this the planning stages? do you need more than a few hours if you are planning to respond? >> it depends. i'm not an expert on iran's capabilities i would lean into they have significantly expended i great deal of resources with that first wave of attacks against israel with the 350 plus missiles and suicide drone attacks we've been talking about this for a couple of days now so iran is going to move some pieces into play. to understand the iranians, they think they are thoughtful and they are strategic think that they are going to continue to try and put something together as far as their response. >> it is now three seconds until the top of the hour. it is now 11:00 o'clock on the east coast, 8:00 here in los angeles. this is a special breaking news

coverage edition of fox news at night the reporting you see, the map on your screen there, the reporting has been fox news has not confirmed these strengths but the reporting has been there have been explosions in syria. explosions or explosions heard in iraq and explosions in southern iran, about 200 miles south of tehran p. or can a place... in this area there are nuclear facilities. we do not know if those nuclear facilities were targeted up your act they just happened to be in the vicinity and so right now we are waiting for clarification from the israeli government and clarification from iran. we know that there were... but we do not know the specifics of what happened, of how many strikes there where p. or we don't know if these came from the air, if they came from drones, we don't know where these strikes came from but we

do believe that they came from israel. nobody has knocked down any of that reporting as of yet we should point out that they are now reporting an israeli strike within iran says the u.s. was not involved and there was prenotification to the united states from the israelis which is important here because if you consider this that the u.s. at least was notified. we've got aaron cohen with us and a rabbi. we've got several military experts. the whole concept here is that now we know for the first time that at least the united states was notified as of late today, they were reporting that the united states and israel were negotiating israel going into rafah which is in southern gaza and if they were going into rafah the united states was willing to that mission as long as they did not retaliate against iran.

now the united states has been put on notice that this did happen and of the question becomes what is the united states do now? apparently they are going to stand by their ally at least in the early hours. >> to what the rabbi said, i think that the u.s. is tightening up their game with israel because it has to. i believe that like you said there was a conversation that would've happened regarding rafah and holding israel back... you need to hold restraint and not go after iran. -- i'm going to come back to this. israel doesn't have the luxury to not preemptively carry out selective operations like we may have seen here for the survival of this nation going all the way back to what the rabbi said which was 67. they have historically been attacked every decade.

if israel has gone actionable intelligence, they will move. specifically when it comes to iran because of the potential for nuclear capability. 2020, israel took out that nuclear scientist who was a member of the ir gc, track to that guy since 2007 with a very robust operation. why would israel put the resources and to taking out one individual? because of that nuclear potential. it's a big deal with israel and it could end israel within a minute. it's a big deal. they are making moves right now it's because they have to. >> you've got israel which is 7 million jews surrounded by 200 million arabs and muslims. people say that the israelis are the oppressors and yet they are surrounded by 200 million people. i want to go back if we can to the ground in tel aviv. what are you learning? it's about 15 or 20 minutes since we last talked to you.

have you learned anything or are you hearing anything? we now know that there is daylight behind you. >> as the sun comes up here in israel we continue to gather more information about what took plays overnight across the middle east. iranian state media starting to provide some confirmation about the activity in their country overnight. indicating that there were indeed explosions in this province that sits just south of the iranian capital. they claim that air defence was active over iranian territory. what is significant here is that the iranians are indicating something took place. the israelis have not yet commented on the explosions overnight. we don't know if these were indeed missiles or some sort of drone strikes that took place, specifically south of tehran. it's also interesting here the

iranians are saying they have closed their main international airport in tehran to civilian traffic and again we were tracking those flights that made a u-turn's overnight as the story was developing. it is important to step back here and look at the situation on the ground. this is an indication that the israelis were responding to this massive drone initial -- missile attack launched by the iranians over the weekend, but also that they were coordinating with the americans to ensure that this was a limited response as to not escalate the region toward a broader conflict. israeli officials throughout the week had explained there was no other option than to respond to the hundreds of missiles and drones that were launched from iran toward israel last weekend. they said the response would be immediate in the coming days. reports indicated it might not take place until after passover. something we should note in terms of israeli responses, they

often come in stages and in phases. this could be the initial phase, showing the iranians that the israelis do have the ability and the will to target facilities and targets within iranian territory. we have no confirmation on the target that was reportedly hit or targeted in these explosions that took plays overnight. but if the israelis were conducting such an operation, they are likely not to project exactly what took place. what we can confirm is that conversations were taking place over the past several days between the americans and the israelis about what such a response might look like and how it would be limited in scope. the iranians have an opportunity here to claim victory though. this is significant the israelis and the americans as they are related to all of this in terms of the planning with the israelis are giving the iranians and exit ramp.

they will claim this morning and right now they are claiming there were explosions near an army base in the province where we've been reporting all night about these explosions taking place. in the iranians claim that air defence systems were active over the province and that they were successful. this is iranian state media so we can't independently confirm the success of the air defence. they said they were successful in shooting down any sort of projectiles that were over iranian airspace iran's main airport into ron remains closed at this hour to civilian flights of the israelis have not yet commented on the situation but we do know israeli forces across this country are on high alert, concerned about the possibility of any sort of iranian retaliation. the question here is what exactly was targeted in this response, likely by the israelis israel wants to send a message to iran that they have the

ability to target their nuclear facilities if needed. >> it's interesting because we are showing brand-new video. these are explosions apparently over the city. this was just sent in on the right-hand side of your screen. if we could take this foldout would be great because we haven't seen this yet. these are explosions and while we are watching this trait i want to ask you and follow up with jennifer griffin and moments. the crossing wires right now is that nuclear sights in iran's province remain unharmed. around state television said on friday its air defence systems were activated in the city against suspected drones which as you were saying moments ago, it is going to be turned from iran as a victory as they knocked down our drones coming np or queen knockdown there's there was no damage to our nuclear site. as we watch these explosions happening in southern iran, it

appears that you can see both sides kind of claiming victory here. >> absolutely. the israeli campaign against iran's nuclear program is ongoing and will continue to be ongoing regardless of what took plays overnight. the iranians are enriching uranium closer and closer to weapons grade material. just last year the un's nuclear watchdog was able to confirm that there were enriched particles close to 90 percent. that his weapons grade material. not yet reaching 90 percent pure also you have watchdogs indicating that the breakout period for iran is down to just a matter of days to create a nuclear weapon. last weekend you had the iranians firing ballistic missiles at israel. the same missiles that will be used to launch a nuclear warhead

that drew concern from the israelis. something that they expressed in background briefings over the past week. remember the israelis are also patient the iranians have described themselves as operating through stood -- strategic patient spirit they have going after the program for years. back in 2020 they killed a covert operation... he was a man who was conducting research to get around closer to a nuclear weapon. so israel may have conducted this attack overnight to send a message to iran that any sort of attack on israeli territory like we saw last weekend with drones on missiles would not go unanswered and that they have the capability to target iranian nuclear facilities if they so desire. at this moment israeli forces do have to remain on high alert but it appears at least according to iranian state media that there is an exit ramp here for the erb audience to say that this

counterattack was not so successful and maybe give the region a possibility to de-escalate as tensions continue to soar. >> we will get back to you as the war warrants over the explosions, let's bring in the chief national security correspondent jennifer griffin just to go over this, iranian state television now reporting that nuclear facilities near the city what you have probably read, fully safe after air defence batteries fired in the area. maybe there's an offramp. maybe you have israel and iran both saying we knocked each other's drones out of the sky, maybe we call a draw and move on or is that somewhat hopeful. >> i think what you are seeing occur right now is based on sources that i've spoken to who confirmed that israel did strike inside iran but this was unlimited strike as we've been reporting. a limited strike suggesting that

it is not designed to escalate tensions with iran p. or can now what does that mean? at this point in time we cannot confirm that israel was targeting iran's nuclear facilities. certainly symbolically by striking inside the province where some of those key nuclear facilities are again, we don't know what the targets of the strikes where p. or the u.s. government source has confirmed to my colleague that there was an israeli missile strike that occurred within iran tonight's. it was not a manned aircraft that was involved. and jackie is reporting that the u.s. was not involved in this strike and there was free notification to the u.s. from the israelis. the white house national security council and the pentagon are declining to comment on what is occurring in the middle east tonight. that is for a very good reason trace. of the u.s. not want this to expand. they do not want to be involved.

the u.s. stands ready to defend israel but the hope based on the reporting that i've done so far is that this is a limited strike it is designed to send a message to iran that you cannot strike within -- israeli territory and not expect a response now the question, we've reported that the iranian national security council is meeting, how will iran respond? the foreign minister who landed in new york earlier this evening, he said that if israel embarks on further adventurous attacks, iran's response will be immediate and maximum level. decisive, definitive and regretful to them. the ir gc has warned that it would attack israel's nuclear sites if israel responds to saturday nights attacks by striking iran's nuclear sites. we have no confirmation that israel has struck iran's nuclear sites p. or it is a very difficult operation.

those who say that if anyone can take out iran's nuclear program in a series of missile strikes, that is just not accurate. you can't do that. these are deeply buried underground in most cases. it is a very complex program. israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu had said and telegraphed that his country would respond p. or can we are seeing that response as we speak tonight with those explosions that occurred inside isfahan. karen has said also that it may now pursue a nuclear weapon if the country -- if israel strikes at the nuclear facilities. the question now for iran's leaders, will of the -- will they take a decision that iran will cross that threshold. it has enriched uranium as we reported to 60 percent. that is not the 90 percent weapons grade that it needs. it has enough material, it has not taken up final decision to

put together a nuclear weapon peer kit can do so. it only takes a matter of days or weeks for them to cross that threshold. what will the impact of tonight's strikes be on iranians supreme leader. will it elicit a different kind of response from the world and the united states. i think we have to really be clear what this is. the hope from u.s. military officials that i've been speaking about since -- speaking to since saturday night is that this is not the beginning of award. the u.s. has been working, u.s. central command has been working very hard since october 7th and since iran's proxies have been firing on hundreds of times at u.s. military installations and now in the red sea with the houthi's to keep this from spreading. the question now is how will around respond? this was a limited strike by

israel. it did not involve manned aircraft. the iranians there's going to be a lot of propaganda being put out tonight about iran's wanted missile defence systems. i can tell you based on my reporting over the last few years, iran does not have sophisticated missile defence systems. they do not have was -- what israel has and what we saw israel employee on saturday night. they have limited russian-made missile defence. they are good for certain sites but they are not the arrow or the ages or any of the missile defence that israel has. >> just from a layman's perspective here because it seems like such a tight rope walk. you've got a limited response from israel as you say and the hope being that iran decides to claim victory, to say that it's defences are also robust and

that there is no harm no foul. it really is very risky to do that because as you said you have the foreign minister of iran saying in any capacity if israel comes after us, we are going to robustly go back after them. >> again we are dealing with what is the rhetoric. there is going to be heated rhetoric from the iranian side i think that the iranian foreign minister is in new york planning to go to the un security council. i think iran will try to make have this. i think that iran is going to try and when public opinion with painting israeli -- the has railings as the aggressors. the question is what will iran's actions be and what we saw last saturday night, iran only has between 10200 ballistic missile launchers. they are difficult to take out.

it would take a number of warplanes and other missiles and drones to take out those mobile missile launchers. it's not as easy as it sounds. they only have what we saw them shoot on saturday night. israel's defences along with the u.s. defences pretty much took care of those missiles and drones that were fired the question is iran is seeing the limits of what it was capable of on saturday night and how strong israel's defences are. it knows that israel still has a lot more firepower, that the u.s. is standing behind israel. the u.s. was not involved in the strike tonight. i think that's very important to point out. iran has a calculation. my guess, and again having watched the middle east for a long time, i think what you have to look at and worry most about is that iran's supreme leader is going to take a decision to cross that nuclear threshold and then howell the -- how will the

world respond. >> great reporting is always. thank you. let's bring in former u.s. army special forces... derek anderson. i want your initial thoughts. we are looking at this new video coming in. these are explosions over the southern part of iran. they are claiming that they knocked down this drone or these drones that israel sent in, their way of possibly can't -- claiming victory, we don't know. we don't know how much damage was done. we do not believe that the nuclear facility was hit. we don't really have a lot of information except that israel appears to have retaliated and iran is claiming that it knocked that retaliation down. what do you believe is going on? >> you have to really understand this is no surprise. we saw prime minister -- prime minister netanyahu make statements over the past days

that have been very strong. he said they were going to respond. if we take a step back and look at how we got here, we look at october 7th. we look at hamas and gaza, coming across the line into israel, taking hostages and killing and murdering and doing horrendous things. then you fast-forward and we look out over the last several months we've seen hundreds of attacks on our military, the united states military installations across the region whether it be in syria, iraq peer we see israel conducted the attack on the embassy killing some of the military officials just this past weekend, iran conducting their attack with the 300 plus missiles and drones. if you look at it it seems like it is slowly escalating up a little bit. this response by israel going into iran and again to your reporting, we don't know whether or not those were aerial or

unmanned aircraft or what have you, it seems as if it was somewhat of a tit-for-tat. if i did want to escalate i would go after the nuclear facilities. that would be a boot on the throat of iran considering the fact i think israel would probably -- their largest threat is iran's nuclear capability. granted, hearing some of the folks that have been speaking recently, it doesn't seem that is what happened. israel could have done some more software attacks whether it be on military installations, military depots, thanks of that nature to give around the warning to say we will route -- we will retaliate if you attack us. i think there is something to be said here when i just talked about how this timeline of events has gone on where it's gone a little bit more aggression here and there. i think we have to take a look at the fact that this is what

happens when you have indecisive leaders. the biden administration is a day late and a dollar short on many of the reactions to... we've seen it over and over again. i think that's what emboldened iran to do what they did this past week. when they sent those 300 missiles. the one concern i'm interested to see, we were talking about what their rhetoric is versus what they actually are going to do. what i'm curious as whether or not the rhetoric is going to change within the region when our service members are potentially going to be attacked from some of these iranian proxy groups as a response. >> i wonder if you look at this whole thing in the totality if you think may be because you had israel as jennifer griffin was describing for us launch this limited attack she has calling it, is there the sense that may be israel was letting iran off

the hook? >> there is certainly a scenario where israel said we have to respond. the current state of how things are going within the region, you mentioned it at the top. right now we have israel, they are within the hornet's nest. have to have eyes in the back of their heads because they are in the middle of a region that does not want them there. this could be a situation where israel said we are going to retaliate and you mentioned briefly earlier that there seems to be some sort of notification that was given to the white house. there must have been some sort of discussion as to whether or not whatever attack that they were going to conduct in iran, whether it be too much or too little or somewhere in that sweet spot. there could be the situation where israel said, hey, we're going to attack whether it be military installations, depots, the united states government said go ahead we agree with you. then it was in some sort of agreement that they did this so that it wouldn't make everyone feel as if they needed to retaliate again and again.

we talked about it a few minutes ago. it seems as if the rhetoric already is that they took care of the situation, the nuclear facilities are safe. there are some explosions but we combated israel's attack. >> that seems to be the case. we will get back to you. standby for us. let's bring in the news national correspondent. he his life for us at the white house. what are we learning out of there tonight? >> we know now that the lines are dark in the oval office. not a lot of activity here. from our correspondent we have now learned a government official confirming that the israel strike happened in iran. the white house was not involved in that the u.s. received prenotification from israel. it's been a busy day with respect to iran here at the white house. there was that meeting with the national security council being led by jake sullivan between u.s. and israeli security officials where we will told

that the topic of discussion largely involved the planned offensive and rafah and they shared the u.s. concerns over measures that might be taken that israel noted those. we can perhaps infer from that that they talked about this. an interesting note when the president returned to the white house from his trip to philadelphia today, just before 5:00, the president and staff members did not go into the residence which is normally what what happened. they went straight into the oval office, perhaps to discuss this. some of the other things that happened here today in addition to that meeting with them was the announcement of the sanctions. the a ministration announcing sanctions that they are targeting iran's drone program. they are targeting one of the largest steel producers as well as automobile companies that have believed ties.

what's notable is that part of the statement the white house issued on behalf of the president where he says let it be clear to all those who enable or support iran's attack, united states is committed to israel security. we are committed to the security of our personnel and partners in the region. we will not hesitate to take all necessary action to hold you accountable. before we learned about these strikes we reached out here at the white house for a statement from them with regards to those comments by the foreign minister that promises a maximum response and an immediate response that israelis would regret if they were to take further action we are very much expecting if not tonight some response from the white house and get some gauge. you have in this announcement of these sanctions affirm standing by of israel and holding them accountable. you have the minister in new york saying that they will respond to an action, perhaps

similar to what we are seeing play out in iran. >> over the past couple of days we have talked about this several times. you had immediately monday tuesday and wednesday. you had several members of the ministration coming out and saying very forthrightly we are going after sanctions. we're going after around with sanctions. they set it from every rooftop you can scream it from, it's a way to say we are doing this. we are going to go after iran. is really doesn't need to and that was kind of the feeling that people got so sanctions might be coming but israel apparently thought it's just not enough. >> there's even questions about how effective these sanctions will be. the administration calls them swift actions put -- but we're not sure what they will be because they did not target the oil companies in iran we know that they have exported more oil than ever has in the past six

years to the tune of 35 billion per year. it is unclear exactly how the sanctions factor into all of this. we will be hearing i think from the white house tomorrow with respect to not only these actions but also the comments from the iranian foreign minister tonight. >> live for us on the white house. we will get back to you if you find new information. let's bring in daniel davis. colonel it's great to have you on the show. i got this notice, it says iranian official tells reuters there was no missile attack on iran. we have confirmed there was an attempt clearly. there is now you've got this kind of back-and-forth between the news agencies and the politicians kind of saying what they want to say which is natural, happens all the time.

we still don't know exactly what happened on the ground but we do know that there was an attempt to drop some weaponry into southern iran. >> let's hope that is an indication that everybody does wanted de-escalate this and keep this below the threshold. that would be good news as far as i'm concerned. let's hope that this matter is going to be put to rest and saner heads are going to prevail and this does not escalate into any kind of conflict. >> there's the risk. whenever you have this type of thing, everybody who we talked to says theirs a risk and you've got to depend on the other side saying enough is enough and it doesn't usually work that way. >> absolutely. i've been very concerned about it because i've seen these

comments come out of the iranian side and given the fact that they did break that taboo and the threshold that they never crossed before by sending those 350 missiles and drones into israel proper from iranian territory, that shows that they are willing to take some action. they had taken a lot of assassinations over the years from the israeli side and almost done nothing in response. they had 17 assassinations by the israeli side since october 7th. this one crossed the line when israel hit the embassy i think israel has to be more careful now. there is a line beyond which they will strike. otherwise the risk is still high a miscalculation or misinterpretation can still rear their ugly heads.

>> standby if you what i want to get back to tel aviv. iranian officials are telling reuters the explosion was a result of the activation of the air defence system saying there was no missile attack on iran. >> let me go back to aaron cohen quickly here. you now have iran saying no israel didn't launch anything. those were our defence missiles. that was the result of iran's air defence system, we have confirmed that israel says they have launched. >> this is the famous rhetoric. the posturing, the beating of the chest just like israel was

able to take down those missiles and suicide drones they came over a couple of days ago, everybody was talking about how the attack was weak. obviously we are saying how layered and advanced our missile defence technology is. it's a big escalation. i do believe they are going to continue to posture and beat the top drama. the sense that i'm getting is that this was a strategic, limited to, selective strike where the targets are we don't know yet. sounds like a conversation was had between the generals as things continue we will find out where those missiles went...

it leads me to believe that there may be other pieces. they are not talking or spilling the beans. it could be because there -- they are setting up something else. the problem is you've got hezbollah on the north, you've got hamas who has been trained by around for how many years now , preparing for that october 7th massacre and attack across the gaza border and you've got the houthi's who have been attacking u.s. assets and military forces in iraq and syria. the question becomes when are we going to start looking at the ir gc as a group that controls all of these pieces.

what about hezbollah or the who these. all that training and money. that's where my mind is right now. >> let's go back to tray, he is live in tel aviv. the quote is from the iranian official, the explosion heard was a result of the activation of iran's air defence systems. there were saying there was no strike. >> right now iranian state media is reporting the explosions in isfahan. the province that sits just south of the iranian capital of tehran, about 200 miles. they say these explosions were from the countries air defence system that was active over the province they claim there was no missile strike and they say the nuclear facility that is in isfahan remains safe and unharmed.

the explosions in iranian territory are being downplayed by state media up your conveyor saying there was no success to what took place, what appeared to be israeli strikes inside iranian territory. this gives the iranians the opportunity to exit this tit for tat with israel. it's also important to note that they have strategic patients across the region. this may just be an initial pressure point for iran in an initial response by the israelis to that drone and missile attack last weekend. as far as we know, the main airport and tehran remains closed at this hour. it is likely to open again this morning following the limited closure of the airspace across iran. the iranians will meet today with their top military officials and determine if there will be any sort of response. and state media will give the

indication following incidents like this as to how the iranians will respond. at this point tabletop this up as a failure by the israelis and a victory for the iranians following the attack on israel last weekend. what they are reporting at this moment as limited air defence activity over the province. so the thanks to look at in the coming days will be iranian proxy activity across the region , whether or not the israelis comment on these explosions overnight inside iranian territory and also if we get any further confirmation about activity in iraq or syria related to the ir gc or the iraqi and syrian militias. >> i want to make sure we are all on the same page. are you intending to say the whole concept here is that iran is saying that israel failed or is iran saying it didn't happen? that this explosion and the

things that we are reporting did not happen while israel is saying there was an attempt. >> they are claiming to only explosions occurred from their defence over the isfahan province. so they are claiming that there were no strikes inside their territory. just activity from their air defence system. this is an opportunity for the iranians to say there was no successful strike inside iranian territory if the past is any indication, the israelis are not likely to confirm on the record that anything took place inside a ron. this is part of a coordinated effort to de-escalate the situation across the region p. or it gives the iranians the ability to save face, the israelis the ability to send a message to the islamic republic that they have their nuclear facilities and site and they can strike at will. and also the americans a chance to try and bring the israel ease

to a conversation that will let them continue their operation inside gaza, de-escalate tensions on the northern border with iran's largest proxy across the region hezbollah and to stop this round of exchange between iran and israel following that massive attack last weekend. >> very quickly you were telling us last time on your phone you saw some action on the northern border of israel and lebanon that there was some possibly drones, some kind of activity. did we get clarification know all about that? >> we have not gotten any clarification yet about that incident on the northern border. it is not a rare occurrence to have these red alerts across northern israel. over the past six months, hezbollah has directly targeted israeli civilians and military submit -- facilities. over the past 48 hours, they had a facility in northern israel, injuring 14 soldiers and four civilians. a gives you a sense of just how

active that northern front remains and why israeli air defence is on high alert as we speak. the israelis understand that while there could be a limit to the change of fire with iran, you still have this x factor of hezbollah and the ability of the organization run by... to operate independently. hezbollah got involved in the fight against israel just 24 hours after the massacre conducted by hamas and islamic jihad other proxies in the region focus their efforts inside gaza and the west bank. ever since then they have been firing rockets, drones and antitank guided missiles into israeli territory. they are expected to continue striking southern lebanon, understanding that the real threat for them actually comes from lebanon. it does not come from iran. the the biggest concern for the israel ease as it relates to iran is the nuclear program. as far as we can tell overnight, the strike was meant to send a

message to iran that the israelis have the ability to target iranian targets and they have the ability to hit iran's nuclear program, not completely destroy it but to hit it. and if they decide to sleep the situation and respond that there could be a more significant strike by the israelis if they so decide p. or the latest in the region, the explosions inside iranian territory are being chopped up by... we have not yet heard on the record from israeli officials and we don't actually expect them to speak this morning about what took plays overnight. israeli military officials have to remain on high alert across the country. understanding that the proxies across the region including iran backed formats in yemen and hezbollah and southern lebanon do remain active. >> thank you. let's bring in...

great to have you on the show. we've been going through this step-by-step here. we are hearing from iranian state television from iranian officials and we hear that isfahan, all the nuclear facilities are fully safe after air defence batteries fired. next they say the explosion was the result of the activation of the air defence systems. it appears to be denied denied denied type of scenario. nothing was fired here, what you talking about. >> great reporting by both you and trey. what i think is the misinformation machine is put into high gear. they are trying to... before the sun comes up here in the western world tomorrow and have some kind of... i think really what's going on

here it seems that american officials have confirmed that something happened. there seems to be good reporting that something has happened. what i would call those is a strategic spoiling attack. i purred guest after guest talk about the full barrage and assault that israel has been under from a ron, from all the proxies, hezbollah, houthi, hamas which is all true. when you're in that kind of defensive mode all you are doing is catching jobs. one of the only things you can do our... strategically i think trey has

this exactly right. this was an attempt to come in and say we can do this. you can't stop us. if you keep doing what you are doing, we have the capability to really levy some serious harm on you iran. >> by iran's message and buy them coming back and saying... they clearly know that they've been violent and they've been breached. maybe this isn't an offramp for them to say it didn't happen. now iran truly knows it happened and maybe we should walk softly. >> i think that's right. i think the world is a better place if they are in kung fu stands as opposed to fighting each other constantly. with israel flexing its muscle a little bit, perhaps we can get

iran to back down a little bit. the ir gc to back down a little bit and begin to give some stability back to the middle east because there are so many second and third order impacts that reverberate around the world. we need stability in that region >> i want to play this sound bite because is from the iranian foreign minister tonight who is in the united states. he was talking on what would happen if israel did go after iran. watch. >> if they commit the great error once again, our response will be decisive, definitive and regretful for them. we do not seek that -- to create tension and crisis or increase the situations in the middle east. we hope that the israeli regime

does not... >> the way that you get out of this decisive response is saying that israel never really made that error. >> in that way they save face by not responding again. but let's be clear, this individual is lying through his teeth. in they've been supporting all of these militia groups from north to south. the full on assault on israel. iran... and then they launch an attack on israel. israel has every right to do whatever needs to do to create some operational strategic space for itself and it's a sovereign nation and it has a right to defend it's borders. >> we are going to bounce these back and forth. it's like a ping-pong game here

because we have now we told you the iranian officials as the explosion heard over isfahan was a result of the activation of the air defence system and now you have iranian state tv saying air defences destroyed three drones above isfahan. they are confirming their in fact was an attack and they are saying that was our stuff. they can't even together get their message on the same page here. >> one thing is for sure, the first report is always wrong. in any combat operation. i think that's what we're seeing play play out here in realtime. there is a lack of information and everybody is trying to get the best information possible. with the information warfare game going on we can trust that iran is not going to be truthful about this. i think we need a way on the israeli battle damage assessment that they release and anything that the administration here in

the united states might confirm or deny happens. >> great to have you on the show is always. we appreciate your time. >> thank you trace. >> i'm going to go quickly back here. it seems to me like we are... israel has artie confirmed that there was an attempt. there were three drones and we knock them all down. noise you heard was our own defence system. there's a war of words going on. [ speaking alternate language ] >> welcome to the middle east trace. this is the chest beating, this is the psychological part where we want everybody to feel strength. conflicting reports. obviously there was an attack. the technicality of how that

attack was conducted. we might never find out. israel likes to submerge sometimes. any time they target a leader they don't go on record saying they do it unless there's a reason for them to put that out there because they want to create that psychological wave. not sure how israel is going to come of the gate with this. they may stay quiet for a couple of days. there may be other pieces to this... i think right now iran is just scrambling trying to look like they are tough maintain phase. trying to say is really couldn't get to us. israel was pretty incredible taking out those 350 plus drones and missiles that hit -- that were fired and did an incredible job with the partners. i think this is more posturing right now. we will find out more soon.

>> you are a man of peace. the question becomes is it posturing or is it a step back for a ron? is iran trying to to step back from their foreign minister's comments that we just played you a short time ago saying this would be a decisive robust responsive israel reaches our area. now they are saying... >> everybody knows it's all about what the people in the street think. that is the true reality. makes no difference when anybody in the media says. iran has most of the people against them. the few that support them, how did this happen? it's about the street. the second thing is a lot of people understand why is israel going after the nukes. we are only 15 million people in the world. we are not a lot we lost 6 million out of 1575 years ago. one bomb can take care of 7 million.

we'll be another holocaust against the jews. netanyahu is responsible to make sure that this doesn't happen again and that is why they are constantly going after the professors. going after anything they can because my life and our survival there is more important than anything that iran wants to plan and do. thank god we have the holiday coming up because all the jews around the world, they love that there's a story that they tried hurting us and destroying us, we came out in peace and we came to the promised land and we are not moving. >> almost nine minutes before midnight. top of the hour on the east coast. they turn the lights out at the white house at midnight. let's go back to the national correspondent. he is like for us with at the white house with the latest information coming there. >> it's pretty clear that we are not going to hear from the white house tonight.

they are declining to comment. we did learn that the strike occurred in iran. and we learned that the white house was not caught off guard. there was prenotification from israel about this strike. we learned that the u.s. was not involved but it comes on a day when iran has been top of mind here early in the day. the sanctions which i will coming on in just a second. more importantly, jake sullivan leading a meeting with their counterparts in israel where they talked about among other -- among other things he has -- expected everett israeli offensive in rafah and the fact that sullivan shared his concerns with the israelis about certain actions they may take. israel noting that they were considering that. it appears they may have been discussing some other things. a little bit of colour here.

the lights are off in the residence but when the president returned to the white house just before 5:00 today, instead of coming into the residence which he would do normally on the day like this, he went straight into the oval office with his staff. it's been several hours since we have gotten these reports. no comments coming from the white house tonight. earlier in the day there was tough talk from the president about these sanctions that the administration, the latest round they called sweeping actions when they are targeting the drone program. along with one of the country's largest steel producers and automobile companies with ties to the irgc. the president saying essentially let it be clear to all those who support around the tax, the u.s. is committed to israel's security i think that they will not hesitate to take on this -- not hesitate to take action to hold you accountable. now we are in this position where you...

immediately saying that israel worked to continued to commit errors. he said there would be a swift and immediate maximum response. the anticipation is that we should hear from someone here at the white house by early tomorrow if not overnight about this. one quick note i want to make and that is the meeting that sullivan held with his israeli counterparts just five days ago sullivan was tweeting about a meeting he had with his direct counterpart in israel where sullivan reiterated the u.s. and this administration's ironclad support standing firmly behind israel will see if that continues to be the case tomorrow because we just don't know the parameters of the actions that israel is taking and may continue to take. >> some of these notices behind the all so fairly -- very telling. this is from the times of israel, the quote is the u.s. embassy issues a security alert

after reported israeli strike in iran. goes on to say embassy in jerusalem... restricting their travel to the tel aviv... and jerusalem area citing an abundance of caution following reports that israel conducted a retaliatory strike inside a ron. the employees are allowed to travel between those three cities. there is messaging going on behind the scenes. we are not really hearing from the front line people. we are hearing behind-the-scenes what is happening. there is posturing, messaging. a lot of stuff going on that we are not privy to. >> that's right. we haven't had any comment either from the state department about this or any sort of notification that we've seen as we've been monitoring all of this. secretary blank and overseas in italy meeting with g-7 leaders, perhaps we will hear from him as baltimore op are right now it is quiet it will be top of mind

tomorrow here. >> live for us at the white house. thank you, we appreciate that. it really is interesting because when you look at these backdoor messages, the embassy is getting messages in jerusalem and everybody is starting to kind of do their behind-the-scenes work preparing for what happens. the front line people are saying it was this and behind-the-scenes you are like this is serious and be prepared. >> obviously something happened there was an operation that was conducted by israel i was a strategic airstrike. somewhere and in around isfahan where the nuclear capabilities of orion is being developed. doesn't seem like there was a strike on that facility. to your point, everybody is keeping quiet right now because they want to line their docs up so when information starts to come out, the u.s. will put out

there statement p. or chyme interested to see if there's going to be any follow-up here or if this is going to get put to bed. from my experience, israel really likes to go after the irgc leadership which we have seen just a couple of days ago with the hezbollah commander. like the colonel said, over 17 leaders have been killed within hezbollah and the terror groups that have gone after israel since october 7th. it's going to be interesting to see if there's going to be any follow-up or if this is the end of it right now. nobody knows what they are going to talk about right now but we will find out shortly and it will be interesting to see who speaks first. >> my assessment of this looking at the outside going in. i was in for weeks and weeks and a lot of our team in northern israel with the war between israel and hezbollah was going on and you get these messages

and you try to read between the lines. there's a big difference when you talk about -- we see the pictures of explosions on the screen. there's a big difference between israel launching a drone and actually striking something, hitting any kind of ground in iran and iran actually knocking that drone out of the sky before it fires anything. that's a big difference. it's a big difference because if nothing was fired or if nothing touch the ground in any part of iran, it gives a ron the same way gave israel saying we knocked that stuff out of the sky. >> i'm with you 100 percent. here's where i come out with this. i don't think israel is going to initiate or engage in any type of selective operation without putting thought into it. i think they are going to be targets of opportunity that israel goes out and they think about the big picture here. i don't think that they are going to conduct an operation that isn't going to be successful.

they don't think they can get their wear that missile will get through. 's too expensive in the middle east. we are a small military, we don't have the resources. to get into one of those just that we fly, those are very coveted spots and only the best get into those units. we have limited resources. i don't think israel is going to take action unless they feel like they will be successful. i agree with you, i just don't know if what they are saying is anything more than them trying to cover their rears and continue with that posturing. like i said, we've been covering all night and we will see how it's going to play out. >> while low-level attack? >> we don't need -- if israel wanted to turn iran into a lake it could do so. the reason why i say that is because for years we have heard of the capabilities that israel has in terms of its nuclear

assets. i'm going to say this. because israel is surrounded by enemies and there is 21 arab countries that are trying to push into israel into the ocean. at has to continue to be strong. however,, we want to avoid a full-scale war. we don't want to get into it with lebanon and syria. they are in this position where they are surrounded. that's where i'm at with this right now. >> you've got 15 seconds to wrap us up. >> the people in jerusalem are being told don't travel all over the place. just because we did a successful thing, there's always alone not job that's going to want to try to hurt the jew in the local area as. jewish people have lived through this, we have survived and we are going to come out of this victorious. there's no question in anybody's mind