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Isa Soares Tonight
Pentagon Says It Has Significantly Weakened Iran's Military Strength; Thousands Of Iranians Take To The Streets To Celebrate Al Quds Day In Support Of Palestinians; U.S. Says Six Crew Members Died In An Accident Involving A Refueling Plane; Top Iranian Officials Join Mass Al Quds Day Rallies; U.S. Offers Up To $10M Reward For Information On Iranian Leaders; Civilians Caught In The Middle As Israel Targets Hezbollah; FBI: Michigan Synagogue Attack Targeted Act Of Violence Against Jewish Community; One Killed, Two Injured In Shooting At Old Dominion University; Cuba Confirms Talks With U.S. Amid Economic Crisis, Trump Pressure. Aired 2-3p ET
Aired March 13, 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, I want to do start in the Middle East on
day 14 of this war. And the Pentagon says it has significantly weakened Iran's military strength.
It claims the U.S. and Israel have hit more than 15,000 targets in Iran so far. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is downplaying the risk to ships
in the Strait of Hormuz, saying "don't worry about it", and I'm quoting him there.
Sources tell CNN that the U.S. was not prepared for Iran's move to close the Strait. Meantime, thousands of Iranians took to the streets to
celebrate Al Quds day in support of Palestinians, even as missiles and bombs were falling nearby.
Iran's new supreme leader who was reportedly injured in the early days of the conflict, has yet to be seen or heard from in public. Israel and
Hezbollah are stepping up their back-and-forth strikes, Israel has issued mass evacuations in Lebanon that could put even more civilians on the move.
And as the U.S. says six crew members died in an accident involving a refueling plane. The Pentagon says the plane was not shot down by enemy or
friendly fire. We have reporters around the world covering all of this for you as you would expect.
Our Nic Robertson is in Kuwait. But first, I want to go to our national security reporter, Zach Cohen, who joins us from Washington. So, Zach, what
more do we know at this hour about this plane crash where six U.S. service members lost their lives? Put this in context here for us.
ZACHARY COHEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY REPORTER: Yes, Isa, this is exponentially increasing the death toll on the U.S. side for this conflict.
We know that all six of the U.S. service members who were on board that KC 130 refueling aircraft have been announced as dead.
And this comes after the U.S. also has lost three F-15 fighter jets in an incident that essentially was characterized by the Pentagon as an accident,
and one that was not caused by enemy fire. But we obviously know, too, that the Pentagon has released the identities of seven U.S. service members who
were killed in that wave of initial retaliatory strikes launched by Iran.
So, we are starting to see the number of U.S. deaths pile up here as Donald Trump continues to offer shifting timelines for when he believes that this
conflict will end. He said just today that he will feel it in his bones when it's time to end the war.
That makes it difficult for the United States military to really, clearly, hone in on its objectives when that timeframe continues to move. So, we'll
have to wait and see how this might continue to impact U.S. combat operations in Iran. But we are starting to see those -- that death toll
continues to increase.
SOARES: Yes, unfortunately we do. Yes, stay with us, Zach. Let me go to Nic. And Nic, there seems to be a disconnect between what the U.S.
administration is saying, you know, with Secretary Hegseth saying that they have decimated Iran's air defenses, Air Force and Navy.
And what then is being felt, and what's being reported in the Gulf? So, give us a sense of the attacks we have seen in the region and the mood
where you are, because it sounds pretty busy on that high street it seems.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: It is. This is the last week of Ramadan, the Eid is coming, it's Friday. So, this was always a day
where more people will come out in the evening. And look, there are families here, fathers carrying their children, mothers out with their
children as well shopping.
It is a pretty relaxed environment. When you talk to people here and ask them, how safe do they feel? They say, look, this government's got good air
defense systems. It's not a 100 percent, but we feel pretty safe from it.
Today was a day where perhaps that view could have been reinforced. The Kuwaiti officials say only one ballistic missile was fired at Kuwait today,
that was intercepted, compare that with yesterday when it was a handful of ballistic missiles, a handful of drones, a couple of drones hit the
international airport, a civilian residential building was hit somewhere else, a couple of people injured there.
I don't think anyone takes the measure of today as an indication of what will come tomorrow. One person I spoke to on the street, I said, look it
was relatively quiet today. He said, yes, that's because a big storm passed through the region and he's right, he was tipping down the rain yesterday.
[14:05:00]
That big storm, he said, could have caused this slight dip. And I think if you look at the other strikes along the Gulf today, particularly the UAE,
particularly as well, Oman, there have been strikes, Iranian strikes there. But perhaps, not as many as previous days.
But I think it's far too soon to know if that's indicative of anything more than just the up-and-down tempo that you get in a war that sort of begins
to play out at this length. Isa?
SOARES: So, Nic, just picking up what you said very briefly there. So, when the U.S. Secretary says, you know, that they have weakened Iran's military
strength, is that what you are hearing from leaders in the Gulf? Do they have that sense of confidence?
ROBERTSON: I think they are still judging it by the day, by the actions that they see happening. So, they will look at Iran's perhaps downturn in
the number of strikes a day, and that will be perhaps evidence of that. I think what everyone is hoping for here is that a diplomatic off-ramp can be
found. My --
SOARES: Yes --
ROBERTSON: Diplomatic sources are asking me, are you hearing anything? Are you hearing anything that's going on diplomatically? And there are
diplomatic efforts that I hear about in the background, but nothing is coming through with substance yet.
I think they're really focused here on not how much is Iran's military degraded, but how close is it to moving down the off-ramp out of this
conflict? And that doesn't seem to be happening yet.
SOARES: That is very interesting context indeed. Nic Robertson, Zach, thank you very much, Zach Cohen there for us. Well, that was what's happening on
those battlefields really. And the politics side, I want to take you to the economic side of all of this.
At the moment, oil prices is just under $100 a barrel as you can see, 98. So, that's WTI crude oil. Sources tell CNN that Washington underestimated
Iran's willingness to shut down the Strait of Hormuz, and did not realize the full consequences of closing that key shipping lane that we have been
talking about on the show all week.
The U.S. Defense Secretary seems to shrug off the notion that the Strait is unsafe, despite multiple ships coming under attack in recent days. Have a
listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETE HEGSETH, SECRETARY OF DEFENSE, UNITED STATES: And as the world is seeing, they are exercising sheer desperation in the Straits of Hormuz.
Something we're dealing with. We have been dealing with it and don't need to worry about it.
The only thing prohibiting transit in the Straits right now is Iran shooting at shipping. It is open for transit should Iran not do that?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SOARES: Well, in an effort to ease the pressure on oil markets, the U.S. has temporarily lifted some sanctions on Russian oil. The U.S. is allowing
Russia to sell oil that had been stuck on tankers at sea. European leaders, you can imagine, are not happy about the move, saying it will help Russia
finance its continued war in Ukraine.
The surge in oil prices already providing a boost to Russia's treasury, with some estimating that Russia is taking in an extra $150 million a day.
Let's get more from our Anna Cooban who joins me now to put some more context in all of this.
And Anna, I mean, we played that little clip from Secretary Hegseth, said there's nothing to worry about. We've also heard President Trump saying
something along the lines, you know, that people need to have some guts when they go through the Straits.
But the reality is somewhat different, because as we've seen, the oil prices, they're still going up because nothing is moving.
ANNA COOBAN, CNN BUSINESS & ECONOMICS REPORTER: Absolutely, and just to show you this graph here, like you know, it doesn't matter what Hegseth is
saying, what Trump has said, all traders are not being, you know, assuaged in their worries about this.
I mean, their oil -- the global price of oil closed at $100 a barrel for the first time yesterday since August 2022, obviously in the months after
Russia invaded Ukraine. Goldman Sachs coming out today, saying that it is imagining that -- or it's upping its forecast for the global price of oil,
the average price this year to be 20 percent higher --
SOARES: Wow --
COOBAN: Than it had previously forecast just a couple of weeks ago. So, the oil market can change very quickly in a very short space of time.
SOARES: And we heard something like 150, even some saying $200 --
COOBAN: Yes --
SOARES: Right? That's where we are. Where are we then on these Russian sanctions that we were talking about. The U.S. easing sanctions on some
Russian oil, European leaders, as you can imagine, are not happy about this. How realistic is it that actually it moves the needle when it comes
to oil prices?
COOBAN: Well, I mean, it's hard to believe that just a few weeks ago, Isa, we were sort of talking about the potential for a U.S.-brokered peace deal
between --
SOARES: Yes --
COOBAN: Russia and Ukraine --
SOARES: Yes --
COOBAN: And these sanctions have been in place for years now, and were a huge sort of way of getting Russia to the negotiating table. And European
leaders are, you know -- they're not particularly happy. Canada says it's surprised, Germany is saying that it's wrong.
You know, there are -- none of these countries have come out today to -- in support of this. But this sanction waiver itself is temporary, it's for a
month. It applies to oil that's currently on ships floating around, nothing that's to be loaded.
And so, what the U.S. administration is saying is that, actually this won't have a very significant economic impact on Russia, but as much as the
economics, it's also what it looks like diplomatically.
SOARES: Indeed.
COOBAN: And we have a note from Capital Economics today, a consultancy saying that this Russian oil, about 124 million barrels of it, that's only
going to make up for the loss of supply for two weeks.
[14:10:00]
SOARES: Right, that is nothing, I mean, in comparison, right? But I do wonder then, given you and I have been speaking all week, looking as we
look back at the oil price, bringing us back the oil price if you don't mind Anna, how much the moves that we are seeing, the rhetoric we are
seeing, how many, right?
This week, we haven't heard him, we've heard a statement read out. We don't know if he's well or not, how much, you know, his statement that the Strait
of Hormuz is going to stay, still how much that is going to change anything. And whether alternatives.
If you have a map of Strait of Hormuz, what other alternatives there are, if this is going to be the case in the long-term?
COOBAN: Well, just to stay on the Strait of Hormuz here. Like obviously, you can see right here that there is really nothing going through that.
It's really gone down to a trickle. There have been, according to S&P, around 26 attacks on vessels, commercial vessels, cargo ships, oil tankers
since the war started.
So, understandably, people are avoiding this straight. And we have reporting sources telling CNN that some officials in the Trump
administration are surprised that Iran has basically closed off the Strait. And we heard from the supreme leader yesterday in a statement read out on
Iranian state TV that he is quite happy to keep the Strait closed as a tool of pressure.
Alternatives --
SOARES: Yes --
COOBAN: Isa, are, you know, sort of few and far between, really -- I mean, there are some, but not enough --
SOARES: Here's the Strait, just for our viewers for context, this is the Strait here.
COOBAN: Yes, and then, this oil pipeline here now, this is what a lot of people are talking about as bringing some kind of relief. This is a
pipeline going from Saudi Arabia's eastern coast to its western coast of Yanbu. Now, that capacity holds 7 million barrels a day of oil.
However, what's going through the Strait of Hormuz is about 15 million barrels of crude a day. So, it's not even --
SOARES: Wow --
COOBAN: Half of what you're losing in the Strait of Hormuz.
SOARES: And there is another problem and another risk factor, it's all the way down here as I look at the Red Sea, because down here, you have the
Houthis.
COOBAN: Yes, so, you might remember after the October 7th 2023, we had the Israel-Gaza war, and Houthi militants in Yemen were -- you know, in support
of Hamas, were bombing ships, they were attacking --
SOARES: Yes --
COOBAN: Ships. And so, what many shipping companies then did was essentially stop going --
SOARES: Yes --
COOBAN: Through the Red Sea, and they were navigating their ships around the southern tip of Africa, adding two weeks --
SOARES: Yes --
COOBAN: In many cases --
SOARES: At huge cost as well, right?
COOBAN: Onto journeys, upping insurance costs, upping the cost of delivery for many people's goods around the world. Now, we haven't had Houthi
attacks recently, but this is sort of on the minds of shipping companies. This is not exactly a risk-free zone.
SOARES: Yes, especially when we heard Khamenei calling on these groups, be it Houthis here or, of course, Hezbollah in Lebanon, to take arms against
both Israel and the United States. That is a cause for concern. Anna, thank you very much indeed, keeping us up-to-date.
Now, I want to turn now to take a closer look at the security situation, that was economic front. We've given you the political, now I want to show
you the security situation around the Strait of Hormuz. Joining me now is Malcolm Nance; a former U.S. Navy Intelligence official who actually -- do
we have him?
Oh, we have just lost him. OK, we're going to try and reconnect because it's such a crucial conversation as we, of course, spoken about the
political -- we've spoken about the economic, but now we need to get the security.
We're going to try and fine-tune that connection and we'll come back to you. Let's take a short break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:15:00]
SOARES: Well, we fixed our connections, and we now got Malcolm Nance with us; a former U.S. Navy Intelligence official who actually has previous
experience in escorting tankers through the Strait of Hormuz during times of conflict. He joins us now.
Malcolm, great to be able to speak to you. Great that you were able to connect. Let me get first of all, your take --
MALCOLM NANCE, NATIONAL SECURITY EXPERT & FORMER U.S. NAVY INTELLIGENCE OFFICIAL: That's right --
SOARES: From what we heard from Secretary Hegseth today. He said that Iran has no air defenses. It has no Air Force; it has no Navy.
Yet, as we have seen, as we've been reporting and hearing from our reporters on the ground, it continues to strike U.S. allies in the Gulf,
and as we're just hearing from my colleague, Anna Cooban, it continues to hold the global economy hostage, of course, as it stops that flow of
tankers in the Strait of Hormuz. Is Iran as weakened as Secretary Hegseth says?
NANCE: Both answers are correct. Secretary Hegseth is right. Iran is weakened. We destroyed their Navy. We destroyed their Air Force. We
destroyed part of their Artesh, their army, and we've struck facilities of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, all of which is completely irrelevant with
the security in the Arabian Gulf or Persian Gulf, as you will.
I have fought the Iranians 40 years ago, and this situation has been going on since the Iran-Iraq war. The Iranians have an asymmetric capability, and
that capability is the IRGC being able to surreptitiously, secretly plant mines or come out in small boats.
Now using suicide surface vessels, you know, unmanned surface vessels. And as we saw in Basra, they claim it was an unmanned torpedo, an underwater
vessel as well as the Shahed drones and ten other classes of drones that they have.
The threat of mining is what's keeping insurance companies from letting ships transit the Strait of Hormuz. The Iranians could make it a lot hotter
than it is right now. Pete Hegseth is looking at this war in a conventional sense, the Iranians are playing it asymmetrically.
SOARES: Right, so, lots of good points on that. Let me first -- two points that I want to make -- going to ask you. How then do you sweep for those
mines, Malcolm? And two, I mean, we were hearing --
NANCE: Wow --
SOARES: Sources telling CNN that Washington underestimated Iran's willingness to shut down the Strait of Hormuz. You would have thought that
this was part of the strategy from the United States, that would have the vision to see this as a -- as a tact -- as a measure, as a strategy from
the Iranian side.
NANCE: Well, first off, this White House is very unlike any other White House before. They don't listen to Intelligence professionals. You notice
we haven't heard a thing from Tulsi Gabbard; Director of National Intelligence, they go by the gut.
They go by what they think is going to happen and what they hear from their peers and associates. The Iranians have a vote in this, and they are not
going by their gut, they're going on 47 years of confrontation with the United States, and they know what works.
You know, the Iranian ability to shut down traffic here hasn't even started to be tested. They've struck 15 vessels in over 14 days; we've seen them
strike a few. This is a gradual pressure campaign. You are looking at pure economic warfare being levied through these terroristic or as you call
them, irregular Guerrilla Forces that they have.
Iran has 33,000 small boats. They may have --
SOARES: Right --
NANCE: As many as half of their Shahed drones, 40,000, that have not been launched. They have surface vessels, unmanned surface vessels. We don't
even know where they are, how many they have, and we don't want to have them manifested by them dropping mines into the Strait of Hormuz.
So, the United States' sweeping capability is a fraction of what it was.
[14:20:00]
Unfortunately, in 1991, I swept a mine off the coast of Kuwait with my ship, we hit the mine and it almost sank us. This is not --
SOARES: Wow --
NANCE: The way we want to do this. The three vessels we have there have never been tested for this capability. And as -- if they were to go down
and start doing sweepings of mines, of which there may be no mines, which is the greatest asymmetric capability, the threat --
SOARES: Right --
NANCE: They could be sunk, even worse than them being sunk is the fact if they're sunk and there are no mines, but suicide boats get them. Untested
capability, in desert storm, we had dozens of minesweepers and our ships still hit mines. And operation earnest will -- the oil tankers hit mines
even though --
SOARES: Yes --
NANCE: We were escorting them.
SOARES: And meantime, Secretary Hegseth is downplaying, of course, Iran's actions that you've been describing there on the Strait of Hormuz, saying,
don't need to worry about it. We heard President Trump saying to have, you know, people need to have the guts to pass the Strait of Hormuz.
Let me read out what "Wall Street Journal" reporting, because this really stood out to me. It said, "Navy officials, however, said they haven't been
told to provide escorts, and said that doing so currently would pose enormous risks to U.S. warships and commercial vessels.
One official said the Strait of Hormuz could become an Iranian kill box if ships start trying to pass through." I mean, that's pretty much what you're
trying -- what you're describing there, Malcolm.
NANCE: Yes, and it has been an Iranian kill box since the day after the 1979 revolution. We've confronted these many times over the last 40 years.
I'm just surprised that apparently, corporate knowledge with regards to the Persian Gulf and the White House and the Pentagon is going out the
window.
The Iranians know this, and it's worse than a kill box. It could become a roadblock if Iran decides to really ratchet the pressure up. If they decide
to take an absolute confrontational stance, no one gets in, no one gets out.
The Indian and Chinese easy pass that they've been allowing for ships to come in and out have to be closed because America is going to try to do an
amphibious landing on Lara, Hormuz Island or Qeshm. The Iranians can make it so that ships will burn all day and all night, and you'll be down at the
Musandam Peninsula with your cameras watching them.
SOARES: Doesn't seem to be a military solution or Naval solution needs to be a political one, a diplomatic one. But it doesn't --
NANCE: Yes --
SOARES: Seem, from what we've heard from the Ayatollah, at least, what -- the message that was read out by an anchor on state television that sounded
pretty defiant, right? From the -- from the new Iranian leader, it doesn't sound like he's budging.
And it also doesn't suggest that the pressure is working or suggests that if the United States calls it quits, that they will end this, right,
Malcolm?
NANCE: Iran holds all the cards at this point. I mean, so long as the regime exists, there has not been a popular people-power uprising, a color
revolution that washes them away and brings back some form of democracy to Iran.
And their state, repressive systems like the IRGC, the Basij are in the streets. There is no military solution to this war. Iran technically will
win by surviving and by letting up the pressure on the Strait of Hormuz or clamping it down until the Gulf states and the rest of the world's economy
forces Donald Trump to concede.
SOARES: Yes, Malcolm, such great analysis, really appreciate you coming on the show. Michael(ph) Nance -- Malcolm Nance there. Thank you, Malcolm.
NANCE: Pleasure.
SOARES: Now, at least, one person has been killed in Iran's capital after explosions at the annual Quds Day rallies in support of Palestinians.
Blasts were reported at near the march in central Tehran as large demonstrations took place across the country.
State media showed demonstrators burning American as well as Israeli flags, and holding portraits of Iran's new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei.
Joining me now is Alex Vatanka; Senior Fellow with the Middle East Institute.
Alex, great to have you on the show. I mean, this week alone, we have heard the U.S. President declare that they've won. Today, we heard -- I'm sure
you heard this too, Secretary Hegseth saying that Iran is weakened yet as we've been discussing here for the past 23 minutes and hearing from our
reporters on the ground.
You know, allies in the Gulf continue to be hit. Does it look like to you that Iran is preparing to back down here?
ALEX VATANKA, SENIOR FELLOW, MIDDLE EAST INSTITUTE: It's great to be with you, Isa. No, that is not the impression I get listening to voices and
sources from inside of Tehran. In fact, I think the opposite is true. You know, Mojtaba Khamenei; the new supreme leader is essentially the face of
this Islamic Republic as of today.
But really, the shots are being called by the Revolutionary Guards leadership, the ones that haven't been assassinated as of today. And
obviously, what they're banking on here is that they need to be on the offensive to the extent they can.
[14:25:00]
I don't think they're throwing everything that they have at this war for now. They want to keep some in the arsenal for later on. But certainly, I
think what we're getting out of Tehran is that, they need to stay in this war as long as they can to get the other side, meaning United States and
Israel, to essentially walk away from this war, that's the gamble that they're engaging in right now.
SOARES: Let me flesh out some of what -- the points that you made there, because we did hear a message read out purportedly from the new supreme
leader. And I say purportedly because of course, we haven't seen or heard directly from Mojtaba Khamenei.
Today, you probably heard, Alex, Secretary Hegseth said that he had likely been disfigured. You don't think he's in charge because I believe you told
my producer; the U.S. is fixated on the figurehead. What do you mean by that?
VATANKA: No, I just think it's a mistake to assume this is a one man show. I mean, his father --
SOARES: Yes --
VATANKA: Became so powerful because he was there for 36 years. His son didn't get this job because of his great religious or political
credentials. He essentially ended up at the supreme leader's office because the Revolutionary Guards, who I believe are the ones running the show as of
today, that obviously could change.
But as of today, they're the ones who are running the show. So, the idea of a sort of being fixated on Mojtaba Khamenei and his world view really
doesn't help us in terms of trying to figure out what Iran's next step would be.
That -- to understand that, you need to look at what's left of the regime. And above all, what drives the Revolutionary Guards forward, because these
guys are in it for their lives. I mean, if this regime collapses, they have nowhere to go. So, they're fighting for their lives, not just for the
survival of the regime.
SOARES: And then, I wonder what that means for those on the ground, because I read a really fascinating article in the "FT", in the "Financial Times"
yesterday, and there was a quote from a sociologist in Tehran who is critical of the regime and the war.
But then he said he had seen anecdotal evidence that, quote, "of a growing sense of nationalism emerging from the war, the fear of Iran's destruction
is increasingly uniting people as they fear the consequences of such a large-scale conflict."
And we saw this rallying, I believe around the flag also during Israel's 12-day war with Iran last year. How much truth do you think there is in the
sense of nationalism? Could this embolden you think, Alex, the IRGC?
VATANKA: So, Isa, I've been covering Iran for about 25 years, and these sorts of rallies that we see, they have always happened. You know, the
regime is not without its supporters. They do have bases in Iranian society, probably 10, 15, maximum, 20 percent.
And a good number of them do come out when the -- when the authorities ask them to do. That's not a reflection of Iranian nationalism. But you do
really put your finger on something very important. This was a war that was supposed to be between Israel, United States, against the Islamic Republic.
Over the last few days, we've seen a shift in opinion inside of Iran, and even in Iranian diaspora, where people are asking the question, the targets
are no longer just regime targets. It's the country of Iran. It's infrastructure, it's history, historical sites that are being hit.
And this is going to work in favor of the regime's narrative that this was never about freeing the people of Iran. This was always what they called an
American imperial project. And therefore, this is a worthy fight to stay, and that's obviously the regime's narrative.
I don't think majority of Iranians buy into it, because they, by and large, blame the Islamic Republic. Above all, Ali Khamenei responsible for this
state of affairs. But this could change depending on how many more civilians end up dead --
SOARES: Yes --
VATANKA: How much more damage is on Iran, so, that's a really sensitive area for U.S. policy, particularly since we don't have clarity in terms of
what the strategy here is, as far as the politics of all this is concerned.
SOARES: No, and we never had from day one, from when this all started, and that is for sure. We have heard though, Alex, from President Trump, who I
think it was on Wednesday, maybe even earlier than that this week, told "Axios" that the war will end soon, and that there is nothing left to
target.
Suggesting, if we read between the lines, that he may be looking for an off-ramp. When the U.S. does pull away, Alex, and declares a victory, where
does this leave the Gulf states and the relationships there?
VATANKA: Very important point. Donald Trump could decide just as -- just as he decided to go into this war, he can decide to get out of it. But as you
point out, Isa, that does not mean it -- you know, everything is going to go back to normal for the Gulf countries or for the global economy. Because
if --
SOARES: Yes --
VATANKA: The regime's still standing, they presumably will continue to do what they've done, which is to take the global economy through the control.
You can exercise over energy supplies hostage and say, you know what? If we're going to be left here in the dark, everybody else, to the extent Iran
can, we'll also be in the dark.
So, it's another good position to be sorting out for the Gulf states, given the geographic proximity those countries have to Iran, a country of 92
million people.
SOARES: And Alex, once I have you here, what is the sense of the mood, if you're getting a sense from people inside Iran? It's so hard to get a sense
of what is happening often in wars. You get a sense we've covered the war in Ukraine.
[14:30:06]
You hear the human side. You see the human toll. We're not getting that. We're only hearing the military. What are you hearing from a -- from the
human perspective on the ground?
VATANKA: I think people are obviously heartbroken because, you know, the idea was this would be a quick military operation. Somehow those people who
wished for the regime to fall expected it to fall fast. And if they had, you know, asked those hard questions about this is a regime that's been
there for 47 years. It's not going to just fall like a house of cards.
But I would also say there's -- my sense is there's plenty of optimism still in these very difficult days that maybe the regime somehow will be
hollowed out and it might -- again, just a hope it might collapse under the weight of all the problems that it has. But again, it's really important to
emphasize that's a hope. That is not a strategy that I can point to and say that's going to happen because that strategy is really frankly missing.
SOARES: Yes. So many hoping for that. I've heard from so many in this show. Alex Vatanka, I really appreciate you coming on the show. Fantastic
analysis. Thank you.
Well, still to come tonight, as Israeli strikes target Hezbollah in Lebanon, a brand new report from the ground shows civilians there are
paying the price. That's after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOARES: Well, two weeks into the war and Iran has no air defenses, no air force, and no navy. That is the word from the U.S. Defense Secretary Pete
Hegseth said at a Pentagon briefing today, the U.S. and Israeli strikes have so far hit more than 15,000 enemy targets. Meanwhile, Israel is
pounding Iran as well as Hezbollah targets in Lebanon. And Tehran is firing back at Israel and its Gulf neighbors.
And U.S. Central Command has announced the death of all six crew members on board an Air Force refueling plane which crashed in western Iraq. The U.S.
military said the incident was not due to hostile fire or friendly fire.
Jeremy Diamond has a view for us from Tel Aviv. And Jeremy, let me pick up from what we've heard from Secretary Hegseth because he said that Iran's
capabilities today had been decimated yet ballistic missiles are still being felt, you know, around where you are. I saw you earlier on CNN having
to leave your live shot, walking off your live shot as sirens were going off. So, give us a sense of the reality there.
[14:35:28]
JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Yes, well, Iran is certainly still keeping up its ballistic missile fire on Israel. Officials say that
the barges have gotten smaller in number that Iran's capabilities are degraded, but they are still finding the ability to disrupt life here and
also to make -- cause damage and casualties.
Just tonight, we've seen as one of these ballistic missiles that was outfitted with what appears to be cluster munitions impacted several areas
in central Israel, not far from the Ben Gurion International Airport. One building was set on fire on the outskirts of Tel Aviv. There was cars on
fire in another city.
And this is kind of consistent with these cluster munitions that release these small bomblets. About 24 of these within the head of one single
missile. If people are in shelters, you know, the risk is relatively low. But of course, we have seen two people that have died as a result of
strikes using those cluster munitions. No casualties tonight, however.
Now, what we've also been witnessing is a significant uptick in attacks from Hezbollah, which has fired hundreds of rockets towards northern and
central Israel in recent days. And obviously, some of that is coordinated with Iran. Sometimes we see a ballistic missile fired at Israel at the same
time as Hezbollah is firing its rockets. All of course in an attempt to overwhelm Israel's air defenses which have held up remarkably well over the
course of this conflict. But nonetheless there certainly still is a risk that exists.
SOARES: Yes indeed. And we have seen today -- we've heard today President Trump say that -- and I know Secretary Hegseth also talked about this,
Jeremy, that he believes that Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei is damaged but probably alive. I wonder what the Israeli government assessment of who is
in charge is right now because I'm just seeing the U.S. -- this is reporting from our Jennifer Hansler saying the U.S. government is offering
up to $10 million reward for information on Iranian leaders here.
DIAMOND: Yes, that's right. And last night we heard from the Israeli prime minister talk for the first time about Iran's new supreme leader. He tried
to, you know, kind of draw on that point that we haven't yet seen him in person. That the statement that was released and attributed to him
yesterday, you know, was not one that he read or, you know, neither audio nor video was released of him on that statement. And the prime minister
called him a puppet of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps.
It is interesting to see now the United States releasing this $10 million bounty for the where -- information leading to the whereabouts of either
the Supreme Leader or a host of senior Iranian officials. And one of the reasons why that's so notable is because so far, it's really been Israel
that has focused on trying to take out senior Iranian officials.
And in fact, when I've spoken with U.S. military officials, they have really drawn the distinction between, you know, Israel carrying out those
more sensitive strikes targeting senior Iranian officials, while the United States, they say, has focused more on purely military targets. That was a
point that was made in those opening strikes two weeks ago when Israel took out the last Supreme Leader and a host of other senior Iranian officials.
U.S. officials were very quick to say that was Israel. We've been focusing on military targets.
So, to see now that the United States is offering this $10 million reward for information on the new supreme leader is quite notable and it does come
as we have seen Israel certainly doubling down on this notion of regime change. The United States, you know, not as explicitly but certainly not
abandoning it alto together with both sides still very much talking about trying to create the conditions on the ground for the Iranian people to
rise up and overthrow their regime. Something that President Trump today acknowledged would be very difficult for that to actually happen. Isa?
SOARES: Jeremy Diamond for us this hour in Tel Aviv. Thank you, Jeremy.
Well, officials in Lebanon said more than 770 people have been killed by Israeli strikes and mass evacuation orders in the country could push the
number of displaced people to more than one million within the next few days. That is according to International Organization of Migration.
Our Isobel Yeung reports on what life is like for civilians in Lebanon.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ISOBEL YEUNG, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): So, we can see quite a lot of damage here. The cars, this big building up here. We're in
southern Lebanon, actually, just outside of the area that the Israeli Defense Forces announced that individuals should evacuate from yesterday.
But you can see this building here was struck pretty hard. Were told that it was a yogurt factory by the neighbors here. You can see these kind of
vats that they say were used to make yogurt. And what we know is that nine people were killed in this strike, including five children.
[14:40:22]
I mean, what the Israeli defense forces are saying is that they are targeting Hezbollah infrastructure and we don't know in this case if that
was the situation. But what we can see is that -- I mean, the destruction from here is pretty large and we're told that the children were playing
just on the outskirts of the property here in this factory and home with their grandparents and that they were killed. The burials are happening
today.
It's really heartbreaking. You can see family members behind me who were just walking around trying to look for remnants of their family's
belongings. The children's bodies were told in pieces and they're going to take a while to identify the DNA so that they can actually do a burial.
You can see up here there's schoolbooks, the children's rat sack. We're told by the IDF that they are targeting Hezbollah infrastructure and
obviously we don't know in this scenario if that's the case, but we do know that this area that was struck was pretty huge just in this one little
village and enough to kill nine people in one strike.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SOARES: Isobel Yeung there in southern Lebanon.
And still to come tonight, new developments in the vehicle attack on a Jewish synagogue in Michigan. What we're learning about the suspect. That
is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SOARES: Welcome back. The U.S. is reeling from a pair of attacks in Michigan and Virginia. The FBI is now calling Thursday's attack on Temple
Israel synagogue near Detroit a targeted act of violence against the Jewish community. And Michigan's attorney general says there's a clear nexus
between the war in Iran and the attack.
Officials say the suspect is a neutralized U.S. citizen born in Lebanon who reportedly lost family members in a recent Israeli airstrike in Lebanon. He
was found dead after ramming his vehicle into the building causing it to erupt in flames. Students from -- and staff from the temple's preschool was
safely evacuated. No other fatalities were reported.
Our Whitney Wild is live for us in West Bloomfield Township in Michigan. So, Whitney, let's talk about this new possible motive, what the FBI is
calling a targeted act of violence against the Jewish community. What more are they telling you? What more are you learning?
[14:40:22]
WHITNEY WILD, CNN LAW ENFORCEMENT CORRESPONDENT: We're learning from sources as well as officials in Lebanon that this man had family who was
killed in Israeli air strikes. As we found out, the mayor of a town in Lebanon has told CNN that it was his two brothers who were killed, a niece
and nephew were killed, his parents were injured, and two sisters-in-law were injured. And while law enforcement has been quite reluctant to detail
a specific motive, certainly that is bringing greater clarity to where this man's head was as he committed this absolutely atrocious act.
We are also learning that he again, as you pointed out, he was born in Lebanon. He became a U.S. citizen in 2016. He was married to a U.S.
citizen. He later was divorced. He got divorced about a year ago. And what we know from multiple studies and having covered so many of these tragic
incidents that quite often there's a pattern of increasing isolation and then --
SOARES: Whitney, I'm going to interrupt. Apologies to interrupt, Whitney. It's just because it's so windy. We're hearing you -- we're only hearing
your every other or every third word. So, apologies.
WILD: Can you hear me if I go like that?
SOARES: Yes. Finish that thought. Go for it. Go for it. Yes. That'll be great.
WILD: I think I'll finish it up and then I'll send it back to you because the conditions here are getting worse. But you know what -- you know when
you look at the sort of bigger picture here, there are multiple trends that are reflected in this single incident. This is a heightened spike in
antisemitic acts. We have seen this really since October 7th. It is certainly increasing.
And then finally when you look at the fact pattern here for this man typically what we see in cases like this, and certainly this seems to be
the case here, is increasing isolation. A major event happens about a year before someone commits a mass attack on a soft target just like this. And
so, in many ways this is a textbook potential mass casualty attack. Miraculously the suspect was the only person who died and the only injury
was the first security guard who encountered him. Back to you, Isa.
SOARES: Thank you very much. Whitney Wild there. I know Temple Israel was prepared for an attack. We've heard that and as we've heard from so many
within the Jewish community, Jewish institutions have to be. It's incredibly sad that we're seeing more and more of these attacks. I'll thank
Whitney Wild there.
Well, less than two hours before that attack that Whitney was talking about in Michigan, a shooter opened fire at Old Dominion University in Virginia
in what the FBI has now designated an act of terrorism. The FBI says the shooter killed one person and injured two others before a classroom of
students overpowered and killed him.
Authorities say the gunman, Mohamed Jalloh, was a former Virginia National Guard member who pleaded guilty to attempting to aid ISIS just a decade
ago. Court documents show he was a naturalized citizen from Sierra Leone. The person killed has been identified as ROTC instructor, Lieutenant
Colonel Brandon Shah. Another victim remains in hospital in fair condition and a third has been treated and released.
And still to come tonight, President Donald Trump seems to confirm the U.S. is in talks with Cuba to make a deal. We are live with our man in Havana
after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[14:51:01]
SOARES: Well, President Donald Trump confirms the U.S. has recently held talks with the Cuban government. His confirmation follows Cuban President
Miguel Diaz-Canel saying the two countries have been in discussions following an oil blockade. The U.S. has cut off Venezuelan oil shipments to
Cuban and has threatened, as we've reported here, tariffs on any country that sells oil to Cuba. A White House official tells CNN that they believe
Cuba could easily make a deal.
Our Patrick Oppmann joins me now. I wonder how easy that deal will be. Patrick, good to see you. What more do you know about these talks that are
being had between the U.S. President -- the U.S. and President Diaz-Canel?
PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Listen, Isa, as you know, nothing is easy when it comes to Cuba. And have these two sides sitting
down and talking is being done through gritted teeth because of course this is a matter of survival. And for weeks now the Cuban government has either
denied these talks or kind of minimized them as messages being traded back and forth.
But it appears now that full-scale negotiations are taking place. And for the Cuban government that says that no oil has come to this island for the
last three months, it is a matter of whether the -- whether this country can continue because we are seeing every day transportation grind to halt,
power outages go on for longer and longer, and increasingly over the last few days these small protests crop up where people go out and bang pots and
pans angry at their own government, not blaming so much the United States. As the Cuban government, they feel for their failings and for taking off
the power differently in certain parts of the country and in some parts, you know, the power is off now for entire days at a time. It's really
creating a situation that is not at all pleasant. And for many people whose food is beginning to spoil, they just feel that there's a sense of
desperation.
So, the Cuban government has pointed out that these negotiations are going to be complicated. They don't want to do it in a position where they are
being pressured. But here you hear the United States say -- the Trump administration say that Cuba is a failed state. That they are planning one
way or the other of taking over this island and allowing Cuban exiles who did not want to come back while the Castros were in power to come back and
have a greater say in the affairs of this island.
So, that is something the Cuban government has resisted over the decades, but at this point really may not have any choice or say in the matter.
SOARES: And it's not just an economic crisis as you've pointed out there, Patrick, it's also a health crisis, right? It's also humanitarian crisis.
Speak to that.
OPPMANN: Yes, things are really dire here. Trash is not being picked up, so it's just piling up in neighborhoods. In certain parts to the city, trash
will -- won't be picked up for weeks. So, that is very concerning. You can't have food in your refrigerator if there's no power. People have
bought batteries, but if there's never any power to charge them up, then simply they don't work anymore. So, the situation becomes dire and dire.
We've heard that there are 100,000 Cubans now waiting for surgeries because the government doesn't have power in the state-run hospitals to carry out
those surgeries.
So, you wonder how long this can go on. If -- as we get into the summer and the -- and the weather gets hotter here, we will see more people take
drafts as they have done in the past just to flee from what they feel is a failing state. So, the Cuban government obviously is trying to buy some
time here with these negotiations. But it may be time they just don't have because the Trump administration is taking a carrot-and-stick approach to
these negotiations. They have threatened indictments against Cuba's leadership, Raul Castro included.
And you just wonder, as we saw with Venezuela, talks will go on for a while, but they will not go on indefinitely. The Trump administration has
said that Cuba is next and they will not permit government they feel to be an unfriendly government off their coasts.
[14:55:16]
SOARES: And you know -- and it's just -- we did not only saw in Venezuela, we saw it with Iran, right? The attacks on Iran started as negotiations
were going on. And the Vienna round of negotiations were about to start. I'm being given more time, so I want to ask you another question if I may.
The negotiations that are potentially happening here, are they expecting something a-la Venezuela that we saw Maduro leaving, Delcy Rodriguez taking
over? Is your sense that this is the same strategy that perhaps is being applied here?
OPPMANN: Yes, it's a very similar playbook because you hear this barrage of different reports, leaks essentially saying that, you know, Miguel Diaz-
Canel, the Cuban president, like Maduro is an obstacle to negotiations that's been in the Miami Herald and that the Trump administration is
pushing for his ouster, that they're talking to different people in the government.
So, you know, at these appearances today of the Cuban president, you saw Raul Castro's grandson who's also his chief bodyguard because he has been
one of the people they've been reaching out around the back essentially of this government. So, the government here trying to show a united front.
SOARES: Yes. Patrick, as always, great to see you, my friend. Thank you very much.
That does it for us for tonight. Please stay right here. "WHAT WE KNOW" with Max Foster is up next. Have a wonderful weekend.
END
