Fears of All-Out War in Mideast After Hamas Chief Killed
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It is Wednesday, July 31st, and right now on CNN This Morning, breaking news out of the Middle East, the top Hamas political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, killed in the capital of Iran. Plus, the calculated killing of the top Hamas chief, heightening fears of an all-out war in the region. And... When we fight, we win. Vice President Kamala Harris campaigning in the battleground state of Georgia and issuing a dare to Donald Trump.

This is CNN Breaking News. We have breaking news overnight. The political leader of Hamas, Ismail Haniyeh, is dead. According to Hamas officials and Iran's Revolutionary Guard, Haniyeh was killed in Tehran after attending an event honoring Iran's new president. Haniyeh's death sparking fears of a growing regional conflict between Israel and its neighbors. It's something Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin says the U.S. is working to avoid.

And certainly what we've seen along the border, the northern border with Israel, over time that's been a concern of ours. Again, we're going to do everything we can to make sure that we keep things from turning into a broader conflict throughout the region.

And earlier this morning, Iran's supreme leader vowing to avenge the killing of Haniya, writing, quote, you killed our dear guest in our house and now have paved the way for your harsh punishment. We consider it our duty to ask for the blood of our dear guests.

CNN has reporters all across the region. CNN's Ben Wiedemann is in Lebanon. But let's start first with CNN's Jeremy Diamond, who's in Israel. Jeremy, Israel has not taken credit for this operation yet. But what do we know about this operation and how are Israeli officials responding?

Well, Jessica, this is an extremely significant development coming at a critical moment in this region. Iranian state media, as well as Hamas, saying that Ismail Haniyeh, the head of Hamas's political bureau, was assassinated in the heart of the Iranian capital. Iranian state media saying that it was an airborne guided projectile that was fired at the building where he was staying. Hamas calling it an airstrike. A number of questions to still be answered about the exact nature of the attack.

what killed the Hamas's political leader and more importantly perhaps are the questions about what this means for this region. As I mentioned this is already a very tense time in this region. We saw over the course of just the last 24 hours not only was Ismail Hani apparently assassinated in the Iranian capital

But also a senior Hezbollah military commander was killed overnight in the Lebanese capital. A senior adviser to Hassan Nasrallah, the head of Hezbollah responsible for the group's military operations, the targeting of Israeli towns and cities and military bases in northern Israel over the course of the last 10 months. And so already with just that strike in Beirut, there were already

questions about whether or not this could tip the region, tip this conflict between Israel and Hezbollah into all-out war. And now, of course, those questions are heightened. In addition to that, questions about where this leaves those ceasefire negotiations, where we have seen some momentum recently. The Qatari prime minister, one of the key mediators in these discussions, saying political assassinations and continued targeting of civilians in Gaza while talks continue leads us to ask how can mediation succeed when one party assassinates civilians

the negotiator on the other side. At least in the short term, it seems very clear that those negotiations are going to go nowhere. Jessica.

Jeremy Diamond for us there in Israel. Thanks so much. And this breaking news coming just hours after a Hezbollah commander was killed in Lebanon. According to Israeli Defense Forces, an airstrike near Beirut killed Hezbollah commander Fouad Shukur, an IDF spokesperson saying the strike was in retaliation for an attack earlier this week in the Golan Heights that killed 12 children at a soccer field. CNN's Ben Wiedemann is joining us now from Beirut. Ben, what are you hearing this morning in Beirut?

Well, they're still digging through the remains of the building that was struck by Israel yesterday that we believe led to the death of Fuad Shukr, that senior Hezbollah military commander. But Hezbollah has yet to actually acknowledge that he was killed. Regarding the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh in Israel,

in Tehran, we are seeing a statement from Hezbollah saying that he was one of the great leaders of the resistance in our present era. And he said, the statement goes on to say, we in Hezbollah share with our dear brothers in the Hamas movement all the feelings of pain over the loss of this great leader, the feelings of anger at the enemy's crimes. Now, of course, if you take...

the hit, the strike in Beirut yesterday and in the early morning of the hours the assassination of the Hamas leader in Tehran, it certainly amounts to a serious escalation of the situation. And we did hear at a press conference by the Iranian ambassador to Beirut saying that Iran does not seek war but does not accept that the region falls prey to Israel

and the United States. Jessica? All right. Ben Wiedemann for us in Beirut, Lebanon this morning. Thank you so much. And I want to bring in now CNN military analyst and retired Air Force Colonel Cedric Layton and CNN's chief international security correspondent, Nick Payton Walsh. And Nick,

we just outlined it but you you back up a little bit to this weekend where you have this strike that kills 12 children in the Golan Heights in Israel then you have the strike against that commander of Hezbollah in Lebanon now we have this top Hamas political leader killed intake in Tehran and you put it all together and it seems like we are right there at the edge looking over at a potential escalation here that

that could result in a much bigger conflict. Yeah, look, I think it's important to separate perhaps the motivation or the purpose behind the response to southern Beirut, seemingly by Israel, against a key Hezbollah commander after the attack on the Golan Heights, and then this separate incident in northern Tehran against the Hamas political leader, Ismail Haniyeh.

while i was he can't speak entirely for israeli motivations they haven't claimed responsibility for the northern tehran attack it goes an extra stage further it is essentially them on the offense you can see potentially an argument for the southern beirut attack as having been their response to the horrors inflicted on the scene mostly children drews children goland heights over the weekend by the assassination as it appears to be off honey a very direct

bid to perhaps curtail political negotiations, to take somebody out who's always been on Israel's most wanted list since October 7th, who indeed celebrated those attacks himself, despite it seems not being involved necessarily in their planning. So a stark move here by Israel and one that throws us certainly

into an area of deep uncertainty. We do not know what Iran is capable of. They have Hezbollah to the north of Israel in Lebanon, but they have, it seems, been reluctant so far to launch them into a full-scale war. It would be hugely devastating for both Israeli and Lebanese civilians if that were indeed launched, and it would probably leave Hezbollah significantly weakened afterwards, and probably Israel as well. So Iran, reluctant

to play that card so far. They've also seen their drones and missiles in April launch directly at Israel not really get through, intercepted by Israel and its Western allies. So their options are limited. Also, their supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei, while saying harsh punishment is due Israel at this time, well, he's 85. He's just sworn in, a president who's more moderate than perhaps he would like after years of unrest.

So, is he in an optimal position to start a broader conflict? Really unclear here. I would say probably no. And so, huge embarrassment for Iran. This has happened right inside the security bubble against a guest they would consider to be distinguished like Haniyeh. But ultimately, what can they do? We'll have to wait and see. Their options limited, but a phenomenally febrile region here where we simply do not know what next action can spur

their response onwards towards and a deeply troubling morning certainly. It seemed bad when southern Beirut was hit. The death of Haniyeh takes us to a whole new area. Yeah, certainly. And Cedric, Nick makes a very valid point and an important point that this strike happened in Tehran to a guest that was there in Tehran.

Talk to us a little bit about the capabilities, if it is in fact Israel that did this, the capabilities to do something like that. Yeah, Jessica, this is one of those areas where intelligence plays a key role. And with precision strikes like this, it makes all the difference. And when you look at the way in which the Hamas leadership who was quartered in Tehran, you know, yes, they were guests of the Iranian regime, but

but the israelis clearly knew where they were living uh... they knew probably more about uh... the structure of the house uh... than the people who who were living there and that becomes really critical because what the israelis did was they used a weapon system that was extremely precise that went in and took out uh...

honey I and his bodyguard and a nobody else as far as we know it this at this point in time so what this means is that the Israelis are basically saying we can find your leadership wherever they may be and we can destroy them if we choose to do so and so what does this mean for this the

trying to put it all together this broader conflict you have Israel and Hamas still fighting in Gaza you have the northern front there with Lebanon and now also to and those are all obviously Iran proxy groups that are fighting them and and now you have this direct strike in Iran

how does that all fit together so with the proxy groups and we also probably should add the hooties in Yemen were also raining in proxy so you have in essence three different proxy groups I that are directly in conflict to either with Israel or with the West all of them have connections to the Iranians and the big connection is that many of them are well all of them are funded or supported in one way or another either through money or training or both

by the Iranians, and specifically by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps. So the IRGC is really a critical component to all of this. The IRGC in essence is masterminding a lot of the attacks that these groups put together. They're at least working in concert with them to some extent.

and then what happens after that is the IRGC is really looking at extending Iran's influence throughout the region so these proxies serve as a means of really extending Iranian influence they've done it very much in Iraq they're doing it in Syria and of course what they're trying to do is they're trying to tie down Israel in what amounts to a two-front war and just quickly before we we have to go the risk of the US getting pulled into this

Really high. Remember, we still have troops in Iraq and in Syria, also in Jordan. All of these places have vested U.S. interests, and the real problem is that the Iranians could very well drag us into something that we don't want to be drug into. That includes the Persian Gulf. All of these parts of the Middle East are really areas where the United States feels it has to exert some degree of influence. The Iranians want us out of there.

All right, Colonel Cedric Layton, Nick Payton Walsh, our thanks to both of you. Nick will be back with us a little bit later to talk more about this. Still to come on CNN this morning, Kamala Harris and J.D. Vance campaigning in key battleground states, plus more details on the overnight assassination of the top Hamas political leader in Iran.

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And now Sleep Number smart beds starting at $999. Prices higher in Alaska and Hawaii. For J.D. Power 2023 award information, visit jdpower.com slash awards only at a Sleep Number store or sleepnumber.com. Kamala Harris is taunting Donald Trump, daring him to debate her before November during a campaign stop in Battleground, Georgia last night. Trump did commit to a debate against Joe Biden in September, but backed out. And it appears the vice president is trying to shame him.

But he and his running mate sure seem to have a lot to say about me. And by the way, don't you find some of their stuff to just be plain weird? I do hope you'll reconsider to meet me on the debate stage. Because as the saying goes, if you've got something to say, my face!

J.D. Vance also hitting the trail campaigning in Nevada. Trump embattled his running mate, trying to own the narrative on law and order and the border. "They suspended deportations. They stopped building the wall. They reinstated catch and release. That's how every state became a border state." "She wants to end cash bail. So if you assault a police officer, you can be back on the street the next day." "She wants to confiscate firearms from law-abiding citizens."

Just 98 days now until America votes. Let's bring in Alex Thompson, national political reporter for Axios, New York Times journalists Lulu Garcia Navarro, and Matt Gorman, former communications director for the National Republican Congressional Committee. Good morning, everyone. Good morning. Great to have you here. Alex, let's start at the beginning of all of those clips.

will Trump ultimately debate Kamala Harris do you think? His team is saying that he's going to and that this is sort of a bit of a negotiating tactic that essentially he agreed to debate Joe Biden on ABC and now they're going back and forth and saying well now it's a different candidate we'll see

I bet you we still will have multiple debates. Clearly Kamala Harris's team wants to have them. She's said that she thinks they are the underdog in this race. They want to get her right next time on the debate stage. She's younger. She can articulate a case. She has the prosecution background. She can deliver the sort of canned lines of debates. I expect we'll have one or maybe two.

And Matt, it's worth noting that rally last night was in Atlanta, Georgia, a place that or a state that looked like it was out of going to be out of reach for Democrats that now potentially Democrats are hoping maybe they can get back and win as they did in 2020. What does that say to you that one of the first places she's going is down to Georgia? And next week, she's going to be doing a little tour on the swing states. There's a Springsteen lyric about poking a dog to see if it gets up and run.

If I'm her, you have a new campaign, you have excitement, you have a new candidate. Go and see if these states that were essentially dead or closed off the table for Joe Biden, if they get up and run a little bit. And if the polls move in a way that is separate from purely the excitement of having a new candidate and kind of the pie of the last week. I think what you saw also was I'm seeing shades a little bit of her announcement in January 2019, where it was an electric announcement, lots of people.

But what Kamala's always been very, very good at is when she controls the variables and she's able to have a lot of preparation as a prosecutor in her, I think she's able to succeed. Where she gets on her back foot a lot is when she has these unprepared interactions with her supporters, other candidates like Tulsi Gabbard on the debate stage. So that's going to be the tell for me when she starts doing interviews, maybe a debate, maybe she can get through that with canned lines. But this reminded me a little bit more of her announcement when she first ran for president. Yeah.

And Lulu, then so we get to the issue of immigration and the border crisis, which of course Republicans really want this to be a huge piece of this campaign, and they really want to pin it on Kamala Harris. We heard J.D. Vance going after her. I want to play what she said to that. Let's listen. I went after transnational gangs, drug cartels, and human traffickers that came into our country illegally. I prosecuted them in case after case, and I won.

Donald Trump, on the other hand, has been talking a big game about securing our border, but he does not walk the walk. Or as my friend Quavo would say, he does not walk it like he talks it.

Lulu, how effective is that pushback? Because Republicans really want to hang this all on her. It's a vulnerability for Democrats. It has been. Do you think she can effectively counter that? Well, I think what was very interesting last night is she's trying to get ahead of it, right? She's trying to have a narrative, which is don't think about

the three and a half years of Joe Biden and what's happened at the border, I'm going to talk to you about the person I was before I joined the ticket. And again, it's that prosecutor. It's trying to talk about what she did in California. Of course, the counter narrative

coming from the Republicans is that you were a border czar. She wasn't, but that's the kind of thing that they're trying to pin on her. Listen, this is a bad issue for Democrats. It's a bad issue for Kamala Harris. She has a narrative here. She's trying to push it that there's a bill that failed because of Donald Trump and she would sign it if she comes into office, but the fact

is that the more you talk about it, the more that her record and the record of this administration is going to come into focus. And I don't think she's going to win on the merits on this. Yeah, and Lulu makes a great point because there was that legislation, bipartisan legislation, that was killed. But explaining that, Alex, to the American people, it takes a minute to walk through all of that. It's not a simple answer. Do you think that they can

you know it's just it's not easy to message old and she tried to make that argument yesterday that you know we want to secure the border Donald Trump killed the belt right that was the main argument was also interesting as I covered the 2020 Democratic primary that was not the same comma here no I did you

She was not talking about her prosecutorial record in that way, about going after Central American gangs. This is a different Kamala Harris. You've seen basically her run away from her 2019 campaign. She's no longer running on Medicare for All. She's running on her prosecutorial record, whereas before the Kamala is a cop meme from the left wing really bothered her. She wasn't running as a prosecutor. Now she's a general election candidate. She's running on that record. It will be interesting to see if

voters follow along. And also Democrats. I mean, this is a problem for her with Democrats because the tougher you are on issues on the border, there is a big part of the base there, including Latinos, who are like, we weren't happy with that bill. We're not happy with the positions that Joe Biden has taken. And we certainly don't embrace some of the things that Kamala Harris is saying, too. All right. We're going to leave it there, but you're going to stay with us. We'll come back to you all in just a minute. Thank you so much. And up next on CNN This Morning,

Hamas top political leader assassinated in Iran. We have new details just in about his funeral. Plus, get ready for the nonstop political ads because the ad wars are underway.

And we are continuing to follow this breaking news this morning, the killing of Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh. New details into CNN, Haniyeh will be buried in Doha on Friday after a funeral procession in Tehran Thursday. Iranian officials saying he was killed in Tehran by a guided airborne projectile which hit the house where he was staying. And joining us now with more on this, Nick Payton Walsh, CNN's chief international security correspondent.

Nick, what is Israel saying at this hour and what more are you learning as we continue to get more details and still have a lot of questions out there? Yeah, certainly. So far, Israel only saying that they don't comment on foreign media reports. Now, that is, I think, a sort of code that we've heard in the past when an event occurs or an act like this occurs that potentially has the hand of Israel behind it, their way of not denying involvement, but also not

confirming it. We're in that curious position here, but that hasn't of course stopped the

the Iranian president, the Iranian government, the Iranian supreme leader pointing the finger directly at Israel, essentially saying that a guest in their house had been killed and Israel should await harsh punishment for doing this. Quite what form that will take is key and I think in order to enable Iran to fashion that response they're going to carefully construct the details of exactly how this happened. We know very little about this

apparent explosion strike depending on what report you read that seems to have hit a special veterans guest house in northern Tehran where Ismail Haniyeh was staying. Now it isn't clear quite the extent of the damage to the building. There are some reports saying it was limited which would suggest an exceptionally targeted strike and indeed the only other casualty is one of Haniyeh's bodyguards that's currently talked about. The phrase being used is an airborne guided projectile which frankly

could be anything. It does seem to point away though from necessarily immediately accusing Israel of using a jet and an airstrike in all of this. So the gravity in which Iran portrays its sovereignty as having been violated here, that will be key in what they say they're going to do in response. And so we're waiting, I think, for more details from Iran and also potentially some greater clarity from Israel on any extent of its involvement here.

All right, Nick Payton Walsh for us. Thank you so much for that reporting. Still ahead on CNN this morning, the killing of Ismail Hania is furthering concerns of an all-out war in the Middle East. Former Alabama Senator Doug Jones also joins us to discuss the presidential candidate's newest attack act when we come back. From politics to pop culture and everything in between, CNN's Five Things brings you the five essential stories to get you up to speed and on with your day five times a day.

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Turning back now to the race for the White House. And if you're watching us this morning from a key battleground state, be prepared to see a very healthy dose of political ads over the next couple of months because the 2024 ad wars are underway. The Harris and Trump campaigns releasing dueling ads yesterday as each candidate refines their narrative and lines of attack.

Trump slamming Harris over immigration, portraying her as a failed border czar. Harris going on the offensive with her own border ad and another that highlights her work as a prosecutor. Joe Biden made Kamala Harris border czar to fix immigration. First, she ignored it. Do you have any plans to visit the border? At some point. Then she just lied. The border is secure. Kamala Harris.

Failed, weak, dangerously liberal. Kamala Harris supports increasing the number of Border Patrol agents. Donald Trump blocked a bill to increase the number of Border Patrol agents. There's two choices in this election: the one who will fix our broken immigration system and the one who's trying to stop her. The one thing Kamala Harris has always been: fearless. As a prosecutor, she put murderers and abusers behind bars.

joining us now is former Democratic senator from Alabama Doug Jones senator great to have you here this morning great to be with you let's talk about some of those ads first I think it is important to note just for clarity that she was not officially border czar she did have a job trying to spur economic development in some of those countries but but just taking a look at what we just played we see the Trump campaign clearly trying to define her and tie her to all of the issues at the border

and you have the Harris campaign really trying to go on offense. How do you think that's going to play out with our viewers in battleground states who are going to see those a lot? You know, frankly, I think ultimately it is not going to be the defining issue of this campaign. You don't? No, absolutely not. I mean, look, there are too many other issues. The economy, and I think character and integrity. I mean, look at the contrast between Kamala Harris

and Donald Trump and JD Vance. I mean, JD Vance is essentially wanting to start another three-fifths compromise for childless couples from the Constitution where you only count, you know, votes with people of a childless couple are counted less

than votes with people with children. So I think there's gonna be some issues. Now, make no mistake, it's an issue. The border is an issue, there's no question. What Kamala Harris did and what her role was was not as a borders are. What she was trying to do was to try to spur economic development so there wasn't that mass influx.

of people trying to get a better life and escape the poverty and the gangs in Central America. And so I think as we go forward, and I think once that border bill that Donald Trump did defeat, almost single-handedly, and J.D. Vance voted against too, by the way,

I think it's gonna even out a little bit. I don't think it's gonna be as big an issue. It is certainly a concern for the American people that needs to be addressed. I think both sides are gonna try to play it. But ultimately, I think there's gonna be a lot of other issues in this campaign. - How do you think voters internalize these sorts of ads? 'Cause we watch them, we talk about them. Obviously, if you're watching TV, they're in your home. How much of a difference do they actually make? - You know, I think they make some difference, but you know, look, in America today,

We are so polarized. There is a camp that is going to vote for Donald Trump and Republican Party regardless. There's a camp that's going to vote for Kamala Harris. And it doesn't really matter. There's a lot of Democrats that don't like that border bill that was killed. But they're going to vote for Kamala Harris. They're not going to stay home and let Donald Trump win.

It's the middle voters, the double haters that people have talked about now for so long, but that didn't like Trump or Biden, I think are going to kind of drift now toward Kamala Harris and whoever she picks as her running mate. So I think the ads make a difference, but they also just kind of reinforce a lot of what people believe.

already believe. And it's the issues that I think are the intangibles that really are going to make the difference in this election. Yeah, it's been interesting to see the polling on double haters go down since she's entered the race. Okay, former Senator Dick Jones, stay right here. Let's turn to this now. Former President Trump sharpening his language against Jewish Democrats and claiming Vice President Kamala Harris does not like Jews, despite the fact that she's married to one.

If you are Jewish, regardless of Israel, if you're Jewish, if you vote for a Democrat, you're a fool, an absolute fool. Number one, she doesn't like Israel. Number two, she doesn't like Jewish people. You know it. I know it. Everybody knows it. And nobody wants to say it. In that same interview, Trump appears to agree with a conservative radio host who makes disparaging remarks about Harris's husband, Doug Imhoff.

They tell me that this, this Harris's husband, Doug Emhoff, Mr. President is Jewish. He's Jewish like Bernie Sanders is Jewish. Are you kidding me? He's a crappy Jew. He's a horrible Jew. Okay. Our panel is back. Matt, they're calling people to call someone a horrible Jew, a horrible Catholic fill in the blank, pretty offensive.

- My advice is don't overthink the messaging on this race. Go back to what you were gonna run, the campaign you were gonna run on June 26th, the day before that fateful CNN debate. Economy, crime, immigration. And also mix in some of the policies that we see Kamala running from since she ran for president in 2019, 2020. When you get into some of these other issues,

It complicates it. It owns news cycles in ways that you don't want to, right? It takes time away from talking about immigration. So overcomplicating it, overthinking it, and not sticking to some of the core issues, I think, is a little bit of a danger route. I'm just laughing because how many times we had to hear someone explain something that Donald Trump has said that is utterly offensive, terrible, and say, he should just stick to the issues. He should stay on message. He should talk about the things that Republicans really want him to talk about. And unfortunately, that's not the man that's at the top.

of the ticket and this is an incredibly offensive thing that he said there there's a big trope on especially for jews in this country where there's like the loyal jew and the disloyal jew uh... the you know that the person who is actually uh... uh... loyal to this country and someone who is a bad you and i don't think donald trump really should be talking about that i think it is offensive to many people of faith in this country and alex it's not it's not the first time he's gone after jewish democrats in particular

criticizing them for their choice if that's their choice to vote for the democratic ticket yeah I mean and what's so ironic about this I remember every Trump official and ally was telling me two weeks ago that he is changed man after the assassination attempt that we were finally going to see the long-promised Trump pivot

to a general election candidate he was going to be more disciplined and that the shooting really had changed and you know he felt blessed by God and now we're all the way back here you just two weeks later and he's saying these things that he was saying right before never talk about the Trump pivot again can we can we make a pact right now to never talk about the Trump I promise

And so I want to read what the Harris campaign reacted with. This was their statement. Senator...

it's just again like the fact that we're even talking about this stunning yeah I mean it's just stunning and I'm at a I the one thing I disagree with you a little bit on I don't think even before that the debate the Trump campaign was going to talk about the issues this is just typical he had to pivot if he pivoted it at all

it was a pivot to Kamala Harris and other attacks and not Joe Biden anymore. This is Donald Trump's kind of campaign. This is all he's gonna talk about. And if you disagree with him, he is going to belittle you. He was gonna call you names.

And that is just, I really believe, and maybe I'm wrong guys, but I really believe that's gonna have more effect on the American people who are ready for a change and ready to get that kind of crap over with and really get to governing and having democracy and having people try to come together.

he's incredibly divisive language that is I believe gonna backfire on this campaign and Matt just quickly before we go obviously there's a lot eyes on Harris is by MVP pick we now know that whoever it is will be going on a tour with her next week

starting in Philadelphia what do you make of all these tea leaves that we're reading? First thing I think of it, I think it's kind of funny there is a little bit of imitation going on. We saw a lot of Republicans doing a lot of media Sunday shows and the like doing a little bit of tour while they were going through the VP process. We're seeing that now duplicate on the Democratic side. You see Mayor Pete doing Sunday shows. Mark Kelly is on other networks as well where they really weren't doing a lot of media before. That's number one. But number two is

the doing this tour the swing states they're doing a lot more events together I would be very interesting it tells me also they're going to a a com here's putting a lot of emphasis on chemistry and relationship when she picks up a possible vice president okay so we will see who will be a thanks to our panel always good to see all the things so much

Coming up on CNN this morning, breaking news out of Iran as Hamas's political leader is assassinated. We're going to talk to a former spokesperson for the Israeli military. Plus, what Tuesday's Arizona primary results could mean for the November election.

New this morning, top Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh killed in Iran, the assassination threatening to further destabilize that region. Hamas placing the blame on Israel. The IDF has yet to respond. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to hold a security assessment in Tel Aviv later today. Joining us now, former IDF spokesperson Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus. Thanks so much for being here with us this morning. We really appreciate it.

I think there is widespread concern that this latest situation and this assassination could further propel this conflict into all-out war in that region. What do you think? Well, I think that it's a, if it indeed is an Israeli assassination, which is what it looks like,

I think it's a tremendous achievement to do so in the heart of Tehran and to send a very strong message to the Iranian puppeteers who behind the scenes have been actually controlling and monitoring and managing this entire situation that Israel has been facing since October 7th.

It is definitely tense. I agree with you that now Israel will be bracing for both Hezbollah attacks, Hamas attacks, and possibly an Iranian attack against it, because in a matter of about 10 or 11 hours, Israel was able to assassinate both a very senior Hezbollah militant commander, Fuad Shukr, in Beirut, and

the political leader and one of the key figures or key architects of the October 7 massacre, Ismail Haniyeh, in Tehran. And as such, I think it's fair to assume that there will be some kind of Iranian or Hezbollah or Hamas response.

And Hania was very involved in these ceasefire and hostage negotiations to try to get a deal. Now that he's been assassinated, the thought is that that is very much stalled, that it means that there's a very low chance for any deal. What do you say to that?

first of all i don't think that it's right to describe him as someone who has been trying to reach a deal he's been part of negotiations because he's the head of the political wing i'm not sure that he has been trying to reach a deal i think that he's been stalling like what the rest of hamas has been doing and we can see this in one of two ways the one way that you um

said that this might hurt negotiations. There's logic behind that. On the other hand, this might also send a clear message to Yechia Sinwar, the remaining Hamas senior terrorist in Gaza, that the clock is ticking and that any day that they do not do a deal and they don't release the hostages, his fate might be the same as Ismail Haniyeh's.

which means that this might also actually motivate them to actually agree to the terms and to go ahead and release Israeli hostages. We can see it in any of the both ways. I understand that a lot of people around the world will want to focus on this not being conducive of releasing the hostages, but I think that if we look at the general situation that Hamas finds itself in after 10 months of war,

They're not in a very good position when it comes to their military capabilities. A lot of pressure. They're not defeated yet, but Israel has made good progress in that sense. All right. Jonathan Conricus, we appreciate your time this morning. Thanks so much. Thank you. All right.

And I believe we want to bring in CNN's Nick Payton Walsh, who is standing by. Nick, are you with us? Yeah, absolutely. All right. Well, tell us what Israel is saying at this hour about these reports, simply because they haven't said that they're responsible for this just yet. Although Jonathan Conricus, former IDF spokesperson, said it certainly appears that they are.

Yeah, look, I mean, this is not uncommon for a situation like this for Israel to say they don't comment on foreign media reports. And that's pretty much all we've got out of them at the moment. And that has normally been as a result of some sort of operation that Israel has carried out but doesn't want its fingerprints on or has been able to perhaps at this stage hide its direct involvement in. It might suggest that we're talking less about something overt

like an Israeli jet launching an airstrike. It might tend towards this being a more covert operation by Israeli agents on the ground. I'm speculating here entirely, but it would follow a pattern, this kind of Israeli statement of that. And we've also just heard from a familiar figure, Javid Zahri, the former Iranian foreign minister, that in his words he thinks that Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, is pushing the region to the brink

of catastrophe. So no shortage of fiery rhetoric this morning. But Jessica, the ultimate question really here is what is it within Iran's capabilities to do as a response? Do they want to launch a full-scale war using Hezbollah, their proxy in Lebanon to the north of Israel?

Possibly unlikely, phenomenally damaging to that proxy, to Lebanon, to Israel as well. Would it be something they choose to do over this? Yes, they've suffered an acute embarrassment at a key guest like Haniyeh being killed in the security bubble of Tehran. But as they begin to let the details eke out of exactly how this happened, that will also potentially give them off-ramps.

for the extent of the response that they choose to take against Israel. Israel won't have done this if indeed they were behind it without already pre-calculating what that kind of response might necessarily be. But they'll also have the knowledge that perhaps they believe Hezbollah don't want a full-scale conflict. It's quite possible Israel doesn't really in its heart of hearts either. And at the same time Israel has seen in April

Iran directly launched 300 drones and missiles against Israel and find most of them intercepted by better Israeli and Western technology en route. And so a lot of questions as to what Iran has within its capability to do as a response. And we'll hear, I think, more details about how this happened. We'll give us more of a clue about what's likely from Tehran in the hours ahead. Jessica.

All right, Nick Payton Walsh, thank you so much. We also, I also, before I let you go though, I do want to ask you about, I was just asking Jonathan Conricus about these hostage negotiations and the ceasefire deal. He was making the case that maybe this puts pressure on Hamas to come to a deal, but there's also this thought that with him out of the picture, that this deal becomes even harder to get.

Yeah, look, I mean, it's odd to hear people talking about a ceasefire deal hours after the key Hamas negotiator in that was killed, it seems, by Israel. Yeah, maybe in the long run, certainly in the moderate future, the medium future, there will be continued talks possibly between Hamas and Israel because they simply can't avoid the fact that at some point negotiation will be how the horrific conflict in Gaza ends.

winds itself to an end. But right now, today, it does seem slightly atonal to hear Secretary of State Antony Blinken talk about the ceasefire being their main objective. Half of the negotiating team there, the negotiating group there has been killed by the Israelis and that will certainly undermine a lot of where they got to so far. Not particularly successful in the most recent history of these talks, but a huge disruption to kill one of the negotiators.

All right, Nick Payton Walsh, thank you very much. The redemption tour is complete. Simone Biles and Team USA Gymnastics clenching gold in the women's team finals yesterday. And their win, the culmination of what the team called their redemption tour after they finished second in the 2020 Tokyo Games due to a last-minute withdrawal by Biles. Biles officially becoming the most decorated American Olympic gymnast with eight medals.

Seven-time Olympic medalist Shannon Miller is joining us now. Shannon, good morning. Thanks so much for being with us. Walk us through what goes through a moment like that when you win gold, when you set a record like Simone Biles and her teammates did last night.

You know, I think it's almost surreal. And I know that the team is so excited right now, but it'll be 10 years from now when it truly sinks in the history that was made last night. And we saw a lot of history. We saw Brazil get a medal. We saw Italy get their first medal.

medal or first medal in a very long time. And it was just an incredible competition. But I love these girls. They have each gone individually through some really tough things in the last four, eight years on this long road. So to capture the gold last night and put on a really awesome show of difficulty and skill, it was awesome.

And you were part of the Magnificent Seven, of course, that took home gold in the 1996 Olympics. I loved watching that, by the way. That was so great. What's your reaction to this team name? This is their redemption tour. And that's kind of how they're going to go down now when we're talking about it, like you said, 10 years from now.

You know, I think as an athlete, you are always failing, right? You're always, you're falling off the beam, you're missing the mark. That's part of the process, right? Failure is part of the journey and you learn that early on. So I feel like your career is almost always about redemption and I can do this in every event you mistake. And then, okay, I've got to redeem myself on the next event. So

It really just goes along with the theme of sports and honestly, the theme of life for all of us are just, you know, when we make a mistake, we're trying to get back up and keep going. And I love what this team did. And by Simone getting that eighth medal, I mean, she's just inspiring so many young people, but also all of us to go after our goals and to just build big goals. Thank you, Shannon Miller. Great to talk with you. We appreciate it.

Thank you. And thank you for joining us. I'm Jessica Dean. CNN News Central starts right now.

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