The US-Iran conflict has escalated to nine consecutive nights of strikes, with Iran targeting multiple Gulf states including Kuwait, Bahrain, Jordan, and Iraq, while the US has killed 17 service members and injured nearly 100 in just two weeks. President Trump faces a dilemma: he wants to end the war before midterm elections but fears that withdrawing while Iran controls the Strait of Hormuz would be a strategic defeat. Iran's resilience and ability to evade US defenses have exceeded initial expectations, and despite both sides claiming openness to diplomacy, the Memorandum of Understanding has collapsed, leaving the conflict in a dangerous stalemate with no clear diplomatic off-ramp.
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Added:is earlier in the war. Does there come a point when they can do so much damage along the Iranian side of the straight that that handicaps Iran's ability to mount these strikes? I think there's a lot of doubt about that in the US and especially in Congress right now uh at a time when the administration is going to Congress to try and get more money for the war because as we know all it takes is a few missiles or a a few drones to shut down the straight again entirely.
So, how we get from this point to a point where diplomacy might be a possibility without Trump stepping back as he did in the past and as Iran may be assuming he will do in the future uh is a real question and until then I think the diplomatic and the economic costs will continue to pile up.
>> Yeah, they absolutely are. Um Nick, we saw strikes on uh Kuwait. um re desalination as well as a power plants.
Bahrain, Jordan first time in Syria strikes there uh as well as Iraq regional countries here targeted in in the latest round of Iranian retaliation.
Just explain to us why these countries in specific >> Kuwait because it's close, Bahrain because it's close. Both have strong ties. Uh the bar Bahrain has the uh naval base for the US fifth fleet.
Kuwait has multiple air bases that the United States has been using to help prosecute the war uh against Iran. So Iran has a lot of short-range ballistic missiles. Um because Bahrain and Kuwait are close to Iran, it the missiles can get there quickly. They're harder to stop. Iran can afford to send a lot of these missiles if it's looking at a long range war that could last uh you know outwards of months a month or more here.
They do need to think about what weapon systems they're using. These are also seen as sort of the weaker of the of the Gulf states if you will. Um we're aware that over the recent months countries like Qatar, the UAE, Saudi have all had bilateral conversations with the Iranians. We don't know what has been worked out behind the scenes there. We know that they've been attacked, but but less so than uh Bahrain and Kuwait. So, Iran's able to inflict damage there, particularly as you mentioned Kuwait, hitting the desalination plant. The Minister of Electricity on Water went out to that plant over the weekend.
Also, the hitting of the oil uh the oil facility there in Kuwait. Uh a strategic uh hit for Iran, if you will. It was significant damage to vital equipment.
That's what the Kuwaitis said. But look, Jordan, that has really come front and center uh for for Iran and it we don't know the disposition of US military hardware in the region, but Iran says, you know, over the last week or so, they've had multiple strikes at different US aircraft, whether it's helicopters, whether it's uh whether it's location storing uh uh other aircraft. We know that there have been the refuel tankers based there in the past. They said over the weekend that they hit a C17 and Orion P8 surveillance aircraft, which it's not clear that that is true or just a claim. But it does seem that Jordan is coming in the crossfire here more or the crosshairs more because they have a lot of US uh military assets there that are being used in the war and Iran has figured out either a better system of targeting them or perhaps the defenses in Jordan are just not able to withstand the amount of firepower that's coming from Iran at the moment. So that's really um put a lot of focus there and Iran would like nothing better. its stated aim chase the United States from the region. You know, you saw them attacking uh uh Akaba airport over the weekend. There were there were security alerts and about that over the weekend. This is a place which is bustling with tourists at this time of year. It undermines the local economy.
It puts pressure on the Jordanian government and it makes people there worried about what's next for them and Iran knows that and it calculates that.
Yeah, Stephen. I mean, and Nick makes a really good point. You know, initially this war is going to last four to six weeks. Um, and I think every expert I spoke to say said, and I'm sure you you've had sort of the same feedback.
It's that this has got to end before the midterm elections. Um, can it will it?
Is that sort of a big priority for President Trump?
>> I think that Trump would clearly like to end it before the midterm elections in November. Uh the assumption is in Washington that he really wants to get out of this war still. But at the same time, if he walks away and Iran is still controlling the straight of Hormuz, that is a massive strategic defeat for the United States and for Trump uh personally, it will be a presidency again foundering in the waters of the Persian Gulf, if you like, uh that we've seen previously in the United States. uh and that could make things very difficult for him going forward uh in terms of his uh prestige personally and American power. So this is sharpening into a massive dilemma for Trump and it's not just November. I think we should talk about um advanced voting in US elections in some states gets going as early as late September through October. Generally the opinions ahead of US elections crystallize in the late summer period. uh if we're going into another month of $4 gasoline in the United States, which doesn't sound an awful lot uh elsewhere in the world, but is uh punitive for American drivers, especially considering a lot of the distances people have to commute to work, etc. Uh that could be a real uh political point and I think it's clear that Iran is just as aware of the political pressures on Trump as everyone in Washington is. But again, it comes back to that fundamental question. How does he get out of this? How does he get to an endgame? How do they get to a point that Nick was saying where the diplomatic offramp is even uh coming into view? Uh that is the stalemate we're in. And as much as President Trump might like a lot of things to happen and a lot of his messaging almost seems to be wish casting throughout this war, the facts on the ground are those that unusually he can't reinvent and create a narrative to support his position, >> including the latest from the Middle East. Just in the last hour, the United States military says it launched a wave of new strikes against Iran. It marks nine straight nights of strikes and comes after three US service members were killed in action this weekend.
CNN's Julia Benbrook joins us now with the latest from the administration. And Julia, what are you hearing about where things stand tonight?
>> Well, the latest is that the United States is carrying out another round of strikes against Iran. US Central Command recently in a statement said this, that sitcom began conducting a new wave of strikes against Iran at 700 p.m. Eastern today. This is the ninth consecutive night. The strikes will continue degrading Iranian military capabilities used to attack commercial vessels and civilian mariners transiting the Strait of Hormuz. This continues days of escalation in the region. Again, this is the ninth consecutive night of US strikes, and there have been waves of Iranian drones and missiles fired at a widening number of targets at countries with US bases. This also comes after on Friday, two US service members were killed during an attack in Jordan and one service member was categorized as missing in action. They're providing a bit more information there as well, saying that remains were found in that area. They are waiting to verify some of that information though. And then on Saturday, there was a US service member killed this time in northern Iraq. And they said that that happened during a controlled detonation of unexloded ordinance from a downed Iranian one-way attack drone. This brings the total number of US service members killed during the now this now nearly fivemonl long conflict to 17. So there are concerns that this could grow into an even wider conflict. We have not heard President Donald Trump comment directly on these most recent developments after the two service members were killed in Jordan. He did give a few brief phone interviews. He told the New York Post that he would speak with their families at some point.
and he told news nation that it is a very sad thing. It is in service to our country and then he reiterated a point that he has made throughout this conflict. He said that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. So there are a lot of questions here about his strategy going forward. He is now traveling back to Washington DC. He spent his weekend here in New Jersey. Of course played a role there in that World Cup game at Metife Stadium. And that's really a time when a lot of eyes are on not only him but the United States as a whole. So waiting on a comment from him here.
>> And President Trump is speaking right now on his way back to Washington. Let's take a quick listen.
>> Well, you keep him in. This is a far bigger job than we're doing. We were doing a little job is stopping them from having a certain capability. Now we're just ending it. So it's really not the same thing. What we're doing now is we're ending any chance where they could have a nuclear missile. If you look at it after a week and a half, not four weeks, a week and a half, two weeks, we stopped them from probably, but I don't want to have the word probably. Thank you very much.
>> Thank you, sir.
>> All right, that was President Trump speaking at joint joint base Andrews on his way back to Washington DC after attending the World Cup final. We've got our team standing by. Julia Benbrook for us. uh White House correspondent and uh retired Air Force Colonel Cedric Leighton as well. And Julia, I just want to start with you because uh we had heard from Central Command leading into the president's comments today that the United States was launching new strikes, that this was the ninth consecutive uh night of strikes and the president claiming Iran has been very badly damaged. Did anything else stick out to you from what the president said there?
Well, you hear him there just at the end saying they cannot have a nuclear weapon again. We've heard him repeat that over and over again throughout this nearly five monthl long conflict now. And we heard Energy Secretary Chris Wright speaking earlier today about the conflict as a whole as well as the Straight of Hormuz and how it's impacting shipping. And he was adamant that Trump wants to find a diplomatic off-ramp, a diplomatic solution here.
But what has been clear so far is that that has not been successful. We have seen this just really ramp up in recent days. As you pointed out, it's the ninth consecutive night now of US strikes.
We've also seen waves of Iranian drones and missiles fired at a widening number of targets in countries with US bases.
And there are fears that this could turn into a much wider conflict. It's been just over a month since there was this hope for a diplomatic breakthrough. The memorandum of understanding was signed by both the United States and Iran. But in recent days, Trump has said that in his opinion that memorandum of understanding is quote over. And then of course these deaths of the US service members on Friday, two US service members were killed in an attack in Jordan and another was categorized as missing in action. They did say today that they have found remains in that area, but they are working on the verification process there. And then a another US service member was killed in action on Saturday, that time in northern Iraq, but of course bringing this a lot closer to home. That brings the number of US service members who have been killed in this monthsl long conflict to 17. And those are some of the first remarks that were seen on camera from Trump himself about what's taken place over the weekend in this recent escalation.
>> And Colonel Leighton, you know, we heard the president there saying that uh confirming of course we heard from central command in the strikes tonight saying, "We hit them very hard again tonight in honor of those killed, of the service members killed." There were questions obviously of how the United States was going to respond as we got the news of the service members killed.
But how does that sort of change the calculation ahead for the US in terms of not just strikes but strategy overall?
>> Yeah, Omar, it's it's a question that's actually a really pertinent one here because what you're looking at is if there is an escalation of this type every time that a US service member is uh killed or injured that there's another strike in Iran and then Iranians are killed as a result of that. That is really that escalation ladder that we talk about every now and then. And it it really becomes a almost a a not only a self-fulfilling prophecy, but almost a neverending cycle, >> including the United States military saying another US service member was killed this weekend in northern Iraq.
And this comes as the United States and Iran keep up fresh strikes against each other amid fears of a wider war rising in the region. The United States launching a new wave of attacks on Iran after two US service members were killed by an Iranian strike in Jordan on Friday. And Iran is intensifying its attacks on US allies in the Gulf region.
Kuwait, for example, says Iran hit one of its power and water plants for the second time in 2 days. These are the kind of plants that are critical for providing fresh water to parts of the region. And defense has also intercepted strikes in Jordan and Bahrain. So joining me now is CNN international diplomatic editor Nick Robertson in Jerusalem. And CNN's Julia Benbrook is traveling with the president.
Well, just a day after US Central Command announced that two American service members had been killed during an attack in Jordan. Sentcom now says that another American service member has been killed in action, this time in northern Iraq. I want to pull up this statement for you now. did provide a few more details, saying a US service member in northern Iraq was killed in action July 18th during a controlled detonation of unexploded ordinance from a downed Iranian one-way attack drone. A second service member was wounded and continues to receive medical treatment for a minor injury. This brings the total of deaths US of US service members during this now nearly fivemonl long conflict to 17. And as I mentioned before, that happened just the day after two American service members were killed during an attack in Jordan. They also said that one other service member had been categorized as missing in action. They provided a bit more of an update there as well, saying that remains were found in that area, but the examination process, the verification process is still ongoing.
Sentcom is still withholding some information here as they are working to make sure that next of kin is notified, but all of this happening as there are fears that this could turn into a much wider conflict. The US has launched eight consecutive nights of strikes and then there have been waves of Iranian drones and missiles fired at a widening number of targets in countries with US bases. Omar >> and Nick, what has the reaction in the region been like to these latest strikes?
Yeah, we're hearing about some levels of diplomacy, the Saudis, others, uh, talking about how this current sort of spate of conflict can avoid an escalation. If we go back to what was happening at the end of March in the early part of April, in the very beginning of the sort of ceasefire back then, these Gulf countries got very worried when it appeared that the United States was about to step up military actions again as it was trying to sort of force open the Straight of Her. And what they didn't understand back then was precisely what the United States was planning. And you get a sense that some of that's permeating the region again.
Bahrain today intercepting uh missiles fired at it. Kuwait, as you mentioned, uh intercepting missiles fired at it.
Again, they've really been caught in some of the most direct uh and intense uh barges coming from Iran so far. But it really I I think it is Israel and Jordan where we've seen this possibility of a real increase in the scale and potential scope of the current hostilities. And that's quite simply because Iran today targeted the southern Jordanian port city of Akaba. And just a couple of hours before that, the US uh embassy in Jordan had warned Americans, don't go to Akaba International Airport.
Don't go to Akaba uh seapport there because there is credible information about the possibility of attack. Now, Jordanian officials said they weren't aware of that, but within a couple of hours, four missiles came from Iran.
Three were intercepted. One fell in a deserted area. But during this, because Akaba is right next to Elat, Israel's port city at the top of the Red Sea.
They're both sit there at the top of the Red Sea, side by side. Israel activated its air defense systems. And indeed, the IDF say that they were involveing involved in helping bring down the attack on southern Jordan. And why this causes concern. As far as we know, there are no US military bases around Akoba.
Akaba is very busy for tourists at this time of year. Jordan has really been caught in in the in Iran's crosshairs a lot over recent days. Not just the killing of of several US service members there over the past few days, but multiple different bases US air force operates out of in Jordan. The Iranians claim to have attacked. So this appears to be an escalation and easy to see how the spillover can happen. And is Israel's defense minister today said clearly if Iran attacks, Israel will respond automatically. That's the sort of escalation everyone in this region wants to avoid.
>> Yeah. Uh Nick Robertson, Julia Benbrook, really appreciate the reporting on both fronts. I want to talk about this more with CNN military analyst, retired Air Force Colonel Cedric Leaden. And look, we are seeing more US troops killed and this war does seem to be intensifying.
If it continues to escalate, what might that actually look like in terms of a next step here?
>> Omar, that's really depends on if the strategies stay the same, but the basic idea would be that there would be an expansion of more raids on the southern part of Iran and those raids could then be expanded to other parts of Iran. I could see for example that Sentcom would probably target installations in and around Tyrron and that would of course be going after headquarters of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, the military elements, uh the security services and frankly the leadership. So gone up to three. US Central Command says one American service member died yesterday in Iraq during a controlled detonation of a downed Iranian drone, while two other US troops were killed on Friday in Jordan from an Iranian attack.
This comes as strikes intensify between the United States and Iran, prompting fears that this war could evolve into a wider conflict. I want to bring in CNN's Julia Benbrook, who is traveling with the president this weekend. And Julia, let's just start with what is the latest from the administration right now.
>> Well, we have not heard publicly from President Donald Trump about these latest developments as we've been speaking about. He was just at the World Cup final there in Metife Stadium. He helped with the awards ceremony and then he'll be heading back to Washington DC soon. But it was just yesterday that US Central Command announced that two American service members had been killed during an attack in Jordan. Now today they are announcing that another American service member has been killed in action. This time in northern Iraq. I want to pull up this recent statement for you now. I did go into a bit more detail saying a US service member in northern Iraq was killed in action July 18th during a controlled detonation of unexloded ordinance from a downed Iranian one-way attack drone. A second service member was wounded and continues to receive medical treatment for a minor injury. This brings the total number of US service members killed during this now nearly five monthlong conflict to 17. And then that attack in Jordan that killed two American service members.
They also said that one service member was categorized as missing in action.
They provided a bit more information there as well, saying that remains were found in that area, but the the the confirmation process is still going on there. So, they're looking for more information um as they go through that.
But when it comes to scentcom, they're withholding some information at this time as they work to make sure the next of kin is notified. But all of this is coming as there is just major escalation in the region. We have seen eight nights of strikes by the United States as well as just waves of Iranian drones and missiles that have been fired at a widening number of targets in countries with US bases. So, a lot of questions about what's next here. After the attack in Jordan, Trump did give a few brief phone interviews with various outlets.
He told the New York Post that he would speak to the families of those that were killed. He also told NewsNation that this is a very sad thing. It's in service to our country and added what he's been saying throughout this conflict that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon.
>> All right, Julia Benbrook, appreciate the reporting for us there in New Jersey. We're joined now by CNN national security analyst Alex Pleus. He's also director of the counterterrorism project at the Atlantic Council. Alex, what is your assessment of where things stand tonight?
>> So, unfortunately, from what I'm hearing from multiple US officials, the number of US wounded is actually far more significant than those killed, which was just mentioned. So, in Jordan, it could have been as many as 30. I'm also hearing that US bases in Saudi Arabia and also in Iraq were also hit and that also storage points from weapons in Iraq may have also been hit. So, it seems like the attacks may have actually had damage that have been let on publicly yet by the administration.
>> Just in the last few minutes, US Central Command says a new wave of air strikes is underway against Iran. This is the ninth consecutive night and it comes after Sentcom reported a US service member was killed in northern Iraq during the controlled detonation of a downed Iranian drone. This brings the total to 17 American service members killed in the nearly fivemonth war. I want to bring in our panel CNN political commentator and Democratic strategist Maria Cardona and Republican strategist and former White House spokesperson during the George W. The Bush administration pet seat >> because the conflict between US and Iran is moving closer to exploding into an allout regional war. US President Donald Trump threatened retaliation for the deaths of three American service members killed over the weekend. And this is what he posted. Every time Iran kills an American soldier, they will pay for that killing many times over. Now, the two sides exchanged yet another round of fresh strikes with Thran attacking Jordan, Bahrain, and Kuwait. On the heels of an Iranian attack on Saturday, the Q8 military says intercepted hostile targets twice today. Badal say is a professor of history at Qat University.
He's also associate fellow at Chattam House. A f well-known face on the show.
Bada great to have you back on the show.
Uh look, we have seen as we were just outlining there, Kuwait, Bahrain, Jordan among the the regional countries being targeted in this latest round of Italian uh retaliation. Just speak to this moment first of all and what is being felt across the region because in the last few hours we have heard from the US president saying that he they plan to send additional F-16s and F-35 fighter jets and aerial refueling tankers to the Middle East. What does this signal to you?
uh Isa daily attacks for the past week on various Gulf states from Iran and continuous jabs between Iran and the US.
The escalation is felt gradually uh on the ground only today. Actually, we had a third attack a few hours ago on top of the earlier two that you've reported on.
And what happened today and yesterday is slightly different from previous attacks because it came in the daytime. And that speaks to the vastness of this conflict and the way different ways in which they can go ahead and escalate as they move forward. Now, the it's tempting to say that we're back to the height of conflict. The 40 days of war that we had prior to the supposed ceasefire, but let me tell you, the daily averages, the missiles, the drone attacks have increased in scope on Kuwait, on Bahrain, and on Jordan as much as they have also from the other side towards Iran. So, I think we need to consider all of this together. I know that the mediators in other countries are now actively working behind the scenes to get the two countries together or to at least pause so that we can have some breathing space to move on to a more of a negotiated settlement. But everything is up in the air. We've yet to see how that unfolds.
>> Yeah. And I can only imagine bad just the the nervousness and the anxiety that this is is is causing. I remember the last time you and I spoke, I think it was before the memorandum of understanding, which is doesn't seem to be longer existing, was written, you said, and correct me if I'm wrong if you remember this, you said the Gulf countries ought to be leading their own diplomacy as the conflict potentially continues to expand here. Are you seeing individual countries reaching out? Are you seeing diplomacy on that side or they're waiting for you, United States to lead a diplomatic front with Pakistan as mediators?
Look, yes and no. We we certainly urgently need a new game plan to safeguard our countries in the Gulf.
>> Yeah.
>> And we definitely shouldn't count on the US to do our bidding. Uh we should go and talk directly to Iran. Some of the Gulf countries have been doing that already. And it seems that this has been sparing them the worst of the conflict so far. And I think this is important because look the the claims and the counter claims that are coming through as they are attacking Kuwait and Bahrain for example and Jordan is that there are attacks coming from our lands towards them. Those are claims that we have denied or that the governments of the region have denied vehemently. So I think both sides need to lay out their cards and they need to talk to Iran to understand how we can deal with the region moving forward. I think the other issue that's been holding up the talks between Kuwait GC operatives last month, what the Kuwaiti authorities have spoken about as IRGC operatives, the other side claims otherwise, but I think holding them has been bringing the eye the eye of Iran towards Kuwait. So those are certainly bargaining chips that could be used in our coming discussions with Iran. Look, at the end of the day, we're interconnected. Uh geography has its limits. In this case, the cursive geography is very evident. We're very next to each other. Kuwait is only 50 miles away by sea from Iran, and we're flat spaces. So, it's very easy to come about and attack the country. We're also surrounded by Iraq, which unfortunately is home to various networks and militias that are supportive of Iran's war efforts. So that only increases the stress points on Kuwait and that's why we need to have that holistic approach towards the Iran file looking at the various cards that we can bring to the table to discuss the matters with them directly.
>> Very briefly about I mean you mentioned Q8 we've seen of course uh it talks about Iraq but why why Jordan? I mean it's east of Israel, west of Iraq. Why target you Jordan? is further to Iran than Nadi targets in the Gulf. What do you make of that?
>> Look, I make two things. First, they'll extend the same claim that there are US military assets attacking them from Jordan. So, that's one. But I think by Iran attacking Jordan as it is attacking Kuwait, it's sending signals to the neighbors. So, with the Kuwait attacks, it's sending signals to the other Gulf states and it's foreshadowing what's to come in the day after that they are here. They're there to stand and they will stand for their rights no matter what and they will use all measures to do that. In terms of Jordan, I think they're sending signals to Israel that don't think that you're off the hook.
Jordan is next to you. We're attacking it. You saw how the attack today caused some alarms in Israel. And I think it's also sending that message towards that part of the world and that that we're not only seeing attacks to nearby sites.
Yeah. Like the Gulf States, but that they can extend beyond that.
>> In other news, uh, and a threat of retribution from the president of the United States is among the many fastm moving developments fueling fears of a wider war breaking out across the Middle East. President Trump posted this online message earlier. Let me show it to you.
Every time Iran kills an American soldier, they will pay for that killing many times over. And it follows the death of three American service members over the weekend. Two were killed in Jordan. A third died in Iraq. Most of what we know so far about their deaths has been attributed to anonymous officials as Defense Secretary Pete Hexf maintain his chokehold on information during the war. Kevin Liptac joins me now. So Kevin, just bring us up to date with the very latest here because we have seen uh from the US signs of being stepping up uh of pressure on Iran while the death toll is increasing the number of service uh service personnel. How much pressure does this push on President Trump to bring this to a conclusion?
>> I think it puts an enormous amount of pressure on him. Remember previously he had said that if Iran killed American servicemen that he could potentially uh start the war again. Now what's happening now certainly looks like a war but I think the implication was that he could perhaps intensify the American engagement there and we know that behind the scenes the uh president is uh hearing options for perhaps widening this conflict. And I learned today that uh American fighter jets are now heading to the Middle East, more of them, F-16s and F-35s, all coming from bases in Europe, as well as aerial refueling tankers, which I think is giving the president options should he decide to go in the direction of a more intense engagement uh going forward. But I think in reality, you know, the number of palpable or palatable options are kind of dwindling for the president. there are all kinds of economic pressures, political pressures to not become engaged any further. And I think that's weighing on him as well. And this has, I think, when you really look at it, been one of the deadliest stretches of days uh for American troops since the war began near more than four months ago.
And it seems likely to rise. In addition to the two troops that died in that attack on an air base in Jordan, the military is also examining unidentified remains that were found at the scene.
And so it seems likely that the death toll will continue to tick up. And I think it has led to fears that you hear among American officials that one, Iran seems to have been able to reconstitute some of the missile and drone capabilities that the president has been saying for so long have been completely decimated. But as well, they seem to be able to evade American air defenses in a way that they weren't previously, suggesting that they have learned certain capacities over the course of this war, which I think will factor into the president's decision-making as he decides what to do going forward. You also hear from diplomats who are involved in this, the idea that perhaps they could return eventually to the negotiating table. We heard from Marco Rubio, the American Secretary of State overnight saying that they had received indications from the Iranians uh that they do have an interest in getting back to these talks. Now, tomorrow evening, the president will attend the dignified transfer of the remains of those fallen American servicemen and women up at Dover Air Force Base. That I think a very solemn moment that will just reinforce to him uh the responsibility that's on his shoulders as commander-in-chief as he decides how to proceed. Breaking news from the White House on the war with Iran. We're learning that President Trump will attend a dignified transfer tomorrow after at least three US service members were killed over the weekend. Earlier, the Pentagon identified two of the soldiers killed in an attack in Jordan as 25-year-old First Lieutenant Tyler James Fen of Hawaii, but his father tells CNN he primarily lived in Georgia, and Private Isabella Gonzalez of Texas, who was just 19 years old. CNN's Kevin Liptac is live for us at the White House. Kevin, tell us what you're learning.
>> Right. And this has really been one of the deadliest stretch of days for American forces since this war began more than four months ago. Ratcheting up the costs for Americans, but also, I think, deepening the quandry for President Trump as he tries to determine where this will all go now. And the death toll, I should note, is likely to rise. The military says that it is still examining unidentified remains that were found at the site of the attack at a base in Jordan where those two other service members were killed. We also learned this weekend about an additional American service member who was killed in northern Iraq during a controlled detonation of an unexloded Iranian drone. Now, President Trump is vowing retribution. He wrote on True Social earlier today that quote, "Every time Iran kills an American soldier, they will pay for that killing many times over and he said that he had passed that directive on to top military brass." We do know that the president is considering options for widening this conflict. He has said previously that if Iran killed US troops that he would consider going back to war with that country, although the current situation doesn't really look all that different from war. I think if you're an ordinary person just observing uh what is happening today. I'm told by a US official that the US is ramping up firepower in the region, sending F-16 and F-35 fighter jets from bases to Eur uh from Europe to the Middle East and also deploying additional aerial refueling bombers as well. Uh those refueling tankers, I'm sorry, as the US considers perhaps an escalation here. At the same time, you also hear talk potentially of trying to resume some of the diplomacy. The American Secretary of State Marco Rubio saying overnight that the US remains willing to negotiate with Iran if that door opens and saying that the US had received both indirect and direct communications from the Iranians, that they were again open to talking. Uh but again that moment tomorrow as the president observes the dignified transfer up at do certainly I think reiterating for him the weight of responsibility as he decides his next course of action in this conflict.
Rihanna.
>> All right Kevin Liptac live for us at the White House for us.
>> Let's get some perspective now with former Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall. He's the author of Lethal Autonomy the future of warfare whether we like it or not. Secretary, thanks so much for being with us. First, just your reaction to the deaths of these service members and the president's vow of retribution to make Iran pay.
>> Uh first of all, all of our hearts uh go out to the families, teammates, friends of the people that we've lost. Every loss is a tragedy. Uh these are particularly so because we're in an unnecessary conflict and we don't seem to have a good way out of it right now.
Um as you as you heard, they're increasing the uh the [snorts] air assets going into the theater. that suggests additional escalation. Uh Donald Trump has put himself in a box and there's no easy way for him to get out of it. Uh he initiated this war um thinking there'd be a very quick victory and that's not what's happened. And what I think has been missing in his mind is the understanding of the Iranian regime's willingness to resist and their their intent to achieve their own objectives. And that's what he's confronted with. He doesn't have control of this situation. And that's very very obvious right now >> on the uh fact that the US is moving assets into the region. They're planning to send additional F-16, F-35 fighter jets as well as aerial refueling tanks.
What options does that open up for the Pentagon?
>> Basically continued in additional air strikes. He's been, you know, the president's been threatening to attack infrastructure and so on and we've seen some of that already. Uh most of the attacks, as we understand it, have been against military targets. The problem we have is that Iran has dispersed its assets. It's concealed them. It's hardened them in some cases. Uh and they're tactical assets. They're really hard to get at. You can't keep continuous air presence everywhere over Iran all the time. Just can't be done.
So, their ability to uh attack assets in the straight of Hamoose is is continuous and has not diminished uh meaningfully.
And until that does happen, then they'll be able to control the straight. Uh we don't have a good answer to that. It's a it's a very foreseeable problem that the president should have understood should have been advised about before he started this war. We can escalate. We can go after other targets. As one of your earlier guests said, that's a war crime.
>> Uh but you that doesn't seem to have constrained this president very much.
And so he can do that and inflict greater pain on Iran. I think it's unknown how much they're willing to accept to make their point that they want to control the straits of Hormland.
>> Yeah. Thyron [snorts] is striking civilian infrastructure. Conversely, across the Gulf, including water treatment plants, civilian airports, as well as air capabilities in terms of detection. Do you think that risks driving a wedge between these Gulf allies and the United States?
>> Oh, I think that's the intent.
>> Yeah.
>> Uh is to extract a price from other countries in the region and discourage them from supporting the United States.
Uh there's also some indications that the war will widen. uh that the Houthis will now be trying to close the Red Sea basically to Saudi Arabia uh and prevent their shipments out by that alternative route. Uh this this is we don't see a a good outcome anywhere in sight at this point. Um I I've been saying from day one on this that there was a risk that Iran would overplay its hand. I think that's what they're doing. They can't get much more out of President Trump than he's already willing to concede.
And they should recognize that and cut a deal with him. But that doesn't seem to be the path they're on. and Trump is left with very few options but to escalate and try to convince them that it's time to do a deal. So that's where we are.
>> So in your eyes, it's far more likely that we get a serious escalation well before there's any kind of resumed ceasefire or or even a more lasting deal.
>> I can't put a percentage on that. That's it's impossible to predict.
>> Uh the Iranians have their own way of looking at the situation. I can't really get inside their heads. uh it's not the transactional approach that our president brings to the table. You know, they've gone way beyond you know that.
And so I think the big surprise for him has been uh their willing their resilience, their willingness to accept punishment and their continuing attempts to demonstrate that they can control the straits uh and to not give us the kind of u limitations on their nuclear program we'd like to have. The president on the other hand can't go to a situation which is such a clear loss as a worse situation than one he had before he started this war.
>> So we're in a box. They're both in a box. Hopefully the Iranians will come to the point of view that they've accomplished what they can and cut a deal. That's what we need to see happen.
>> So start this hour following breaking news on President Trump's military options in Iran after three US service members were killed over the weekend. A US official tells CNN that more US fighter jets and additional resources will soon be heading to the Middle East.
Earlier, President Trump posting, quote, "Every time Iran kills an American soldier, they will pay for that killing many times over." Last hour, we learned he will attend a dignified transfer at Do Air Base tomorrow. The Pentagon has now identified two soldiers killed in Jordan as 25-year-old First Lieutenant Tyler James Fen of Hawaii. His father tells CNN he primarily lived in Georgia.
And Private Isabella Gonzalez of Texas who was just 19 years old. CNN's Kristen Holmes is live for us at the White House. Kristen, what more can you share?
>> Well, it seems as though President Trump is considering widening that war against Iran. We've seen an obvious escalation on both sides. Central Command posting that they had completed this morning their ninth round of consecutive strikes in Iran. And both sides, as we've seen, seem more willing to go after those sensitive civilian locations. Now, President Trump, as you noted, has been angry about these deaths of these troops. He is attending that dignified transfer. But even as we are seeing this escalation, this idea uh of diplomacy is still one that is being discussed even among his top staffers and his top uh deputies. This is Secretary of State Marco Rubio discussing this while he was on his latest trip.
>> I think we're always open to diplomacy.
It has to be real. It has to be a deal that they're willing to live by. Look, Iran a week ago was put out supposed to put out a statement saying that the Straits of Hormuz would be open, that they would no longer attack shipping.
And instead of doing that, they attacked three ships. I think that was last Friday or Saturday. So, I mean, their behavior has to change in order for ours to change.
Well, and as President Trump is weighing all of his various options, we have learned that the US is sending over various aircrafts to the Middle East.
Some of these coming from European bases, that includes F-16s, F-35s, as well as those in the air refueling tankers. Uh, but one thing to keep in mind here, this is not something the White House wants to be dealing with, an escalating war in Iran. He had been looking for any kind of diplomatic off-ramp, and part of that is likely due to the polling that we have seen.
Americans are largely not in favor of this war. We are heading into a midterm.
This is the most recent poll we have seen that shows that 68% of the Americans believe that the war in Iran was quote not worth fighting with only 28% saying that it was. Boris President Donald Trump is issuing a new threat to Iran as war escalates across the Middle East. The president posting this afternoon, quote, "Every time Iran kills an American soldier, they will pay for that killing many times over." End quote.
>> We feel very badly, but you know those great people, those great patriots who are out there fighting that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. Iran has been very, very badly damaged. They've lost everything almost militarily. They've got very little President's latest threat coming after a weekend in which the United States and Iran traded deadly air strikes with Iranian missile and drone attacks killing at least three American service members this morning. The Pentagon identified two soldiers killed in that Iranian deadly Iranian missile strike on an air base in Jordan. Private Isabella Gonzalez of Texas was just 19 years old when she was killed on Friday. And first lieutenant Tyler James Fen of Georgia and Hawaii died on Saturday. He was 25 years old. A third yet unidentified service member was killed in northern Iraq. A fourth is missing in Jordan.
Those deaths, the first for the US since March.
>> Said at the start of the war, it will be four or five weeks. Well, you keep this a far bigger job that we're doing. We were doing a little job at stopping them from having a certain capability. Now, we're just ending it. So, it's really not the same thing. What we're doing now is we're ending any chance where they can have a nuclear missile. If you look at it, after a week and a half, not four weeks, a week and a half, two weeks, we stopped them from probably, but I don't want to have the word probably. Thank you very much.
>> Thank you, sir. All right, let's get off the sidelines, head into the arena. My panel is here along with CNN senior White House correspondent Kristen Holmes. Uh Kristen, always good to see you. Uh what are you hearing from the White House about what's next?
>> Well, right now, President Trump seems to be focused just on payback when it comes to Iran. Now, we did just learn moments ago that mediators have floated this idea of a 10day ceasefire, but the US is playing down any prospect of President Trump actually agreeing to the ceasefire. And just to give you an idea of what one US official told our Kevin Lipac said, "Right now, President Trump is focused on making Iran pay for their violation of theou and their continued acts of terrorism in the straight of Hormuz." Uh again, not referring to whether or not he would receive or even take part in any kind of ceasefire. Now, as we have noted, President Trump is now actually considering widening the war on Iran as he is weighing his various options. The US is sending more military aircrafts to the Middle East from European air or air air force bases.
That includes F-16s, F-35s, as well as these aerial refueling tankers. We have seen nothing but an escalation between these two sides. But when it comes to this potential, this floated idea of a ceasefire. This would be to lessen the tensions that we are seeing specifically as we've seen both sides more willing to go after civilian infrastructure. Now, part of this ceasefire, which is unclear how far along this proposal is, would include lifting some of those restrictions on the Straight of Hormuz, which has been really the focal point of all of this. Uh, but it still is very unclear what President Trump's next move is. You're going to see a lot more angst, a lot more anger, specifically coming off of a weekend in which we, the United States, lost more troops.
>> US and Iran inching closer to an allout regional war. Concerns are growing. The conflict may be entering a dangerous new phase, one that can't be easily contained. Both sides carried out a ninth straight night of escalatory strikes and they are expanding their attack targets, including civilian infrastructure uh relied on by millions of people. It comes as the Pentagon reveals the identities of two soldiers killed during Iranian strikes in Jordan on Friday. those repeated attacks on the more distant regional US allies uh perhaps proving Iran still maintains offensive capabilities despite months of American strikes. Meanwhile, on Sunday, we learned of another American soldier that had been killed, this time in northern Iraq. We're also learning additional American firepower is headed to the region as well. CNN's Kevin Lipac joins us live now from the White House.
I think it's fair to say uh that this administration really underestimated the resilience of Iran and their sort of staying power through this war. Just walk us through that. Why why was this a nation that was so underestimated uh back on February 28th? Well, I think President Trump was convinced by advisers as well as the Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel that perhaps this war would be much more decisive than it was when it uh as it has turned out to be. You know, I think the president thought as his own video the day the war began suggested that the Iranian regime would fall relatively quickly, that the US would be able to seriously degrade uh the missile and drone capabilities, including along the straight of Hormuz. But what uh that the thing that they didn't seem to factor in uh was that Iran uh would close the strait and view it as leverage going forward. And you have seen ever since the war move away from its original uh strategic objectives which was to degrade Iran's nuclear ambitions and move much more towards the strait and trying to reopen it. And now uh you see as the president considers widening the conflict again that that remains the area of focus and you've seen the uh central command over the last nine nights go after facilities along the straight uh to try and wear down Iran's ability to launch those missiles and drones towards not only commercial vessels in the straight but also uh towards American military installations in the region. And you're right, I think it's just uh clearly uh a lack of awareness of what Iran might be willing to do in order to wait the US out in terms of the conflict and the president's own uh plans for how long this would take. He originally said it would be maximum 6 weeks and now we're well past the four month mark. And the deaths of these Americans will provide, I think, another moment for the president to consider what he's going to do now. You know, it does seem to suggest based on where these attacks happened that Iran not only retains its missile and drone capabilities, but also seems uh more able to evade American anti-missile defenses than it was earlier on in the conflict, suggesting that they have used uh the four months of war to learn about how the United States is trying to defend its installations in the region. Now, the US at this point does seem like it's preparing for something more escalatory.
I'm told that F-16 and F-35 fighter jets from bases in Europe are now heading to the region along with uh aerial refueling tankers, which I think gives an indication that the president is uh preparing for some sort of wider option.
But at the same time, you hear the diplomats involved in all of this suggest that there could be still the opportunity to resolve this around the negotiating table. The Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, saying that the US is getting indications from Iran that it wants to get back to negotiations.
Although at this point, it's hard to detect exactly uh where those discussions uh actually are.
>> Time might exacerbate the situation by disrupting the global oil supply even further. that the Iranianbacked group has declared a maritime blockade on Saudi shipping, putting Riyad's crude exports at risk. Uh the US war with Iran, meantime, may be taking a dangerous new turn as more American firepower is headed to the region.
Washington and Tran engaged in a ninth night of consecutive escalatory strikes with the US expanding its uh attacks inside of Iran and civilian infrastructure is increasingly becoming a target for both sides. In his latest CNN analysis, Stephen Collinsson writes, "The new US escalation in Iran makes Trump's endgame vacuum more urgent."
CNN's uh Stephen Collins joins us live now from Washington. So, Stephen, there are some countries in in a war where you can continue sort of bombarding them militarily and eventually they will surrender and capitulate. Iran is obviously not one of those countries and part of the reason there's several factors to that. Part of it is the sort of asymmetrical nature of their ability to retaliate. They retaliate against Gulf nations. They also have control over the straight of wuz um and on top of that their leadership, their sort of political leadership is built for survival. There's also an ideological element to this as well where just the very nature the very idea of capitulating goes against everything uh this leadership in Iran, the sort of systems that they've put in place stands for. So, President Trump and the administration here obviously knows this. So, the idea of thinking that something's going to be different this time just because they continue bombing for nine consecutive days and they're sending more firepower to the region, why do they think that's going to make a difference this time?
>> It's a good point. And if you put everything you just said about Iran against the fact that Trump sees things in life, in business, and in politics in a rather binary fashion, you're either winning or you're losing. You have the ingredients for the current stalemate that we're at. If you look at his interactions with Iran over the last year or so during his second term, uh the initial negotiations on the nuclear program before the raids last year on Iranian nuclear sites, then again earlier this year before the war, and now after the memorandum of understanding has collapsed. It seems like Trump believes that by increasing military force, he can improve the US negotiating position. The problem with that is it repeatedly seems to be the case that it doesn't work. Uh he got what he declared was one of the greatest deals in the history of the Middle East in the memorandum of of understanding and it collapsed within a few days. But the the all through this conflict it doesn't seem that the administration has had a very strong sense of history of exactly what motivates the Iranians. The memorandum of understanding was after all based on the idea that runs through the Trump foreign policies that at some point everybody can be bought off with financial riches and as you say there are ideological and historical and political reasons where that clearly isn't the case with Iran. The administration doesn't seem to be seeing that. And I think the question is now is how long Trump sticks with this uh escalation.
Having failed to explain to Americans and the rest of the world why this tactic of aerial bombardment will be any more successful than it was in the earlier stages of this war.
Um, and just in terms of, you know, I think I think there are key lessons that the Americans are going to walk away from this war with when it eventually ends. I mean, at the beginning, I was speaking uh to Kevin Liptech about this.
At the beginning of this war on February 28, they clearly underestimated Iran's sort of staying power, just the sheer level of resilience. Um this is a country that has a different level of tolerance for casualties, different level of tolerance for you know widespread destruction in their country.
And so when this war is said and done and obviously President Trump has talked about how difficult from his perspective the Iranians are to negotiate with.
Obviously the Iranians would say the same thing of course about the Americans. But um when this war is said and done, what do you think is going to be the biggest takeaway for the Americans? What would be the biggest lesson that they I guess should have learned?
Uh well, it would seem to be the same lesson of Vietnam, of Afghanistan, of Iraq, is that what the assumptions are about an adversary in Washington, their staying power, uh their motivations, uh their political uh desires uh are often completely out of step with what the force on the ground, which the opponent opposing government uh you know, actually the characteristics of that opposing government. Uh that seems to be a lesson that was pretty well drumed into Washington with the failure of the Iraq and Afghan wars which only, let's face it, ended a few years ago uh after massive long military engagements.
Trump has seemed to believe that he can uh get around all that by uh a vigorous aerial uh bombardment uh without ground troops, without being sucked into a quagmire. Uh but that has failed here. I think ultimately politically the way this will probably shape out as it often does is in more isolationism in the United States uh more concern by American voters about getting sucked into foreign wars which is rather ironic since that was at the center of Trump's platform in 2016 and even in 2020 and that's still something that reticence about foreign adventures that uh sits very deeply I think in the American political DNA in the 21st century. Yet at the same time, uh there is this constant temptation for presidents to demonstrate power and to try to uh implement what they see as US interests by the use of force. Uh they're constantly being dragged uh into conflict.
>> President Trump is weighing his options for what comes next in Iran as the human cost of this war increases with each passing week. The Pentagon identified two American soldiers killed in Jordan on Friday. Another soldier was killed in northern Iraq over the weekend. Trump called their deaths a shame and then had this to say.
>> Well, we feel very badly, but you know, those great people, those great patriots were out there fighting that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon.
Jordan, meantime, is coming under increasing fire. Attacks on the regional US ally, which is further away from Tran and the Gulf nations, is perhaps proof that Iran still maintains offensive capabilities despite months of American attacks. CNN's Nick Robertson joins us live now from Jerusalem. I think that the resilience uh and the sheer sort of staying power is something that may have caught the Americans off guard when they started this war back at the end of February. Just walk us through what a diplomatic offramp though at this point in time looks like. Nick, >> it looks very difficult and it's hard to see. At the moment, uh there is the Iranian foreign Iranian interior minister meeting with uh his Pakistani counterpart who's one of the main mediators between the US and Iran. It's not clear what they're going to talk about. Whether or not uh they can push forward the opportunity for an off-ramp, it just doesn't seem to be there. the information that we get that the United States is bringing in more F-35 fighter jets, more F-16 fighter jets, more KC135 Strata tanker refuelers uh for those fighter jets um is an indication that that this war is is is going to continue and and it may continue at a bigger pace. there's the real risk of overspill. The tensions between the Houthis uh who are widely seen as a proxy for Iran and Saudi Arabia are sort of reaching an all-time high at the moment because of the uh Houth's apparent intention uh potential intention to shut down the Red Sea as a means of getting oil uh Saudi oil out of the Gulf region and to international markets. So the tensions u are rising there as well. The the picture that's being painted here and and you raised it there of uh you know the capabilities that Iran has to continue the war and it's demonstrated that this past week in Jordan particularly hitting it claims a number of air bases. It claims destroying a number of aircraft and as we know killing at least two s two uh United States service personnel there.
Um it it demonstrates not just that they have obviously the capability and the intent but one of the things that they have that's become very important is the real time satellite intelligence very precise optically very very clear giving them a very clear image of what they're trying to hit on the ground and the message to the United States is you might be able to move your aircraft around or bring additional aircraft in but we can still target them and the the message obviously to the Gulf States of Kuwait and Bahrain which have been taking a huge amount of attacks. Um Kuwait again for the second time today uh air raid sirens going off again there in the past few hours is seeing a significant amount of infrastructure damage. It's not clear what if is being hit in Bahrain or if it's all being intercepted but that's certainly coming in for multiple strikes each each day.
So, um, the diplomatic off-ramp in that context, even though you have the Iranian foreign ministry spokesman and the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio saying they're open to discussions, the channels are there, they're also both saying that the memorandum of understanding that was the diplomatic offramp, that's on the sidelines. It's not being used. So it's very it's very hard to see where this finds an exit from the military essential escalation at the moment.
>> States launching attacks on Iran for a ninth straight day as a third US service member is confirmed killed since Friday.
Two service members died in an Iranian attack on an air base in [music] Jordan while a third died in Iraq. One service member is still missing in action. Iran is also continuing its attacks, including this one in Kuwait. It has now struck seven countries, Arab Gulf nations in the region with the US uh now joining us now is Ambassador Dennis Ross. He was a special assistant to President Obama on the Middle East peace process and as a counselor over at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy. Dennis, thanks so much for joining us. Do you expect there will be larger fallout from the deaths of these US service members? Is this war with Iran now going to dramatically escalate?
>> I don't know that it's going to dramatically escalate, although it's clear the US is moving F-15s and F-35s to the region is also moving additional aerial refueling tankers. So that suggests we're probably going to increase the scope and intensity of the attacks we're going to carry out. Uh the Iranians, as you just noted, have hit seven different states in the region. So there is a dynamic here that seems to be an escalatory one, but it's also noteworthy that a the Iranians are not hitting Israel, which suggests they know that Israel would hit back in a big way.
B the United States is still not hitting certain kinds of targets, meaning we're not hitting power plants. We're not going after energy facilities. And I think the reason for that is we're seeing that the Iranians have the ability to hit similar kinds of targets in in the Gulf States. I think when they hit Kuwait and they hit the dalization plant, an electricity related facility, an oil related facility, that was their way of signaling if you hit these kinds of targets within Iran, we will hit those kinds of targets in Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and elsewhere. and the impact on oil prices will be dramatic. So I think there is still a conflict that is being fought within certain bounds.
Wolf, the basic problem is there's no way out of the current impass because the Iranians are insisting they will control the straits and we're saying they will not.
>> The Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the US is still open open to diplomacy with Iran. Iranian officials say they were also open to it. But how does diplomacy even restart at this point with this war escalating?
>> Well, it's not unusual to have force and diplomacy operate at the same time.
Often times, each side is using force to try to affect the terms of a negotiation. I think that's what we're seeing at this point. I think both sides actually would like to find a way out.
Our reimposition of the blockade has dramatically damaged further an already desperate economy within Iran. The IRGC, the Revolutionary Guard leadership may speak, you know, strongly and and boldly about how that's not going to affect them, but the truth is it does have an effect on them, but the same is true here. The president is clearly sensitive to the idea of oil prices going dramatically higher. Each side would like to find a way out, but neither side wants to look like it's backing down.
It's in that context that you have mediators like the cutteries offering new proposals that start with a 10-day ceasefire and then you come up with what might be some new mechanisms that in that involve many of the states in the region as part of the management of the straits. Each side is going to need some way out. The one thing from ani an American standpoint that I think is essential. Iran cannot be in control of the straits of Hermoose when all this ends. Let's recall, Wolf, that on February 27th, the straits were open.
Supposedly, our main objective was about preventing Iran from ever having a nuclear weapon, but our whole focus right now seems to be on reopening the straits, which by the way were open prior to the war.
How deep, Dennis, are the fractures within Iran's regime right now? We still haven't seen, as you know, the new Supreme Leader. He was injured. His father was killed in the opening days of the war. Are we even sure who is in charge right now?
>> Historically, I would just note that we've always seen factions within the Iranian elite. That's not new. But the Supreme Leader was always the arbiter and always the decision maker. Right now, we don't know what the real status of the Supreme Leader is. He hasn't been seen. Statements are issued. They're probably written by others. I think what we're seeing is a kind of balance of power where maybe the Supreme Leader has some role, but there's probably a balance of power where the dominant voice at this point is do is really reflecting the revolutionary guard. But I do think the president uh Pescian uh the head the speaker of the parliament Galibbuff I think they are part of the decision-making process. It still seems that the revolutionary guard has greater sway. Uh but again there's a kind of balance of power at this point favoring one side a little bit more. The longer this goes on the greater the pressures from within given the what's happening to the economy. I still think we will we'll see an interest on their part to find a way out. The problem is they think they can outlast President Trump and that's really I think why we're seeing the the dynamic we are right now.
>> As you know, Israel says it will respond and respond militarily to any future attack from Iran or its proxies for that matter. What does Israel want right now?
How do you see it?
Well, I think there's what the prime minister wants in terms of the politics of the situation. Uh, and I think he would still like to be able to inflict much more damage on the Iranian ballistic missile capability, its inventories, and the like, but he's not in a position to make decisions. It's the president of United States who's making the decisions. And then I think the president at this point doesn't seem to want the Israelis to be involved.
It's ironic that the Iranians don't seem to want the Iran the Israelis to be involved. The only way the Israelis become involved is if the president changes his mind andor the Iranians hit Israel. At this point, they're avoiding that. So, I still think even though within Israel, I think there's a strong sense that something could happen this week where Israel is drawn in. My sense at this point is that basically neither the United States nor the Iranians seem to want the Israelis involved because I still think there's a desire, at least on the part of the president, to keep this more limited. I think we're going to see him try to strike a balance where he's going to do much more this week in the hopes that by hitting the Iranians even harder with the blockade, they will come around and look for a way out. Now whether we can get to that point right now given the kind of zero sum quality of each side wanting an outcome that the other can't really live with that remains to be seen but I still think we're seeing each side operate within certain limits and the mediators may come up with something as things get look begin to look worse that allows each side to take a step back. That I think is the hope for the moment. The news we're following. CNN has learned that the United States is now sending more fighter aircraft to the Middle East as fighting clearly escalates in the war with Iran. A US official tells CNN that fighter jets and aerial refueling tankers will be pulled from bases in Europe. Meanwhile, a third US service member has been confirmed killed. And it happened Sunday in northern Iraq while they were trying to [music] detonate a dr a downed Iranian attack drone. Two other service members were killed Friday in an Iranian attack on an air base in Jordan and another service member is still [music] missing in action. The total number of US troop fatalities in this war has now climbed to [music] 17.
>> Well, we feel very badly, but you know those great people, those great patriots were out there fighting that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. Iran has been very, very badly damaged. They've uh lost everything almost militarily, >> but Iran is clearly proving it can still hit back, expanding its strikes to seven Gulf Arab countries across the region.
Here you see smoke rising from an oil facility in Kuwait after repeated attacks. Let's go live right now to CNN senior White House correspondent Kristen Holmes. Kristen, what are you learning this morning? What else is going on?
Well, well, we're clearly seeing a lot of escalating tension, a lot of escalating back and forth between the US and Iran, and sources say President Trump is considering all of his options, including widening the war against Iran.
As you noted, this will involve, while he weighs those options, the US sending over more aircrafts to the Middle East.
That includes F-16s, F-32s, and those refueling air aerial tankers. Now, we've seen back and forth here that has, as we've noted, uh, really gone after a more targets and seemingly put negotiations into a rearview mirror. We saw Central Command saying that it finished up its ninth day of these consecutive strikes in Iran. And that's not stopping US diplomats and negotiators from saying that there's still a diplomatic approach on the table. This is the Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, talking about that.
You can't have an MOU that's alive if they're violating the terms of it. What I will say is that the United States always remains open to a diplomatic solution. We've tried multiple times with Iran and we'll continue to try. If that if that door opens, we'll be happy to see it open. They continue to send signals that they want to talk, that they they want to negotiate, but their behavior is what we're responding to.
And their behavior is they're they're launching missiles and drones against ships, including tonight.
And now we're seeing both sides really escalating their attacks on sensitive civilian infrastructure. And I do want to talk quickly about those US troops killed. I know you walked through them.
We know in northern Iraq there was one service member killed and another wounded. In Jordan, two US troops killed in action, one service member missing in action. There have been remains that were found but not yet identified. And this is also raising a lot of alarm bells as to whether or not Iran is figuring out how to get around the US air defenses. Remember, one of the big sticking points for so many Americans and even Republicans who support President Trump was not losing more US troops. Obviously, we've had one of the most deadly stretches here in the last few days that we've seen really since early on in the war.
>> All right, Kristen Holmes at the White House for us. Thank you very much. Also this morning, the defense department identified the two US service members killed in Jordan. First Lieutenant Tyler James Fen was from Eva Beach in Hawaii.
He was stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina. First Lieutenant Fen was 25 years old. And Private Isabella Gonzalez was from Carolton, Texas. She was stationed in Ansbach, Germany. Private Gonzalez was just 19 years old. My deepest condolences to their families.
May they rest in peace and may their memories be a blessing. And joining us here in the situation room, retired US Air Force Colonel Cedric Leighton. He's a CNN military analyst. Colonel Leighton, what do we know about the air base first of all in Jordan where these two American service members were killed and another now is still missing. We should note that this service member has not yet been found.
>> Yeah, that's that's right, Wolf. And of course, our condolences to the families of these service members. Uh one of the things that we have to note about this base is the Mufawakal Salty base and it's in about 100 kilometers uh northeast of Aman, Jordan, the capital.
Uh and it's been a base that's been used in the past uh by the US for various operations including operations in Iraq when we were conducting the shock and off phase of Iraqi freedom. Uh this base has been uh you know set aside uh parts of it have been set aside for us uh by the Jordanians and it includes right now a whole string of different types of aircraft including uh fighter jets like F-35 fighter jets. I believe there also F-16s there at this point in time. Uh there also are drones there. The MQ9 Reaper is uh stationed at Mufawakal Salty. And then of course the tankers uh the KC135 tankers uh some of them are stationed there. Of course, there are others that are coming into Israel at this point in time. Uh, but Mufawakal Salti is a real big node uh for the US military both from an air force and naval air perspective as well as uh from an army perspective. So, it's a it's a large uh node for Sentcom to operate in this part of the Middle East. And the Iranians are clearly targeting these Gulf Arab nations that normally are not involved in a war with Iran, but they're targeting countries like Iran, Bahrain, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Qatar. Uh these countries are very significant countries in the region and they're going after them even infrastructure targets where no US troops are involved.
>> Yes, that's absolutely true. And the way the Iranians are targeting it, they seem to start in some respects with uh US military base service members at the beginning of is the Iranians are also going after those civilian infrastructure targets that you mentioned. Those include desalination plants. So those include airports uh and of course you know anybody who's flown in and around the Middle East knows that airlines like Emirates and Qatar Airways uh those nodes and hubs that they have in those areas are critically important for those airlines because those airlines have become global players in the aviation industry and it's a huge impact also on the tourism and on uh business in general >> and they attack that commercial airport in Akaba the southernmost port of Jordan.
>> That's right. And Jordan is actually really, you know, not only the base that's north of of Akaba, uh, but Aqaba in that southwestern corner of Jordan touches uh, actually called the Gulf of Akaba, uh, touches on the Red Sea. And what that indicates is that the Iranians are not only hitting those areas in Jordan, but they're also sending a signal to Israel because Elot uh, the port city in Israel, >> it's right next to Akaba.
>> Exactly. Is right next to Akaba. And that also means that it's not that far from those two cities to the Suez Canal.
Uh so what the Iranians are signaling is that there is a potential that they will want to shut down uh the Red Sea transit routes in addition to the Persian Gulf transit routes. So, if the Iranians do that, then we've got even more of a mess on our hands because those two areas are major transit hubs for uh global trade, not just the oil trade, but basically all goods that uh that are used in international trade come through one of those areas.
>> But if those Iranian drone and missile strikes go further than Jordan and hit Israel, the Israelis will respond overwhelmingly.
>> They certainly will and the Israelis have made that pretty clear. Defense Minister Katz has mentioned it and obviously Prime Minister Netanyahu has said things about that in the past as well. Uh the Israelis of course are going to exercise the right of self-defense. And then we have a situation where we've got basically the US and Israel on one side and Iran on the other and the Arab states caught more or less in the middle both geographically as well as otherwise. And that uh that will become a a significant issue for all of them at this point.
>> Very significant. CNN is learning that the US is planning to send additional F-16 fighter jets, F-35 fighter jets along with more aerial refueling tankers to the Middle East as these tensions clearly sore. Uh this is pretty significant right now.
>> It is. And you know, when you look at what we already have in the Gulf region, you've got, of course, carrier strike groups that are in the Arabian Sea near the Persian Gulf. uh you've got uh the uh aircraft that already based in areas of the Middle East including Jordan and Saudi Arabia as well as United Arab Emirates and Qatar. Uh so those areas are going to get beefed up. Basically the the airplanes that you mentioned, the fighters as well as the aerial refueling tankers are also probably going to be augmented by other aircraft such as reconnaissance aircraft and other drones potentially as well. And if all of that moves forward, uh they'll be coming from Europe and that will basically set the stage for even further military offensives and basically a military campaign against Iran. Uh one that is even more extensive than what we've seen so far.
>> Right now, more US fighter jets are headed to the M East as President Trump weighs widening the war he began 5 months ago. That's after a dramatic ratcheting up of hostilities over the past few days and the deaths of three US service members. The first troops killed in action since March. This morning, the Pentagon identified two of the fallen as 25-year-old First Lieutenant Tyler James Fen of Hawaii and 19-year-old Private Isabella Gonzalez of Texas. They were killed in Jordan during an Iranian attack. A third still unidentified service member died on Saturday in northern Iraq. CNN's Kevin Liptac is at the White House. Kevin, what are you hearing from your sources about where they think this is going to go at this time?
>> Yeah, and I think you heard from the president himself yesterday, you know, vowing retribution for these Americans death. And I think behind the scenes, the president has been receiving options from advisers about a potential widening of this conflict, including uh in the situation room last week. And you do see how the United States is now preparing the ground for that potential widening.
I'm told by a US official that the US is sending additional aircraft to the region, including F6 F-16 and F 35 fighter jets that are coming from bases in Europe. The US is also sending additional aerial refueling tankers all for a potential expansion of this conflict. You know, the deaths of those Americans, I do think underline certainly the risks for American troops in the region, but also the sustained ability of Iran to keep firing missiles and drones at American military installations. And I think when you talk to US officials, there's also fear that this could potentially demonstrate Iran's ability to evade American air defenses, something that perhaps they have learned uh over the course of this more than four month conflict. And so the president, I think, certainly has some decisions to make in front of him.
This will really test whatever restraint he was feeling. And you know, he has said up until this point that he would consider starting the war again if Iran killed American troops. But at the same time, you do hear diplomats involved in all of this say that the door is not closed for negotiations. You saw Secretary of State Marco Rubio, he's traveling in Asia. He told reporters overnight that if Iran was w willing to negotiate that quote the door remains open and that the US had been hearing from Iran both directly and indirectly that it remains open to get back to the negotiating table. And so even as you see this back and forth of attacks, you know, last night was the ninth consecutive night of US attacks on Iran, they're hitting ever more sensitive targets, including desalination plants, roads, and bridges. Even amid all of that, you do see these glimmers of hope that negotiations could potentially prevail. All in the hope that this doesn't cascade out of control.
>> Welcome everybody. US Central Command [music] says that it has concluded a ninth consecutive night of strikes against Iran. Explosions were heard in cities across the northwest and coastal areas. Iranian state media reporting that its military also launched missiles toward enemy targets. Kuwait's army says that air defenses are responding to drone threats and in Bahrain saying that their air raid sirens have been activated. Meanwhile, the US military is reporting the death of another American service member who was killed in northern Iraq during the controlled detonation of a downed Iranian drone.
Here's what President Trump had to say about the recent strikes and these troop fatalities.
Well, we feel very badly, but you know, those great people, those great patriots were out there fighting that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. Iran has been very, very badly damaged. They've uh lost everything almost militarily.
They've got very little left. They've got some missiles. They've got some drones. They've got some manufacturing ability, not much. Uh we control the straight. They don't control anything.
So, we'll see what happens, but we hit him very hard again tonight.
>> Let's go to CNN's Laya Gerosu live from uh Dup from Abu Dhabi as she continues to cover this. So, Leila, give us a sense of where some of these strikes have actually been focused.
>> Yeah. So, as you said, it is the ninth consecutive day of strikes between the US and Iran. The US said that it hit a number of Iranian military targets Sunday night into today, Monday morning.
Now, Iranian state media said that there were explosions heard across the southern region of Iran as well as in the northwestern region of Iran close to the city of Tabres. Now, that would be the first time in these nine days that we're hearing any sort of explosions in that area. Earlier on in this war in the early months much of the US and Israeli strikes were focused on the more inland cities like Tehran, Esvahan and Tadres.
This time around in these nine days these strikes have been really focused on the southern region. Now the southern region is considered to be Iran's defensive arch. The cities like Bandad Abbos Ahavas and also these islands like Kesh Island and Har Island really are part of the way that Iran is able to control the straight of hormones. Now that's why we're seeing the US really focus its strikes in this southern region. Now when it comes to the Strait of Hormos and who controls it, the IRGC says that the Iranians still control it and that they've closed it. The UK maritime authorities said that it got a report of a vessel on fire and the Revolutionary Guards, [clears throat] sorry, said that they had two tankers that they found to be non-compliant and therefore targeted. So really asserting their control over the strait. Now we're in a very fragile situation between the US and Iran and there's some serious concern among analysts that I've spoken to about this escalating and expanding if no off-ramp is found. So we're going to have to see what happens over the next week. Polo.
[cough] >> All right. Le Gos, thank you so much for all that reporting as always. Appreciate your time. Uh let's go now to Nega joining me now. She's a visiting fellow with King's College London and she was a senior adviser at the US State Department and National Security Council. Thank you so much for joining us. Great to see you again.
>> Good morning. Thanks for having me.
>> Good morning. So, after the US and Iran, they traded strikes for a ninth straight night as you just heard uh in Leela's report. Do you see any potential offramps right now? I I mean a question that so many are asking, what would deescalation actually look like?
That's a great question. I mean, look, I think um we have to be very realistic.
We can't uh look for some sort of grand political uh agreement. Um not even anything close to what the memorandum of understanding looked like um just uh you know a week or so ago. um what we need to sort of look for is some sort of emergency operating arrangement for the hormos and I think that's where you're going to have um sort of those back channel diplomatic conversations to try to find a solution to essentially the straight of hormones how it's going to operate you know the recognized sort of um sort of shipping lanes u you know who monitors who clears it all of those those technical details um and essenti kind of like a freeze for freeze u sort of approach so that we move away from you know essentially what looks like punishment becoming a a strategy. Um so I do think there is um you know a small window and and there is that diplomatic off-ramp there. Uh the only sort of disconcerting factor is you know there's so much uh direct military friction right now that this could um you know this could be a slippery slope into something much larger.
>> So if in fact there are some of those back channel conversations that you referenced I'm just curious who do you think are some of those parties in addition to the US and Romney do you think some of the Gulf nations would be potentially involved?
>> Absolutely. the mediators need to continue to stay involved. Uh they uh have obviously a lot of of uh [clears throat] you know domestic and personal interest in making sure that the that the uh fighting halts. Um uh but it's going to require quite a bit of of that shuttle diplomacy. They're going to have to be going back and forth between both capitals to try to convince them that they need to come to the table to discuss the the the issue is and it's the idea of trying to convince both parties that you are losing this window of opportunity. Once this window closes, it's going to be very hard to find a a a diplomatic off-ramp. An offramp is always possible. just you know how do you not lose face in front of your your domestic audience? Um and that window is quite small both for the United States but also for Iran who is under a lot of economic um constraints right now. So again the mediators are going to have to be involved. mediators uh can range from you know obviously Pakistan, Qatar and and all the other um regional uh countries who are being directly impacted by these voling um attacks taking place over the last week or so.
>> Let's talk a little bit more about this clear widening of this conflict. uh a Ku we already know that a Kuwaiti power and and desalination plant was was struck by Iran um for the second time actually and and the US striking Iranian sites like bridges and and power stations. So does this targeting of that kind of infrastructure do you think that it increases the risk for civilians in the region? Is that something that we should now be seriously worried about?
>> We we definitely should be. Um again I think the objectives in some ways have been uh quite clear right on on the United States side the immediate objectives were were clear you know punish attacks on US personnel protect commercial shipping reduce Iran's coastal capacity to control or threaten the strait. So you know it's very clear why they have these very specific targeted attacks. A lot of times they see them as you know military infrastructure uh you know that are important key sites. Um for Iran's behavior it's very clear that they're basically saying that we're being reactive. We are showing the same kind of uh you know proportional attacks uh against the United States that it's causing to us. Uh so we see sort of both sides and what they're trying to do. The issue is is that they each side is ramping up their their attacks um hoping that that will convince the other side to change their their course in the negotiations and and come to the table. Obviously again when you have these direct military frictions um there are going to be uh you know a slippage it will move past certain red lines. This is where you know civilians will be impacted. Um, and at this point in time, we're talking about civilians in third countries in, you know, the the Gulf countries in and around, but not necessarily on on the US homeland. And so, this is going to be a huge concern because there is no guarantee when you have this kind of tit for tat uh that it's going to push each of the adversaries back towards the negotiating table. Um, again, I think this is why you're going to be seeing a lot of these countries who are directly impacted.
um you know working the phones, having the various conversations because they need to ensure uh the security and safety of their own citizens. The war between the US and Iran shows no signs of slowing down. US President Donald Trump says Iran was hit very hard after a ninth consecutive night of US strikes.
The Pentagon has also confirmed an American service member has been killed in Iraq during the detonation of a downed Iranian drone. Meanwhile, there are new attacks on shipping as a vessel burns off the coast of Oman after being struck by an unknown projectile. Despite the heavy exchange of fire, both Washington and Tehran say they remain open to diplomacy. I want to bring in CNN senior White House reporter Kevin Liptac. And we also have CNN producer Leila Gaga uh joining us now. Um great to have both of you with me. Kevin, I want to start off with you. And President Trump says um Iran was hit very hard and yet in all of this where we've seen escalation over the last nine days. There's talk about diplomacy perhaps still being alive. Is there a realistic path back to negotiations?
>> I think there is if both sides of this uh come to the recognition that you know this is very quickly spiraling in a way that would be very difficult to control.
And so I think you do hear people and I think it's notable who you're hearing it from, which are the diplomats on either side of this suggesting that they view a way back to the negotiating table. You heard Marco Rubio, the Secretary of State, saying that Iran was actually communicating both directly and indirectly that it wanted to negotiate.
And you hear from the Iranian foreign minister Basar Argachi as well saying uh that the negotiations could begin quote when you have achieved reliable battlefield and strategic gains. I think the question is whether the political decision makers on either side of this uh see a pathway back to talks and President Trump for his part has suggested over the last couple of weeks that he doesn't view the Iranians as credible negotiators and that he thinks there is a job to be finished militarily. And so whether he really views a pathway to diplomacy here, I think is an open question. And you have seen escalating strikes from both sides.
Last night, Central Command saying that it had carried out the ninth straight night of attacks on Iran. And you see both the US and Iran increasingly going after some sensitive civilian infrastructure, including water desalination plants, power plants. On the US's part, it's been striking roads and bridges in southern Iran, which I think is leading to some anxieties that it is preparing for some sort of ground invasion there. And I think even the deaths that you have seen over the course of the last several days just uh indicates that even absent a ground invasion by the United States, uh the American troops remain very much in harm's way. you know, the uh vast military installations that are arrayed across the Middle East. And I think those deaths uh will really really pose some very serious questions for President Trump about where precisely uh he sees all of this heading as the cost for Americans, both in terms of uh gas prices and energy, but also in terms of American lives seems to be increasing.
[snorts] >> Yeah. All right, Kevin, thank you so much for that. Um Ila I I want to turn to how we've seen major escalation over the last few days nine days in fact retaliation between both sides. We've seen US service members that have been killed as well vessels under attack in the straight of harm. There is concern that the range and scope of this war is widening into a far bigger regional war.
What are you hearing?
>> Yeah so I think both sides are very concerned about this escalation and potential expansion. Over the last nine days, we've basically seen the US focus its strikes on that southern region of Iran, what is considered to be the defensive arch in Iran, these coastal cities and islands that allow Iran to hold control of the strait. Now, if the US expands inward, and we have heard reports of explosions near Tabri, you could see the Iranians also escalate and expand their range of uh targets throughout the region, meaning that this situation is quite fragile and we could see it escalate very very quickly. Now, over the weekend, the IRGC through a number of different Iranian channels basically said that if the US escalates, they're going to respond in kind.
They're very big on proportionality and proportional responses. This is something that we've seen with the Iranians in 2020, 2024, 2025. So, it's really going to come down to whether these two sides can kind of tone down and deescalate if they can find an offramp. Otherwise, we are headed to a much wider conflict.
>> Yeah. very quickly in terms of the Babel Mandab Strait because there's major concern that the Houthis will be activated to also um you know block the strait there which is obviously a lifeline for a lot of the oil that is exported out of Saudi Arabia. Um where are we with that at that point?
>> Yeah, so we are hearing that the Yemeni armed forces could be closing the Babel Mend. If they do, it's obviously going to throw another wrench into the oil markets and what's going on. Obviously the straight according to the Iranians remains closed. So any more pressure on the market is obviously going to impact market prices, the average person, rising cost.
>> All right. In the US and Iran is escalating across the Middle East.
Kuwait says its air defenses responded to drone threats on Sunday as attacks spread across the Gulf. President Trump says Iran was hit very hard after a ninth consecutive night of US strikes.
All this comes after three US service members were killed over the weekend in Iranian attacks.
Well, we feel very badly, but you know those great people, those great patriots are out there fighting that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. Iran has been very, very badly damaged. They've uh lost everything almost militarily.
>> All right. Despite the intensifying fighting, both Washington and Thran say they may remain open to diplomacy. CNN's Steven Collinsson joins us now from Washington. really good to see you. I mean, what a crazy nine days it's been.
I mean, the escalation ladder has been climbing and climbing. Um, I I wonder how the deaths of these US service members is going to play with the American public as we see, even though they're talking about perhaps diplomacy still being very much alive. Um, you know, there's major concerns that this could, you know, become a wider war.
Elena, this was already a deeply unpopular war in the United States. And I think uh the fact that American service members have been dying over the weekend is going to sharpen questions about what exactly the president's endgame is here and how does he get towards it? Uh I've already seen some messaging from various political groups this morning which is saying that as the president shared a luxury box at the FIFA World Cup final uh with Jani Infantino, Americans were dying in the Middle East. Uh this is something I think you will probably see start to filter in democratic arguments as we get closer to the midterm elections if this war continues. Right now we are not uh anywhere near the level of casualties on the US side. uh that were caused in the Afghan and Iraq Iraq wars earlier in the century. Uh that did have a great political impact and of course there are often in these conflicts many more civilians on the other side uh who were killed. We should remember that. Uh so the while tragic the troop deaths are still fairly low but the memory of Iraq and Afghanistan is very deep in the DNA of US politics. It was one reason why the president uh first won office in 2016 when he took the White House. So, I think it would not take too much for all of that to be revived and to make the war even less popular among Americans and more of a millstone for Republican candidates in the midterm elections in November.
>> All right, we've got Nick Robertson as well uh joining us. Uh Nick, really good to see you. Um you know the the last few days uh in the region have been absolutely uh you know scary uh to to for many people here across the region.
Um give us an idea on the diplomacy front and whether there is a potential offramp to end this.
>> It's not clear where that offramp is.
It's not clear that either e either side wants to take it. They both do say, the United States and Iran do say that they're open to diplomacy. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said that today.
You've had the foreign ministry spokesman in Thyan uh say saying that again, but also saying that they're not that Iran is is is not is not supporting the MU is not is not working to uh to sort of further um its diplomatic efforts. It is parked on one side. Today you have the uh Iranian interior minister on his way to uh Pakistan to meet his counterpart there who's been really at the forefront of of the mediation efforts between the United States and Iran. So does that represent uh you know a chance here for some diplomacy to get a little bit of traction. Look, the key thing at the moment is that uh Iran wants to prove, and it did last night by hitting a tanker or appearing to hit a tanker close to Iman, that it controls the straight of Hamas. And the United States seems determined militarily to send a message that it can't. And the the military path would just have to continue to erode Iran's ability to hit the shipping and damage it going through the straight of Hammud. That's where it's at. But diplomatically, this does feel like one of those moments where many in the Gulf States, the diplomats there, they don't say it publicly, but they're concerned about what is the end goal here of the United States. How is it going to achieve it? Can it achieve it? Um, and and and if there isn't a quick resolution, therefore, diplomacy has to take over. But that said, it's not, you know, the diplomatic offramp is out there somewhere. Of course it is, but it doesn't seem to be with inside of where we are, where we stand today.
>> Yeah. Yeah. And we saw how quickly the MOU basically was unraveled. Stephen, I want you to listen to what US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had to say last night.
>> I think we're always open to diplomacy.
It has to be real. It has to be a deal that they're willing to live by. Look, Iran a week ago was put out supposed to put out a statement saying that the Straits of Hormuz would be open, that they would no longer attack shipping.
And instead of doing that, they attacked three ships. I think that was last Friday or Saturday. So, I mean, their behavior has to change in order for ours to change.
>> Yeah. I mean, that's super interesting because again, the straight of is being mentioned. Open up the straight. Iran has a different perspective, Stephen, about what happens in the straight. Does President Trump sound like someone who actually wants to resume diplomatic talks? Does he act like it?
Well, nine days of attacks on Iranian targets seem to indicate that he's not willing to go down that path right now.
One interpretation of it is that he's trying to do so much damage that Iran has no choice to come back to the uh negotiating table. That seems unlikely, at least in the short term. And because of the history of the conflict, uh it seems like there are factions in Iran that almost welcome this renewal of the war and they are never intending to give up that leverage they have on the straight of Hormuz. What the administration has not done is explain to any of us why this round of attacks is likely to make it more likely that Iran would capitulate than the weeks of more intense attacks that it conducted with the Israelis earlier in the war.
Does there come a point when they can do so much damage along the Iranian side of the straight that that handicaps Iran's ability to mount these strikes? I think there's a lot of doubt about that in the US and especially in Congress right now uh at a time when the administration is going to Congress to try and get more money for the war because as we know all it takes is a few missiles or a a few drones to shut down the straight again entirely. So, how we get from this point to a point where diplomacy might be a possibility without Trump stepping back as he did in the past and as Iran may be assuming he will do in the future uh is a real question and until then I think the diplomatic and the economic costs will continue to pile up.
>> Yeah, they absolutely are. Um Nick, we saw strikes on uh Kuwait. um re desalination as well as a power plants.
Bahrain, Jordan, first time in Syria, strikes there uh as well as Iraq.
Regional countries here targeted in the in the latest round of Iranian.
>> We're turning now to our top story, the escalating war between the US and Iran.
The US once again launched a wave of strikes on Iranian targets. This after President Trump warned that Iran will pay for killing three US service members in recent days. You see two of them pictured there. The US is sending more aircraft to the Middle East pending an escalation along with refueling tankers necessary to allow longer range strikes inside Iran. Joining me now is independent Congressman Kevin Kylie.
Congressman, thanks so much for taking the time.
>> Of course, thanks for having me.
>> You have said in the past that Congress needs to be engaged to make any deal with Iran durable. However, in terms of military action, you voted against the War Powers Resolution.
Now that this war has extended once again, and I know the administration says they have a new 60-day clock, but there are a lot of Democrats and Republicans who don't [music] buy that, is now the time for for Congress, including Republicans and independent lawmakers like yourself, to to clip the president's wings here, so to speak?
>> Well, it's certainly the time for Congress to be more centrally involved.
And I frankly think there's been a big missed opportunity with this funding bill that's going through uh that doesn't really reflect a deliberate judgment on the part of Congress as to how funds should be allocated in a way that will guide this uh this conflict uh towards an acceptable resolution. And I do think that Congress has owed an explanation as to why this ceasefire fell apart. Uh what were the conditions that we thought were going to lead to its success uh that failed to materialize. Uh so frankly I think that from the very beginning of this conflict congress has not been nearly involved enough. You can perhaps say that the administration should have done more but also congress itself needs to exercise its article one authority uh and principally the best way to do that uh is through the power of the purse. And so I'm very disappointed with this funding bill that's going through that does that's being done in a partyline way. What we really need right now is for a bipartisan uh approach that will allow for all of us uh to, you know, set the terms for how this conflict is going to wind down.
>> As you know, Senator Adam Schiff, he's filed a new war powers resolution that would uh essentially reject the president's assertion that there's a new 60-day clock. Could you see Republicans and independent lawmakers like yourself supporting such a measure?
Well, the thing about the war powers resolution is that it doesn't really achieve what we wanted to achieve, or at least what I wanted to achieve in terms of having more meaningful congressional involvement uh and having a more durable basis for achieving peace here. The war powers resolution, first of all, what it says uh is that you have to immediately withdraw any and all personnel uh from the region, which would put our service members at risk. But at the end of the day, this is something that is never going to be signed by the president. Uh and if he vetos it, I even if it were overridden, uh likely would not hold up in court. Uh so for people who keep introducing these resolutions, I understand their instinct to want to do something to get Congress involved, but I want Congress to be involved in a way that actually matters. I I I wonder what your read is of the administration's the president's strategy in Iran because for weeks they've been saying that the US can can in effect beat Iran into submission and that ultimately the president has said Iran actually really wants to talk but every day the war continues. Iran keeps striking targets.
It's now killed three US service members over the weekend. Is the president's strategy working or failing?
Well, I want to say first of all that of course my heart uh goes out to the family of our our lost uh service members and all of us want to sure we do everything we can uh to avoid further casualties and loss of life uh for Americans. But I think there are serious questions about what exactly the strategy is. We've seen this sort of whiplash back and forth. We've seen this highwire act. We've seen the uh you know threats on the one hand followed by negotiations uh and uh temporary agreements uh on the other. Uh and this is why I've said from the very beginning that if we want to actually have something durable here, we need to have Congress and all interested parties involved. So that means involving the Gulf States, involving our allies uh and coming to uh what understanding we can that we'll achieve the goals that are indispensable here, which is opening the straight of Hermutes, winding this conflict down, and ensuring that Iran never gets a nuclear weapon. The president is now considering apparently uh operations up to and including ground operations to take Car Island, which would of course put more US forces uh in danger. Given how unpopular this war is already, do you think US forces should fight on the ground to fight and potentially die uh in an expansion of this war?
>> Uh I certainly don't want to see that. I don't want to see the war expand. I want to see the conflict uh come to an end, but I want to make sure that it's done in a way that protects US interests uh and assures we don't leave uh Iran in a position where they can inflict even greater harm uh on Americans, on our allies, uh on the region, and on the world going forward.
>> Congressman Kevin Kylie, we appreciate you coming back on the show.
>> Of course. Thanks for having me.
>> And good evening. I'm Aaron Bernett. And out front tonight, the breaking news.
100 US troops injured in just the last two weeks of the Iran war. 100 in the past two weeks. This news coming from the Pentagon tonight and it's in addition to at least three American service members who have been killed in just recent days. Well, tonight Trump is threatening revenge, posting, quote, "Every time Iran kills an American soldier, they will pay for that killing many times over." This directive has been passed on to the Secretary of War Pete Hegsath, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Daniel Kaine, and every leader in the military. Trump's threat comes as the US right now is sending additional fighter jets to the Middle East, including F-16s and F-35s. Now, the war began 143 days ago, which is part of the reason it's so stunning that 100 American troops have been injured in the past 2 weeks. A toll that continues.
The administration is quick. They love to put out these videos when strikes are happening, right? This is a scentcom video. they put them out really quickly.
That is not the case when it comes to releasing the details about the toll this war is taking on American service members. Until the announcement just moments ago by the Pentagon that the 100 service members were injured in the past two weeks, the military has been painfully slow, sometimes waking up waiting up to weeks to acknowledge military injuries. In fact, why are they even putting those numbers out now?
Maybe in part because of all the reporting in the New York Times over the weekend about this issue. The Pentagon source tells CNN, "Well, they're waiting on all this for security reasons." Well, okay. But the reality is the administration has not been transparent about the toll of this war full stop.
Not about the thads that have been blown out, the radars blown out, the planes, the human beings, and the human injuries. The Pentagon has not held a press briefing in two and a half months.
No questions taken and no answers given about the war or what strategy there may be moving forward. Like this whole conversation about Car Island, which is Groundhog's Day, back in the front burner again. Iran warning of repercussions if the US seizes the island. Something that Trump has suggested again is on the table.
>> Maybe we'll take over Car Island. You know, we may take over Car Island.
There's not a thing they can do about it.
But in that silence about strategy, about the damage done, about the lives forever impacted and lost in this war, we are learning more about one of the American service members killed in Jordan. Tyler James Fen was 25 years old. His parents shared these images of their son without front. He was their only child. They say he was loved and adored by everyone who crossed paths with him. and he was set to be married when he returned from this deployment.
Our thoughts are with that family and his parents and their um indescribable loss. Kristen Holmes is out front live outside the White House. And Kristen, Trump now threatening revenge against Iran in that tweet saying, "For every American treat troop uh killed, many more uh Iranians will feel US revenge."
What does that mean? Is that just bluster or is there a plan and a strategy here as you understand it?
>> Well, it certainly doesn't seem like bluster tonight with Central Command announcing that they were doing their 10th consecutive night of strikes. One thing to keep in mind here is that President Trump is angry and he is attending that dignified transfer tomorrow of those fallen soldiers. And at the same time, mediators had proposed today, floated an idea of a 10-day ceasefire. Now, we had heard from the White House and from US officials who did acknowledge that this existed. They did not give any details of how far along this proposal was, but they also said this, and this was what they said about President Trump really playing down the idea that he was going to accept this, saying, "Right now, President Trump is focused on making Iran pay for their violations of theou and their continued acts of terrorism in the straight of Hormuz." Then they went on to say, "In addition, the president will make Iran pay for the recent deaths of US soldiers." Now, this proposal was floated before Central Command announced that it was launching its 10th night of consecutive strikes. So, it goes to show you where the president's head is at.
Now, whether or not that means an escalation beyond these strikes, that is what we are trying to find out. But the president is angry. We know that they have been looking for a diplomatic off-ramp. He is still trying and US officials are trying to get Iran back to the negotiating table. But it does appear that we are in a real punishment phase for Iran because of those troop deaths now.
>> All right, Kristen, thank you very much.
Reporting from the White House tonight and I want to go out front now to Democratic Congressman Adam Smith, the top Democrat on the Armed Services Committee and I appreciate your time tonight. So obviously you you've been a vocal critic of of so many things about Trump's war in Iran. The US now increasing aircraft numbers in the Middle East and significantly so it seems Trump's warning Iran will pay for killing US soldiers again in his words quote many times over. Do you know what all this actually is going to add up to?
>> I don't think anybody does least of all Donald Trump. I mean, look, I don't want to belabor the point, but this is why it was so stupid to start this war in the first place. Trump honestly thought that he would drop bombs for three or four weeks and the Iranian regime would collapse. And that was just completely idiotic. No one who would pay any attention to what's going on thought that was going to happen. So, when that didn't happen, he just keeps doubling down on a bad strategy. Look, we need to end this war and get the best negotiated peace we can get. And that's not going to be great at this point because we've given Iran so much leverage by starting the war, showing them they can control the straight of war moves. Now, as far as what Trump's going to do, I don't know. He just he's, you know, talking about Car Island, talking about revenge, said there's no strategy. There's no plan. There's no vision in there. Look, I I said this last week. I think the president has reached the point where he's just not fit for office. He doesn't know what he's doing, and he's dragging us into an endless conflict. So, I hope the Republicans will speak up and push him in a different direction because right now he's just headed over a cliff.
>> Congressman, the the cost of this war has been profound and and in so many ways. Um, you know, we understand in just the first few days of the war, all of the THAD missile defenses in the region were were taken out except for maybe one. And that's and there's a lot more where that came from. So, there's that. And then there is the human cost which I I I I find just so so stunning for the American public at this point in this war to understand that 100 American troops have been wounded in just the past two weeks. This is in just the past two weeks and and and and we were perhaps only finding out about it because uh reporters have been pushing and trying to get to the to the truth.
So what do you know the full extent of American injuries and do you know the full extent of equipment losses when when I mention facts?
>> We don't. We don't.
>> Um look we don't because the Pentagon has not been transparent about that. You know I I get reports from people who they they know a service member at a base in Jordan or Iraq or somewhere say, "Yeah, we heard there was an attack.
There's 20 or 30 people wounded."
Pentagon doesn't say anything about it.
We we dig into it as the New York Times has and and you and you then find out.
But look, this is again no transparency as you said, no press, no conversation about this. We we have a dictator running this country. We have never had a situation where we've been at war and the president has treated it as his own war where he doesn't have to share information with the American people or with the Congress. I mean this is a frightening situation and yeah they have not been telling us what's been happening in terms of lost equipment terms of the cost of the war and certainly in terms of the service members who have been wounded.
>> Can I just say something that I think is I guess it's painfully obvious but I feel like I have to say it. Congressman, you are the top Democrat on the Armed Services Committee. It would seem to me definitional that if anybody knew the extent of losses of things like the entire missile defense system for the United States bases and countries that we support in the region and American troops being injured that that your source wouldn't be somebody calling who has a friend who serves on a base, but you're telling me it is.
>> Yeah. Well, and not and we're digging.
My my staff is constantly in contact with as many people as we can at the Pentagon. You know, they they are just not being transparent. We have to sort of pull it out of them or find it one place or another. So look, I mean, the lack of transparency certainly is concerning, but the bigger concern, we're in a war that we have no idea how to get out of, and the costs are mounting. The service members deaths are unbelievably tragic. They continue to be at risk. The financial costs, but also just the international economic costs.
You now we've got the Houthi saying they're going to shut down the Babind Strait, um, which is only going to add to these problems. We need to negotiate a settlement and end this conflict.
Congressman, I I I want to tell everyone a little bit more about the US soldier I just mentioned a moment ago. Uh he was killed last week in Jordan, First Lieutenant Tyler James Fen. He was 25 years old. And as I told you, he's his parents only son. He was going to be coming home uh after this deployment to get married. They say he was supposed to come, his parents do, that he was supposed to come back on the day he was killed. And he was two weeks away from finishing his second master's degree. He was getting ready to attend law school.
and his parents shared with us something that he wrote about that desire to go to law school where he wrote, "I have learned that the law is not just an academic exercise. It is a critical tool for operational success and the protection of soldiers. Just as I have strived to equip my formation with the resources to succeed, I want to become the advocate they can rely on to clear any legal obstacles in their path."
Obviously, an incredible young person.
Do you believe his death was preventable?
>> 100%. I mean, the war shouldn't have been started in the first place. And once it was started, Trump not taking ceasefire offers. I mean, look, we we knew that our bases were vulnerable to Iranian missiles and drones. We started this war with no clear plan to defend them.
>> Tonight, the Pentagon admitting nearly 100 troops have been hurt in just the last two weeks of war with Iran. That is on top of the three possibly four service men and women killed over the weekend and new strikes and counter strikes underway tonight. John King here in for Anderson. It is the 10th round of air strikes against Iran since the ceasefire broke down. It comes with mediators today floating a 10-day pause in hostilities, but President Trump had already signals his intentions at lunchtime, saying every time Iran kills an American soldier, they will pay for that killing many times over. And at 4 pm today, SenCom launching new attacks.
US official telling CNN, "Even though ceasefire talks are continuing, the president is focused right now on making Iran pay for violating that memorandum of understanding and this official says for the American troops killed in action.
This is video of a deadly missile strike on a Jordanian air base overnight Friday into Saturday. This morning, the Pentagon identified two soldiers killed in that attack. Private Isabella Gonzalez of Texas was just 19 years old.
She was assigned to an air defense regiment based in Germany. First Lieutenant Tyler James Fen was from Hawaii and served also in missile defense with a unit from Fort Bragg, North Carolina. A third as yet unidentified serviceman was killed in northern Iraq and a fourth is missing still in Jordan. And again, as we mentioned, a Pentagon spokesman says nearly 100 service members have been hurt since July 7th, mostly mild concussions, he said. Separately, a CNN data review shows that the Pentagon has been slow to disclose war injuries, which that same spokesman says is to protect other service members who might be jeopardized, he claims, by releasing such information prematurely. But it is the new fatalities that the president first and foremost is concerned with the most since March when 13 US service members lost their lives.
>> We feel very badly. But you know those great people, those great patriots were out there fighting that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. Iran has been very very badly damaged. They've lost everything almost militarily. They've got very little left.
>> Uh recent events though call into question that very little left part.
Iran stepping up attacks on Kuwait and Jordan with both reporting missile intercepts, more missile intercepts today. And the US official tells us the Pentagon is sending more fighter jets and support aircraft to the region. Not what you'd be doing if Iran truly, as the president said, has very little left. Complicating the picture, the Iranbacked Houthi rebel group in Yemen today declaring a blockade on Saudi shipping which has to go through the Babal Mandev. That's the other maritime choke point in the region as the US bombs Iran for a 10th straight night.
Sources say mediators floated another 10-day ceasefire, but quote, "Right now, President Trump is focused on making Iran pay for violating the last agreement." Today, the president posted, "Every time Iran kills an American soldier, they will pay for that killing many times over." Three American service members were killed over the weekend.
Their deaths marked the first American fatalities from Iranian fire since March. And after being accused of sloww walking the information tonight, the Pentagon says that nearly 100 US troops have been injured in just the past two weeks. Over the weekend, 25-year-old First Lieutenant Tyler James Feehan and 19-year-old Private Isabella Gonzalez were killed in an Iranian missile attack on an air base in Jordan. And the Pentagon says another US service member was killed during a quote controlled detonation of an Iranian drone in northern Iraq.
>> We feel very badly, but you know those great people, those great patriots were out there fighting that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. Iran has been very very badly damaged. They've lost everything almost militarily. They've got very little.
>> Iran apparently has enough left to target US bases in neighboring countries. Enough left that more US fighter jets are being deployed to the region. The president's own comments illustrating the competing claims that even some of his biggest supporters now struggle to make sense of. 17 American lives have been lost and the Pentagon's disclosure that nearly 100 more Americans have been hurt in recent weeks coming after criticism that it did not publicly disclose many of those injuries as they occurred. And that comment from the president that we just played is hardly a one-off. Trump has repeatedly insisted that Iran poses virtually no threat at all.
>> Tonight, Iran's navy is gone. Their air force is in ruins. Their leaders, most of them terrorist regime they led are now dead.
>> We have many ways we could win. But we've already won militarily. They have very little. They have very little left.
We wiped out their navy, their air force, their radar, their leaders. We wiped out everybody. We're blowing everything away and we're going to end that war very quickly. They have no navy left. They have no air force left. They have no anti-aircraft equipment left, no radar left, no leaders left.
>> Lieutenant Fienna and Private Gonzalez died in a missile attack barely a month after the president defended allowing Iran to keep its missile program.
>> They have to have some because other people have some. You got to have some.
Somebody said they you shouldn't give them one. You shouldn't let them have any missile. I said, well, what am I going to do? They're going to let Saudi Arabia have missiles, but they can't have them. Yes, sir. Can't doesn't work that way. You know, it doesn't work that way. And missiles aren't the problem.
Missiles are they hurt a little, but they don't blow up the planet.
>> Iran, in the meantime, is expanding its targets in the region. US positions in seven Middle East countries have been attacked since Thursday night, which again seems to run counter to the president repeatedly saying this.
>> They want to make a deal so badly. They want to make a deal so badly, but we'll see what happens.
>> They want to make a deal so badly. We'll see what happens.
>> They want to make a deal so badly. They want to make a deal so badly. Those contradictions are perhaps why even some of the president's most vocal supporters are starting to say things like this >> tonight. The war with Iran is starting to look like the very quagmire President Trump [music] promised he would never get into. There's no clear exit strategy. There's no easy way to withdraw. And what we're being told and hearing day after day seems to clarify nothing. Just a new attempt to reword I don't know. It'd be like a scene out of Groundhog Day if the stakes weren't so high. Nearly five months of on and off again attacks. A ceasefire in April, an agreement in June. One promised breakthrough after another only for each one to unravel. But this time, the fighting isn't just flaring back up. It is dramatically escalating. The Pentagon is saying tonight nearly 100 US service members have been injured in just the last two weeks. And we haven't been told the full extent of those injuries. We do know that tragically three American service members have been killed since Friday. Two died in Iranian attacks at a military base in Jordan. First Lieutenant Tyler James Vhan was 25. He originally enlisted in Hawaii and was based out of Fort Bragg, North Carolina.
Private Isabella Gonzalez was just 19.
She was from Texas, assigned to an air and missile defense battalion in Germany. The third American died in northern Iraq during the controlled detonation of an Iranian drone. That service member's name has not yet been released.
The US military death toll in this war now 17. And President Trump says Iran will pay many times over for each American soldier they kill.
>> We feel very badly. But you know those great people, those great patriots are out there fighting that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. Iran has been very very badly damaged. They've uh lost everything almost militarily. They've got very little left.
>> Iran is showing it still has enough firepower to kill and injure American troops and enough leverage over the threat of Hermuz to hit the American economy.
Those are the warning signs blaring of a quagmire. The human toll mounts the price tag US tax dollars mind you climbing. The public gets fed up and the end stays out of reach. Just look at the money. One estimate puts the cost at 40 billion and that was a month ago before the new round of fighting. Then there's the public which saw this war as unpopular from the start. Well, now the verdict is overwhelming. Do you know a Washington Post Ipsos poll shows 68% of Americans say the war with Iran is not worth fighting. Now, let's just put that number in historical context, shall we?
It is higher than the worst readings for the Afghanistan Iraq wars. And it took Afghanistan nearly 12 years to reach that level of public opposition. Iraq more than four years. Iran 4 and a half months.
And then there's the most basic sign of a quagmire. No clear end. Tonight is the 10th straight night of American strikes on Iran. Iranian attacks are hitting America's Gulf allies and the administration sending more fighter jets to the region. Which brings us back to the president and the exact kind of openended conflict he spent years promising he would avoid.
>> War and aggression will not be my first instinct.
>> We are ending the era of endless wars.
>> I'm not going to start a war. I'm going to stop wars. We will measure our success not only by the battles we win, but also by the wars that we end. And perhaps most importantly, the wars we never get into. A short time ago, the United States military began major combat operations in Iran. I think you'll see it's going to be a short-term excursion.
>> What makes you so sure this won't become a quagmire?
>> We're not going to be there.
>> You're convinced this won't become a quagmire. It's not a quagmire. I just wiped out the military of a very dangerous country. We're almost finished.
>> He said, "We're almost finished." Six weeks ago. And since then, the ceasefire has collapsed. And three more Americans have lost their lives. That's not almost finished. That's a conflict getting worse with no clear way out. Textbook definition of a quagmire.
>> World lead. The intensifying war with Iran. Sitcom announcing just moments ago that a new round of US strikes on Iran is underway. We've also learned the US is sending additional fighter jets to the Middle East as President Trump vows [music] revenge following the death of three US service members over the weekend. He posted on Truth Social this afternoon, quote, "Every time Iran kills an American soldier, they will pay for that killing many times over. Now we are learning more about the fallen, the first US casualties since March.
19-year-old Private [music] Isabella Gonzalez and 25-year-old First Lieutenant Tyler James Fen were killed in an [music] Iranian missile attack on an air base in Jordan. Another death was just announced yesterday. The Pentagon says a US service member was killed during [music] a quote controlled detonation of an Iranian drone in northern Iraq. The White House [music] says the president plans to attend the killed US service member's dignified transfer ceremony when the remains are brought back to the United States.
Meanwhile, the war also [music] seems to be intensifying at sea. Last night, two ships were attacked in the Persian Gulf, close to the already choked straight of Hormuz. That is according to British shipping monitor. Back here in the US, the uncertainty and disrupted shipping channels are spiking gas prices once again, now averaging $4 dollar a gallon.
Still, some diplomacy continues. Sources tell CNN mediators between the US and Iran have floated the idea of a 10-day ceasefire to maybe get to more significant negotiations. Sources add this short ceasefire could include lifting restrictions on the street of Hormuz. There's a lot going on. Joining us now to talk about all of it, Congressman, Republican Congressman from Florida, Carlos Jimenez. He's on the Armed Services Committee. Sir, really appreciate your time. Just to start with, do you believe right now that the kind of path that this conflict is on is one that will work out the way the president wants it to?
>> I think that the path that the uh that we're on has there's only one one end to this path is that uh which was the original intent was to make sure that Iran never has a nuclear weapon and uh if we get anything less than that then it has not been a successful endeavor.
And so I would anticipate it that at the end whenever that end happens that Iran will not be able to obtain a nuclear weapon because that's what we're we're fighting for right now because we know that if Iran gets a nuclear weapon uh they will continue to terrorize their neighbors and continue to sponsor terrorism around the world and and actually have a bigger strangle hold on the streets of Hormuz and so that's something that just can't happen. What is your threshold for uh ensuring Iran cannot obtain a nuclear weapon? Does the material nuclear material have to be removed from the country? I think there's some uh ambiguity right now about what that would actually mean in practice. What is yours? Mine is that yes, you remove the nuclear material and that there is a a rigorous inspection routine that uh an enforcable uh inspection that we can go wherever we want, whenever we want, how we want to wherever it is in Iran that we think that they're doing something bad, which we know that they're going to try to do something, you know, all the time because that's who they are. But, uh, as long as we have those rights, that's that's a possibility. And so those are the things that the the least that I want to see is an enforcable very rigorous inspection uh routine to make sure that Iran is not doing what it's not be supposed to be doing.
>> Do you think the agreement on the memorandum of understanding which now seems to kind of be a little bit in tatters given this back and forth? Was was that a mistake to sign off on that?
>> Absolutely. Uh I think any any uh any agreement that right now gives you a ceasefire is a mistake. We can we can sit down. We can negotiate all you want, but uh we're still going to have a blockade. We're still going to be deter, you know, uh trying to dismantle your military capability, your ability to create these weapons and degrade you as much as possible while we're talking.
Anything now, you know, anything that says, "Oh, we want a 10-day ceasefire."
I think I've been there before. I've read that book. I've seen that movie.
And uh and you know what? You just can't trust the Iranians. All they want to do is stall, stall, stall. This has to stop. There is no more stalling. you come to the table, you're serious, but while you're still talking to us, we're going to do what we're going to do, and we're going to put a chokeold on you economically through the blockade, and we're going to continue to pound you militarily. And by the way, we may take some of your assets, maybe car island, maybe something else that's of value to them so that at the end when we, you know, when they come to the table, they're actually serious because we have something that they covet. Uh, and uh and that's what we need to do. And so, yeah, I'm a little bit more more uh aggressive with the Iranians, but look, I I've seen this for 47 years. We know who they are. They we know what they do.
I'm frankly surprised that the president actually gave them a 60-day u you know, ceasefire. Uh you know, how many times are they going to do this until we stop saying, "Okay, enough enough. We we've got to do what we got to do and then come to the table." If you want to come to the table, fine. But we're going to continue to do what we're going to do.
Are you surprised by the capabilities, particularly on the targeting side of things that the Iranians have been able to demonstrate over the course of these last several days of attacks that have led to the deaths of US uh service members? Am >> I surprised by it? No. I think, you know, they they have uh they're gaining capabilities. They have allies in Russia and certainly China that I'm sure is helping them with some of these targeting capabilities. We have to destroy the way, you know, the mechanism that they have for producing these weapons. uh and we have to, you know, pro do real really really impose some sanctions on those that are giving them technology that may be helping them to target our our military personnel. And so, you know, I would expect that our intelligence sources will tell us exactly how they're getting this technology, how they got this technology, and then those that gave them the technology should suffer the consequences of of US sanctions. And so, you know, this is look, this is an all of the above uh kind of approach to this this problem. Uh you should we should be helping any of the insurgents inside of inside of Iran that want to see regime change. And then at the same time, military pressure, economic pressure, and then maybe maybe what what'll bring them to the table is finally if we take some of their territory and say, "Well, that's no longer Iran." Maybe that'll bring them to the table. But you just continue to ramp up the pressure until they come to the table and continue that pressure until we get an agreement.
>> The New York Times reports Iran carried out three other strikes against US forces in Jordan in recent days, injuring dozens of service members, damaging several helicopters, but the quote, "Pentagon did not disclose the earlier strikes, nor the casualties and damage they inflicted." Uh, the Pentagon spokesperson insists the department is not hiding the numbers, but the Pentagon hasn't held a briefing in two and a half months. Secretary of Defense Pete Hagth has not explained the military strategy behind the current renewed strikes. Do you feel like the American people have enough information at this point?
>> I look I think that the American people do have enough information. And I
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