UAE says it's intercepting Iranian missiles and drones

[0:00] Well, it's the most significant attack on a Gulf country since the ceasefire began last month. [0:04] The United Arab Emirates says air defense systems are engaging with attacks from Iran. [0:10] This is the first time Iran fired upon its neighbors in nearly a month. [0:14] UAE's Ministry of Defense says it's intercepting ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones, [0:19] leading to serious doubts over this temporary truce between the U.S. and Iran. [0:24] Stocks not liking the news, the Dow sinking, you can see they're down lower today, [0:28] while the price of oil hovers around $105 a barrel. [0:32] Meantime, President Trump is trying to up the pressure to get the gridlock Strait of Hormuz moving, [0:37] vowing that the U.S. military will help guide stranded ships safely through the critical waterway [0:42] with an operation dubbed Project Freedom. [0:45] Let's bring in our White House correspondent Karen Travers, [0:48] along with foreign correspondent Tom Sufi-Burridge and senior Pentagon reporter Louis Martinez. [0:52] So, Tom, let's start with you. What do we know about these attacks? [0:55] And if Iran is firing at Gulf countries, this would be presumably a violation of the ceasefire that is in place right now. [1:04] Yeah, I think that's pretty clear right now, Elizabeth. [1:05] The United Arab Emirates, its government is reporting drone and missile strikes within the last few hours, [1:13] saying that those drones and missiles were fired by Iran. [1:16] And what's significant here is it looks like the Iranians have hit in some way, possibly with a drone, [1:23] an area in Fujairah where there is an oil depot. Fujairah is in the east of the United Arab Emirates. [1:29] It's an oil depot, if you look at the geography, it's the east of the Strait of Hormuz. [1:32] And if you think about the timing here, it's come just hours after the U.S. military moved two warships [1:38] through the Strait of Hormuz and gave the security environment around that critical waterway [1:45] for two U.S.-linked cargo vessels to also breach effectively what has been a blockade by the Iranians [1:51] throughout the last few weeks. [1:53] And if you think about where the attack on Fujairah to the east of there, [1:57] that's the east of the Strait of Hormuz. [1:59] So that is an area where there have been able to be oil exports going out of that port up until now. [2:06] And so the Iranians seem to be sending a signal. [2:08] There's also critically been the report of a vessel, a cargo vessel off the coast of the UAE [2:15] in that broad vicinity, also struck. [2:18] That's been reported by the U.K. Navy's Maritime Observation Group. [2:23] So this seems to be all linked, and it seems to be the Iranians entering into this asymmetric warfare. [2:28] The idea that the U.S. military has moved to basically tackle Iran's control over the Strait of Hormuz, [2:35] and this seems to be Iran's response. [2:38] Yeah, clear escalation there, it would seem, Louis. [2:40] And then we have also some new reporting that the U.S. just sunk multiple Iranian boats. [2:46] What can you tell us about that? [2:48] Elizabeth, as you mentioned at the top, there is the launching of Project Freedom. [2:51] This is a new effort by the United States military to protect commercial shipping [2:55] that has been trapped inside the Persian Gulf now for almost 45 days. [2:59] The effort here is to provide a defensive shield. [3:01] And to that point earlier today, we understand that the United States military brought down some drones, [3:07] brought down some cruise missiles, and destroyed six small Iranian craft [3:13] that were targeting commercial shipping. [3:15] So this was all brought down by U.S. military and countermeasures. [3:19] But again, it highlights that there is a new mission to protect these ships [3:23] as they make their way through the Strait of Hormuz, [3:25] but at the same time that the United States is going to defend these ships as they go through [3:30] by bringing down anything that's being launched by the Iranians towards these vessels. [3:35] So questions are being raised now about whether this defensive action is a violation [3:39] of the United States ceasefire agreement with Iran. [3:42] But when we did hear from U.S. Central Command's Admiral Brad Cooper, [3:46] he just spoke with reporters just moments ago, [3:48] he said that it's not for him to decide whether this is a violation or not of the ceasefire. [3:54] He says his focus here and the focus of the U.S. military personnel [3:57] is to defend the shipping, the commercial ships that are transiting through the United States. [4:01] We know that two U.S.-flagged ships did make it through the Strait of Hormuz today [4:05] as part of this protective measure. [4:07] And according to Cooper, there are additional ships that will be making their way through [4:11] in coming hours, potentially over the next day or so. [4:15] But with regards to the situation in the United Arab Emirates, [4:18] he also deferred any comment on that and saying that that was a matter for the United Arab Emirates. [4:24] So for now, the U.S. military not commenting publicly on what is going on directly with the UAE [4:30] and those Iranian missiles that have been headed towards it. [4:32] Yeah, big question about what that means for the ceasefire at Karen. [4:37] And this comes as we are seeing low approval for the president on his own approval and also for this war. [4:43] Yeah, specifically his handling of the war. [4:46] Our new poll with The Washington Post and Ipsos found that 66 percent of Americans say they disapprove of this war with Iran right now. [4:53] And, you know, there's no comment yet from the White House about whether the president believes that what happened in the UAE would be a violation of the ceasefire. [5:01] Of course, the president has threatened to strike Iran if it violated the ceasefire and whether this is considered now to be an escalation. [5:08] The president, Elizabeth, of course, has been looking for a deal as he keeps putting it. [5:13] He does not want to get back to that point based on what he says publicly. [5:17] And you look at these poll numbers and it's very clear that gas prices are driving a lot of Americans' anxiety right now. [5:23] His numbers on his handling of the economy, his handling of the cost of living, his handling on inflation, [5:29] all significantly higher for his disapproval rating than his approval. [5:33] And, Elizabeth, that poll number also found 50 percent of Americans right now say they believe gas prices will get worse this year, not get better. [5:42] The president says as soon as the war ends, they're going to come plummeting right back down. [5:46] But, of course, you know this very well, experts say, it's going to take some time. [5:50] So if this is an escalation now, a violation of the ceasefire by Iran, and things get back to another heated state, [5:58] it could be a long time before Americans could see potential relief at the pump. [6:02] And, Karen, I know you'll bring us any update on if we do hear from the president on what this means. [6:06] Karen Travers, Tom Sufi Burge, Louie Martinez, thank you all so much.