benefit to the Russian government at this time.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have one more question about Pakistan. You know Pakistan is a neighbor of Iran. And president - Pakistan is also an ally of
U.S. President has been praising a lot about the field marshal. Is Pakistan providing any kind of support in this war against Iran?
[14:40:00]
LEAVITT: That, I will have to check out with the Pentagon and get back to you. Sure.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thanks, Karoline. The president said yesterday that President Putin told him he wanted to be helpful in the Middle East. The
Kremlin put out a statement where Putin said, I would like to reaffirm our unwavering support for Tehran and our solidarity with Iranian friends. How
does the President think that Russia could be helpful, if not helping Iran? And did the President push Putin on Russia sharing intelligence with Iran
in this war?
LEAVITT: The President and his special envoy, Witkoff, have both said that, of course, they've sent a message to Russia that if that was taking
place, it's not something they would be happy with and they hope that it is not taking place. As for further details about the discussions between
these two leaders, I'll leave it to the president to divulge any more of that conversation. But he did confirm it yesterday and provided you with a
little bit of the background and his view and his perspective, as he always does.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Regarding the missile strike on the Iranian school, how long does the administration expect that investigation to take? And will
the White House or the Department of Defense release a full report of its findings once the investigation is completed?
LEAVITT: The Department of War will do that. The investigation continues. And as the president said yesterday at his press conference, he will accept
the conclusion of that investigation, whatever it may be. We'll go to the back row for some love. Sure, in the back, with the glasses.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Regarding the shield of the Americans --
LEAVITT: Sitting down.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Karoline, is --
LEAVITT: And then you can go, but go first. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK, thank you, Karoline.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is there an update regarding the --
LEAVITT: You have rough real estate back there, so I'm trying to give you some love.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is there an update regarding Cuba? And also, is an economic deal imminent?
LEAVITT: Sure, I don't have any updates on Cuba for you today. Obviously, this is something the administration is actively dealing with. The
president's made it quite clear. It's his belief, based on fact, that the Cuban regime is bound to fall. The country is obviously in a very weak
place, economically speaking. The people are crying out for help. And the president believes and knows that the Cuban regime wants a deal.
So, as you know, Secretary of State Rubio has been engaged in those conversations, as directed by the president. I don't have any updates for
you today, though.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, Karoline. Regarding the Shield of the Americas, the initiative by President Trump this weekend, big names, a lot
of countries, but some notable absences, for instance, Colombia, which is a key ally with the United States in terms of counter-narcotics. And
President Gustavo Petro was here at the White House, and he met with President Trump. Why wasn't Colombia invited to the Shield of the Americas?
LEAVITT: I don't think we're seeing the level of cooperation we quite want to see yet from the Colombian government to invite them to the Shield of
Americas event and pact. But we certainly hope that this newfound organization will expand and we can continue to invite additional member
countries. But there was quite a few countries there.
I believe there were 17 countries represented, 12 heads of state with the President over the weekend. They signed a defense agreement with all of our
militaries to emphasize the need to combat drug cartels through Latin America and the Western Hemisphere, and ultimately, of course, to curb the
illegal trafficking of drugs to the United States, which is the president's utmost priority in all of this. So, it was a great event on Saturday, and
we look forward to the coalition expanding. Kelly, in the back.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Karoline, thank you. Good to see you. I want to get back to another question that was asked earlier. It talked about the
political aspects, but there's also the ideological and the spiritual aspects of what Iran has said for 47 years, death to America, death to
Israel. And we've just finished talking about the fact that terror has been around the world. Iran has been the nexus of that in so many ways. Has the
president stated clearly to the American people why this is such an imminent threat in order for Democrats on Capitol Hill and Republicans and
the American people to understand how imminent the threat was?
LEAVITT: I think he has, Kelly. I mean, you've heard from the president on an almost daily basis over the course of the past 10 days. You've heard it
from me at this podium. You've heard it from the secretary of war, the secretary of state, the vice president of the United States. You know, the
president's top cabinet and his officials have been repeatedly explaining to the American public the threat that Iran has posed to our country in
this moment, but, of course, over the course of the past 47 years. And their words, again, chanting death to America, speak for themselves.
Go ahead. You can follow up.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why the division within the American people -- I realize that we have people who are talking about the War Powers Act.
They're talking about all kinds of issues. But have people forgotten just how imminent that threat was? If they keep saying death to America and
death to Israel, they mean it.
LEAVITT: Look, I don't think the American people have forgotten, but I think Democrats on Capitol Hill, they have not forgotten, but they are just
so plagued with this resistance to President Trump on everything that they do that, again, they can't even rally behind the common-sense, bipartisan,
long-standing principle of the United States of America that Iran absolutely poses a threat to the United States, that Iran is the world's
leading state sponsor of terrorism.
[14:45:00]
And I think that's reflected, again, in their voting pattern. In 2023, every single member of the House of Representatives, with the exception of
one, I believe the final vote was 412 to 1 in 2023 for a resolution condemning Iran as the world's state-leading sponsor of terror.
And now, in this year, under this president, in 2026, 53 Democrats voted against that exact same resolution with the exact same language. I don't
think that's a change in the threat that Iran has posed to the United States. I think it's a change in the Democrat Party's thinking and their
vicious hatred for President Trump. Danny.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thanks, Kelly.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What's the national threat level -- following on Kelly, what's the national threat level right now because of this death to
America, death to Israel issue?
LEAVITT: I believe the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI have repeatedly and continuously provided updates on the threat level to the
homeland. I don't want to speak on it out of turn from up here. But, of course, the federal government is continuing to coordinate and partner with
local law enforcement agencies across the ground to thwart potential threats to the homeland. This is something the administration obviously
takes very seriously.
We are thwarting threats that, frankly, most Americans don't know about because they never make headlines. But that's the great work that the
Department of Homeland Security is doing. And it emphasizes and underscores the point of why Democrats need to fund and reopen fully the Department of
Homeland Security right now. Danny.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On the Iranian school, why did President Trump say yesterday that Iran may have Tomahawk missiles when there are only three
other U.S. allies, plus the U.S., that have those missiles and, therefore, could be Iran?
LEAVITT: Look, again, as the President said yesterday, he will accept the conclusion of this investigation by the Department of War. I know there's
been a lot of speculation in the media about who may be responsible for this. We're not going to get ahead of the Department of War in the
conclusion of that investigation. The President has a right to share his opinions with the American public, but he has said he'll accept the
conclusion of that investigation.
And, frankly, we're not going to be harassed by The New York Times, who's been putting out a lot of articles on this, making claims that have just
not been verified by the Department of War, to quickly wrap up this investigation because The New York Times is calling on us to do so.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you so much. Karoline. With the DHS currently under a partial Democrat shutdown, does the administration have any
specific concerns about potential impact on homeland security or intelligence monitoring of sleeper cells inside the United States? And do
you have any comment on the bombing, the 200 individuals that bombed New York City or tried to?
LEAVITT: Yes, it was absolutely despicable to see that attack in New York City. I know the FBI is investigating, and the Department of Justice and
SDNY have announced they are charging those two individuals and alleged terrorists, and I know they won't rest until justice is sought in this
case. Daniel.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, Karoline. Appreciate it.
ISA SOARES, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: You have been listening to the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, talking about lots of threats and
what relates to the Operation Epic Fury, that's the war against Iran, talking about military oil and gas as well as objectives. Whether we got
much of a clarity, any more clarity, you say, is unclear.
Let me give you a sense of what we've heard. We've heard the Pentagon and White House talking about this in the last few minutes, that approximately
140 U.S. troops have sustained injuries since the beginning of the U.S.'s operation against Iran. We've heard this from the Pentagon. I think eight
of them are seriously injured. This is what we're hearing from the Pentagon.
In terms of what we heard from Karoline Leavitt, who's speaking right now, she said the U.S. military is moving to dismantle missile production
infrastructure. She says Iran is holding the global economy hostage, and then really a threat to Iran. If they do anything to stop the flow of oil,
of course, the Strait of Hormuz, they'll be hit 10 times harder. This is off the back of Ali Larijani's comments regarding the Strait of Hormuz. She
also said that President Trump is confident that the goals will be achieved swiftly.
When she was asked about timelines, she said the original timeline was 46 weeks. She said objectives are ahead of schedule. She also said, which I
thought was very interesting, that the increasing gas prices that we are seeing in oil prices, she says this will be temporary. Potentially, prices
will be even lower once this war -- this operation finishes, and that president and his energy team are closely watching markets, additional
options being drawn up. Didn't really talk about those additional options were, which is what we wanted.
And she was asked about unconditional surrender, what the president says is the end game, and she said Iran is in a position -- when Iran's in a
position of a conditional surrender, Iran's threat will no longer be backed by a nuclear bomb, no longer pose a threat to our allies. So, still not
much clarity, as she wraps up there from the podium.
[14:50:00]
I want to bring in our team who's been listening to this for the last 10 minutes or so of the show. Kevin Liptak and Haley Britzky are in
Washington, and Nic Robertson is in Kuwait. Let me go to you first, Haley, and what we've just heard from the Pentagon, 140 U.S. service members
injured thus far in Iran. What more do you know?
HALEY BRITZKY, CNN U.S. NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: That's right. So, approximately 140 service members have sustained what the chief Pentagon
spokesperson, Sean Parnell, described as somewhat minor injuries. Well, the majority of them sustaining those minor injuries. Eight service members at
this point are seriously wounded, and an official has told us previously that's a very specific category of injury, meaning that they have possibly
received surgery, they're staying in the hospital, some are in critical condition. So, very serious on the scale of injury for those eight. The
vast majority of these 140 service members have since returned to duty, so underscoring the severity or lack thereof of those injuries.
We don't quite have more detail as to what the breakdown of those injuries are. They could include traumatic brain injury, which certainly can be on a
scale of severity as well, things like shrapnel wounds that are not life- threatening, things of that nature. So, the majority of them have since returned to duty, eight who are still not totally out of the woods yet, and
of course, seven service members at this point who have been killed in action in this conflict, six who came home over the weekend, the seventh
who just returned home to Dover Air Force Base last night.
Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Caine, were at Dover to welcome him and his family along
with the vice president last night. And the President has said, as has Secretary Hegseth, that casualties are only to be expected in a conflict
like this. The president said last week that we can expect those casualties to increase, so certainly we'll be keeping an eye on this number of
injuries and these eight in particular who are seriously wounded.
SOARES: And we're grateful that you are, Haley. Thank you. Let me go to Nic Robertson. Nic, I was wondering your takeaway in the last few minutes
of the show. I did hear the drone attacks were down something like 85 percent. What did you make of what you heard, particularly this position of
unconditional surrender?
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Yes, I was interested in that because it really sort of phrases it when the president considers
that they're in a position of unconditional surrender. And it did have sort of various -- the spokesperson there did give it sort of various
interpretations, but it seemed to be when you reduce it down, it's when Iran cannot back up its threats with missiles.
And in that context, I think it does rather set the stage in the Strait of Hormuz, which is becoming the focus as well as all the missile launch
systems, the missile storage systems, the missile manufacture systems, enriched uranium, leadership figures, military headquarters, all those
sorts of things that are still being attrited, to use the sort of military parlance there, if you will.
It's the Strait of Hormuz that really now is sort of directing the agenda. This was the thing I found, and I'd be interested to hear what Kevin thinks
as well, of the huge focus and pressure and dynamicism of the spokesperson at the beginning of the press conference there, really asserting strongly
that the Strait of Hormuz, this issue of Iran blocking it can be overcome.
So, when you sort of focus down on what unconditional surrender looks like, it looks like when Iran can no longer block energy vessel shipping getting
through the Strait of Hormuz. And from my own experience, I think I was talking about a little earlier, back in 2019, it doesn't take a Navy. You
can have a Navy at the bottom of the ocean. It takes a few small skiffs with a couple of soldiers on board who can stick magnetic mines to the side
of a tanker, as we saw in 2019, blow holes in the tankers, bring the shipping in that area to a halt because it's too dangerous.
And of course, then there's also the missiles that the Iranians will have strategically placed near there because they always knew this was sort of a
golden card for them to play there.
SOARES: So, Kevin, two pronged questions here. Pickup of what Nic was saying, this -- following on from Karoline Leavitt, say if they do
anything, talking about Iran, to stop the flow of oil on Hormuz, they will be hit 10 times harder. But you also say -- Karoline Leavitt also said that
the lower prices, gas prices, will be felt in the long-term, clearly speaking to these concerns that many Americans are having right now.
KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, and I think taken together, the message from Karoline Leavitt today was essentially, we know
how this is going to go. We have a plan in place. But in a lot of ways, her sort of objectives were divergent. On the one hand, she wants to suggest
that they have these clear objectives in mind, military objectives of what they want to target.
[14:55:00]
But on the other hand, she doesn't necessarily want to say what they are because she knows that President Trump may come out in an hour or in two
days and have a completely different set of objectives that he lays out for people.
So, for example, when she was pressed again and again, whether the political leadership in Iran was part of what she was talking about here,
she kind of refused to say because we have heard from President Trump again and again that he needs to see a different leadership in Iran if he thinks
this is all going to be successful.
You know, when it comes to the Strait of Hormuz, you know, it's clear that inside the White House there is now a recognition that these high oil
prices, high gas prices are going to pose a serious political problem for them. She did try and lay out all of these options that they are using to
try and get that water -- body of water flowing again, but clearly, she isn't ready to list all of them. She also had to clean up this errant tweet
by the energy secretary who suggested the Navy was already escorting ships. And so, I think there's still a lot of uncertainties here.
SOARES: Yes, a lot of uncertain, lots of questions. She did say that President Trump not afraid to use additional options on energy, but did not
actually expand or give us any details on what those options were. Thank you very much, Kevin Liptak, Haley Britzky, and our Nic Robertson for us in
Kuwait. A very busy hour of news.
Do stay right here. "What We Know" with Max Foster is up next. I'll see you tomorrow. Have a wonderful day.
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