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State of the Union

Iranian Supreme Leader Killed; Interview With Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR); Interview With Israeli President Isaac Herzog; Interview With Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA). Aired 9-10a ET

Aired March 01, 2026 - 09:00   ET

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

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(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANA BASH, CNN HOST (voice-over): Epic Fury. The United States and Israel attack Iran and assassinate its supreme leader.

DONALD TRUMP, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's been mass terror, and we're not going to put up with it any longer.

BASH: As Iran retaliates, what will it mean for the region and the world? Senate Intelligence Chairman Tom Cotton and Vice Chairman Mark Warner join me in moments.

Plus: retaliation. Iran vows revenge after the death of its leader.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): The Americans have stabbed the Iranian people in the heart, and we will stab them in their heart.

BASH: Are Israel and the United States ready? Israeli President Isaac Herzog is here.

And exit strategy. President Trump wants regime change, but with American troops in harm's way....

TRUMP: We may have casualties. That often happens in war.

BASH: ... does he have a plan for what comes next?

Retired General David Petraeus and former special presidential envoy Brett McGurk are here.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BASH: Hello. I'm Dana Bash in Washington, where the state of our union is once again at war in the Middle East.

This morning, the world is waking up to a new paradigm in Iran. After 37 years in power, Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is dead, killed in joint U.S.-Israeli airstrikes aimed at destroying the regime's military capabilities and decimating its leadership.

Other leaders killed in the attack include Iran's defense minister, the head of the Iranian Security Council and the commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guard. As President Trump vows to continue the attacks -- quote -- "as long as necessary, Iran is threatening the heaviest defensive in its history in response."

Joining me now is the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Republican Senator Tom Cotton of Arkansas.

Thank you so much for being here, sir.

I do want to start with what we're hearing from the Iranian officials who are left. One said that President Trump crossed a red line by killing Iran's supreme leader and that revenge is their duty. Another key Iranian leader vowed that they will stab America in the heart.

We're already seeing Iran retaliate against countries in the region that host U.S. military bases. How worried should Americans be about this war expanding closer to home?

SEN. TOM COTTON (R-AR): Well, Dana, I think you put it well.

That's coming from the Iranian leaders who are left, because we have already killed the supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, and dozens of other key Iranian leaders. This is the exact same kind of rhetoric that we heard from the supreme leader over the last couple of weeks on Twitter, and we have seen how that worked out for him.

There's no doubt, though, that Iran is going to continue to target our bases in the region, our Arab friends, and Israel. That's why it was so vitally necessary that we put an end to Iran's 47-year campaign of terror and revolutionary violence once and for all.

The red lines that have been crossed is Iran crossing the red lines of the civilized world, going back to the 1979 hostage crisis, the bombing in the Marine barracks in Beirut, the bombing of the Khobar Towers, killing and maiming thousands of troops in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Those are the red lines that have been crossed. President Trump has finally put his foot down and made it clear that we will no longer tolerate the revolutionary violence of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

BASH: Mr. Chairman, you say that they have -- that you put an end to it.

No question that this leader who was -- did horrible things and some people under him are gone, and there's nobody in the Western world who's shedding tears about that. But the question is the people below them and whether or not you are confident, based on what you're seeing, that enough of the Iranian regime was taken out that there really can be a change in leadership.

And then the next question is, how does that work?

[09:05:00]

COTTON: Well, Dana, the more immediate question is Iranian military power.

That's what they'd use to retaliate against our bases, against our Arab friends and against Israel. And that's the methodical campaign that the United States and Israel is conducting today. We have always said Iran can never have a nuclear weapon. They also can't be allowed to have a vast missile arsenal.

And that's exactly what they have, thousands and thousands of missiles, much more than the United States and Israel have in missile defense combined. And it's much easier to kill the archer on the ground than it is to shoot his arrow out of the sky.

So what the American people will see in the days ahead is going to be a methodical and systematic focus on Iran's missiles, its missile launchers, and ultimately its missile manufacturing capability, so they can't continue to threaten our troops and Israel and our other friends in the region.

We don't know what the future will hold for the Iranian regime, but, as President Trump said, this is a chance for the Iranian people to rise up and to reclaim their freedom and to chart their own destiny after 47 years of violent oppression.

BASH: Well, and that's really one of the key questions as well, is, with the president calling for the people of Iran to rise up, so is the prime minister of Israel, how realistic is that, given the fact that the Iranian people have no weapons, they barely even have Internet?

COTTON: Well, Dana, we saw that the Iranian people hate the regime just last month.

Starting in late December and into January, tens of thousands of people all across Iran were rising up in protest against their leadership. The only thing that stopped that is the supreme leader and the other ayatollahs cutting off all communication with the outside world and machine-gunning their own people. Tens of thousands were killed by the thugs that were running the Iranian security services.

President Trump promised the Iranian people that help was on the way. Help has now arrived. And I would join President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu in encouraging the Iranian people to rise up and take their fate into their own hands.

Help is here. We're going to continue to degrade the regime of the ayatollahs, to target their missiles, to target the security services like the Revolutionary Guard Corps and the Quds Force, the shock troops that have kept the ayatollahs in power. And I would suspect we will see more and more Iranians taking to the streets to try to take back their own destiny.

BASH: And there is no concern, given the fact that you -- that the U.S. has degraded a lot of the military in Iran and, as you say, will continue to do so, that those protesters will rise up, and because they're not armed and because there is still a regime in place, that they will not be put down and they will not be massacred the way they were before?

Meaning, like, how much U.S. help is going to go in for them, beyond the degrading of the regime's military?

COTTON: Well, Dana, of course, there's concern because you still have revolutionary Islam theocrats in charge of the government of Iran.

But, as President Trump has said, help is on the way. And as we focus on Iran's missiles and their missile launchers and their missile manufacturing capability and on those pillars of regime power, we are going to hopefully degrade the regime's ability to oppress its own people, to kill them in the streets, to keep them inside their homes in fear and terror, as they have been for 47 years.

And I also hope that we will begin to see some of those security services saying that it's not worth it anymore. We have seen what's happened to the supreme leader. We heard President Trump's call to lay down our arms and not fire on our brothers and sisters.

I hope that that's the case. But this is a chance finally in 47 years for the people of Iran to rise up and try to take control and take back their own freedom, as we continue to degrade the regime that's been oppressing them for so long.

BASH: In the president's video giving justification for U.S. military action in Iran, he said that Iran has been building missiles that could soon reach the American homeland.

Sources familiar with that intelligence assessment and others told my colleagues that that assertion is not backed up by American intelligence. Have you, as chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, seen anything that suggests that Iranian missiles could soon reach America or could have before the attacks?

COTTON: Well, Dana, what we know they have is thousands of missiles that can hit not just our bases right across the Persian Gulf, but bases as far-flung as Western Europe and the Indian Ocean.

[09:10:01]

We also know that Iran has a space launch program. I don't know about you Dana, but I haven't seen any Iranian astronauts in space lately.

BASH: Yes, but he said American homeland.

COTTON: But, Dana, a space launch program is very flimsy cover for an intercontinental missile program.

It's the exact same technology to put something in space that you use to develop intercontinental missiles. And Iran's clearly had the ambition to do that for many years. This has been a gathering threat on the horizon. President Trump was right that it's absolutely vital and necessary now to address that threat before it fully materializes in the near future.

BASH: One last question.

A key part of President Trump's campaign, and included it in his inaugural address, was no more wars. And there are a number of Republicans who think that this is the opposite of what they voted for, that the president is breaking that promise.

Tucker Carlson told ABC the president's decision to strike Iran is -- quote -- "absolutely disgusting and evil." What do you say to members of the MAGA base who say, this is not what we voted for?

COTTON: Well, Dana, I've been on the campaign trail all across Arkansas for the last two days visiting with hundreds of Republicans. I haven't heard a single Arkansan express anything but unqualified support for President Trump and for his decision to finally put America's foot down and end 47 years of terror and revolutionary violence by the Islamic Republic against the United States and our citizens.

And I suspect you'll see overwhelming support from elected Republicans in the Congress who are answerable to our voters in places like Arkansas and states all across the country when we're back in the Capitol later this week.

BASH: Senator Tom Cotton, chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, thank you so much for being here this morning. I appreciate it.

COTTON: Thank you, Dana.

BASH: Up next, Senator Cotton's Democratic counterpart on the Senate Intelligence Committee joins me in moments. There you see him, Senator Mark Warner.

And later: Will Americans rally behind President Trump or are they wary of yet another war in the Mideast?

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BASH: Welcome back to STATE OF THE UNION.

You just heard the Republican chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee defending President Trump's decision to strike Iran.

Joining me now is Senator Mark Warner of Virginia, the Democratic vice chair.

Thank you so much for being here, Senator.

SEN. MARK WARNER (D-VA): Thank you, Dana.

BASH: You heard Chairman Cotton say that the president's decision is completely justified. What do you think? WARNER: I think the president has started a war of choice.

There was no imminent threat to the United States. So, the decision to put our service members in harm's way and bases around the region in harm's way was entirely based upon the president's decision, not an imminent threat to America.

I think it is incumbent that the president of the United States comes before the American people and the Congress and makes the case of why he has chosen to go to war at this point.

Ironically, Dana, if the president had chosen to take one of these actions back in early January, when the Iranian people were on the streets in the millions, you could make a case because that might have nudged the regime into a dramatic change.

He couldn't make that choice because the aircraft carrier that would have assisted that operation was off the coast of Venezuela at that point, and our allies in the region, in Europe in particular, who would have been helping us make that choice in January were very focused on the president's crazy folly around Greenland.

So the fact that he has chosen now, why now, as opposed to a few weeks from now to have given the negotiations a bit more time to see if they play out?

Now, listen, I will be the first to acknowledge having the supreme leader and other major leaders of the Iranian regime eliminated is good for the region, good for the world. But for anyone to pretend or to assume that this is over at this point, that Iran is not going to continue to strike back -- and thank God so far it appears we have not lost any of our service members.

But the president himself said on Friday night when he launched this war that he expected casualties. So I think there's still got to be made a case to the American people. And, again, this was the guy that was going to keep us out of endless wars in the Middle East.

BASH: I have a couple of follow-ups to some of the things you just said.

First of all, you have access to intelligence that few other people have. The president said in the video he put out that there was a possibility that the Iranians could use missiles that could strike the American homeland.

Senior administration officials said that the timing was chosen because they saw intelligence that the Iranians were going to launch preeminent strikes. Did you see any of that information?

WARNER: The Iranians had been working on increasing their military capabilities.

And, remember, this was supposed to be military capabilities, at least on the nuclear front, that the president himself said were obliterated based upon the strike of seven months ago. [09:20:00]

I saw no intelligence that Iran was on the verge of launching any kind of preemptive strike against the United States of America.

BASH: None?

WARNER: None.

BASH: And then your argument that maybe the White House could and the president could have made an idea or an argument for doing this back in January, when tens of thousands of protesters were in the streets of Iran, are you saying that you're not as upset about the what than the when, meaning you're -- you understand why the president did this, it's just a question of the timing?

WARNER: No, I'm saying that in the moment in January where a strategic strike might have pushed the regime a bit, and the people on the streets could have taken solace in that, that didn't happen because we didn't have all the forces arranged, because, even as great as our military is, it was stretched too thin with our activities in Venezuela.

We didn't have the support of our allies because of the president's, I think, craziness around Greenland. So the fact that there was a red line created, the president then felt he had to build up this armada to try to keep his word from January, these were all choices being made by the president.

And I -- again, we're not talking here about president reacting to some other activity around the world. We're talking about a war of choice.

BASH: Well...

WARNER: And when the president commits American forces to a war of choice, he needs to come before Congress and the American people and ask for a declaration of war.

He does not have the right to do this on his own. And I'm not -- I don't believe that the vast majority of American people, whether they are MAGA supporters or not, want us engaged in another potentially endless war in the Middle East.

BASH: You say it's a war of choice. And I hear what you're saying on timing. Iran's supreme leader was killed in these strikes. He was in power for almost five decades.

He led Iran as it was a designated state sponsor of terrorism responsible for the deaths of thousands of Iranian civilians and also Americans in various strikes around the world, backed Hezbollah, backed Hamas, defended the use of "Death to America," and the list goes on.

So does the killing of the supreme leader and many of his deputies make the president's actions a bit more palatable to you? WARNER: I'm not going to shed any tears over the death of the Iranian

leadership. The Iranian regime is awful; 90 million Iranians I think overwhelmingly were against the regime.

But the question is, why now versus later? Why not make the case to the American public that this is a reason we need to go to war, as opposed to choosing this moment in time? I -- this is not just process. It is also a question, because we don't have that much visibility into any of the Iranian resistance.

Will the president's supporters say this was still a great move if the person who replaces the supreme leader is even further to the right and actually rushes forward on the nuclear program? The supreme leader did maintain Iran's nuclear program. He did not approve moving to full weaponization.

That makes no excuse about him. He was a bad guy. But if we now get a leader in that rushes towards weaponization, that literally takes the thousands of missiles that Iran still has in its arsenal and launches them all at once, are we in a better spot? Is America safer or not?

BASH: Well, I want to ask you...

WARNER: That, to me, is very much of an open question and part of the risk that had to be made to the American people and Congress before the president chose to start this war.

BASH: I do want to ask you about that, because there are some reports that some intelligence sources suggested that the risk is, and it was in doing what the president ended up doing, toppling the supreme leader, that more hard-line forces could take over, members of the IRGC.

Is that intelligence that you have seen? And are you concerned about that, not just because it's a hypothetical, but because it's a real situation that you've seen through intelligence?

WARNER: It is a real situation right now.

We have had very little visibility into what happens next after the supreme leader is eliminated. I think we still don't know what is happening next.

Listen, I would -- if things go back, there's no further casualties, the Iranian people rise up, there is a decrease in violence in the region, that would be a wonderful outcome. I would not -- I hope that would happen. I don't believe that will be the outcome.

[09:25:18]

I think the Iranian regime, which is different than the Syrian regime or the Venezuelan regime, has been established, as Tom mentioned, 47 years. They are deeply embedded. I think they will fight vociferously to try to maintain their power.

And I think and fear that we are seeing just the opening salvos of what could be not an in-and-out conflict, but what could be a sustained war in the region. And our record of sustained wars in the Middle East leaves something to be desired.

BASH: Senator Mark Warner, the vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, I'm grateful that you're here this morning. Thank you.

WARNER: Dana, thank you.

BASH: Up next, we're live on the scene of a deadly strike on Israel, the deadliest since Iran launched a wave of retaliatory strikes over the weekend.

I'm going to go one-on-one with President Isaac Herzog of Israel.

Stay with us.

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[09:30:26]

BASH: Welcome back to STATE OF THE UNION.

Police in Israel say multiple people were killed by an Iranian missile slamming into a residential area near Jerusalem.

CNN's Jeremy Diamond is now on the scene in Beit Shemesh, Israel.

Jeremy, that looks pretty awful.

JEREMY DIAMOND, CNN JERUSALEM CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Dana, I'm bringing you a really tragic scene here in Beit Shemesh on the outskirts of Jerusalem.

You can see behind me the power, the destructive power of an Iranian ballistic missile. And in this case, it didn't just hit any building. What you are seeing right on your screen right now is what is left of a synagogue that was right here in Beit Shemesh.

And that is not all. Beneath that synagogue was a bomb shelter, Dana, where people were sheltering from those ballistic missiles once those air raid sirens went off. They thought that they were safe, but it appears that multiple people were killed while inside that bomb shelter after the synagogue caved on top of that bomb shelter.

We're told that recovery efforts are in fact still underway. And so that latest death toll that we have of nine people who were killed in this attack is likely to rise. And it's not just the synagogue, Dana. You can see this entire area is a residential area.

We obviously don't know exactly what the Iranians were targeting, whether this was their intended target. But it certainly is where this missile struck. And you can see multiple residential buildings in this area that have been severely damaged by the powerful blast brought by one of these ballistic missiles.

And it is a powerful reminder of the reality that, even though Israel has this very strong air defense system, even though the majority of these missiles are intercepted, even just one of them can result in quite significant loss of life.

And, in this case, Dana, at least nine people were killed as a result of this latest attack, the deadliest that we have seen in this conflict in Israel so far.

BASH: Jeremy, thank you.

Here with me now from Tel Aviv is the president of Israel, Isaac Herzog.

Thank you so much for being here, sir.

I want to start with what President Trump is saying about the U.S. posture, which is that the U.S. will carry out uninterrupted strikes until there is -- quote -- "peace in the Middle East."

What does that mean in real concrete terms from Israel's perspective?

ISAAC HERZOG, PRESIDENT OF ISRAEL: Well, it means that we're in a historic juncture, where the future of the Middle East depends on the success of this operation, because it is an opportunity to divert this age-old war that has been looming over the Middle East between the empire of evil led by Iran and all other innocent and peace-loving nations.

That's the story here, and people have to understand it. This is not a war for the sake of war. This is a strategic war in order for once and for all to stop this enormous horrendous bloodshed of terror, of killing, this huge war machine that goes on and on and on.

Billions of dollars of Iranian money is poured to terror cells all over the world, terror cells all over the Middle East, war against America, war against Israel. So, from our perspective, we are bearing a lot of the brunt. We have been attacked constantly.

I just came from the site which was demolished last night in Tel Aviv. And now, unfortunately, we're having terrible news from Beit Shemesh, where we have a few dead citizens whose house has been hurt badly by Iranian missiles.

But we understand, and we're holding strong. We do understand fully that this is a war that will change the future of the Middle East.

BASH: I want to get to what you just saw in a minute, but you talked about success. Can you define success? Be specific. What does success look like?

HERZOG: So I think President Trump in his very bold and clear-eyed manner said directly in his speech, I mean, first and foremost, we have to make sure that Iran, which spreads terror havoc and is pursuing the bomb, cannot do it.

And then, of course, there's an opportunity for the people of Iran to rise up and change their fate. Unfortunately, this regime is extremely cruel and brutal. They have killed tens of thousands of their citizens without blinking even, just mowed them, people who went out to the streets to demand fair justice and freedom. That's all there was to it.

[09:35:14]

But they had -- it's an ideology that spreads hate, runs for the bomb, spreads terror. And that is why this war is so essential, because we understood that they're aiming to get to 20,000 ballistic missiles and they're aiming to get to the nuclear bomb quite soon. And they have been working on it.

And when you know that this is the clear and imminent danger to world peace, you have to fight it. And that's all we are doing.

BASH: How long should Israelis brace for this war to last?

HERZOG: Well, nobody wants war.

For us, all our kids -- we're about to celebrate Purim. It's a Jewish holiday somewhat similar to Halloween. Life was going on. We already saw the trajectory of getting out of war in the region. But, unfortunately, the empire of evil from Tehran kept on pursuing war and terror.

So if we can change this reality, hopefully, one day, they will broadcast our interview and we can speak about the fact that we spoke about the possibility of real peace in the region. And this is the golden opportunity here, despite the enormous pain that is involved in it.

BASH: President Herzog, at least 148 people were apparently killed in a strike on a girls school in Iran. That's according to local officials. CNN has not independently verified those numbers.

Do you know what happened there?

HERZOG: No, we don't know. And we are trying to verify it and we don't have any facts to that effect.

And we don't shy away from checking anything. But we also have to understand that part of the strategy of this jihadist movement is to base its infrastructure of terror, let's say missiles, long-range missiles, in civilian surroundings. So I don't know.

And, believe me, I care for every citizen who lost his or her life. But what we have to do right now is offer a better future for millions and millions of Iranians and hundreds of millions of people all over the Middle East, because, so long as Iran pursues its plan, which is against America, against Israel, against anything that does not accommodate their fanatic ideological belief, which means moderate Muslims, Jews and Christians, they will never rest.

And that is why we have to change this course and that's why we have to change the equation and move forward by undermining their capabilities of creating havoc throughout the region. BASH: The prime minister, Netanyahu, and President Trump both are

urging Iranians in the current government to do the right thing, in their words, to speak out.

Is there any indication that that is happening?

HERZOG: Look, the -- their leader, the -- Ali Khamenei, has spent all -- on the last generation, almost 40 years, building a whole war machine that takes his people's money and their life, their decent life, and spends it only on terror around the world and terror in the region.

The -- we do know that there are leaders out there who are fed up of this. And I think President Trump's remarks and Prime Minister Netanyahu's remarks are aimed at that. We can have a different direction for Iran. And that direction can serve the well-being of humanity and the entire universe in bringing a different course to the region.

And that is why this moment is so historic, and all peace-loving nations and all nations who seek freedom should stand up with the United States of America, with Israel, with all our allies in the region who have been bombarded and attacked and are suffering terribly.

In front of our eyes emerges a new reality in the Middle East, a NATO- like structure of partners who are fighting this empire of evil. This is an unbelievable reality, unbelievable reality, which is led by the United States of America. It should be used for a better future for our region and a better future for the world.

BASH: President Herzog, thank you so much for being here. I really appreciate it.

HERZOG: Thank you very much.

Coming up: President Trump says his attacks on Iran will bring peace to the Middle East.

[09:40:02]

Is that a real possibility or a pipe dream?

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BASH: Now that Iran's supreme leader is gone, the question on everyone's mind, both in the Middle East and here in the U.S. is, what comes next?

Here with me now is retired U.S. Army General David Petraeus and former presidential special envoy Brett McGurk.

It's an honor to have you both here. We are at the wall because I think it will really help people understand what we have seen and what we're going to see next. And I will start with you, General Petraeus, in terms of the strike

targets inside Iran. What were U.S. forces able and Israeli forces able to get, and what do you think they're going for next?

[09:45:03]

GEN. DAVID PETRAEUS (RET.), FORMER CIA DIRECTOR: Well, of course, this is a massive operation.

There were hundreds of Israeli aircraft, hundreds of American aircraft, hundreds of cruise missiles coming out of ships, submarines and so forth. And the focus of the Israelis, it appears, was largely on the regime leaders.

And, of course, they had extraordinary success in taking out the supreme leader and a number of the other most important figures in the regime, really quite stunning. In fact, it's particularly stunning that the arrogance of the Iranians that they all gathered together for meetings presuming that we didn't attack in the early morning hours like we normally do, and, therefore, they had a period of daylight during which they could come together and talk.

The U.S. meanwhile was going largely after the air and ballistic missile defenses that are left in Iran and then the missile and other retaliatory capabilities. And, again, keep in mind that there were hundreds of targets by each of the Israeli and U.S. forces, so a really extraordinary amount of ordnance being dropped and going in as cruise missiles as well.

And it appears to have been very, very devastating in a lot of ways, but still always an ability to retaliate with both the longer-range that could reach Israel and then the shorter-range, of which they have a substantial number, that can reach across the Gulf.

BASH: Yes, I mean, and we're saying that happened. We just were reporting on devastation in Beit Shemesh, which is outside of Jerusalem. That's a pretty big target.

And what does that tell you about what is still left in the Iranian arsenal?

PETRAEUS: Well, sure. We should understand that even in the 12-day war, with all of the ballistic missile and air defenses that we assembled -- and they were very considerable -- and we have done it again now. It's not just the Patriots and the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense systems that are on the ground, but also all the ships have Patriot-like systems.

There are planes flying to try to take out missiles and drones and so forth. So this is a very, very comprehensive effort. And it's all integrated with the host nations and with Israel, to be sure.

But, even then, 5 to 7 percent of the missiles got through during the 12-day war. And if they hit, unfortunately, as the one did that you reported on earlier, there can be a pretty big amount of devastation. BASH: And then, Brett, what does it tell you about the fact that Iran

is retaliating the way it is when it comes to who's actually in charge now?

BRETT MCGURK, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIRS ANALYST: It's a great question.

George Kennan, a great diplomat, said, war, once initiated, has a momentum of its own. You don't know exactly where it's going to go. I think, over Iran right now, very importantly, look, the United States and Israel has complete not just air superiority, but air dominance, and they're still targeting leaders. This is still going on.

We're still doing waves of strikes. So whoever might step up into a leadership role is very vulnerable. The Iranians have announced they have a constitutional process. Remember, they have only had one succession in their entire history since 1979. So this is really in uncharted territory.

They have a succession process under their Constitution, a counsel of the president, the chief justice and a cleric to be named. That's -- they say who's running the country now. But those people haven't been seen.

Ali Larijani, who's a key adviser to the supreme leader for many decades, he's likely making some decisions. But what I'm seeing Iran do, they're firing off missiles. This was probably a precooked plan for when they were attacked. It's unclear who is making strategic decisions. And they're making some mistakes, Dana.

They're attacking in civilian areas of the. gulf and the Gulf states, the GCC states there, UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, are uniting. And I would watch this over the coming days. Do they actually -- their air forces are now engaged in defense. Do they actually join in some attacks into Iran in self-defense? I think that's a key question.

That was not, I think, on my bingo card when this started. I think the Gulf wanted to stay out of it.

BASH: Yes.

MCGURK: They're being drawn in. So that's something to watch over the coming days.

PETRAEUS: A big mistake, I think, actually, Dana, because, again, the Gulf states...

BASH: Which is a mistake?

PETRAEUS: That they have been attacking the Gulf states.

The Gulf states wanted to stay out of it, as Brett said. So they did not even allow us to use their bases in a number of cases. Now they're into it. They have been attacked, and not just our bases, but civilian areas as well. And so they're going to take place now with the defensive measures. As Brett mentioned, we have aircraft in the sky now. I'm sure they're

being integrated by the combined air operations center. And if that continues, they're going to probably take further measures.

BASH: I want to talk about the chaos and instability in the region, obviously militarily, but also economically.

I mean, you see the Strait of Hormuz, which is right there. I mean, that's a key geographical location for a lot of these countries.

MCGURK: Well, 20 percent of global trade -- 80 percent of Iran's oil, of course, goes to Asia and China. China has a big interest here.

And I -- one geostrategic issue, Russia and China are very quiet here. And, of course, they're very much partners, strategic partners, of Iran, very quiet. I think that's very telling.

[09:50:02]

Yes, we'd expect, when oil markets open, the price of oil is going to go up, I think, fairly significantly. We will see. OPEC met today. They announced they're going to be increasing production. But, look, think about escalation dominance in a conflict like this.

If Iran makes moves in the Straits of Hormuz, as they're threatening -- they targeted some tankers today -- U.S. air forces have escalation dominance here. We can target Iran wherever we want. So Iran has to be calculating that, to the extent Iranian leaders are even thinking strategically.

They seem to be just firing off their missiles without a strategic plan. And that shows real disarray in their chain of command.

PETRAEUS: Yes, may be a result of all the leaders taken out. They're just acting on pre-decision that they were authorized before.

But, again, 20 percent of the world's crude oil and 20 percent of the world's liquefied natural gas come right through the strait.

BASH: Comes through here, yes.

PETRAEUS: There's already a report that the traffic is down by some 50 to 70 percent. And then, as Brett mentioned, there was a ship attack right in here. And that's going to -- Maersk has announced that they're stopping going through here and also through the strait that the Houthis have disrupted in the past.

They're, of course, an Iranian surrogate as well. So we will -- we will see an effect, but it likely will be a short-term effect. It will not be enduring unless there's some really significant escalation, say, mining of the Strait of Hormuz that for some reason requires longer than normal to clear.

BASH: Thanks to you both. Really appreciate you being here.

PETRAEUS: Great to be with you. MCGURK: Thank you, Dana.

BASH: And when we come back: the end of an era in Iran and the beginning of a very uncertain new chapter.

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[09:56:12]

BASH: Jubilant scenes last night here in Washington, crowds with American, Iranian and Israeli flags, not a combination you often see together, chanting "USA" and celebrating the death of Iran's supreme leader.

In Los Angeles, home to the largest Iranian community outside of Iran, tears, hugs and dancing, and, in Tehran itself, cheers and anti-regime chants even amid the terror of war.

The joint U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran and the death of Ayatollah Khamenei closes a chapter on American and global history. Maybe it just turns a page, one that began and a book that began 47 years ago, when the Islamic Revolution of 1979 brought in the Iranian regime that has bedeviled every American president since Jimmy Carter, from the storming of the U.S. Embassy and the subsequent 440-day hostage crisis, to the October 7 attacks on Israel carried out by Iran's proxy Hamas.

So we have one chapter closed. What comes next is anyone's guess.

Thank you for joining us this Sunday morning. I will be back at 11:00 a.m. Eastern, in about an hour, with more special coverage on the conflict in Iran.

Fareed Zakaria picks it up next.