Return to Transcripts main page

The Story Is with Elex Michaelson

Netanyahu: Iran Conflict "Not An Endless War"; Rep. Pete Sessions, (R-TX), Is Interviewed About Trump To CNN: "Big Wave" Yet To Come In War With Iran; Interview with Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX); U.S. Rationale for Iran Strikes; Three-Person Leadership Council Holding Power in Iran; Saudi Military: 8 Drones Destroyed Near Riyadh and Al Kharj; Impact of War on World Oil Prices. Aired 1-2a ET

Aired March 03, 2026 - 01:00   ET

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

ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: Want freedom from the Islamic regime.

That's it for this hour of The Story Is. The next hour of The Story Is starts right now.

[01:00:11]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is CNN Breaking News.

ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: And hello. Welcome to a special edition of The Story Is. I'm Elex Michelson coming to you live from CNN headquarters in Atlanta. Tonight, the top story is war with Iran. We are entering the fourth day of the U.S. and Israel's war.

And just moments ago the Israeli military announced that it is conducting simultaneous strikes in both Tehran and Beirut. You are looking at live images from the Lebanese capital of Beirut where Israel says it is striking Hezbollah targets. Those attacks comes one day after the militant group launched missiles and drones at an Israeli military base in revenge for killing Iran's supreme leader. Beirut residents are evacuating in droves after the Israeli military issued a new evacuation warning. Lebanese officials say more than 50 people were killed and dozens more wounded in IDF strikes on Monday.

Meantime, U.S. allies in the Gulf and across the region are fending off the latest wave of retaliatory attacks from Iran and its proxies. Hundreds of ballistic missiles, more than 1,000 drones have been intercepted so far, according to official figures.

In Saudi Arabia sources tell CNN the U.S. embassy in Riyadh was hit by two suspected Iranian drones. There are no initial reports of injuries there, according to a source. U.S. State Department has urged U.S. citizens to depart now from countries throughout the region due to serious safety risks. You see those countries on your screen. Secretary of State Marco Rubio with this warning on Monday.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARCO RUBIO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: At the Department of State, our number one priority is the safety and the security of American citizens everywhere in the world. Now with what's going on in the Middle East, with Operation Epic Fury and the cowardly attacks that we're seeing from Iran against Gulf countries, I wanted to take this chance to speak directly to Americans who are in the Middle East about the work we are doing to try to keep you safe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: Meanwhile, in Iran, more than 700 civilians have been killed since that war began on Saturday. That's according to latest figures from a U.S. based human rights group. But that number could exponentially grow as President Trump tells CNN, quote, "The big wave hasn't even happened yet." U.S. Central Command says six American service members were killed in an Iranian strike in Kuwait. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says one projectile managed to penetrate air defenses at the tactical operations center. Source tells CNN the Sunday morning attack came without warning or sirens to alert troops to evacuate.

Casualties are the first Americans killed in action in Operation Epic Fury. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Dan Caine called the service members the best our nation has to offer.

CNN is covering this story from all over the world. Bijan Hosseini is in Doha, Qatar, standing by. But first we go live to Washington with Julia Benbrook is standing by.

And Julia, President Trump promised more and we are seeing more right now as we speak, especially from Israel.

JULIA BENBROOK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And we did hear President Donald Trump speak publicly for the first time since the beginning of Operation Epic Fury on Monday. And he had said that these combat operations will continue at full force until objectives are achieved. But that timeline has changed a bit throughout this. At one point he said two to three days could be possible. Obviously we are days into this already.

He had said through the week. And then most recently he has been saying four to five weeks. That's what he said while speaking at the White House today. But he also highlighted that it could go on longer if necessary. And then just moments ago, he posted to Truth Social to speak to the capability of the United States to keep this going.

In fact, he wrote, "The United States munitions stockpiles have at the medium and upper medium grade, never been higher or better. As was stated to me today, we have a virtually unlimited supply of these weapons. Wars can be fought forever." He put that in quotation marks. "And very successfully using just these supplies which are better than other countries finest arms.

And at the highest grade we have a good supply, but not where we want to be. Much additional high grade weaponry is stored for us in outlying countries."

So he's saying there at the medium and upper grade, things are where he wants them. But there is this kind of remarkable acknowledgment that at the highest grade it's not necessarily where he wants to see them.

And then just taking a step back here, you know, this escalation all came after multiple rounds of high stakes talks between the United States and Iran. On the U.S. side those were led by special envoy Steve Witkoff as well as Trump's son in law, Jared Kushner. And the latest round of those took place on Thursday in Geneva, just days ago still. And following that, it was clear that there was still a significant gap between the two sides when it came to trying to find a nuclear agreement.

[01:05:29]

MICHAELSON: So, I mean, is there any chance now for any sort of negotiated exit from this? I mean, we don't even know who's running Iran really. But is there any sort off ramp for this?

BENBROOK: There are a lot of questions. And as you hear, I mean, today we saw Secretary of State Marco Rubio, he was on Capitol Hill. He briefed the Gang of Eight. Those are some of the top congressional leaders from both parties, both chambers. He had conversations with them.

And afterwards there were questions about, you know, what led to the beginning of this, specifically because taking a step back here, some of our colleagues had reporting that Pentagon briefers had acknowledged to some congressional staff that there were not specific plans for Iran to strike U.S. bases and forces unless Israel struck them first. And Rubio said today that the justification here, part of the reason that there was this imminent threat, they believed was based on the fact that they think Iran would have retaliated to planned Israeli actions.

So questions from how it started, questions about what's next. But Trump is sharing this message about the weaponry and making it clear, using that word, that wars can be fought forever and very successfully using these supplies.

MICHAELSON: Yes, and it's something, the idea of a forever war, something he warned against over and over again when he ran for president multiple times.

Julia Benbrook live for us from Washington. Julia, thanks for staying up late with us tonight.

For more, I want to go to the region. CNN Senior Producer Bijan Hosseini is live in Doha. What are you seeing there?

BIJAN HOSSEINI, CNN SENIOR PRODUCER: Hi, Elex. Good morning here from Doha. Let's start with the numbers. Obviously, Iran's retaliation has been bombarding the region here, specifically in Qatar. The country's Ministry of Defense just a couple hours ago confirming since the hostilities began from Iran on Saturday, February 28, they have been attacked by three cruise missiles, 101 ballistic missiles, 39 drones, and two Su-24 fighters. The government also saying they have successfully intercepted nearly all of those. It's worth noting these Su-24 fighters, the government put out a specific statement confirming that they had shot down those two aircraft. This obviously marks significant escalation. It's the first confirmed report that we have from a Gulf country saying they have successfully shot down an Iranian aircraft. And we've heard from Qatar ministers over the course of the last couple days saying that they reserve the right to respond to this aggression. And we clearly saw that play out last night.

The country's media office also putting out a statement overnight pushing back against any suggestion that the air defense missiles are running out. They say that their Patriot defense systems remain fully stocked. And we heard from a Qatar prime minister spokesperson yesterday speaking with our colleague, CNN's Becky Anderson, updating some of the numbers. They say there are 20 people that have been injured, mostly from shrapnel and debris during this aggression. They also say they know there are 8,000 passengers who are transiting through the airport, through Doha's Hamid International Airport that are left stranded as airspace remains closed.

In addition to those 8,000 passengers, we also know there are two cruise ships docked in Doha's Mena Port. One of those, the Mein Schiff 5, belongs to German cruise line TUI Cruises. They put out a statement saying that all of those passengers on board are being looked after, obviously unable to leave with the closure of the airspace, that itinerary of that cruise ship ended on March 1. But those passengers have been asked to remain on board until the airspace can open back up.

Here on the ground, schools still are in online learning. They remain physically closed. Businesses are operating in limited capacity, and the government is urging everyone to stay inside. Elex.

MICHAELSON: It sounds like there still sounds like some construction or something around you. What are you hearing from people on the ground in terms of the reaction to people in Doha to what's happening in the region?

HOSSEINI: Yes. We talked to two German tourists yesterday who were transiting from New Zealand back to Germany. Obviously, very scary time for them. A bit frustrated that they aren't hearing enough from their government they said. Here on the ground they say they've been looked after, they've been given complimentary accommodation and they are getting updates from the airport and from the airline.

[01:10:08]

But obviously a very scary time for some people on the ground that are just happen to be stuck here while all this is taking place.

MICHAELSON: Yes, you think about the domino effect and the ripples. There are so many different people around the world.

Bijan, thank you so much. Stay safe there in Doha.

Now to Israel, the U.S. ambassador there, Mike Huckabee, putting out a lengthy post on X a short time ago addressing Americans in Israel right now who might want to leave. The bottom line, as he notes, options are limited. He says leaving through Jordan is not recommended, that it's not clear when the Tel Aviv airport will be back open. But even when it does, Huckabee says flights are going to be limited. He suggests the best option right now could be taking a bus to Cairo and trying to get a flight from Egypt.

His post includes an alert from the U.S. embassy in Jerusalem which says it is currently not in a position to help Americans evacuate the region.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the conflict with Iran will not become a, quote, "endless war." Speaking on Fox News, Netanyahu insisted the conflict would instead usher in an era of peace in the country. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: This is going to be a quick and decisive action and we're going to create the conditions first for the Iranian people to get control of their destiny, to form their own democratically elected government which will make Iran a different Iran altogether.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: Joining us live from Tel Aviv is Miri Eisin. She's a former IDF colonel and senior fellow at the International Institute for Counterterrorism. Thank you so much for being with us. Do you agree with what Netanyahu just said about the length of this potential operation?

MIRI EISIN, COLONEL, ISRAEL DEFENSE FORCES (RET.): It's hard to define how long this will go on. It isn't only about Israel. In Israel right now, we do have resilience. We have the capacity to be able to get through this. I do hope it will be quick.

The Islamic regime is firing missiles and drones, not just against Israel. But as you noted before, Hezbollah has joined in. That's one of the Shiite proxies. There are other proxies in the area that could join in. So I hope it will be quick.

I'm sitting here in Tel Aviv waiting for the next alert, hoping it won't arrive. But it's hard to say that it really will be as quick as he says.

MICHAELSON: What is day to day life been like in Tel Aviv for the average person since this started?

EISIN: So I'm hosted at my sister's. I say that because I don't have a safe room, Elex. And in Israel, what you have are bomb shelters, safe rooms inside different apartments that were built over the years because of this kind of threat. That's a passive kind of defense that you build. So people are being very, very, what can I say, responsible, which is a good thing. People sleep in the bomb shelters, most of the city underground parking places, you know, minus two, minus three, minus four, underground have become really big areas where people are sleeping in. You sleep there because even though you have three minute warning, you really want to be near it because it's quite scary. A ton and a half of an Iranian missile is very scary.

MICHAELSON: That being said, are the Israeli people largely behind this? Do they support it?

EISIN: Elex they are, I think, much more than people realize. That doesn't mean that every one of us understands the exact details. But there's been a change of a mindset in Israel after the Hamas attack October 7th. Sitting and delaying and negotiating and postponing for Israelis brought about the worst attack we've ever had by what is also an Iranian proxy, Hamas. Hezbollah joined in.

Other proxies joined in. If you let Iran, the Islamic regime and the proxies define the rules of the game, that's horrible. So I don't think of this as easy, but the bulk of Israelis support this. I would say even a change of government in Israel would not change the way that we feel about this Islamic regime's threat.

MICHAELSON: Can you talk about President Trump's popularity in Israel right now after both bringing the Gaza conflict to a sort of an end and now helping to kill the Ayatollah? I mean, those are two things Israelis have wanted to see for a long time.

EISIN: Elex it's funny, people always think that we're the 51st state. We're not. We're in the Middle East. We border Lebanon, in Syria and Jordan and Egypt. And we have the Palestinian arena with innocent around us.

So, yes, President Trump in Israel is overwhelmingly popular. Not necessarily looking at it from the issues that are on the table inside the United States. I want to remind everybody that in Israel we've had enormous demonstrations against our own government that have to do with domestic issues. But when we look at President Trump's at least his foreign policy as it's seen from Israel, bringing home the live hostages, ending the hostage issue that Hamas took on October 7, bringing about a ceasefire which with the Hamas on the Gazan front and for that matter, I'll remind you at the tail end of the Biden administration, but the implementation of the, sorry, the ceasefire with Hezbollah in Lebanon, because Hezbollah until the day before yesterday, they were quiet, yesterday they joined in with Iran and that's very important for us. At the end, we really feel that the U.S. under this administration has done that. So, yes, he's very popular here for those reasons, not about what he does inside the states.

[01:16:00]

MICHAELSON: Yes. And President Trump more popular in Israel than the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu right now, which has given them interesting leverage. So for Israel, which is maybe different than the United States, what would end this particular conflict in Iran? What is the end goal? EISIN: The end goal at this stage is to try to cripple. That doesn't mean demolish, but to cripple the capabilities that the Islamic regime have in Iran, both against Israel, but they're using them now against all of the Middle East and even against Cyprus. That means going against the missiles, the construction, the capability to fire them, the drones and also in that sense the different installations and targeting the regime targets. It isn't about putting boots on the ground. It isn't about Israel, let alone the United States going in and changing it on the ground.

But for us, if they -- if we manage to cripple with the U.S. the capabilities that are fired out, that is the immediate end game.

MICHAELSON: Miri Eisin joining us now from Israel where it is now the morning time. Thank you so much for joining us. Appreciate it.

EISIN: Thank you.

MICHAELSON: Still to come, a Republican lawmaker tells us why he does not think the U.S. war with Iran will become a forever war, why he's backing this. That's ahead. Plus, the U.S. is telling embassy staff in Saudi Arabia to shelter in place after suspected Iranian drone attack. We'll hear why the kingdom is such a high priority target for Tehran.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[01:22:07]

MICHAELSON: Sources tell CNN that two suspected Iranian drones have struck the U.S. embassy in Saudi Arabia. There were no initial reports of injuries. Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has said that it's working to destroy, quote, "American political centers in the Middle East" and says the explosions at the embassy is part of that effort. CNN's Nic Robertson brings us the latest.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: We've heard from the Ministry of Defense here in Riyadh and they say they can confirm that these two drone impacts did occur at the U.S. embassy here in Riyadh. It's in a very large diplomatic compound area. We tried to get their security was very tight. We weren't able to get in. But what the Ministry of Defense here is saying is that there was a fire and some material damage at the U.S. embassy.

What is really interesting here is that not long after that impact became public knowledge, then the United States issued a shelter in place for embassy staff here in Riyadh, for consular staff in the west of the country in Jeddah, and for consular staff in the east of the country in Dhakran. Of course, that's much closer to Iran. And then subsequent to that shelter in place that were reports that there have been additional drone impacts at the embassy here in Riyadh. We are unable to confirm those with local officials here at the moment. We're trying to run that information down, but it is, and I've been speaking with officials here, it is a point of concern that these drones have been able to get through to the U.S. embassy here.

Look, the united -- the United States embassy in Riyadh and other associated potential Iranian targets in Saudi Arabia are very high value, considered higher value, if you will, than those, let's say in Bahrain or Abu Dhabi, because those are easier to hit. And also that Saudi Arabia is a much bigger, more powerful kingdom and therefore striking Saudi Arabia carries with it more messaging, more weight. So this is a very key moment. A long night is what one official here described to me, what to expect.

MICHAELSON: Joining me now from Capitol Hill is Republican Congressman Pete Sessions of Texas.

Congressman, welcome back to The Story Is.

REP. PETE SESSIONS (R-TX): Thank you very much. It's a big day for America and a big night for T.V. for people to catch up on the things that are happening around the world.

MICHAELSON: Yes. And so for you, what does victory look like for the United States? And are you willing to put American boots on the ground to achieve that?

SESSIONS: Thank you very much. What does victory look like? Victory looks like that America, Israel and our friends in Saudi Arabia, as well as other nations that have chosen to be a part of this coalition, have decided that death threats, the death that the proxies of the Iranians have rained on people for now 50 years. It's time for that to end.

[01:25:19]

And it came together at a great time where President Trump said it is time that this ends. He gave them a huge opportunity not only to negotiate their way out, but also to say that we will not let you have a nuclear weapon because you have chosen to be mad men who are incapable of effectively handling such a device.

So that's what I think it looks like. We're going to go ahead and take care of the Iranian regime. We're going to try and hand this back to people. I think the Iranian people are well up to this. They needed help in getting there, and the United States is willing to do that.

Boots on the ground, I do not think that at this time I see where that is necessary. Now you would say to me, well, Pete, what are you going to prove the next three weeks? Well, in the next three weeks, we'll take out the last of the -- of the will that they have to fight and send proxies around the world. We will run down -- run down and hunt down those people that are left. We will use that with the people who are in Iran right now who want to see a new and brighter, better day, not just for the world, but for themselves also.

And that's what I think we call a job that will be -- that must be accomplished and the goals of it.

MICHAELSON: While I'm here in Georgia, I spent some time today with Georgia's U.S. senator, Raphael Warnock. He's got a different view than you on this. I want to play that and then have you respond.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. RAPHAEL WARNOCK (D-GA): Part of what we've got to ask ourselves is, are we going to see regional -- increased regional stability as a result of this or are we going to see a region that's even more unstable than it is right now? The idea that we might find ourselves bogged down in yet another endless war in the Middle East, I don't think that that's something that people have signed up for, even in this county that voted overwhelmingly for the president.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: So how do you avoid another endless war in the Middle East?

SESSIONS: Well, I think that first of all, I would disagree with the senator. I don't think it's an endless war. I think that it is a fight that had to take place on behalf of free people who've gotten really very tired of not just the proxies, but of the Iranians threatening the United States people, they were getting closer and closer with their technology and ability to strike Americans, certainly our assets and our allies across -- around the world. And I think that this can be done very quickly. I think it will be done very quickly.

And I think President Trump ends wars. He does not start them. And I think that you will see in the American people will have confidence in our United States military.

MICHAELSON: I mean, didn't he literally just start a war? I mean -- I mean, because a lot of folks will say, what was -- what was the necessary to do this now? Because if the president was truthful when he said that we completely obliterated Iran's nuclear arsenal, then to come back months later and need this, both of those things can't be true at the same time, necessarily.

SESSIONS: You know, you can wipe out a great big yellow jacket nest, but they'll come back. And the bottom line is that the regime has this at their goal, to kill Americans and wipe out Israel. And that is not a safe world. And so I'm willing to take the gamble that the American people not only see the benefit of this, but are willing to see the president and the Israelis run this all the way through. It is not going to take months, it's going to take weeks.

And I do not see us putting boots on the ground at this point.

MICHAELSON: The Constitution is pretty clear that Congress is supposed to declare war. Are you concerned that Congress has not had a vote on this and that the president did this without consulting Congress?

SESSIONS: Well, I think there's been plenty of consultation. This was probably the worst kept secret that I've seen. I don't think that it was a surprise what the president has been doing. I think the president's been forthright about the negotiation, about what he wanted. But that we could have a vote about the War Powers Act is really not what this is about.

[01:29:41] What this is about is that the United States sees that we -- it is now

the right time to do this. And I would tell you that as we have seen, there are a few Democrats who have said that they see the wisdom in the timing and that they support our military.

But boy, what a tough time to have to get this when Congress has just the difference of one vote or two. So that debate, I'm sure, will be brought to the floor. We will be back in on Wednesday and it will not surprise me at all if the Democrats bring those same arguments directly to the floor of the House and certainly the Rules Committee.

ELEX MICHAELSON, CNN ANCHOR: Republican Congressman Pete Sessions, thank you so much for joining us on a very busy and historic day in Washington. We appreciate it.

SESSIONS: Thank you very much.

MICHAELSON: We continue to follow the latest U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran. Just ahead, we'll look at the Trump administrations justification for the attacks and talk about who's in charge in Tehran right now.

[01:31:06]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MICHAELSON: Here's the latest in the war with Iran.

President Trump says the big wave of attacks against Iran hasn't actually happened yet, but it's coming. Video from Tehran shows smoke rising over Tehran in the early hours of Tuesday. Meanwhile, no injuries reported after suspected Iranian drones hit the U.S. embassy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia which we just learned a few moments ago is now closed due to that attack.

U.S. Central Command now says that six American service members were killed in an Iranian attack on a U.S. facility in Kuwait.

New CNN polling giving us insight into how Americans are feeling about the war, at least so far, nearly 60 percent of Americans polled disapprove of the U.S. strikes.

Breaking that down by political affiliation, 80 percent of Republicans polled say they approve of the air strikes but a majority of both Democrats and, this is key, Independents disapprove.

Majority of those polled also say they don't think President Trump has a clear exit plan here.

Let's bring in political scientist Benjamin Radd, senior fellow at the UCLA Burkle Center, joins us live from Los Angeles. Benjamin, we've talked so often during this process.

Today Marco Rubio said that the attacks were justified. Here's some of that. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARCO RUBIO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: And we believe they would be attacked, that they would immediately come after us. And we were not going to sit there and absorb a blow before we responded, because the Department of War assessed that if we did that, if we waited for them to hit us first after they were attacked and by someone else, Israel attacked them. They hit us first and we waited for them to hit us, we would suffer more casualties and more deaths.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAELSON: How do you respond to that?

BENJAMIN RADD, SENIOR FELLOW, UCLA BURKLE CENTER: Yes, that was remarkable. A remarkably either candid moment or maybe the secretary was misspeaking but all but pretty much said that the imminent threat came about only as a result of another country's decision to strike first.

You know, what lines you want to draw from that, really it's up to the viewer or the listener but it's pretty remarkable and it reflects the sort of shifting responses we've gotten from the administration, from the -- from the beginning of this conflict about what exactly imminent means.

MICHAELSON: Why were all of Iran's top leaders gathered together?

RADD: Remarkable. I mean you would think after last June, the 12-day war, when the Israelis were able to pinpoint the location, precise location of the previous round of top officials, that they would have basically decided maybe, hey, you know let's do this over Zoom and let's not all gather in one spot.

But they thought they were safe. It was a Saturday. It was a Jewish sabbath. Its Ramadan. And Israel in the past had only attacked under the cover of darkness.

And so you know, this was 8:15 in the morning and they figured, this is -- this is as safe a place as any to do it. And it's less likely to happen.

And, you know, negotiations were ongoing in Geneva. They were waiting for, you know, a follow up round and waiting for responses. And by all accounts from the Omani foreign minister, they were going favorably. So they probably felt they were, you know, lulled into a false sense of security.

MICHAELSON: So now the question is, who's in charge in Iran?

RADD: Well indeed, there's a triumvirate now, three officials representing different segments of the governing apparatus who are now making the temporary decisions, at least on an interim basis.

Aou have Ali Larijani who was one of the closest officials to the Supreme Leader. He sort of seems to be very much in the mix as well. They have a constitutional process to pick the next Supreme Leader.

But whoever it is, it's not going to be somebody who has the legitimacy, the authority, the charisma, the bona fides, really to fill the shoes or fill the role of Khamenei.

[01:39:44]

RADD: And so it's difficult to see how the structure that currently favors the Supreme Leader proceeds under this current setup. And it might be something where we see a council, a military junta, something consisting other than the Supreme Leader taking charge going forward on a day-to-day basis, with the Supreme Leader playing -- playing more of a ceremonial, religious, spiritual role which is something that many people thought Khomeini, the original founder, was going to do.

MICHAELSON: You've been our go to guy on our set in Los Angeles for months, talking about Iran. And we've always talked about the options of what the U.S. could potentially do. We talked about this idea of maybe the regime change option as the biggest, most aggressive option.

What do you make of the fact that they actually chose that one?

RADD: If you -- to hear it from the administration's perspective, this is something that an Axios journalist discussed the other day. And he said for the United States, the objective of taking out, let's say, 30 officials all at once was not something they anticipated would be presented as an option.

They had wanted to do this a week before, but due to inclement weather and coordinating, you know, logistical issues, they had to defer this by a week. And then here they saw this opportunity, everybody gathered and convened.

And even people they thought would be sort of the second-tier replacements once the top tier were taken out, that second tier was taken out in the -- in Saturday's or Friday nights attack.

So, remarkable. And I think the United States finds itself really not knowing exactly what to do, what to make of what comes next for Iran and the decision, I think, reflects again, sort of the last-minute planning when it comes to who is going to be there, what it would mean and what this would mean for a transitional government in Iran, if any.

MICHAELSON: I mean, it's been really interesting to see President Trump do these series of phone conversations with mainstream media members from all the different networks.

He spoke with Jake Tapper today. He spoke with Jon Karl over the weekend of ABC News and said to him, admitted we ended up killing the people we thought would be the replacement leaders. Because we killed so many people --

RADD: Exactly.

MICHAELSON: -- these were going to be our backup guys and now they're gone.

RADD: Exactly. It's -- again this really reflects -- it was a unique and bizarre gathering of that many officials in one place at that time. And also, and I -- and it caught everyone by surprise.

And I think again, the urgency of the strike came from the fact that they felt, look, this is our one chance to do this with the defenses down, with their literal guard down, their, you know, psychological guard down. The opportunity was there.

And, you know, understandable from an operations perspective. But for the day after, the weeks after, the months after, who is there left to negotiate with?

And when you sort of take out that many people at once, you figure the remaining remnants will have nothing left to do other than to, you know retaliate massively because they think, what do they have left to lose?

MICHAELSON: And apparently, according to President Trump, there's a lot more to come. So we're not done yet. Not even close.

Benjamin Radd from UCLA, thank you for staying up late with us. Always appreciate your wisdom and perspective.

RADD: Thank you, Elex.

MICHAELSON: The war with Iran starting to push global oil prices up. We'll look at what's driving that increase and how bad things could get. Two live reports next.

[01:43:04]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MICHAELSON: Welcome back to THE STORY IS. I'm Elex Michaelson.

Let's take a look at today's top stories.

State media in Iran report a U.S.-Israeli strike damaged a centuries- old UNESCO designated place. Golestan Palace dates back to the 16th century and is one of the oldest in Tehran.

The palace's famous mirrored throne room, along with its museum artifacts, were previously moved to a secure vault following the deadly protests in January and during the 12-day war last June.

Antiwar protests erupted across the U.S. on Monday. They took place in cities from New York and Boston to Chicago and San Francisco. Thousands gathered peacefully to express their opposition to what one attendee called, quote "endless, stupid, immoral, dangerous war".

U.S. Federal Aviation Administration is investigating an engine fire in a United Airlines flight that forced pilots to make an emergency landing at LAX. The Boeing 787 Dreamliner had just taken off from Los Angeles. Pilots told firefighters they deployed both fire extinguishers built into the left engine, but were still receiving fire warnings. No one on board was injured.

More now on the latest developments in the war with Iran. Let's go live to Hong Kong, where CNN senior international correspondent Ivan Watson is following multiple developing stories. That is not Ivan. That is -- there's Ivan.

Ivan, let's go to you. You know this region so well. Talk to us about what you're looking at right now.

IVAN WATSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Right. In the fourth day of this war, the Israeli military claims that it has killed more than 1,500 members of Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps. The U.S. military, saying that it destroyed 11 Iranian navy ships in the Gulf of Oman.

This is having a tremendous toll on the civilian population, the air war in Iran, with the human rights activist news agency saying that at least 742 civilians have been killed in Iran by the joint bombardment thus far. And they're still trying to confirm many more deaths.

[01:49:47]

WATSON: They report that the Law Enforcement Command and Border Guard Command in the western Iranian city of Sanandaj in the Kurdistan region, were targeted by the joint bombardments.

The Iranian government is waging a war of narratives with its enemies. Take a look at this tweet that came from Iran's foreign minister in response to kind of shifting explanations for why the U.S. started this conflict with foreign minister Araghchi saying the U.S. has entered a war of choice on behalf of Iran.

There was never any so-called threat. Shedding of both American and Iranian blood is thus on Israel firsters. American people deserve better and should take back that country -- their country.

He's doing the reverse of what President Trump did when he first announced the start of what he described as major operations, where he called on the Iranian people to rise up and overthrow the regime.

In the meantime, the State Department has issued warnings for American citizens to leave immediately from 14 Middle Eastern countries. That order, though, is complicated by the fact that flights have been disrupted in many of these countries, such as the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain.

And the U.S. Ambassador to Israel, Mike Huckabee, he came out with a long post conceding that there are very few options if citizens want to get out of Israel. The best of them being to take a bus over the land border to Egypt and to try to pick up a flight from there.

U.S. embassies in Riyadh have been closed in Kuwait as well after both of those diplomatic offices have been hit by suspected attacks coming from Iran.

And the conflict has also expanded on a second day in Lebanon, with the Iran-backed militia Hezbollah announcing several waves of missile and drone strikes on Israel. And Israel has been bombing the south of Beirut, as well as southern Lebanon, and demanded the evacuation of scores of villages in the south of the country, and has said that a land incursion by the Israeli military is not off the table, Elex.

MICHAELSON: Ivan Watson in Hong Kong. Thank you.

The war is taking a toll on energy markets. Oil prices sparked to their highest levels in eight months on Monday. Right now, crude oil is trading at more than $72. Brent Crude climbing to more than $78 a barrel.

Analysts say those prices are likely to keep rising if ships are forced to keep avoiding the Strait of Hormuz.

The narrow waterway between Iran and Oman is the main route for shipping crude from countries like Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. About 20 million barrels of oil pass through the strait every day. Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps says it will target any vessels passing through the strait.

Kristie Lu Stout, who we got a brief preview of a few moments ago, joins us now from Hong Kong. Kristie, as the conflict stretches into a fourth day, how is it squeezing the global energy supply --

KRISTIE LU STOUT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes.

MICHAELSON: -- and what does that mean for everybody who needs to fill up their tank?

STOUT: Yes. And Elex, there in the beautiful U.S. state of California, gas is already very pricey. You got to brace yourself. It is going to get pricier as this conflict grinds on.

Iran is now vowing to attack any ship that tries to sail through the Strait of Hormuz. It is also targeting major energy installations across the Middle East. All of this sending the price of global energy sky high -- the price of oil, the price of liquefied natural gas.

Now on Monday, a fire broke out at a major oil refinery in Saudi Arabia and we have satellite imagery of the aftermath of that fire, showing the devastation and the damage that it caused there. The fire was caused by falling shrapnel, the result of an interception of two Iranian drones.

The fire had been put out, but according to Reuters, production there at this facility has been suspended as a precaution. And this is significant, you know.

We know that Saudi Arabia is the world's largest exporter of oil. That refinery is the largest refinery in the Kingdom.

Now elsewhere in Qatar, you have Qatar Energy suspending production of liquefied natural gas after it was hit by an Iranian strike. Qatar accounts for 20 percent of global exports of liquefied natural gas. And you look at Kuwait, a major oil refinery there hit by shrapnel and

adding in fueling the flames to this fire if you can call it that, is of course, a situation surrounding the Strait of Hormuz, that narrow channel off the coast of Iran. Some 20 percent of global oil consumption flows through the strait, flows through it.

[01:54:50]

STOUT: And what we've heard from Iranian officials is that they're saying it is closed, and they also are issuing a threat.

Let's bring it up for you. This is what we heard from a senior advisor with the Iran Revolutionary Guards who said this on Monday, quote, "if anyone tries to pass, the heroes of the Revolutionary Guards and the regular navy will set those ships ablaze," unquote.

Now, choking this off could have major ramifications on oil prices, on shipping, on your ability to get your e-commerce goods on time, depending on where you live in the region.

It could also antagonize China. We know that China is the world's largest importer of oil. And China is also the biggest buyer of Iranian oil.

Back to you.

MICHAELSON: So many different aspects of this story. Kristie Lu Stout with us from Asia, thank you and --

STOUT: Thank you.

MICHAELSON: -- thanks for watching this hour of THE STORY IS. Usually, this is the time of night when I sign off. But we have an extra hour of THE STORY IS as we continue to watch history together -- the war with Iran.

We have live reports from all over the region next in a special expanded edition of THE STORY IS, when we come back.

Thank you for watching our coverage from Atlanta.

[01:56:07]

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)