nick paton walsh, bringing that live report from beirut. many thanks. >>> we have this reaction just in from the iranian foreign minister. he spoke with reporters in tehran, just moments ago. >>. >> translator: we did not start this escalation. the united states has to come to its senses. the presence of iranian people in the streets of many cities, unprecedented in the history. a sea of humanity. has to bring the united states to its senses. if it wants to deal with this people, it has to deal with this people based on respect. not based on threat and not based on sanctions. europe can play a useful role by informing the united states of the serious error in their analysis, they should stop listening to clowns. they should base their policy based on realities and not some illusions of some clowns that have ambitions. >> iran's foreign minister speaking with reporters moments ago. >>> still to come, after a hottest december on record, australia's deadly wildfires, showing no signs of slowing down. and the death toll is inching high per p li

let's bring in nick paton walsh. he seems to have taken on mythical status by his supporters and enemies. >> reporter: hard for any man to match the myth that's began to surround soleimani, the leader of the quds force. essentially, the part of the revolutionary guard, that elite part of iran's military. it was responsible for foreign operations. he, in one side of the coin, was on the battlefield of the front line, as iranian-backed militia fought isis in iraq. that's where his interests i lined with u.s. foreign policy. the rest of the time, he was behind attacks of u.s. assets and allies in the region over a protracted period of time. and quite public in his opposition. a man who lived in the shadows but was one of the most recognizable figures in the iranian government, a government that will be reeling from this assassination, something they never thought was likely to be able to happen because the trump administration would lack the will to prosecute it through. a target of the opportunity, that the president h

>> nick paton walsh for us in beirut. thanks, nick. >>> back in washington, top democrats are blasting the trump administration for keeping them in the dark about this attack. usually leaders on both sides of the aisle are briefed over this highly sensitive matter overtime. here, certainly in the states, democrats are still waiting. >> the pentagon says the secretary of state of defense, mark esper, is, quote, committed to providing congress a detailed all-member briefing next week. it's unclear if republican leaders got a warning. but at least some republicans were in the loop. >> i was briefed about the potential operation when i was down in florida. i appreciate being brought into the orbit. i really appreciate president trump letting the world know you can't kill an american without impunity. we will stand up for our people. in a is an essential message. >> some democrats are now questioning how imminent that threat was from soleimani. >> i don't believe there was an imminent attack based on what i was briefed on to d

nick paton walsh, what's the perspective there? >> reporter: certainly, if you listen to some officials they suggest that soleimani has met by top head bowl hezbollah offi hezbollah has denied things like that. but you have to look at precisely what the associations with the u.s. officials are, that qassim soleimani was prepare something kind of imminent attack. now, they haven't given great detail. they haven't suggested how far the attacks are. they have said they focused on iraq and facilities. syria facilities, iran both in lebanon, really just diplomatic facilities, and really only one embassy here in beirut. that gives you some indication about what they may have been concerned about. what else potentially could iran do in retaliation. well, a western intelligence official said to me, we should be looking past increased funding towards iran's proxies. that might disperse the threat across the region and made it harder for the u.s. and adversaries to quell the in effect. and also cyberthreats, both on the state and nonstate le

we're joined by cnn security editor, nick paton walsh in london. soleimani had been in the crosshairs more than once. opportunities were not taken. you're being told, this was a target of opportunity. >> based on a presidential directive. allowing this to occur. that high-level strike could never be put in effect without the white house commander granting it. this was a target of opportunity. i'm told by the same u.s. official, it was preemptive in nature, that iran maximum pressure, sanctions, everything else they could do nonmilitarily to pressure the government, to changing its tact to go back to negotiating table for a deal that donald trump wanted to include, not only its nuclear program, but ballistic missiles, everything that iran was doing that wasn't working. the extraordinary move was undertaken. there's no mistake. if the iranians killed an american official, america would consider that to be an act of war. we heard from the supreme leader of iran, there will be a harsh revenge for the criminals. three days of mourning have been declared

good to have you, nick paton walsh in london and we'll take a short break. we'll have much more, though, on our breaking news story. a significant moment. we'll be live in the iranian capital tehran when we cop back. ♪ back. m back. back. ♪ everything your trip needs, for everyone you love. expedia. for everyone you love. (shaq) (chime) magenta? i hate cartridges! not magenta! not magenta. i'm not going back to the store. magenta! cartridges are so... (buzzer) (vo) the epson ecotank. no more cartridges. it comes with an incredible amount of ink that can save you a lot of frustration. ♪ the epson ecotank. just fill and chill. available at... it's a thirteen-hour flight, tfifteen minutes until we board. oh yeah, we gotta take off. you downloaded the td ameritrade mobile app so you can quickly check the markets? yeah, actually i'm taking one last look at my dashboard before we board. excellent. and you have thinkorswim mobile- -so i can finish analyzing the risk on this position. you two are all set. have a great flight. thanks. we'll see ya. ah, they're

nick paton walsh is in beirut following why the u.s. killed soleimani, and what, quote, imminent attack was being planned. >> nic robertson is in riyadh with the diplomatic fallout. boris sanchez is at the mar-a-lago resort in florida where the u.s. president just landed a few hours ago. i want to start with jomana, though, in the iraqi capital. jomana, describe the mood there if you will. >> reporter: it's a very tense mood as you can imagine, becky. people here are absolutely terrified of what happens next. where is all of this headed? you know, there are some who are obviously happy to see the end of qasem soleimani, who they blame for a lot of the bloodshed, especially during the height of the sectarian war here in iraq. but at the same time, he does have a lot of support, especially amongst those iranian-backed shia militias that he commanded during the fight against isis especially, you know, on the front lines of that battle. and, you know, so many people are angry here, becky. they feel that this has been real violation of iraqi

nick paton walsh in beirut. thanks for the analysis. >>> much more ahead on the strikes by iran targeting u.s. troops. plus, just moments after the strikes, a ukrainian boeing jet airliner goes down in tehran. richard quest has what we know next. uhh, excuse me, is there a problem here? you're in a no parking zone. oh, i... i didn't know. you didn't see the sign? that... that wasn't there when i was here earlier. (whimper) really? you know, in italy, they let you park anywhere. have a good day, sir. with geico, the savings keep on going. just like this sequel. 15 minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance. (glass shattering) (frustrated yell) (car horn blast) (yelp) hey. ♪hey. you must be steven's phone. now you can take control of your home wifi and get a notification the instant someone new joins your network... only with xfinity xfi. download the xfi app today. i don't use some waxy cover up. i use herpecín l, it penetrates deep to treat. it soothes moisturizes and creates a spf 30 barrier to prot

. >> cnn editor nic robertson joins us in riyadh, security editor nick paton walsh live in beruit. a leader will muy meet with u.s. officials day. y -- today. you have learned what we might expect from that? >> reporter: i spoke to the brother of the crown prince, brother of the king, effectively the third most powerful man in the country. his title is deputy defense minister. don't let that fool you. what i'm told is he's in washington today to meet with secretary of state mike pompeo on a mission for the crown prince, but it's a very simple message he's bringing. it's a message of restraint. the saudis want to find a way to deescalate the situation. that's what he wants to talk to mike pompeo about. i'm told part of the way that he'll convey this message is to say that, look, we live in the region. we've seen this sort of chaos before. we don't want it. we've been a target. saudis will say we've been a target of attacks from iran before and we consider we might be a target again. we don't want that. this is something we want to avoid. that's going to be part of the message. i was

let's bring in jomana karadsheh in baghdad, nick paton walsh. the reports of these air strikes in baghdad after the one that killed soleimani, what do we know about those? >> reporter: well, victor, we have not been able to verify these reports of a new air strike ourselves, but what we do have -- and that's very little information coming from the popular mobilization units. that's the umbrella group that is predominantly made up of these iranian-backed shia militias. in a statement in the early hours on saturday just a few hours ago, they released a statement saying that one of their convoys was targeted by an air strike in the taji to the north of baghdad. they say that none of their leaders were in that convoy, that it was a medical unit that was hit. they say that there were several casualties. at this point there's no indication, no confirmation that this was a u.s. air strike. but i can tell you, victor, people here are on edge. the situation is very tense, and they're just anticipating further escalation. >> hopefully we'll get something

nick paton walsh in beirut. good to have you on the ground there. becky? >>> soleimani's death will have repurr cushi repercussions throughout the region. nic robertson and rahim mosahim is in the iranian capital. soleimani's body will be transferred on sunday. as we consider the images of funeral processions for him and those killed with him, in iraq, this saturday, what is the mood in tehran? >> the mood is portrayed like this, that -- it's wrapping up the whole city, including tehran. so, mourning ceremony after mourning ceremony is held in downtown, in the middle of the town, in developed areas, and also -- revolutionaries the rocks of society, are showing a tribute to him as a celebrity, as a national hero. iran is preparing for a glorious, as they call it, ceremony of funeral. and now, the commemoration in tehran and other big cities of iran. >> as we understand it, from state media, funeral services to be held for soleimani on monday and in his hometown on tuesday. nic, when and where iran might exact revenge for the killing of iran's most powerful

nick paton walsh for us there. thank you, nick. >> the u.s. air strike in baghdad had an immediate impact on world oil prices. >> crude is always jittery, but the price shot up 3% as soon as news of the air strike came out. we see the brent crude 0.35% up. the wti crude up just under 3%. we'll keep following that. >>> more now on our breaking news. how the u.s. strikes in baghdad could affect americans in the region. will there be a tit for tat reaction from iran? we talk with a security analyst about that next. ♪ work so hard ♪ give it everything you got ♪ strength of a lioness ♪ tough as a knot ♪ rocking the stage ♪ and we never gonna stop ♪ all strength, no sweat. ♪ just in case you forgot ♪ all strength. ♪ no sweat secret. all strength. no sweat. i must admit. i had a few good tricks to help hide my bladder leak pad. like the old "tunic tug". you know it, right? but i don't have to, with always discreet. i couldn't believe the difference. it's less bulky. and it really protects. watch this. the super absorbent core turn

nick paton walsh joins us to continue the analysis. is this a show of iranian strength, or in some ways a display of some weakness in terms of what they could have done but did not? >> it's hard to know whether iran calculated this would go off quite so ineffectively, or whether it's simply a show that their technology isn't as good as they may have hoped. we'll never know the inner workings of their thinking. but multiple reports suggested that the supreme leader wanted a military response, wanted something open in the response. it was he who thought it would be the military rather than proxies in the region. this is a direct attack, absolutely. you have to probably assess whether or not they knew how the attack would go. some of the missiles fell short, it's not always 10 success rate. the time of night they chose, military bases, in a conflict area like this, the troops are protected by concrete walls, they have bunkers very close nearby in the event that the early warning systems kicked in. a small chance, frankly, for missiles to

our coverage around the world begins with international security editor nick paton walsh. what is iran's next move, vowing harsh revenge? >> reporter: obviously, in a direct military confrontation with the united states, the iranians know they would be on the losing side. that's the less likely situation here. and the assets in the middle east, able to defend themselves mostly and will be on a high state of alert because this just happened. we understand it was a target of opportunity. one official tells me, for a number of days, it's been clear that the president authorized an attack like this. so, we can be looking at further asymmetrical attacks, that's the phrase being used when proxies may attack u.s. embassies or assets in the region. perhaps attack allies. saudi arabia and israel will be on a high state of alert. they've seen attacks from iranian proxies in the past. they have attacked to the north, as well. iran has to feel like it has done something. it has lost its most storied military commander that it's had. the man behind so much of its military adventurism i

nick paton walsh in beirut. thank you very much, all your knowledge in the region. >>> coming up next, we'll take a closer look at how the iranian people see how they view this back and forth with the u.s. and of course all of this going on as the mystery deepens over that deadly crash of a ukrainian jet in iran. and now u.s. intelligence agencies are investigating. i've always focused on my career, but when we found out our son had autism, his future became my focus. lavender baths always calmed him. so we turned bath time into a business... ♪ ...and building it with my son has been my dream job. ♪ at northwestern mutual, our version of financial planning helps you live your dreams today. find a northwestern mutual advisor at nm dot com. and mine super soft? helps you live your dreams today. yes! with the sleep number 360 smart bed, on sale now, you can both adjust your comfort with your sleep number setting. can it help keep me asleep? absolutely, it intelligently senses your movements and automatically ad

cnn's nick paton walsh is in beirut, lebanon for us. what more are you seeing and hearing about the risks? >> reporter: it is unclear at the moment exactly how iran will exercise its desire for harsh revenge. this retaliation. now, some are suggesting perhaps the imminent threat that u.s. officials claimed was the response -- was the reason why qasem soleimani was killed, the plot that he was in the midst of implementing. they may still be carried out. they refer to threats against military and diplomatic facilities in iraq, syria, but also here in lebanon, which points really to the u.s. embassy in beirut here. they could possibly be under threat to some degree and u.s. officials and trump administration have suggested that qasem soleimani met key officials in hezbollah, the lebanese militant political group, in the days before his death. hezbollah, though, has been a little more calm in its response, issuing messages of codo lens and mourning and saying the victories of the axis of resistance, that's their term for the general groups

i want to bring in nick paton walsh. the iranian foreign minister just responded to donald trump's threats with the following. he says, quite frankly, that targeting cultural sites is a war crime. what do you make of this latest ratcheting up between the u.s. and iran? >> look, when you see donald trump tweet the fact that there are 52 targets under the u.s. crosshairs representing the 52 americans held during the embassy siege in tehran all those decades ago and then he throws in the possibility that $2 trillion worth of hardware could be used and iranian cultural sites may be hit. well, it's possible that donald trump misspoke there. he is not genuinely focusing on ir iran's long-held heritage. and be correct to point out that would be a violation of international law. another thing that the foreign minister point out that this consistent theme that iran keeps bringing up at a high level. this is the end of the u.s. strategic presence in the region. of course, that's an incredibly loaded statement and would require ten

cnn international security editor nick paton walsh is in beirut, our jeremy diamond is live in west palm beach, near the president's mar-a-lago resort. jeremy, i want to start with you. what is the significance of the trump administration now sending this formal notification to congress almost 48 hours after the strike? >> yes, well, alex, this is a pro forma process. the administration is required under the law to notify congress formally of any kind of military action and any introduction of u.s. forces into a military theater that could potentially lead to war. that is according to the war powers act. so we are coming right up against that 48-hour deadline. and so the administration, we're now learning from a senior administration official, that that notification is expected to take place today. it is something that will likely lay out the administration's legal justification for carrying out this strike. alex, as you know, this already set off quite a debate in congress that is beginning to bubble back up to the surface about the war power of the president of the united states and wh

joining us now is clarissa ward, cnn chief international correspondent and nick paton walsh cnn security editor. good to have both of you with all of why you are vast experience in that region. nick, you have written a piece in which you say the fact that iran didn't respond immediately, they seem to be biding their time tells us something. what does it tell us? >> reporter: well, i think many people perhaps particularly in the white house with the 24 hour cable news diet may have been expecting some sort of immediate response that was loud and flir yeed in the days ahead. we are getting a clearer message from iran and the region that they are looking to push the u.s. out of the region as much as they can as the predominant focus of their response and that is a multi-month long frankly an impossible task given there are tens of thousands of u.s. troops here, but the slow nature of that is something i think perhaps that javad zarif is beginning to realize in the interview with fred there where he talks about is america safer, seems to appeal to the american electorate. the leader of leban

paton walsh is in beirut. and nick, the daughter of qassem soleimani issued this direct warning to president trump, quoting her, she says the assassination doesn't mean everything is finish. what could retaliation look like? >> reporter: i think much of the world is supporting a volatile moment in the immediate days after the killing, but we're still seeing mourning now here and interestingly i was a thet rally sunday where a key ally in fact said that they weren't really focusing on attacking israel, a normal u.s. ally, they shouldn't be thinking about reprisals, he talked of a longer game, pushing the troops out of the region entirely, sending the american troops home in coffins echos what soleimani's daughter said and what the foreign minister hinted at too that the end of the u.s. presence in this area had begun. and that may possibly be the longer strategy here from the iranians. one that actually plays to something that voluntarily donald trump will be very happy with. he has long campaigned withdrawing

nick robertson for you. cnn's nick paton walsh live from beirut. nick, in effort to provide some perspective for all of this, it is important that we explore the intelligence that -- that has been released or at least talked about as to what this imminent attack might have been on u.s. assets donald trump and his close advisors say was the reason for this attack at baghdad airport on friday. any further information at this point? >> any certain amount in terms of what they're willing to divulge. that will, of course, bel t the increasing problem for the u.s. moving forward. they have committed one of the most far-reaching acts possibly in the middle east over the past ten years or so. and they said they've done it based on intelligence. they're not willing, for reasons they say, to do it how it was gathered. and their sources and methods to fully share. what they will say is that they were concerned about imminent threats directed by qasem soleimani himself in iraq, syria, and lebanon against military and diplomatic personnel. now, there are milita

. >> nick paton walsh, thank you so much. >> there's another round of sweltering heat headed to australia. crews are battling deadly bushfires and they're about though to get some help from the u.s. what are you doing back there, junior? since we're obviously lost, i'm rescheduling my xfinity customer service appointment. ah, relax. i got this. which gps are you using anyway? a little something called instinct. been using it for years. yeah, that's what i'm afraid of. he knows exactly where we're going. my whole body is a compass. oh boy... the my account app makes today's xfinity customer service simple, easy, awesome. not my thing. >>> there's another round of extreme heat that's expected to move across australia this week and i want you to take a look at some of the pictures we are a getting in. look at the clouds. this is called a fire induced thunderstorm. >> now the intense heat is sparking lightning, which could set off even more fires. cnn's allison chinchar is watching the latest heat patterns. so the witness were supposed to be a little bit better to help the firefighters so whi

nick paton walsh live in beirut for us. nick? >> reporter: laura, interesting to hear what jomana was saying about iraqis having warnings from iranians. an hour before the missiles had been launched. you have to image dwlan somehow u.s. forces -- imagine that somehow u.s. forces would have learned of the warning. there are iraqi troops on the same bases that were struck. look at the broader picture here. iran is firing ballistic missiles at two key american targets shared with the iraqi military, as well. already on high alert, in the dead of night when many troops are not running around the base as easy targets. bases have that early warning systems already. and then iran also hands on to the iraqi authorities a warning that this attack is coming. presumably sparking various searings of lockdowns and -- series of lockdowns at the bases. this sounds increasingly like tehran was doing what it could to minimize the possibility of american deaths. to make sure the world woke up and saw these images of missiles being fired, saw a fie

paton walsh. and nick, specifically on iraq, can you just fact check for me the president's claims that the iraqis want the u.s. to stay? >> reporter: he was clear if they left a lot of iraqis wouldn't be happy about that. of course, there are some iraqis who do not want the iranian presence to be sustained. i think there's been a bit of a swell of anger for the u.s. violation of iraqi sovereignty. another important fact check, too, he said was that the trump administration defeated isis and the policy against isis was a mess before the trump administration got there. look, we've all covered that fight for a long time. the trump administration continued the strategy set in place by the obama administration. those are not themselves true. one interesting thing i may have misheard, he wasn't entirely clear, the president there, he suggests that tomorrow there will be more about this intelligence about the imminent threat being discussed with mike pompeo, secretary of state, and the joint chiefs. not

nick paton walsh is live with more. >> reporter: an extraordinary tale here involving two billionaires with a bitter feud between them surrounding the death of saudi activist jamal khashoggi. they meet at a dinner party in los angeles, exchange phone numbers, and an account that seems to be linked to the saudi crown prince sends a video file to jeff bezos. he receives it, he opens it. nothing seems to happen at that point. but later he is of course it seems victims to several things occurring with his private information on his phone. he hired security experts who look into his account, see there's been a huge amount of information leaving his phone. and it dates back to just when this video file seems to have been opened. oos thing that roused their suspicion, in november of 2018 just after the death of jamal khashoggi and the consulate in istanbul, he gets a message seemingly from mohammed bin salman which shows a picture of the woman he's alleged to be having an affair with with the phrase, agreement -- sorry. software license agreement or something like arguing with women. you have

. >> nick paton walsh is in beirut. let's begin with jomana. what more are you learning about the missile strikes on those two iraqi bases and what's iraq saying about it? >> well, rosemary, in the last few minutes we've just received a statement from the iraqi military command this. is the first official statement since those strikes. though say at 1:45 a.m. and between 1:45 and 2:15 a.m. they say iraq came under missile attack. interesting use of wording saying iraq came under attack and say it was a total of 22 missiles targeting coalition bases and say 17 missiles hit an assad air base in the western al anbar province and two of tse did not explode. they say five other missiles landed in irbil in the kurdish region of iraq. we had heard earlier from kurdish sources saying that it was two missiles, one hit irbil international -- within irbil international airport and did not explode and one was to the west of the city. according to the iraqi military, they say that all the missiles struck coalition bases and there are no iraqi casualties so