closed captioning brought to you by invent help. this is cnn breaking news. hello and welcome, the u.s. strikes several targets. the impact is being assessed right now. the u.s. president is making it clear that this is just the start of retaliation after the deaths of three americans in jordan. this is video from what appears to be one of those strikes early saturday morning local time. the mayor of this time says the strikes hit houses used for weapons storage. the pentagon says u.s. bombers hit 85 individual targets in iraq and syria. the u.s. says the locations

were used by iran's revolutionary guards and by iranian backed militia. the pentagon says each was used by iranian backed groups. the video you saw comes from iraq on the border with syria. the attacks violated iraq sovereignty. the white house says iraq was notified before it unleashed it's military might. president biden released this statement. lets all those who seek to do us harm know this. if you harm an american, we will respond. let's get to cnn senior international correspondent ben weiterman. good to have you.

seven strikes were set off. just explain for us, how iraq is responding to these strikes. >> an iraqi spokesman linda has come out and said that the attacks are unacceptable. and a violation of iraqi security. that's not the first time the iraqis have said that after american strikes on militias in iraq and as you noted, iraqs in a rather odd position where by itself hosting 2,500 u.s. forces in the country, extensively there for the war against isis, but nonetheless there is a lot of unhappiness about not just the u.s. military presence there but iraq like so many countries across the middle east including where i am jordan. the people are very upset about the war in gaza.

which is now well into its fourth month approaching its fifth month. the beginning of its fifth month. and the death toll is constantly rising. many people across the middle east applaud these militias. applause hezbollah. because they believe unlike their government they are doing something to inflict pain on the united states. on the israelis, so it puts these regimes in a dilemma which is very difficult for them to deal with. because many of them are not friends with the iranians, in fact, they don't like the iranian government but they're also very sensitive to the fact that public opinion is squarely against israel and its war in gaza and also very clearly against the united states because of its very generous diplomatic and military support for israel's war in gaza, linda. >> the u.s. has said it does

not want to go to war with iran. iran has said the same. although it has said it will respond to what it calls bullies. what could the iranian response look like? >> well, diplomats i've spoken with have said that they believe the iranians don't want to go into a direct war with the united states. and they will probably continue perhaps to a lesser extent after these strikes to target american forces and for instance in the case of hezbollah to target israeli military positions in communities in northern israel. but if there were to be a full scale war with, between the united states and iran it would be a catastrophe. keep in mind the iranians with the help of their allies across the middle east are in a very good position to target

american forces. there are 45,000 u.s. troops spread between turkey and the united arab emirates and many are like sitting ducks out in syria. basically in the desert surrounded by hostile forces and busy protecting themselves more than doing anything else. so a war between the united states and iran would be catastrophic for the world economy given all the oil resources in the arabian peninsula and the gulf. that would be greatly affected. clearly both sides don't want a war but there's a very real danger with the strikes on u.s. forces and the u.s. strikes back on iran. many diplomats across the region will tell you the best way to reduce tensions would be for the united states to use

its considerable influence with israel to stop the war in gaza. linda. >> ben weiterman in jordan. we'll come back to you soon. thanks so much. the strikes happened just after the digny tpeued transfer of three american soldiers -- dignified transfer of three american soldiers. kennedy sanders, and briana moffett were carried off a military plane. president biden and first lady biden spoke to the family. this is biden's second as commander in chief. cnn white house correspondent lee has more details on strikes and the preparations ahead of them in washington. >> reporter: five days after a drone strike in jordan killed three u.s. service members, the united states taking the first set of actions striking seven

facilities in iraq and syria in response to the deaths of those three americans. a senior administration official making clear tonight that these strikes are going to be focused outside of iran and not inside iran in some ways not surprising given that u.s. officials have been very clear in recent days that striking facilities and assets inside iran would be akin to starting a war with iran something that the u.s. very much doesn't want according to white house officials. and president biden we're told has known for several days that today would be the night that the strikes began. he said in response, our strike began today and will continue until a date of our choosing. but let all those who might seek to do us harm know this, if you harm an american, we will respond. so of course the president making very clear that these strikes that we saw tonight have everything to do with those three fallen u.s.

soldiers. and wanting to send a message that if you come after an american, you will pay a price. but no indications at this moment in time from u.s. officials on exactly when and where we will see the pháebgs -- the next set of strikes from the u.s. retired u.s. general moore joins us with more. the u.s. sent bombers from america to carry out these strikes. can you explain why they would do that. what are these bombers capable of compared to air strikes already in the region? >> these bombers can carry a number of bombs that can be precision dropped. and so what you had is you had seven target areas with some 85 different aim points within those seven target areas. so the most efficient way to go after this is first of all, you have to make sure the syrian air defense is shut down. presumably we did that. and then these b1 bombers can

come in and they can drop precision ordnance. exactly on these various targets on a single path. if you had fighter planes in there they would be swooping and diving. they wouldn't be able to do it as efficiently as these bombers do. >> the u.s. did not strike any targets in iran but rather iranian backed militia in iran and syria. why was that important? >> i think the administration, the president certainly didn't want to start a war with iran. and he believed that if he went over the line there and struck into iran they would be forced to come back at us in some way. so this was pretty much what we expected. a lot of republicans and a lot of military analysts were saying if you really want to get iran's attention you have to strike inside iran. but the administration is moving step by step up this

ladder of escalation and at every step they're going assess it very carefully. iran has been in a 40 year struggle against the united states. they make no bones about it. maybe it's not really a war but it certainly a struggle. people have been killed. the united states has tried many different ways to resolve this. now it's up to the iranians. that i have see what the u.s. forces can do. they know we didn't strike inside iran. they know inside iran they have millions of iranians who would like to see their government overthrown. so they're being very cautious at this point. >> they also know the u.s. gave warning before carrying out these strikes. why would the u.s. do that? >> i think this is in keeping with the way the administration has worked this. so, yes, 85 aim points but maybe we can avoid excessive

casualties among these groups. let them know we're coming. if they evacuate they're not going to get all of their equipment out. we saw earlier the video of the ammunition dump that was hit with rockets flying everywhere. so they can't quickly do that but you can move out people and families that have been there and that you might be able to reduce the losses on the other side and at the same time send a strong warning. and i think that was the intent of the administration. >> general clark, there was some criticism about how long it took to retaliate after the three americans were killed. weather of course plays, has some sort of impact on these strikes. what do you know about what was taken into consideration in terms of the timing of these first set of strikes? >> obviously you had to collect the intelligence. where did the drone come from? how did that happen? that was a day or so. then you had to say okay, what will we do on response.

so the central command commander would have proposed shown targets. he would be using his best intelligence coming from the region but also from washington. and there would be a back and forth between the joint staff in washington and the central command commander and the appropriations of options. there would be a heavy option, a light option and an intermediate option. my guess is we went with a median option here on it. and normally it takes a day to brief it and then it comes back to the commander. some changes, some things he wants emphasized and so forth. and that's another 24 hours. so that is where the time went, i think. >> general clark, give us your perspective of how you see this playing out in the days and weeks to come. because the u.s. has said this is just the start of the response. and we have heard from iran who said it will respond to bullies. although it doesn't want a war. what do you expect comes next?

>> iran has many difference ways to respond. it can provide more assistance, it can reconstitute these militias. it can provide terrorist support against american embassies around the world. it probably has hit teams in the united states. it might attack u.s. infrastructure. there's a lot of things and of course there's a whole cyber realm. iran is, they're very sly, very careful. they don't want to stir up a ruckus such that they would lose their nuclear capacity. which is what israelis have been trying to stimulate an attack on that for 15 years. and it hasn't happened. we tried to control it with diplomacy and that didn't work. so the iranians are going to come back and do something. my guess is it will take a few days. several weeks before they can reconstitute these forces. and then depending on what happens in gaza, they'll be

back. so, we didn't really deter iran's hostility to the united states. we took a middle of the road approach to this, we showed u.s. power, you can be sure that on the terrorist websites and in their communication they're sort of laughing. yeah they gave us a lot of warning and we got all the people out and some of the bombs missed and blah, blah, bla because that's some of the bravado you expect from some of these people. what we have to do is look at whether we need to go back in and strike. >> thank you for your perspective. >> thank you so much. we're going to take a short break. we'll have much more on this breaking news story. we're going to look at the regional implications of the u.s. strikes on iranian backed militia in iraq and syria.

welcome back, the u.s. has launched strikes on 85 targets in syria and iraq. u.s. president joe biden says this is just the start of retaliation for an attack in jordan that killed three u.s. soldiers. the usb1 bombers struck early saturday morning.

each target was used by iranian backed groups. the strikes hit three houses used for weapon storage. >> the big question right now, how will iran and its proxies react? nick robinson has the regional state of play. >> of course one of the big concerns for the united states going into these strikes is that it didn't trigger a further escalation in the region. the tensions already clearly very high. the northern border of israel with hezbollah has exchange of fire every day. the idea to engage with hamas inside of gaza. the question is could these strikes then trigger a misinterpretation of another move. could it trigger one of iran's proxies in iraq and syria to strike back aggress i havely and therefor escalate the situation. well the first we've heard is from the iraqi government. a spokesman for the army there is saying it is a violation of

their sovereignty. now we've heard them say this before, so that in itself not necessary an escalation. the biggest and strongest of the iran backed militias hezbollah just before the strikes, minutes before the strikes on their telegram channel they said they were waiting for orders about what to do next. an indication that they're waiting for teheran their main sponsor how to respond to the events of the night. it's not clear yet how much damage has been done. how many of the rgic members and how much of their weapons have been damaged and destroyed overnight. but i think perhaps looking toward the president of iran who said, he said we're not looking to get into a direct fight with the united states. but is clearly hinting very strongly that there will be a response. he said we will deal with

bullies authoritly . -- three u.s. soldiers were killed just a matter of days ago by iranian weapons. what message does this send? >> the pentagon likes to say this is a message to stop the attacks on americans which had been playing out for decades now. but particularly since the war in gaza erupted in october. there's been over 160 attacks on american forces in both iraq and syria. more than 90 in syria, more than 60 in iraq.

and the united states is trying to send a strong message, by hitting seven facilities who are revolutionary guards of position inside iraq and syria. so they're trying to send a message to teheran without actually hitting in iran >> of course as you mentioned those seven locations, four in syria, three in iraq all within a few minutes. what more can you tell us about those locations and the targets and damage done. >> the positions of the iraqis and the iranian backed militias have been an area sharing a border in the valley. the iranians have managed to tap into discontent. managed to fill the value

vacuum which really is across the middle east. iran is mainly shiite country but has managed. iran has been able to tap into the dissent. the disgruntled communities in lebanon, iraq, libya and yemen and build a network of allies, it's truly astonishing. >> it really is. and we heard from iran's president saying iran will not start a war but will respond to what it calls a bully. we know that iran is a country that jails people that oppose it. what could the response be from iran? >> its can unleash its own militias or attack forces like

it did after the death of a leader that was responsible for foreign operations. iran has some options. the irony or tragedy perhaps here is that i think neither the united states nor iran wants a war. both sides have said, public lip, that they want to avoid a conflict. the problem is there is such momentum in the 10 different conflicts that have flaired across the middle east in recent years. how they've converged into one. it's very hard to see how either u.s. military force or american diplomacy can end them all any time soon. >> we've seen in the past few years, iran a country that has faced some pretty massive protests, people in the country protesting against the regime. the country continues to crack down on those people. just a few weeks ago 23-year- old man who used to work in a barber shop was executed for taking part in those anti

government protests. what's iran's end game in terms of how we're seeing these strikes and possible response by iran. what does iran hope to achieve by potentially drawing the u.s. further into the region. into further conflict. >> iran celebrates the 45th anniversary. it's goal is to push the americans out. forcing the marines out bombing two american embassies. it worked against israel and after an 18 iraqi patient in lebanon, israel withdrew

without a peace deal. we've seen kind of a depth and scope of iran's presence in the region. and seeing how far it is willing to go to achieve its goal of getting the united states and its allies to leave. >> robin rye we appreciate your perspective and analysis as always. thanks so much for joining us. >> thank you. still to come. how the weather in the middle east was a factor on when the u.s. launched the air strikes. that story along with a look at the forecast in the region. >> plus a u.s. commander now apparently out of his job. we'll explain how he got on the bad side of president zelenskyy.

closed captioning brought to you by invent help. welcome back, the united states is promising even more action against iranian backed militia after hitting dozens of targets in iraq and syria overnight. the u.s. did not confirm exact locations north side those countries. but security officials in iraq reported damage near the syrian border. the strike marks the first attack at -- after an attack

that killed three americans in jordan. this will unfold at times and places of our choosing. we do not seek conflict in the middle east of any where else but we will not. >> that is an order of magnitude more powerful than the strikes we've seen the u.s. carry out in iraq and syria over the course of the last several months. it's also worth noting this is the first time we have seen the u.s. strike iraq and syria simultaneously. meantime in ma briefing following these strike, the white house and dod say from what they initially know of the

strikes they were successful at hitting the targets they were going for that included a long list of facilities used by iran's islamic revolutionary guard force and associated militias here. command and control information centers, intelligence centers, weapons storage facilities. you can really see on the targets going after the types of weapons used to target u.s. forces in the region and all of the logistics and command and control needed to carry out those sorts of attacks. the u.s. had made it clear it wasn't trying to start a war with iran here and very much trying to avoid that possibility. no strikes in iran but very much going after iran's proxies in the region and the ability of the proxies to carry out attacks in the region. these strikes come five days after a drone attack in the region killed three u.s. service members in jordan and wounded scores more. but it's not just that, there have been more than 160 attacks on u.s. forces in the region

and this was effectively an attack. austin being more blunt on this in a statement after this saying this is the start of our response. the key question here of course what does the rest of that response looks like and where does it play out. oren lieberman, cnn. the weather in the middle east played a role in the timing of the strikes. friday was the best opportunity to ensure the u.s. was hitting the correct targets and avoiding any quote unnecessary casualties. cnn meteorologist chad myers has more on that and the conditions in the region in the days ahead. >> weather has played a role on weather operations for hundreds if not thousands of years. and yesterday was no different. the skies were completely clear over syria and iraq.

not a cloud in the sky. but that is about to change. there will be significant clouds coming over the mediterranean from the west to the east oversyria and then over iraq. this is going to happen later on today and some of those clouds will be so thick and so moisture laiden from that military. that will certainly limit visibility out there especially from the sky. some of these clouds will break up on tuesday morning and by tuesday afternoon, and wednesday, the skies will completely clear again. >> our thanks to chad. the leaders of hamas and islamic jihad reiterated their demands on friday. they're calling for a quote complete end to the aggression and full withdrawal of israeli forces from gaza as part of any deal. it comes after negotiator in paris last weekend reportedly

reached a broad frame work for the hostages to be released and a potential cease-fire in the war. however israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu has said as recently as this week that he would not agree to a full withdrawal from gaza until israel has completed its goal of eliminating hamas. a new report from unicef says the war has left at least 17,000 children in gaza unaccompanied or separated from their parents. u.n. agency estimates that nearly all children in gaza more than 1 million of them need mental help and psychological support. children are suffering from high levels of anxiety, panic, inability to sleep, emotional outbursts whenever they hear bombings and air strikes. they add that people who were

taken in already needed help because of the humanitarian crisis. on friday, president zelenskyy met with general valieri salusni and other officials to discuss military matters. mr. zelenskyy later referred to him as the commander in chief in a social media post. sources have told cnn the general is expected to be out of a job by the end of the week. his dismissal would be the first shake up since the start of russia's invasion. many ukrainians see him as the right man for the job and holding back russia's on sloth in the early days of the war. how the popular general fell out of favor with the president. >> reporter: since moscow forces invaded ukraine over three years ago, the general

has been behind the effort to push russia's back. respected command erp close to its troops. >> the path to our victory is very hard, he said at a military funeral and the price for this victory is the lives of our warriors. the best citizens of ukraine who have stood in the defense of the country with weapon s in their hands. but after ukraine's large scale counter offensive failed last year, force is making little head way while suffering bigger losses. zelenskyy seemingly critical of his top generas gy >> i have working relations, he has to answer for results on the battlefield as commander in chief together with the general's staff zelenskyy said.

there are many questions. 90% supported him compared to 60 for zelenskyy. another point of contention between the two, further mobilization of soldiers to beef up the armed forces and to give troops fighting on the front lines a breather. as for the local mobilization offices as of now frankly speaking i'm not satisfied with the work of the mobilization officers if i were satisfy -- satisfied with their work, we would not discuss this bill right now. but zelenskyy is critical of further mobilization, an unpopular measure for ukrainians. take everyone away because they don't have money, that really smells like slavery. as harsh as it might sound it's necessary because it's a matter where it seems to me there is no choice. outmanned and outgunned, ukraine's army is struggling to

hold the russians up while the president's relations with his top general seem damaged possibly beyond repair. cnn, kyiv. still to come an unusual trial in the u.s. state of michigan. a jury will decide whether the mother of a teenage school shooter should go to prison for playing a role in her son's crimes. details coming up after the break.

c1 welcome back, good to have you with us. i want to give you a quick update now on the latest u.s. strikes in iraq and syria. washington feels confident about the accuracy of saturday's attack. all the signs appear to show that the targets hit where intended. the u.s. blames that militia's for sunday's drone attack at its military outpost. it's unclear who launched the

attack. an activist group posted this video in the wake of the u.s. attack. the latest case involving former president trump has been delayed for his election interference case in washington, d.c. the trial was set to begin march 4. the u.s. district judge delayed the trial while the courts hear a case on trump's claims of presidential immunity. this is a win for former president trump's team which has been working to push the trial past his november presidential election. it's not clear when the case will be heard. jennifer crumbley the mother of a high school shooter finished her testimony. on monday the jury is expected to start deliberating whether she should pay for her role in her son's actions. >> we saw the last day he was

practicing to kill four of his classmates and there was only one person with him that day ladies and gentlemen, and that was jennifer crumbley. >> it was unforeseeable, no one could have expected this including mrs. crumbley. >> reporter: attorneys making their final pitches to persuade the jury of the mother of the oxford, michigan shooter. >> he walked out of that school with the smallest of things. could have stayed, could have helped. hannah and tate and madison and justin. just the smallest of things. and not only did she not do it, she doesn't even regret it. >> the crumbley son was a skilled manipulator and they didn't realize it. he's not sick, he doesn't have a mental illness. no parent would purchase a weapon if they believed their

child had mental illnesses. >> before closing arguments began, crumbley faced cross- examination saying their son acted like he had depression after his friend moved. >> i didn't nope -- know what he had in school. he told me he had friends in school he talked to. >> you never met them. >> no. >> he had no clubs in school he was involved in. >> no. >> reporter: crumbley has pleaded not guilty. she is facing four counts of murder. the prosecution pressing crumbley on her actions on the day of the shooting. that morning the school called in jennifer crumbley and her husband after discovering a violent drawing their son made

on a notebook. >> how about blood everywhere. there was a bullet. you were the one who bought the bullets on november 27th. you later learned that those bullets were used in school. >> i did. >> you didn't tell them that you had gotten him that christmas gift. >> i didn't think it was relevant, no. >> you didn't go home to look at that firearm after the shooting at the school. >> we would have no reason to. >> reporter: her son used that gun to kill four of his classmates after that meeting on november 30, 2021. the prosecution asking crumbley if she neglected her son, talking about how often she spent time with her horses. >> your son could have been with you those three, four, five times a week you were at the barn. >> he could have, yes. >> on november 30, 2021, at 4:51 p.m. you could have been with him.

>> i could have, yes. >> and you didn't. >> no. >> in closings, crumbley's lawyers dismisses that argument. >> just because she spends money and time on horses, doesn't mean she doesn't love her son. >> closing arguments concluded late friday afternoon. the jury will return on monday when they will hear instructions from the judge then they will begin their deliberations. gene cazares. >> we're going to take a quick break, stay with us, you're watching cnn.

we are following airstrikes in iraq and syria where the u.s. said it hit 85 targets linked to iranian backed militia. the attack launched at midnight local time saturday in response to a drone strike in jordan, it

killed three american soldiers on sunday. u.s. president joe biden warned that this is just the beginning of the u.s. response, adding, quote, it will continue at times and places of our choosing. we are still waiting for more details on the damage but a pentagon official says casualties are expected. we will have more on this story as it unfolds. dozens of french say they will continue to protest since the government has not approved the request for change. many others started lifting blockades after the government announced confessions. to the north, dutch and belgian farmers have joined together in a broader blockade on the same day complaining in part about eu regulations. >> translator: my message to europe is they should think very carefully. we have very nice products here in the eu and we want to

continue to make those products. >> translator: people are fed up. we can see it clearly, given the scale of the mobilization. we know that the level of being fed up has reached its maximum. >> caller: why are we carrying on? because lots of us farmers think we have not been hurt on, keeping sustainability matters. >> farmers have been protesting for weeks in many european countries about competition from ukraine and other issues. apple is just introducing its vision pro, this is the committee's first new product in seven years. there is the ceo, tim cook, celebrating the launch at the apple store in new york city with about 200 people from all around the world. the wearable device is a mixed reality headset lending --

blending virtual reality with the real world. you can navigate it's apps with your eyes, hands and voice. it promises the ultimate personal theater experience for about $3500 per it is available in the u.s. but apple has not said when it will be sold internationally. we want to take a look at outerspace as you have never seen it before. the web telescope is captured, incredible images of 19 spiral galaxies in unprecedented detail. they showcase the stars, gas and dust within the intricate structure of east galaxy. the galaxy center features clusters of old stars or supermassive black holes. astronomers say they are excited to study the newest, most massive stars in the galaxies. they say they hope to learn about how galaxies nurture and sees the formation of stars. thanks so much for watching. i will be back with more of our

coverage in just a moment. we have much more on the u.s. retaliatory strikes in iraq and syria.