Trump Says War Could Last 'Four Weeks'

0:00This is CNN breaking news. Breaking news this morning, more military action in the war with Iran. Good morning, I'm Adi Cornish, and President Trump says the war could take four weeks or less. We'll see his defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, just two hours from now. He's scheduled at a news conference at the Pentagon at 8 a.m. Eastern. And Iran says it will not negotiate, as it continues counterattacks on Israel and US allies in the Gulf. Overnight, CNN learned several U.S. fighter jets crashed in Kuwait. Kuwait's Ministry of Defense confirms all crew members survived. CNN, GEO, located this video showing an F-15 falling from the sky near a U.S. airbase. It's unclear why the jet crashed. The crew did appear to eject safely. No other video showed a pilot safely on the ground after a parachute landing. They're now being treated for injuries.

1:06The scene in Tel Aviv overnight, sirens sounded as Iran launched a new barrage of missiles. At least 10 people have been killed and 200 injured in Israel since the military operation started this weekend. Joining us now in Tel Aviv, Nick, Peyton, Walsh, CNN, Chief International Security Correspondent. Nick first, let's start with this wave of attacks. First, we saw images of these war planes falling. What are you seeing as the next steps in terms of maybe even Israel's response? Yeah, I mean, look, we don't know exactly what caused these startling images over Kuwait skies, but certainly it brought home the vulnerability potentially the U.S. troops are exposed to here. Three dead so far, but President Trump warning there could be more casualties and what he said, as you pointed out, could be a four-week war, unclear where he really got that number from and also to in the same day he talked about the possibility for talks with Iran soon as well. This incident being prescribed, it's not clear yet, by Kuwaiti officials, simply saying

2:10several aircraft were involved in an incident and I'm sure, depending on Chief Peak-Hex F will be of some specific details, imminently, but this whole region, so many nations are constant to a peaceful Monday morning, woke up to the sound of explosions here across Gulf states that were not publicly advocating for war, the noise of drones, explosions heard in peaceful civilian towns like Abu Dhabi, Dubai, certainly Saudi Arabia's oil refineries shooting down two drones that appeared to be targeting it as well. Also here in Tel Aviv, we were working this morning by sirens again and some booms in the distance here, unclear quite what they have been a result of and certainly Israel's emergency service is reporting nothing of concern at this particular point. Israel though, early this morning, launching a new front in this war to its north, the Lebanese faction Hezbollah, an Iranian proxy massively weakened during a war in late 2024 with Israel and stepping back it seemed from this conflict, many think took the wildly in advised step

3:10of firing projectiles into Israel, claiming responsibility for it, saying it was their vengeance for the death of Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Hamanay, look, Israel have been itching for a chance to take off, take out what remains of Hezbollah and it looks like that is underway now as we speak with many civilians on the move inside southern Lebanon, but let's not forget Iran itself to continued strikes in Tehran here, Israel clear it has air superiority that will continue to pick off key targets, the Sanandage residential area, apparently one being particularly hit over recent hours. The Iranian Red Crescent saying that the death toll now is 555, that is significant here and another key question too, who is really in charge inside of Iran? It is notable, but at this stage Ayatollah Hamanay has been dead this long and we do not have a clear replacement lined out, obviously I'll be fearing for their safety, but I think it shows you the sense of disarray inside Iran and indeed whether that is informing this

4:10extraordinary lashing out we've seen across the region, I think surprise many, Ali. Okay, that's Nick Peyton, whilst reporting to us right now throughout the day from Tel Aviv and I want to dive more into that remarkable video that we showed you a moment ago, so this is a U.S. warplane falling out of the sky in Kuwait. CNN analysis shows the plane is an F-15 fighter jet. Now the crew safely ejected, Kuwait's Defense Ministry says several planes actually crashed in Kuwait earlier today. The pilot was seen on the ground after parachuting to safety. We want to talk about how this happened and here to do that is retired Army Brigadier General Steve Anderson. Thank you so much for being here, because we're going to talk not just about that plane, but also the sort of pros and cons of doing an air campaign with the goal of regime change, which is not something history has shown us really before. So first talk about what you were seeing with that F-15. Give us the context of what our capabilities are in the region. Well, there's probably at least 30 or so F-15s that are stationed there in Kuwait.

5:17And they all, no doubt, took part in this massive air campaign that took over the weekend. Before a thousand sorties were flown, you have to remember that it was incredibly complex operation involving the Lincoln Carrier Battle Group, the Ford Carrier Battle Group out in the Mediterranean, all the bases that we have in the Middle East. Without a doubt, there was probably Tomahawk missiles launched from submarines, in fact. So it was an incredibly complex operation. So the fact that we'd have some kind of collision, some kind of innocent, is not that remarkable. But what is remarkable is performance of the American military in this, and the Israeli military, to have done what they've done over the last couple of days without a single shoot down is pretty remarkable. I want to ask you about some of the drones in the region. We have an image of an Iranian drone stockpile. I was thinking about this because when you look at the war between Ukraine and Russia,

6:19drone warfare has greatly moved technologically. So what are your concerns for the stockpile like that? How does that play into this conversation? Well, they have a huge stockpile. I mean, they've been providing for the last four years the Russians that you had drone that has been very effective over in the battle in Ukraine. There have been tens of thousands of them have been provided to the Russians. And they've operated very, very well. So I'd be very concerned that there's a stockpile. I mean, these people are not stupid. They know that these attacks were probably coming. And so these Shahad drones, you know, pretty good size drone, probably about as big as this table. But they could be easily hidden in underground facilities out of the fray. So the fact that they've got probably tens of thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands of things sitting around, and not to mention they also have missiles. And of course, they've already shown a proclivity to attack the GCC, and of course, Israel. So, you know, I'd be very concerned about the performance and the presence of these drones.

7:20Help us understand the size of the Iranian military, and whether or not air power alone, air strikes alone will do what the U.S. President wants it to. Air power will not win this war. Air power can shape the battlefield, but they cannot win. You need to have boots on the ground in order to actually execute regime change and actually win a war like this, and this is the fact what we're in. So I mean, we probably need at least a half million troops on the ground, and probably six months to get ready, if we were to do some kind of invasion, and mercifully we're not talking about something like that. No, we are not. But air power is not going to do it alone. They've been very effective, like I said, in shaping. So what we've got to do, as we've got to continue to put the pressure on, but people need to understand, and we constantly overestimate the ability of the power of air power. It will help to win the war, but it cannot win the war by itself. Okay. Good day, General Steve Anderson. Thank you so much for being with us.

8:21Coming up on CNN this morning, we're standing by today to hear from Pentagon officials. This is going to mark the first time top members of the administration have spoken publicly about the military operation in Iran. Because today, the Trump administration is going to face top lawmakers on their plan for the war with Iran, and how oil prices and market futures are reacting to the conflict. Hey everyone, it's Audi, and I've got another special episode of the assignment for you. I was at the podcast festival known as On Air Fest. That was in Brooklyn just last week. And for this, I knew I wanted to bring along a friend because we're going to talk about work spouses and mine for a very long time was Ari Shapiro of NPR. You heard us on the radio being very serious, and during the eight-minute segment when our mics are off, we would cackle about the latest thing that we had found on Reddit or on Instagram, or whatever was bubbling up in the culture.

9:24And we never really got to laugh like that with each other and finish each other sentences on the radio in quite that way. Listen to the assignment with me, Audi Cornish, streaming now on your favorite podcast app. Hey, I'm Anderson Cooper. On my podcast, all there is, we explore grief and loss in all its complexities. You'll hear deeply moving and honest discussions with people who have faced and are living with life-altering losses. Gavin Newsom is the governor of California. He's written a book about his life called Young Man in a Hurry, a memoir of discovery. There's this thing, just this notion of this letting go. And just accepting things I can't control, just accepting them, things I can, taking account and responsibility to be better and more. Do you feel grief? I feel loss. I feel regret. I feel inadequate. I guess human. Talking grief, building community. That's what the podcast is all about.

10:25This is all there is. Listen and follow wherever you get your podcasts. Global markets reacting sharply this morning as the war with Iran disrupts the global crude oil supply. The Strait of Armours, a major shipping route in the Middle East, is under threat. And the oil tanker's skylight was struck off the coast of a month. Now, these strikes have caused oil to rise by nearly 9% during trading today. US stock futures are also rattled, taking a dive before trading begins this morning. Now, CNN, the economics reporter, Anna Kubin joins us now from London. This happened over the weekend, obviously, but now markets can react. Can you talk about what you're seeing? Yes, Audie, well, you've sketched it out there. We're seeing markets react pretty negatively to this. We're seeing stock indices across Asia and Europe in the red today. And of course, US futures are pointing to a very difficult day ahead for Wall Street. But I will focus on oil, which you've mentioned, which is what all investors

11:26really are looking at today. That global oil prices Brent, which is the global benchmark, rose as much as 13% this morning, which is an enormous jump and really reflects the anxieties that traders have about whether or not global oil trade will be disrupted through that all-important Strait of Hormuz, that tiny waterway through which a fifth of the world's global oil supply travels every single day. Now, even if Iran, which partly controls that Strait, hasn't fully blocked it, many shipping companies are voluntarily avoiding it because of the security risk. Merst is a Danish shipping company. They've blocked all their vessels from going through. And even though some traders are imagining that the disruption to oil might last a very short amount of time, there is a concern that this will become a prolonged disruption. And in that case, some analysts are betting that global price of oil will hit, or even top $100 a barrel. I also just want to quickly point out airline stocks falling today. Of course, there's been huge disruptions with airlines and airports all around the world. And gas, European gas prices were up around 23% this morning because you're at relies on much

12:30of the LNG, liquefied natural gas, traveling through that all-important Strait of Hormuz. Okay, that's Enacubin with the update for us there. Now, President Trump says that the US won't let up on Iran until all of the objectives are achieved. I once again urge the Revolutionary Guard, the Iranian military and police to lay down your arms and receive full immunity or face certain death. It will be certain death. Won't be pretty. I call upon all Iranian patriots who yearn for freedom to seize this moment, to be brave, be bold, be heroic, and take back your country. America is with you. I made a promise to you, and I fulfilled that promise. The rest will be up to you, but we'll be there to help. Joining me now in the group, Chad Joel Rubin, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State and Author of the Briefing Book on Substack, Jamil Javr, founder and executive director of the National

13:35Security Institute and Susan Page, Washington Bureau Chief for USA Today. Susan, I want to start with you, because the President reached out to multiple news reporters over the weekend and had little questions answered. And we heard slightly different reasons, timelines. Can you talk about what we heard? Well, we heard what we have heard before in the buildup to this action, which is not a clear explanation of what the US goals are or how they're going to be achieved or how long no take or what the price will be. So this conflict may last for days or perhaps four or five weeks. Experience says it will last longer than the administration thinks at the beginning. And I think the most critical question is what is success? For President Trump, what will success look like? How does the war end now that it's begun? Now these are very important questions and they strike it also the fault lines of Republican circles in general, right? When it comes to those who support US intervention in the world versus not. And I do see some differences.

14:40The President is not promising nation building period. He's not even promising frankly to help with a shift in regime. He's saying, you guys rise up and do that yourself. And there's no mission, like there's no discussion of humanitarian concerns driving it compared to say in Afghanistan. So what do you see in how he is trying to sell it? How are we starting to understand what this Trump doctrine is? Well, the President talked about early on all the terrorist attacks that Iran has conducted over the years against American forces in the region against American allies around the globe. He talked about the 1983 attacks in Beirut. He talked about Iran's potential involvement in the al-Qaeda attacks on the USS Cole. Right. None of those were imminent into this moment, right? So already there's a difference. No, that's exactly right. But then he also talked about the nuclear program. And he suggested slightly in his earlier speech that there might be new information about the about the nuclear program. And there might be there might be new suggestions that it had restarted in some way. The problem, of course, is that you've heard from members of Congress who were briefed that they hadn't heard that. And so we're not sure whether

15:43in fact the administration has made that case to Congress, where they have that case internally, they certainly haven't made it publicly. And so we'll see whether or not that's part of the equation. That would be the core of the imminent threat. But to be fair, Iran has been killing Americans for many, many years, including in Iraq and around the region, including as recently as a year or so ago when they hit American soldiers. So we didn't hear anything during the state of the union, right? We just had him come out in a baseball cap and say this is happening and that there could be losses and casualties. Can you talk about as Congress sort of picks up the ball this week? I don't know if there's really much they can do. Yeah, and I mean the hard reality of the congressional role and this is that there's going to be a lot of screaming. There will be a vote on the forum, both Chambers, but the war powers the resolution to stop this war. Even if it passes, the margin will be enough to override a presidential veto if it gets to President Trump's desk. And it likely won because the Senate probably will reject the resolution. And so this means we're now in a space where President Trump has his policy. And I got to be honest, this is not a new President Trump policy.

16:43This has been his view on Iran for well over a decade. Remember, he opposed the Iran nuclear deal when President Obama was negotiating it. He withdrew from it in 2018. But he also said so many times on the campaign trail in interviews, we will not go to war with Iran. And in fact, sort of implied that either a Biden or Harris administration would be war mongering. For regulation, he definitely conned a lot of his supporters into believing that. Did you just say cond? I did say that because honestly, if they had been paying attention to Donald Trump and his rhetoric on Iran for many, many years, they would have known this is exactly where he wanted to go on the world. Let me answer that briefly, Khan. Does that the right word? Well, look, I certainly the manga based to not expect President Trump to be in wars around the globe. They didn't expect to replace Nicholas Maduro and Venezuela or conduct a decapitation strike in Iran. But I think Joel is right. The President has been clear on Iran. He didn't think that Obama nuclear deal was the right thing. He's right about that. He does think Iran is a serious threat to America and our allies in the region. He's right about that too. Whether he's right that this effort will succeed in changing the regime in Iran or achieving peace for the US and regions,

17:46something we'll see. But at the end of the day, but Donald Trump has been consistent on Iran. He's been opposed to the regime. He's right to be opposed to the regime. They're a terrorist regime that been killing Americans for years. And at the end of the day, the Iranian people will be better off if in fact they are able to rise up and replace the regime. We're going to talk more about that because that is a massive question mark going into this week and frankly the next couple of weeks. Now, after the break on CNN this morning, we're going to talk about those US fighter jets that crash out of the sky in Kuwait because we're now hearing from the Pentagon on this video. We're going to have a live report just ahead. Plus how Republican lawmakers are rallying behind the President in the wake of these strikes. And to your license plate or VIN, answer a few quick questions and get an offer in minutes.

18:47Like what you see, we'll pick it up right from your door and hand you your check. No haggling, no hassle, no problem. Car selling may be easy. On... Pick up fees may apply. My bad. A makeover. Your favorite former contestants move back into the mansion to spill their secrets, refresh rooms, and win the hearts of the judges. Bachelors mentioned. Bachelors mentioned takeover. All new Monday at 8 on HDTV. Mixed reaction in the streets of Iran after the killing of Iran's Supreme Leader. Now we've seen celebrations in Tehran and other cities, but also pro-regime rallies. President Trump spoke directly to the Iranian people over the weekend.

19:48The voices of the Iranian people could be heard cheering and celebrating in the streets when his death was announced. I call upon all Iranian patriots who yearn for freedom to seize this moment, to be brave, be bold, be heroic, and take back your country. All right, we'll bring back retired Army Brigadier General, Steve Anderson, but also joining a cheer in Naramon, a former political prisoner from Iran, and a human rights advocate. So first of all, thank you so much for being here. In this moment over the weekend, what were your emotions, frankly? Well, as a former political prisoner, as someone who's perhaps seen death and had been tortured myself, what I can say is that this was the end of a tyranny, a theoretic tyranny, religious tyranny, and what makes me happy is that I want to see this will end for everyone. So no one else has

20:50to go through what I went through, or people that are currently imprisoned they go through. That's why I really think this is the end of this regime, and we have to, but we have to fight it. We have to fight it on the ground, you know, by ourselves. And one thing that helps me to go through these moments is that I have a clear path for the future. You know, I support National Council of Resistance of Iran, which is led by a woman, Maryam Rajavi. She has a plan, and that's the one reason that gives me hope for the future, and keep me going for a freedom. Let's talk about that more. So Maryam Rajavi, exiled, of course, a Iranian opposition leader with the National Council of Resistance of Iran. And I think the thing about her, and maybe even a monarchist like Reza Pallavi, is there are different factions of support. So for people like Pallavi, who obviously believes in having a

21:53monarchy again, there are some people who don't want that. There are people who look at Maryam Rajavi's background, and the group, it's background, knowing that at one time they were considered a terrorist group by the US, and say the US is not going to be able to work with them again. How many different factions are we talking about? I think basically you look at the organization or opposition that is very strong, very organized, and very disciplined, and it has only one goal, and that's the regime change. And did they have a track record? Yes, we were on a terrorist list because of part of the appeasement policy that was going on at the time. But we worked hard to remove that, because there was no basis for it. And all that happened because of Maryam Rajavi, because of her direction. She's a very smart, strong charismatic leader, and she has been able to move forward with the changes. And I think the message has been always clear that we work with every country. We have a lot of support in

22:56the Congress right now, bipartisan support. Let me follow up on this idea then, because you've mentioned something, a pro-democracy group. I've mentioned the monarchist. There's also the ethnic minorities, whether it be the Kurds, Azerbaijan, people who believe they want more independence. And then there is the IRGC. There is the military, the Republic Guard. So can you talk to us about what we should be watching for from them? Well, in the military, we use this term, center of gravity. And the center of gravity in this fight is clearly going to be the IRGC, the Islamic Republican Guard Corps. Perhaps 200,000 of them highly motivated, well-armed, well-equipped, they've got tanks, they've got APCs, they've got all kinds of weapons, they've got missiles, they've got drones. They're going to be a very, very difficult force to beat. And until we do that, until we break it. But can their loyalties be divided? Will there be groups you're not in? Are people hoping that there will be some general who breaks away from the Mujahideen?

23:57I don't think that they would, the generals, but the lower ranks, maybe when they see that they are defeated, they don't see any more reason to fight. And also, many Mujahideen has called on IRGC personnel to turn in your weapons and leave and ask the army to join people, to stand up with the Iranian people. So I think we are going to move forward. These are the terms that we have to be patient, go through everything because things are for me. But I'm asking because this is also the brutal force that put down the protest just a few weeks ago. That massacre, people are talking about deaths in the tens of thousands. Yeah, they've killed 30,000 perhaps. They're highly motivated because regime change is an existential threat to them. They know that there are going to be repercussions for what they did to the Iranian people. So they're going to be highly motivated to stay alive. Even though the president's US president is out there saying there's going to be some kind of amnesty for you or amnesty. Yeah, well, that's easy to say hard to do. They know the people in the

25:00streets know what they did. And they're going to be highly motivated to stay alive and to continue to fight and to continue to support the regime for as long as they possibly can. So that's why they're the center of gravity. That's why we got to do everything we can to take them down. Do you believe the president has put the people of Iran in the position for a populist uprising, a successful one? I think it definitely cracked the regime. You know, comedy was the glue and he's not there. So people are, if there is a right opposition group which it is and resistance units, they, yes, we are going to be seeing more oppression. It's not going to be during the war. We saw it in the 12-day war. Nothing happened. It happened afterwards. So after, I don't think this will take more than a week, but after it is done, we are going to be seeing progress. And also what we can see is that the popularity, people in Iran, after what happened in January, they realize that they have to fight back this regime. Yes, we have to fight

26:02this regime in the streets around, you know, Iran. We have to fight the regime. And that's why we need resistance units. We need national liberation army, which is forming and we are hearing that it's expanding more and more, more people are joining because even the ordinary people, unless they have realized they have to fight this fight. And it's not going to be easy. It's not going to be too hard. And I think we're, we're all going to be listening, the definition of fight, what that will involve and how that will break down. Thank you both so much for being here. Okay, straight ahead on CNN this morning. Multiple US jets crashed straight out of the sky in Kuwait. Pentagon, now telling us more about what happened. We're going to have a live report on that next. Plus, later this morning, we'll hear from top members of the Trump administration. Pete Hegg-Seth is going to lead a conference, a news conference at the Pentagon. That's happening in about 90 minutes. Ryan Reynolds here from int mobile. I don't know if you knew this, but anyone can get the same

27:05premium wireless for $15 a month plan that I've been enjoying. It's not just for celebrities, so do like I did and have one of your assistance assistants switch you to Mint Mobile today. I'm told it's super easy to do at mintmobile.com slash switch. Up front payment of $45 for three month plan, equivalent to $15 per month required. Intro rate first three months only, then full price plan options available, taxes and fees extra, feeful turns at mintmobile.com. Security reporter Haley, just start by telling us what the U.S. is saying about what happened.

28:28The combat included, they say attacks from Iranian aircraft, ballistic missiles and drones, when these three jets were shot down. Certainly something that we're going to be wanting more answers on how this happened, how those pilots are, where they are. As you've been talking about this morning, we have an 8 a.m. briefing with Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegg-Seth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs General, Dan Cain. I'm sure this is going to come up and be something that reporters are wanting more answers on, but certainly wanting some answers on what happened yesterday in Kuwait, when three U.S. service members were killed in an apparent drone strike in the country. There's a lot of questions that we have about this operation, as it unfolds, this operation dubbed epic fury between the U.S. and Iran, but certainly top of mind right now are these six air crew that evacuated their jets as they came down because of this apparent friendly fire incident. Okay, that's Haley Britsky. We're going to have more this morning as we are waiting on that news conference with Pete Hegg-Seth. I want to bring it back now to the group joining

29:34the chat, CNN Global Affairs Analyst, Kim Dozier. Kim, first of all, I wanted to talk to you because you have a connection to Iran. We just saw the death of the Supreme Leader. Can you talk about what you're seeing through your particular lens? Yeah, I was there as a kid and we got evacuated and we were in Tehran trying to get out on the evacuation flights when the Shah left and when Khomeini came in and I try to tell people don't underestimate the country. Full of highly educated, very sophisticated people who aren't going to fold. If we were talking about the U.S. just collapsing and giving up after three days of bombing, people would laugh at you. Try to think of Iran the same way. It's going to take a lot more to dislodge them and it's not going to happen with just your trip. But isn't the country more vulnerable now? A tremendous amount of leadership taken out. Yes. I don't think we've seen yet a closing of the Strait of Ormuz, which would be a pretty big deal. But they said they have such command and control

30:39that they've said they're not going to do that. Look, they've got, it's an Islamic Republic. It's guided by a constitution. The clerical class is about 50,000 strong in government. They have a deep bench to replace the Supreme Leader and they have a million strong military. 200,000 roughly of that is Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. And we also learned through an interview with the Foreign Minister and Al Jazeera, he said, oh, yeah, one of the units attacked Oman because they're operating independently with orders they got before the conflict began. That means this military is a planning military that knew they might lose communication with the head office and they are proceeding independently. That's called following commander's intent. That's the kind of thing that Western military NATO trained militaries do. One more thing when we see this friendly fire situation happening with the U.S. jets and Kuwait, it's a reminder that Iran has responded

31:42by hitting many places in the region, right? They're in a way and please tell me if I'm misreading this. Also trying to draw in some of the Arab allies maybe of the U.S. to bring down some pressure. Yeah, this idea of targeting the Gulf States, hoping that you'll get the bank shot of them, pressuring the U.S. to stop. I think instead it could blow up in Iran's face because we're seeing those Gulf states make a statement this morning together with the U.S. saying stop hitting us and we might see this as a driving force leading eventually towards an expansion of the Abraham of course. So they'll eventually fight together because they're under attack together. I want to bring a new deal because you look like you're about to jump out of your seat. What are you hearing here? I mean, look, I mean to Kim's point, Iran's behavior right now is unifying the Arab world against it and quite frankly the question about the regime and what will the people do? The question is always in my mind is if the people do begin to put pressure on, if groups inside

32:44Iran do put more pressure on, if there is a breakup in the leadership, what will we do? Will we become the air force of these factions and of these protests in trying to overthrow the regime? Or will we be looking more at regime collapse? But I don't think we're going to be getting on the ground. So all these factions are part of that. And that's important because I think that is become a key talking point for those who oppose foreign wars. So we're online looking at MAGA reaction as the president who called himself the president of peace launches this war on Iran. You've got some Republican members rallying behind him, other leaders have some concerns. I am so proud of President Trump and Admiral Cooper for filing making this regime pay a price. The largest state sponsor of terrorism is going to be no more soon. The mother's shift of terrorism, Iran is sinking in the captain, the Anatola is dead.

33:48My blunt assessment is that this war was not sold sufficiently to the U.S. public. I have no problem saying that it's, I think that's just, that's our conclusion. You're seeing something similar, Jamil. Not sold sufficiently. Well, I think that's right. I mean, the president hasn't come to America public and said here's the entire case for war. He didn't do it before the before this war. He hasn't gone much on TV since he's done. He's done a number of media conversations as you said with individual reporters. He's put out a couple of videos, but he hasn't made the case aggressively to Congress or to the American public. The supporters of the president say he has always said how he feels about Iran. He has always said that this is a possibility. Are you saying that that there is still something to be said for somehow, turning to the American people directly and explaining, asking what is the difference to you? Well, I think historically, presidents have done that. Presidents have gone to Congress, have gone to the U.N., have gone public and said here's the case for war. Here's why we're doing it. Here's why there's an imminent threat. He doesn't have to do that, but if he wants to survive the political pressures

34:49coming around him, the MAGA base, as well as progressive Democrats, he's going to have to make the case more, necessarily particularly as we see more American soldiers killed the president said last night, we're likely to see more maybe substantially more casualties. That's going to comment some political pressure to him here domestically because he said he was giving the president a piece. Let me play something for you because a lot of people have been looking back into the archives to see how the president used to talk about this issue of no more wars. We should have never been in Iraq. We have destabilized the Middle East. They lied. They said there were weapons of mass destruction, there were none, and they knew there were none. There were no weapons of mass. We're uniting forces to end the endless foreign wars. I will expel the war mongers from our national security state and carry out a much-needed cleanup of the military industrial complex to stop the war profiteering and to put always America first.

35:50This has been a core part of being MAGA, frankly, is not being the neocons who went to war way back when. 23 years since the invasion of the US invasion of Iraq and some parallels here, a war of choice, not one that was forced upon the United States. The president talking about regime change, but the differences, George W. Bush made up public relations campaign before launching that invasion, persuaded a fair share of Americans. It was the right thing to do, although when things went bad, it cost him, it undermined his presence. It did, but also people look at it as a faulty explanation that came back to Haunt him. He also did get congressional authorization and he did go to United Nations and get support. When we look back at him in retrospect, it's amazing how much consensus he sought to go and launch that invasion, but to Susan's point. It did go south. It went south badly and it has left the taste in the mouth of the American people that any intervention at all is negative. I would say that in this case

36:53with Iran and these strikes and the strikes in June, it's a different kind of war from what we did in Iraq and what we did in Afghanistan. We should not be thinking that it has to be like those past wars, but it does need to have a rationale and the president needs to lay it out. I think the dangerous thing that could happen is that the people in Iran don't quote-unquote rise up and President Trump, who's already signaled his willingness to do a del see, to find someone to just leave behind a violent regime. Exactly. Leave behind a violent regime that is now determined to get a nuclear weapon as long as it takes them and that maybe they'll talk, but those talks will go nowhere and now we've got a generation of Iranians who at least on the supreme leader side of things who want to destroy the United States. I know there's a lot of what it's here, but I do think that a lot of people care because of this history. You guys thank you for hashing it out. I want you to stay with us because next on CNN

37:54this morning we're going to talk about the explosions rocking Gulf cities. Tehran ramps up its retaliation across the region. Plus today the Trump administration is going to face top lawmakers on the path forward for the war with Iran. Rinse knows that greatness takes time, but soda's laundry. So rinse will take your laundry and hand-deliver it to your door, expertly cleaned, and you can take the time pursuing your passions. Time one spent sorting and waiting, folding and queuing, now spent challenging and innovating and pushing your way to greatness. So pick up the Irish flute or those calligraphy pens or that daunting beef Wellington recipe card and leave the laundry to us. Rinse, it's time to be great. Inhale, new tax law knowledge. Exhale, missing out on your biggest refund. Certainly not.

39:00Don't miss paying $149 or less. Rest easy. Jackson View its culture taxes. Guaranteed. Limited time offer for new clients on the draw terms, but as paid indications in the next time the Jackson View dot com slash $149. Breaking news is our new video. Just in to CNN, shows new explosions over Tehran today, joining us now with the latest CNN Selma at the Lazies in London. Selma, tell us what you're hearing from these Gulf state bombings. Yes, and let's just start with that video that we have playing on our screen right now, because it was just obtained by the news desk just behind me here just a short time ago. It's a very short clip, just 17 seconds, but it just shows those explosions over the sky of Tehran. You have to remember that we're getting very limited information because of the internet blackout in Iran. So images like these of the skyline where you see these massive plumes of smoke begin to give us a consequence or a sense of the consequences of these strikes on the country. But the brunt of the retaliation is actually being felt in the Gulf states. For the first time in

40:01the history of the GCC, these are the six important Gulf states. All six have been struck within 24 hours by Iran. This is a rivalry and a connection they have tried to keep this very fine balance, trying to mediate efforts at times, including countries like Oman, which was struck by Iran, trying to maintain a balance between their interests with the United States and trying to keep peace with their neighbor, Iran. So for all of these countries, again, to be struck by Iran has been outstanding. It's not just American bases and American assets that's being struck in these countries as well. That is what Iran initially said that it was going to target US bases, US assets in these Gulf states. But it's gone far beyond that. You have oil refineries right now in Saudi Arabia that are on fire. You have a high rise residential building in Bahrain that was set alight. You have hotels where missiles nearly landed. You have Qatar's foreign minister who said that 100 missiles in scores of drones were fired at the country. Why does all of this matter?

41:03Why is all of this important? Because it could change that calculus. As I said, they have been walking this tightrope, trying to balance their different interests. Could this tip them to get more involved in the in America's campaign right now? That's the question as you see these strikes happening across the Gulf. Okay. That's Selma reporting to us with the update on some of the attacks in Gulf states. Now in just a few hours, the Trump administration is expected to brief top lawmakers in Congress on this ongoing military operation against Iran. Top Democrats in the House and Senate. Well, they're calling for an immediate vote on a war power's resolution to reign in the Trump administration. Democratic Senator John Federman tells CNN he believes the operation is legal. I'm open to a better opportunity for more peace and prosperity for the Iranian people, for more security that Israel deserves that. So that's a point. And this was not an illegal war

42:06based on terms of what the War Powers Act is. Joining the group chat now to talk about this Congressman Suha Subramanyam, Democrat of Virginia. I want to talk to you about something he mentioned, the War Powers Act. There is going to be some kind of vote this week. What is your vote? Do you think that vote is going to have any crossover? Yeah, this vote is a war powers resolution. The bipartisan one that kind of en masse you're bringing together. I'm going to vote yes. I have seen we had a caucus meeting last night. Everyone that spoke said they were going to vote for it too. Leadership's going to support it. And it's very clear. It's because the president has not made the case a clear case for why he has started this war. He did not come to Congress. He briefed eight lawmakers, but that is not coming to Congress and consulting with Congress. The American people want an explanation too. And he has not given that to us. And so we want answers certainly these briefings. We're interested to hear what the clear and present danger was to the United States. That would drag us into a war with a power. One that is probably the most sophisticated technologically in past,

43:09maybe since World War II that we've ever attacked. And so this is a very serious thing. Our allies are being attacked. Even France is looking at getting in the war now because they're within range of Iranian missiles. This is a very serious thing that's going to cost American lives and American money. And we need a better explanation than that. What things do you need to hear from the Secretary of War, Pete Hexath, is going to speak today. You said you're going to get a small group briefing today. What are your two questions going in? I want to know of every diplomatic option was exhausted. Remember this president scrapped the Iranian nuclear deal when he came into power and he said we didn't need it. And then he was trying to do the same thing over the past year and seems to have failed or seems to have purposely failed. But that's one thing. I want to know every diplomatic option was exhausted. Now there was a clear and present danger to our country. Not a potential danger, but a real danger that was imminent. And I haven't seen either evidence of either of that today. The others might have some. Susan, do you have a question? You know, the Morpheus Act has not been a particularly good weapon. It's been more of a talking

44:13point. Do you expect that to be a talking point for Democrats looking at the November election? And I wonder to what degree you think this attack on Iran reshapes the midterm election debate? This is an unpopular attack and unpopular war. You know, one in four Americans only support the rest are unsure. Opposing. It was very early days yet. So we should say that. But usually you see with opposed the leader there, this is the height of popularity in a war when we're winning in the beginning. And so I think that's because the lack of justification. And that's I'm hearing from Republicans and Democrats alike how uncomfortable they are with this attack and what's the ramifications of it because the ramifications are going to be not just weeks, not just months, years. And so when we're getting into this, we need to make sure that we know what we're getting into and why we're getting into and what the goal is. I haven't seen any of that. And that is, you know, the War Powers Act is one thing. Another thing is this is going to go past 60 days regardless. In some form of warfare, we needed better justifications

45:14in this. Yeah, well, I'm just wondering then in the alternative, we as Democrats have put it on the table in that way. What are we proposing that should be done about Iran right now? And that to me is why I'm struggling with this question of the military action because the Iranian people were industries. They were massacred by the thousands by this regime. They have been threatening their neighbors and now bombing all these Arab countries. And as Democrats, we also need to make sure that we're staying focused on that. Yeah, absolutely. Look, two things can be true. You know, this Iranian regime is bad. We want the Iranian people to stand up and fight. Certainly that wasn't working out very well. But Iran's regime was weakening at this point. We were in a good spot. We were making progress. I thought that diplomatically we could have done far more. We could have gotten to a point where they were weakened to a place where they might be deposed themselves. But if we went around attacking every single regime that we didn't like being role police, the American people have fought back against that. They have said they don't want that. And President Trump

46:15campaigned on not doing that. But here we are, another promise made, a promise not kept. Before I let you go, we now, we have these service members who were able to eject from this falling jet. But there is clearly the threat of potential casualties. The president said that. What are your concerns going forward? One concern is how Cavalier he's been in his videos about the service members. I mean, he said negative things about our veterans and military in the past. But to say, oh, yeah, it's going to happen. It's just part of this business. He's so detached from what's happening on the ground and how it affects real people. We saw the school bombing as well. On both sides, everyone's going to get hurt. And so again, exhaust every option in the beginning. I don't think they've done that. Instead, they've done something that could have ramifications for years. Okay. Congressman, thank you for being here. You're going to hear more today. And you are going to hear more today because Pete Hegseth at the Defense Department is going to be doing a news conference that's coming up at 8 a.m. Eastern. In the meantime, stick with CNN, we have all the headlines, including an update on what happened with the jets that fell over Kuwait. We have some

47:20details now about that. I'm Audie Cornish and the headlines are next.