fox news channel later today. >> likely live, we are being told. but we don't know what time. >> i do know this, you can watch bill hemmer and sandra smith or run over to the radio, or don't forget about fox nation after the show. >> bill: thank you, good morning. fox news alert now. as we mentioned, waiting to hear from the president. will he say the morning after iran strikes back? here was the scene at one of the two bases hit overnight. so, tehran firing more than a dozen missiles that two iraqi military bases, which house american troops. now the commander in chief is set to address the nation for the first time publicly. good morning, everybody. we said it was an important day yesterday. it's even more so today. hello, i'm bill hemmer live here in new york city. center, good morning.

>> sandra: big morning, stay with us. and sandra smith. the president tweeted all was well shortly after the regime launched missiles at those two airbases in iraq, housing u.s. troops. they called districts a crushing blow, saying if the u.s. retaliates, so we'll tehran. >> bill: there is one big question. what will the president say and what might he do next? >> this was an act of war, sean, by any reasonable definition. the missiles were launched from iran at targets inside of iraq housing u.s. military personnel. the president has all the authority needs under articl article 2 to respond, and how he responds is yet to be determined. but he has that authority to respond. >> bill: over the next three hours may have every angle covered. senator joe manchin live on the hills, kristin fisher reports from the white house, but we begin yet again today in baghdad with trey yingst. trey? >> bill, good morning. overnight those 15 ballistic

missiles fired from iran toward that iraqi military base that does housed american troops. according to defense officials, ten of the missiles did hit the intended target. one of them striking a base near the city of erbil in northern iraq. four of them failed. reports indicate that iran verbally informed the iraqis of the strikes are before they occurred. they also reportedly notified finland, a neutral intermediary, who likely notified u.s. forces. here in baghdad over night we saw accent of helicopter and fighter jet activity. a lot of military movement, but no strike knew the iraqi bases that i was u.s. troops near baghdad. there is concern today that this response. iraqi militias despite confirmation no casualties in the strike last night, the iranians are claiming victory. >> translator: well, last night we slept. these military actions are not

enough. what is important is that the corrupt presence of america in this region comes to an end. >> all the major international airlines, including emirates, royal jordanian, and egypt air avenue canceled flights in and out of baghdad. additionally, we are getting reports that the united nations is evacuating their post in baghdad's green zone off to my left. the region preparing for the possibility of a strong response by the trump administration. we will certainly have to wait and see what the commander in chief decides. >> bill: thank you, trey. good work, back with you throughout the morning. >> sandra: the big question, will the u.s. do next? president trump expected dispute from the white house shortly after the strikes. he treated this message out that "all is well, missiles launched from iran that two military bases located in iraq. assessment taking place now. so far, so good. we have the most powerful and well-equipped military any where in the world by far and i will be making a statement tomorrow

morning." which takes us to this moment now. at the white house as we weave the president. what can we expect? kristin, good morning. >> it's been pretty quiet here at the white house. it's clear the trump administration is holding any reaction until president trump delivers his big address of the nation. at some point later this mornin. we do not know when that will be or what he will say. the president's response could be anything from announcing that the u.s. is going to retaliate to perhaps offering iran some sort of diplomatic off-ramp from these ongoing hostilities. it appears that iran did not injure or kill any u.s. troops in the strikes last night. remember, president trump has said that simply attacking american assets in the region could be enough to warrant a response. >> i will say this -- if iran does anything that they shouldn't be doing, they are going to be suffering the

consequences, and very strongly. >> that was the president in the oval office just yesterday. on the other side of pennsylvania avenue, today the secretary of state, the secretary of defense, and the treatment of the joint chiefs of staff will be briefing congress about the administrations decision to take out soleimani, iran's top commander. that was what iran was responding to with the strikes last night. democrats have a lot of questions about the intelligence behind the imminent attack that the demonstration says it stopped by taking out soleimani, and they are continuing to push for legislation to rein in the president's ability to launch a war without coming to congress first. here at the white house, the vice president, mike pence, has arrived. there are reports that other top administration officials have also arrived here this morning. again, so far we still have not heard when that addressed in the nation is going to take place. the ball is really back in president trump's court. sandra, after days of waiting to see how iran would respond, and other world is waiting to see

what president trump is going to do. >> sandra: thinks could change at any moment. kristin fisher, thank you. >> bill: a tidal wave of reaction, as you can expect real it's art with joe manchin. senator, good morning to you. >> good morning, bill. how are you? >> bill: i'm fine, thank you for your time. what do you expect, senator? >> i've said this before, we are the only superpower left in the world. to be a superpower takes more than just military might or super financial night. it takes super diplomacy. i think now is the time for the president to show the true super diplomacy that can bring everybody back together and calm this thing down. we have so many troops on the front lines, so many families. we owe that to everybody to do everything we can to bring and ratchet this down if we can. we are not going to let iran have it swayed, if you will. on the other hand, we have to understand that this was not a surprise, the attack last night. we knew something was coming.

they telegraph that pretty openly. that was their message, and they can save face, diplomacy should now take shape so we can get back some type of discourse or some type of basic re-stability. that we can work, even though we have our differences come without a full-blown war. >> bill: if you look a law of the england out a lot of the language, you look up to it from president and the foreign minister, javad zarif. he talked about taking measures. what gives me pause is with the ayatollah said in tehran. that revenge is something else, this was just a slap in the face last night. so language is important. what you take from that? speak a language, bill, is important on both sides. over their language is very important. their honor, how they take things in such a personal way, and want revenge on everything. we have to look at it from the standpoint that we are the superpower of the world.

we are the leaders of the world. we are basically the peacekeepers of the world, we have always been that. we should continue to strive for that. bottom line is that america has the might to do what it needs to do in order to bring peace about. not just from a standpoint of what iran and the bad actors -- i didn't vote for the jcpoa. i didn't think iran would ever keep its bargain. i want the president to succeed. i want him to work with congre congress. the president has the responsibility to protect this country and every citizen of this great country of america of ours. he also does not have the right to take us to war without congress being included in that. that's what we are talking about. right now -- >> bill: you are not suggesting we are headed that way, are you? >> i'm not suggesting that, and i should pray to the good lord it doesn't go in that direction. but the bottom line is that we keep talking about the authority to use military force.

it needs to have congress' involvement in that. it hasn't been done since 2002 after the 9/11 attack in 2001. whether it be a democrat or republican president, it is not against the president trump. i said this -- i personally like president trump, but i love my country and i would think we are thinking about our country more than we are -- whether it's republican or democrat or you like and who you dislike. this is bigger than that. >> bill: did you support the killing of soleimani last friday morning? >> the bottom line was this was a bad actor. this person probably should have been, for all purposes, from a war standpoint, how he has raised war against americans and american troops, taken out in some fashion many, many years ago. this person has been around and a bad actor for a long time. you want to know what's going back on both sides? the president hasn't been that fond of intelligence agencies, all of the sudden this becomes

the gospel. hopefully today at 2:00 we will be able to find out what the -- >> bill: that is my understanding. you have not been briefed yet but that will happen this afternoon? >> ours happens at 2:00 today. we have all four of the top people. >> bill: one last question on that. some members of congress were briefed yesterday. have you been privy to any of the information that they were given? >> we have the gang of eight. on that level, that's the president and vice president, his intelligent staff. but they are meeting with the eight leaders, democrats and republicans, there has to be some civility. this partisan divide has to stop, bill. we can't continue. i'm an american paid whether i'm a democrat or republican, i'm an american first. this is what this is about. president trump is my president, i want them to succeed. on the other hand, i want them to understand there's three branches of government and we have to work together. >> bill: senator, thank you. joe manchin, the democrat from west virginia. thanks for coming back, we will see you again very soon and

follow up on the briefing you get later today. thank you, sir. >> sandra: on that note, big show coming up. congressman michael mccaul's or hard-liner. next hour he will join us at 10:30 a.m. eastern time, just over one hour from now. a bit later on we will hear from commerce and will hurd. both of them will be in that class by with top intelligence officials this afternoon. numbers of congress and the american people hoping to learn a whole lot more, and we should in the coming hour. >> bill: we mentioned no casualties reported for the americans or iraqis. people trying to beat into what that may or may not mean. we can't say just yet but we will follow bit and let you know what the sources at the pentagon tell us about what they conclude. in the meantime, another major story in tehran happening last night. out of iran, a passenger jet that carried 176 people crashes only minutes after takeoff. so how did this happen? coming up. >> sandra: as we await any breaking news out of the white house this morning, joe biden wasting no time

slamming the president's decision to take out general soleimani. our in seed chairwoman ronna mcdaniel as our guest. she will join us next. speak of the feeler to consult with our allies or congress, and the in my view it was dangerously incompetent. i wish i had gone into aspen dental much sooner. when you're not able to smile, you become closed off. having to live with bad teeth for so long was extremely depressing. now, i know how happy i am. there was all the feeling good about myself that i missed and all of the feeling bad about myself that was unnecessary. at aspen dental, we're all about yes. like yes to free exams and x-rays for new patients without insurance. yes to flexible hours and payment options. and yes, whenever you're ready to get started, we are too. don't wait, book at aspendental.com or call today. a general dentistry office.

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>> sandra: fox news alert now, a ukrainian passenger jet carrying 176 people crashing after takeoff in iran last night. there were no survivors. the boeing 737 jet took off for kiev from tehran international airport, several hours after the iran missile strike hit two iraqi basis. again, 167 passengers, nine crewmembers on board, no americans were on that flight.

the cause of the crash still not known. iranian authorities are working through the debris at this hour. the black boxes have been recovered, and another fox news alert, the president will be addressing the nation at 11:00 a.m. eastern time. we have just been told from the grand foyer this morning. we'll get an update on all of that lie from the president. >> bill: we will bring it to you then. ronna mcdaniel, meanwhile, chair of the republican national committee. good morning to you. would you expect from the president and trying to reassure the nation here coming up in two hours? >> i think the president has shown decisive leadership in the face of the provocation of iran. when you look at them striking down our drown, what they did with the tankers, the president was restrained. but he said if you attack an american or taken american life, we will act. he did so decisively in a way that left no equivocation. i think that is the right thing, especially with 14, who took

hundreds of american lives, who has american blood on his hands, to say enough is enough and we won't stand for this. when you attack erebus and take american lives i think he will address that today. and talk about why he took the actions he took, which has made a company on my country safer. >> bill: 11:00 a.m. eastern time, 43 minutes from now. it's a campaign year, politics are difficult to avoid in stories like this. joe biden was in new york yesterday. i want to pay a clip of what he said about foreign policy. i also want to make clear that he made these comments well before the iran strikes last night. >> what we've heard so far from this president our tweets , threats, and tantrums. all we've heard from this administration are shifty explanations, evasive answers, repeated assertions of an imminent threat without the necessary evidence to support that conclusion. >> bill: he said a lot in

there. that last point about necessary evidence to support that conclusion, your reaction on that as you get his comments, ronna? >> it's very sad to see joe biden engage in this type of baseless accusation against our president. joe biden, whose own secretary of defense said that biden has gotten every foreign policy decision wrong pretty much in his lifetime, against the raid on usama bin laden, and not waiting for the intelligence community to have the opportunity to brief the senators in the house members as to the imminent threats that we are facing. not just our diplomats, but our men and women overseas. for him to make that type of assertion, should not take a breath, to not support the president, put partisanship aside. this is a time where we know that an american life was taken. we know our embassy was attack attacked. what should the president have done? absolutely, he needed to act. joe biden is showing he would not have acted in that type of situation. >> bill: it's one of the big

issues in the campaign. one big question on this -- he went after speaker pelosi in a significant way yesterday. why? >> because she said the president's response was disproportionate. i would like to hear her say that to the men and women who have been urged by ieds, who have been maimed, who have lost limbs. the family members who have lost loved ones because of the actions of soleimani. he took american lives over and over again. for her to say that the president's response was disproportionate is shameful. last night as those bombs were coming over, she said, "i am going to monitor the situation." she did from a high-priced washington restaurant at a social hour. this is somebody who is not to care foreign policy seriously, she should be supporting the president. more than that she should be supporting the men and women in this country want to see this terrorist removed. >> bill: in defensive speaker pelosi, nobody knew those missiles wer would fall lt night. it's because she was brief

before that, she got a call from the president and went to the party afterwards. >> bill: we are getting direction from all sides today. thank you for your time. >> sandra: we are awaiting president trump, out of the 11:00 a.m. eastern time our wiki will be addressing the nation after the iranian missile attack on u.s. forces last night. what we are learning about the arsenal that iran has at its disposal. "1917 is a soaring tribute to heroism." if you don't get there in time, we will lose sixteen hundred men. i can't see! keep hold of me! come on! jump! quitting smoking is freaking hard.st, like quitting every monday hard. quitting feels so big. so, try making it smaller. and you'll be surprised at how easily starting small... ...can lead to something big. start stopping with nicorette

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it does more for a cold sore. >> sandra: the president will be speaking to the nation on the iran at 11:00 a.m. from the white house, and as we await his remarks on last night's military attacks on bases housing american troops, pentagon officials telling fox news they believe iran possesses over 2,000 ballistic missiles. u.s. warships are nearby in the gulf of oman standby for orders. let's bring in retired navy seal david sears, joining us now. good morning to you. first up, as we await the president, obviously he has been discussing the next steps and the options we have as far as what happens next. what are our options? >> we will begin with one. if there is u.s. casualties,

al-assad is a pretty big air base. did they deliberately miss? some face-saving measure. no u.s. casualties. i think it presents an opportunity. one, to de-escalate. president trump could step back, show some restraint, and you had foreign minister zarif's text that came out that iran has concluded their event operations. so if there is no further action from the part of iran, there's an opportunity to de-escalate. i think that would be the wise decision, if all those other factors i talked about are in place. >> sandra: i think that's a really important thing to bring in here. you have the president tweeting out "all is good," and we will hear from him himself here in a matter of hours. then the iran foreign minister, as you mention, zarif, tweeting this at about the same time last night. "iran took and concluded proportionate measures in self defense under article 51 of u.n. charter targeting base from which currently armed attack against our citizens and senior

officials were launched. we do not seek escalation or war, but will defend ourselves against any aggression." what did you take away from th that? >> i think the most important word there is "concluded." i think iran had to respond, and they did this as a face-saving measure. they published it and put it out on their tv networks, all over iran, showing it. there is likely going to be rhetoric in iran. they've killed hundreds of americans or something, devastated bases. at cyber believe the normal use. the message he's sending seems to be "we are done." president trump can de-escalate, i think, and i would gladly trade soleimani for a couple missile strikes that incurred no u.s. casualties. >> sandra: and of course another options that could break down, even if there is de-escalation in the works. here is the iranian president

rouhani. "general soleimani fight the mike fought against isis, all new strata come at all. if it weren't for his work, capitals would be in great danger now. our final answer will be to kick all u.s. forces out of the region. "what similar to the region, david? >> that's difficult to say. though region has changed dramatically since the iraq war and since our ability to produce more oil on that economic front. so what does our presence in the region really still do? it is a catalyst for some of these events? it has to be heavily looked at, as well. how much you either militarily? you still engage diplomatically, embassies, places like that. we should look hard at what our permanent presence is in that region and why we have it. >> sandra: if we are forced to

leave against our will, washington has already threatened sanctions on iraq. so we will stay with the president has to say about that this morning. looking forward to that, an hour and a half from now, would you expect to hear from the president? obviously the language, the words he uses, the tone he takes are all very important. >> they are all important, especially if he's going to de-escalate. what i don't want to see is -- there are two other options. the massive strike option, where you come in and take out iran's ability to project power at all. you start with their navy, there ballistic missile sites, the nuclear sites, start hitting asymmetrical warfare sites outside the country. you have to completely take away their ability to protect their power. that can be done without u.s. boots on the ground, and we have the capabilities to do that. it would incur thousands, probably, of iranian lives lost. mostly military. it wouldn't be hitting civilian sites. but that is sort of a last resort option, if your indians

have killed u.s. personnel or continue to ratchet up. the onl other option is tit-for, it were the missiles came from to show we're going to respond. that is likely the worst option that the president can go with. that leads to prolonged escalation and paint tit-for-tat back and forth you are not really degrading their capability. my sense from his treats, from zarif's tweets, is that he is going to kind of take a de-escalate tory tone, sort of declare some sort of victory in terms of soleimani dead for a couple of failed missile strikes. >> sandra: david sears lay it out for us. we will hear from president president himself shortly. thanks for your time this morning. >> bill: coming up at about 9:30 east coast time, foreign policy front and center in this presidential race. democratic candidates taking aim of the president and also at each other, frankly, as we waiting for the president in the

white house. the dnc can medications directory as our guest live coming up after this. excuse me a minute... hi dad. no. don't try to get up. hi, i'm julie, a right at home caregiver. and if i'd been caring for tom's dad, i would have noticed some dizziness that could lead to balance issues. that's because i'm trained to report any changes in behavior, no matter how small, so tom could have peace of mind. we'll be right there. we have to go. hey, tom. you should try right at home. they're great for us. the right care. right at home.

>> bill: 9:33 a.m., this is part of the story. the financial markets and open for business, and what we have right here is a rather sharply unchanged picture for the dow. up about six points, bouncing around, but pretty even now as we try to engage the reaction for investors. they look at that, and the price of oil spiked over the beacon, came back.

it appears to have stabilized. that is your measure of how all of the big money -- >> sandra: that's a picture now come up when this happened last night you had an extreme reaction in the futures overnight. a sell-off in stocks, gold spiked. that's a safe haven in the markets. then the calm side and after the president's tweets, "no american casualties." we will see what happens when the president talks a short time from now. markets will be watching. >> my heart and my prayers are with our military and with their families. [applause] this is a reminder why we need to de-escalate tensions in the middle east. the american people do not want a war with iran. >> sandra: that was elizabeth warren following last nights missile strikes by iran, as for imposing us to take center stage on the campaign trail. how will all of this figure

long term of the 2020 presidential race? joining us now, so do you know so xochitl, good morning to you. thank you for being here. as no foreign policy is emerging as a top priority on the campaign trail, which of the candidates are strongest on foreign policy? >> i think you for it all of the candidates talk about how this was a bad actor. he was someone who was going after americans, and i think no one mourns the loss of his life. i think you are also hearing people on the campaign trail talk about how we must de-escalate. nobody wants a war. that is very clear right now. i think what is even more nerve-racking for americans is we don't know what the plan is. we don't know what the plan is moving forward. the president hasn't consulted with congress are shown in the intelligence yet. i think all across the board, or candidates right now are showing the american people how they would be better on foreign

policy. they would be an even hand compared to donald trump. i think that's exactly right. it's a scary time in our count country. i have heard from friends and relatives all across the country right now, they don't like the uncertainty. they don't like what president trump is during trial country. >> sandra: do they like what bernie sanders -- does bernie sanders taking on joe biden's foreign policy trucker girl, do they like joe biden's password on iraq? 's are going to a problem for him? >> they were like a steady hand. they want a steady hand. you are seeing candidates talk about who be the best candidate in chief. any of our candidates are and i would be better than donald trump. any of our candidates would have a cabinet, a full cabinet and full intelligence community around them, and they would consult with intelligence communities and congress instead of making rash decisions and potentially have no plans.

it's unclear after less that what will happen. >> sandra: we will hear from the president shortly. looking specifically at these candidates, because they seem to be taking each other on for who is best suited on foreign policy. pete buttigieg seems to be owning his military experience. could that be a winning option for him? >> that'll be up to the voters. i think right now we are less than a month away from the iowa caucus. given foreign policy is front and center, given health care is front and center, i have no doubt that caucus-goers and primary voters in the next few weeks will be making their decision on who has the best health care plan. who is the best on foreign policy? all of these issues. so we will see that from the american people. i have no doubt there will be a lot of enthusiasm, because people right now are scared and they want a president with an even hand. >> sandra: i want to play the sound from joe manchin, he joined us earlier on this program. he was also on fox yesterday. before the strike happened, that

his own party and how democrats have reacted to all of this. here's joe manchin. >> the president is charged and has the responsibility to keep america safe rate if there is an imminent threat, he has the ability and the authority to act. i don't dispute that whatsoever and i don't think anyone should dispute that. but it's not his responsibility to take us to war unless congress approves it. >> sandra: moving on from that as we await the president, i want to ask you about the state of the race. you look at the real clear politics average, pulling in iowa, you see that bernie sanders is the front runner there, pulling 22%. what happens next as we walk are we further into 2020? >> well, we'll see what happens when people start voting in a short month. i think you are very important context coming up. you have a record turnout in those states, and i want to also remind your viewers that the race is about -- es, two win

iowa and new hampshire and south carolina and nevada, all of those are important states. but we will be looking at delegates. the number of delegates the people get out of these races. that's what's important. out of the first four early states, that's only 5% of delegates. if you want to win the democratic nomination, you have to have a strategy that's beyond the first four of the seats. 50% of the delegates are after super tuesday. >> sandra: were running out of time. as bernie sanders the nominee? >> we don't know who the nominee is, that's up to the voters. >> sandra: joe biden is getting hit from all sides. could elizabeth warren gain some momentum? final thought. speak of the beauty of the primary is this is not about the dnc, it's about the voters. the voters will decide who our nominee is and you have to have a ground game in order to get those votes. >> sandra: to xochitl, we appreciate your time this morning. >> thank you for having me. >> bill: another big story, deadly fires have done extensive damage in australia. these satellite images show the

smoke from the fires over south america. 7,000 miles away. 23 people killed, countless animals are feared dead in the fires. veterans pitching in to help those who have survived. >> with the poor little fella has lots of burns, their hands are really brick. some have burned their noses in their face. that got a lot of cinched for and also injuries to her lungs. >> bill: the world's top tennis players coming to give it a play charity matches that of this month australian open. it will go toward relief and recovery efforts. they are bringing a lot of money to help a lot of people. they are not done yet. >> sandra: absolutely. we are waiting president after iran struck braces with u.s. forces in them. what is next for the president, and the next move will be broadcast from the white house shortly. >> bill: also, the estranged husband of a missing connecticut mother five. he is now facing a murder charge

seven months after she disappeared. we've got a legal panel, we will tell you but the latest of elements in the case of jennifer dulos. >> the state of connecticut has thrice now driven a dagger into the presumption of innocence and into the heart of mr. dulos by accusing him of scandalous crimes. we are confined and constrained in what we can say at this point.

>> and they are the last ones that want an all-out war with the united states, because the thing they care about the most is regime survival. they have a long history of marching right up to the edge and then eventually backing down and surviving. to spread it, it's malfeasance. >> bill: congress michael waltz, a veteran, from florida. the target zones late last evening, missiles fired from iran. that's up in kurdish territory. the assad airbase in western

anbar province took about ten different muscles. remember, four of them are luncheon field. this air base, by the way, is massive. it covers an area that's at least 15 square miles. it's been used by the american military for going on 15 years. you've got about 1500 u.s. and coalition force clea station th. the u.s. military has been there for some time. first use in 2003 after the invasion to take down saddam hussein. the president was there, in fact, back in december 2018. the vice president made a trip there, as well. dr. rebecca grant is a military analyst. thank you for coming in today. you said this is somewhat typical because iran has reacted this way on at least two other occasions. once in syria in 2017, iraq in

2018. go ahead and explain. >> that's right, this is the revenge tactic. they struck against targets of in syria in 2017. the parallels are they use the same type of missile, and that was it. >> the fact that they were fired from iranian territory. how significant? >> it's very significant. they had said they wanted to make a response from iranian territory. i also think they picked al-assad on purpose. it's a big bass, as you just pointed out. that means they could have a good chance of actually hitting at or coming close. some of these metals aren't all that accurate. also, it's out away from baghdad, minimizing the chances of casualties. >> bill: people have mentioned that over the last 12 hours. do you find significant? >> mainly for the targeting. they had to know, they did have a chance of killing u.s. or iraqis. they did not take that off the table. but i think they picked al-assad on purpose for tactical reasons.

>> bill: let's get more word from the pentagon on that. if you think the drill down on. what do you believe the iranian military posture is? how would you characterize it? >> this is significant, because we won't see that but president trump will be looking at iran's military posture today. are they calling up the reserves? have they moved the muscles around? or is every boat back in court? looking at the posture of iran's military forces is another important factor for him as he decides whether they are de-escalating or ramping up. speaks of it a few more things, what about our allies? are they still in the game with us? >> the allies are still in the game. italy has come out and directly said they are keeping their forces in iraq. remember, nato has a mission there doing anti-ices training. it's commanded by canada right now. all those allies are looking to stay with us at this point. >> bill: use of language last night and again today. i thought it was very intriguing. if your rebilling stomach between the lines, the foreign

minister said "job done and complete." the president said all is well, nobody was kill or hurt or injured. the ayatollah, however, said this is just a slap in the face against the united states interested in iraq iraq and the middle east. what do you expect him to do next, then? >> it sounds like they are leaving themselves the maneuver room, but it's all about the ayatollah and what has military commanders are telling him. iran does not want to lose all its military. the u.s. forces can reduce their capabilities pretty quickly. so there is a risk there. it all comes out with the military commanders in iran are telling the ayatollah today. >> bill: what is the probability that things go quiet for a time? and perhaps, doctor, a month from now we come across a situation where americans have been targeted again overseas? >> i think we are planning that it could go quiet. remember, secretary pompeo has said -- and they wrote about this in fox opinion -- the strategy is to confront and contain. that means you're in it for the long term.

the military deployments look that way to me, as well. it gives us a chance to go several rounds, if we have to come or wait and deterred. >> bill: your language is that the goal is to box in iran. how does that happen? >> yes, the goal is to box in iran. that means economics, the financial sanctions. you can't use a credit card in iran today because of our financial sanctions. also to boxing their military forces. we want to cut off that terrorist business that soleimani was running and isolate them diplomatically. we'll see some big meetings coming up in europe on that. >> bill: we heard from the president an hour from now. what does he say? what is his posture today? >> one important thing is we know congress will be briefed this afternoon. he will make a statement but he may not want to give us a lot of detail in front of those congressional briefings. as i said before, a lot will depend on what he has seen about the iranian military posture today. >> bill: do you see sitting down and talking us up and connect >> absolutely, he reconfirmed at the white house that that doors

open. the u.s. will negotiate without preconditions. piece of it i understand that he's making that offer, will the iranians take them up on that? >> that's a question. the almost agreed to do it back in the summer at the time of the g7, but that's really the question. the iran and iraq war in the 80s don't like '80s lead with u.n.-led negotiation. >> sandra: as we are waiting for the president of an hour from now, brain information brand-new information that the u.s. had advance warning about the missile strike on those two bases in iraq. u.s. intelligence picking up chatter from iran and inside of iraq, tipping off american forces to expect the strike around 5:30 p.m. eastern time. then of course we saw mark esper take to the podium and that afternoon news conference. more on what pentagon officials are saying about that advanced warning. >> man: what's my safelite story?

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>> sandra: fox news alert now, a ukrainian jet crashing in iran minutes after take off yesterday, killing all 176 people on board. the boeing 737 i just left iran's capital of tehran for ukraine. dan springer's live in seattle with more on what we are learning about this.

>> at this point there is no indication that the crash was caused by the attack earlier in the night. in fact, ukraine's embassy in iran put out a statement earlier ruling out terrorism or a rocket attack. they say it was caused by a mechanical problem but that statement was later removed from their website. we know it happened right after the 6:10 a.m. takeoff from the airport in tehran. the flight was heat dominic headed to kiev, ukraine. flight data shows that climb to 8,000 feet as normal but then the information stops. debris was found as close to 6 miles away from that airport, and there were no survivors. 176 people on board, 82 were from iran, 63 were canadian. there were no americans on the flight. reuters is reporting that the head of iran's civil aviation ministry said the plane's black box, which we all know is critical to determining the cause of the crash, will not be turned over to boeing for

analysis. this is the first fatal crash of ukrainian international airlines flight, and it was suspending all service to iran. the plane involved was a boeing 737-800. not the max jet that has been granted worldwide for the last ten months. center? >> sandra: dan springer on that for us, thank you. >> bill: we are one hour away from seeing the president addressed the nation paid meanwhile on the hill, u.s. lawmakers getting ready for a big intel briefing. it will happen if yours are now. our headliner this carcass would mike mccaul. we'll hear from him and a lot more coming up when you come back on the top of the next hour. al. only pay for what you need with liberty mutual. con liberty mutual solo pagas lo que necesitas. only pay for what you need... only pay for what you need. ♪ liberty. liberty. liberty. liberty. ♪

>> sandra: fox news alert, president trump set to address the nation about an hour from now, after iran acted on his threat to retaliate for the killing of its top military commander, firing more than a dozen missiles and american forces in iraq. welcome to bring to our of "america's newsroom." i'm sandra smith. >> bill: i'm bill hemmer. good morning, it could be one of the most important statements of his presidency. after a dramatic escalation in the showdown with iran, there are no reported casualties from the missile barrage. with the ayatollah keeping up some of the red-hot rhetoric, we are waiting to hear from the commander in chief. here's democratic senator joe manchin on what he hopes to hear from the president from our program last hour. >> we will not let it run out of

its way, if you will. on the other hand, we have to understand that this was not a surprise. that was their message, and they can save face, diplomacy should now take shape to where we can get back to some type of discourse. >> sandra: we have fox team coverage for you. rich edson is at the state department for us. mike emanuel is on the hill, where lawmakers are about to talk to reporters before an intelligence briefing there. our a-team is also standing by to weigh in on the latest details of this developing situation amid the looming inpatient proceedings in washington. >> bill: walid phares joins us on the strategic chessboard, but we begin with rich edson and lead us to poetic efforts there. let's begin with you this hour, there's a lot to cover. go for it, good morning. >> good morning, bill. secretary of state mike pompeo is at the white house as president trump is consulting with his national security team. the president tweeted shortly after the attacks last night, "all is well, we have the most

powerful and well-equipped military anywhere in the world by far." u.s. officials tell our pentagon team that the u.s. has advanced warning of the attack, as intelligence picked up chatter tipping off american forces. u.s. central command said iran launched 15 missiles. 108 al-assad air base one at another installation in erbil. both housed american troops. central clients at four other missiles failed in the military spokesman says there are no casualties. the iranian government says its proportionate measure in self defense after u.s. air strike killed general qassem soleimani friday. iranian president hassan rouhani tweeted that soleimani fought against sunni terrorist like isis and al qaeda, and "if it weren't for his war on terror, european capitals would be in great danger now. our final answer to his assassination will be to kick all u.s. forces out of the region." the supreme leader, ayatollah khamenei, tweeted "this was not

enough." although the armenian foreign minister javad zarif said, "we will defend ourselves against any aggression." >> bill: rich edson, c department. thank you, sir. >> sandra: moments away from fresh reaction from the white house, house republicans and house democrats, for a briefing on iran and iraq that is happening over the next hours. mike emanuel is live on capitol hill. this is a long-awaited moment, mike. >> no doubt about it. sandra, bill, good morning to you. a key senate democratic says he believes congress should debate and vote on military action now says he is looking for a way out of this conflict. >> the way we stop escalation, and we need to stop the escalating hostilities between the united states and iran, is for congress to actually deliberate what should be the posture of the united states toward iran. should he be engaged in these back and forth military

hostilities with her on? i don't think we should. some of our colleagues think we should. >> house speaker nancy pelosi weighed in on twitter, saying, "closely monitoring the situation following bombings targeting u.s. troops in iraq. we must ensure the safety of our service members, including endless needless provocations from the demonstration and demanding that iran ceased its violence. america and the world cannot afford more." one of the top republican says it's time for her to stop playing politics and get serious. >> speaker pelosi is saying it was needless provocation on our part. she's blaming the united states of america, suggesting a moral equivalence between the united states and iran. i think she's clearly an embarrassment. >> there were some talk that also do it on the war powers resolution this week. that may now be on the back burner. with u.s. troops in the region facing an active threat from iran. sandra, bill? >> sandra: we owe it all of that. >> bill: also waiting for the present.

we are going to bring on walid phares, foreign affairs analyst. good morning to you. here's what the ayatollah said, in part. "the discussion about revenge is something else. this was just a slap in the face last night." how do you read that? >> that means they have much more important strategic goals than just revenge. he is going to explain to his base, his command around him, that we've done that we've and another wave but really what we are looking forward to achieve -- that's what rouhani said. you just showed rouhani street. with the old goal since we started to impose sanctions. when we did the sanctions, they wanted to get troops out of iraq and syria. they were working on that. soleimani was working on them. what made them jump and try and do it faster, and they got hit, where the revolutions. the demonstrations over the past three months. those demonstrations were shutting down the headquarters

of the militia they wanted to use. so they decided to take on us first, and then go against the demonstrators later. they tried, they failed, so now they are out of balance and they want to maintain a plateau between u.s. forces and them until they decide exactly what they want to do. >> sandra: and with the president wants to do. that's what we are waiting on from the white house. we hear from the present at the top of the hour. what do you expect to hear? >> certainly the president laughter -- and i'm sure he will -- explain what happened. especially the retaliation. and it will bring a new equation. "we are done with them, we will tell them that if you attack american forces, it's a thick red line. you saw it happen." and of course he will say we are staying in iraq and part of syria, until some of our conditions are fulfilled. this is the core. but of course he has consulted with the agencies of the military for more specific matters, we will have to listen

to that. >> bill: a reporter is at the pentagon, jen griffin and lucas tomlinson about the u.s. having advanced warning. there are a couple of different ways to read this. that or until picked it up prior to and notified our iraqi allies, and american forces there. or is it possible that the iranians actually sent a signal as a warning? which would essentially say, "we are going to do this, don't hit us back, don't take out our nuclear facilities, don't hit our oil refineries. we need to do this and then we will come back to some level of de-escalation." do you see that, whil is a possibility? >> that's a possibility. iranian strategies that i have followed for the last 30 years are capable of doing this dual track. but they have a triple track, in fact. they would hit us, tell us, "we are not hitting you," until the public, "we hit them and destroy

them." at the same time, they are capable of doing this. most likely from my reading as they have warned their own people. "stay away from these bases." then they slam the rockets and missiles. >> sandra: i heard you on during the breaking news last night. the big question for lawmakers has been the intelligence behind the president's move to take out soleimani. we know members of congress are being briefed today. how does that change the situation as we look at it? >> look, there is the intelligence that passes you with the actual operation and has to do also with soleimani's action at the moment. meaning a few days before, a few nights before. the lawmakers are going to ask, "was it worth it to do it at that time?" under something else i hope the administration will share with congress. the big picture, in the sense, "what are these malicious doing in iraq and syria? what is the actual iranian plan?" it seems to me that the

difference in congress -- them to be clear, between the opposition and the administration, how we perceive iran. the administration perceives the iranian regime as a threat. it looks like now, from the voices we've heard, that though they are bad actors, described as bad actors -- including soleimani -- there is no perception in the opposition that iran as a whole, as a regime, has a plan to actually control the middle east, so on and so forth. they need to discusses matters, and public if possible. speed walid phares, we appreciate you coming on this morning. thank you. former dnc commissions director and a fox news contributor, mo elleithee. and james sherman is here, assistant editor of "the wall street journal" editorial page, and fox news contributor. good morning to all of you. we await the president, more information on what happened in the hours that led up to this attack. u.s. officials are telling a reporter that the pentagon that they can see iranian ballistic

missiles moving around tuesday. this, thanks to u.s. air force early warning aircraft, flying radar, james, circling high overhead in the region. they noted suspicious iranian activity was monitored from the spy satellites in space. this is all new information we're getting right now. >> obviously more retaliation has been suggested, not just by the iranians but by their allies within iraq. to this point, it looks like a big win for the president. we took out soleimani, and to this point, whether it was great american intelligence or whether it was an iranian effort to telegraph what was happening and not exclude the crisis further, this appears to be a very precise success. >> we should be thankful that no americans were killed or injured in this retaliatory attack. i think the question is, is america safer today? i believe we are.

the iranians struck back but they did so because they had to. they felt they had to. certainly come in the measured retaliation. i think the president at this point has to tell the american people that we are forever village and, we are going to stay vigilant. remember, iran usually -- their modus operandi is to work through proxies. these worked out their own retaliation and in their own name. >> bill: that's an important point. yesterday the ayatollah said, "we are going to do it, not through proxies." >> they can go back to business as usual. the president has sent a clear message, that when soleimani was behind the attacks, in december, they kill their american contractor. and they are behind the attacks on our embassy, few surrogates. calderon accountable and took out his number two >> the question for me -- i also want to say, my first response last night when i heard the news

was to start praying for our troops and their families. this was a very dangerous situation that had the potential to escalate out of control. i also want to agree with brad that the proxies iran usually uses is their typical strategy. but if you look at their typical strategy, it is also to do it later, to oftentimes do it half a world away. when the israelis took out their nuclear reactor, they used proxies to attack israeli diplomats in india and in other countries. so we shouldn't kick back, kick up our heels. we do need to stay vigilant. i am very interested in hearing with the president has to say. i think there's an assumption right now that he is going to de-escalate. i hope that is where he goes, because if he follows his own redline that he sent the other day when he tweeted out, "if

there's any retaliation against any american insulation, we are going to come back at them hard." let's feel he doesn't help you box himself into a corner. there was a very responsible tweet the other day. it's a pdf glades. >> most said something important. against the american facility. around last night attacked iraq. it was their base, not ours. >> these are american troops housed -- >> bill: i think where you're going is very important, both you gentlemen. what does the present say? whicwhat is his posture? >> i think is a continuation of what is a very clear and can't do on my coherent policy. you don't want war with iran, we don't want another large come into the middle east, but we do not believe in sending them pallets of cash and we do believe they are bad actors and we need to counter them. it is the continuing sanctions pressure that is working. perhaps we might hear that he's

going to ratcheted up even further, perhaps sanctioning and james freeman is here, of entities within iran. or people that may do business with them. i would think that this is, so far, a message of -- that policy is working in the attack on soleimani work. he has now given >> sandra: brad, at the same time the president almost at the same time put out that tweet, "all is good, no american casualties." their foreign minister, javad zarif, tweeted out -- i will be the last sentence -- "we do not seek escalation or war but will defend ourselves against any aggression." what could you conclude from that? >> that was his white flag. "we retaliated, we stand down, we want to de-escalate." it's a perfect opportunity as many have suggested that now is a good time for diplomacy. the united states and around

bilaterally, of course, but throughout surrogates and our allies to display this. one thing is for sure, the policy of america in part in this rations, the apology of impeachment, does not work. what does work is peace through strength. being vigilant, sticking to principal. understanding that when they cross a redline there are consequences. but our president was measured, he was patient. when they attacked our drown, he stood down because he said an american was not attacked. just a piece of hardware, basically. and when the saudi were attacked comattacked, america sitdown. we were baited and had an opportunity. we have the criminal at the scene of this crime. >> bill: remember, zarif was denied a visa to come speak at the u.n. just yesterday. he's been the mouthpiece outside of iran.

earlier, he said that they took and concluded measures. that's a direct message to the people of iran to say, "hey, we took action, we defended the killing of soleimani." >> i think that's right. but i think there are two issues here. one is the immediate military situation herein, and let's hope we de-escalate. neither the united states or the iranians want to see a full-blown hot war between these two. the other is come over do be going next in the region? the iranians have said repeatedly that their number one strategic objective is to kick the united states out of the region. obviously you have a very strong foothold in iraq. we have spilled a lot of blood in order to have that foothold. >> bill: 5,000 u.s. military serving there today. >> they are now asking us to leave. what happened to meet the afterwards? the russians came in and offered the iraqis additional increased

military support to compensate for the u.s. supports that the iraqis have asked to leave. this is policy of the united states right now actually helping or hurting out strategic imperatives in the region, if we are suddenly abdicating important strategic choke points throughout the region to the iranians and the russians? that puts us in much more dangerous positions, economically and in terms of security. >> sandra: i will add to that the iranian president street. the final sentence in that, "our final answer to his assassination will be to kick all u.s. forces out of the region." >> i'm sure it's been noted that the vote in iraq was a nonbinding expression that all foreign forces -- that would include iranians -- >> bill: half the lawmakers. >> we could go on. we will see whether the u.s. footprint actually changes. but i think what this is doing,

on brad's point about peace through strength, this is maybe learning from the lessons of obama and bush getting back to more of a reagan-style foreign policy. which is i think where most voters are and where the market is. if you like investor sentiment right now, it is a very strong u.s. not eager to invade or have warfare but ready to attack with great effectiveness when threatened. the >> sandra: you look at markets, not moving this morning. sharp knee-jerk reaction overnight. >> bill: to make a quick point here, the gang of eight were briefed yesterday on the killing of soleimani. that is not to there does notappear to be any . they get briefed this afternoon. we will hear from them, based on the evidence that is not yet been made public about the killing of soleimani last week and what he was planning. that could be the next wrinkle in the story.

thank you. as we mentioned, awaiting the president. top of the hour, 11:00 a.m. eastern time, that's the schedule. getting worried about what he might say in response to the missile attack overnight. we are alive at the white house and we will give you the lowdown on that when you come back right here, next. good morning!

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it soothes moisturizes and creates a spf 30 barrier to protect against flare ups caused by the sun. herpecín l. it does more for a cold sore. >> sandra: we are listed in our way from a major presidential address from the white house to the nation, following the iran strikes against american bases that took place late yesterday inside iraq. john roberts now joining us live from the white house with some breaking news about what we may hear when the president speaks in a few. john? >> center, bill, good morning to you. you don't know the specific text of what he say, but i am told from the 30,000-foot level here

and is just this morning that the president will not seek further escalation with iran, but he will say that the campaign of maximum pressure against iran will continue. a big factor, of course, that went into the president's remarks that will make it about 30 minutes from now, from the grand foyer, of the oval office, which is all significant. the grand foyer is more ceremonial. the oval office is where very serious speeches about war and other matters typically emanate from. but a big factor that will go into what the president will say, coming up here at the top of the hour, is the fact that there were no u.s. casualties. either at the al-assad airbase or at the erbil facilities targeted by iran. it's thought by many senior officials in the administration that iran may have intentionally missed what would have been very sensitive targets to make sure that there were no u.s. casualties here. the president has promised iran

that if there are more u.s. casualties around will get hit very hard. so this is being seen really is a big propaganda move on the part of the iranians. that they responded, and offered domestic consumption. they can tell the people they responded to the killing of qassem soleimani last week. they fired a bunch of missiles at the united states, and the coalition that the united states is involved with. and they are saying that they killed more than 30 u.s. troops, which they didn't, according to the pentagon. there were no u.s. casualties. so iran can tell its people, "we responded, and i we are finished with the response. unless there is more retaliation from the united states, we will probably hold our fire, at least for the moment." to the thinking of the white house at the moment is that de-escalation is the past to go. other significant aspect in all this is the fact that the bases

that were targeted, 312 and up in erbil, are not u.s. bases per se. u.s. forces are housed there, but al-assad is an iraqi base at up in erbil it's a kurdish base. the kurds made that very clear today. iran had threatened to come in recent days, to hit a number of u.s. bases in the region. that would include places like syria, kuwait, qatar, the united arab emirates, bahrain, but in those facilities were targeted. what is happened is iran has attacked iraqi and kurdish bases that house u.s. forces. so in addition to try to show that they've attack u.s. forces, they are also attacking iraqi and kurdish forces. so all of this will play into the calculus of the president will announce this morning. we don't know, maybe as part of this maximum pressure campaign he may announce his intentions but more tensions on iran or not. i think that line is that the president will not seek escalation, which i think is telegraphing a message that

there will likely not be any military response to what happened. >> bill: can you address any back channels that are happening here? when the stakes are this high, can you confirm any level of communication from washington to tehran? >> i can't confirm any communication through intermediaries. i think mark esper was sending a very direct message to iran yesterday afternoon in his hastily-called news conference. he had not planned to have a news conference, but when they got intelligence that iran was planning something, he offered iran and off-ramp. probably at that point it was too far down the road. again, the thinking here is that it iran -- when you look at what happened with the saudi aramco attack, and the pinpoint position of the cruise missiles as it had that petroleum facility, the iranians could have done a lot better and a lot of people's minds here in washington. if they actually wanted to hit something of significance. but they didn't. when you look at the overall

calculus, again, soleimani is gone. iran fired a bunch of missiles and really didn't hit anything of significance. the president's plan to take out soleimani appears, at least for the moment, to be a clear win for the united states. >> sandra: we will hear from the white house shortly. the president said to speak at 11:00 to the nation, from the grand foyer of the white house. john roberts, thank you. a boeing passenger jet crashing minutes after takeoff from tehran, killing everyone on board. our officials getting any closer to what caused that crash? >> bill: also, as we await the white house white house, lawmakers getting ready for a briefing with top intelligence officials. one of them that will be in the room, who will be in the room, is congress on mike mccaul. he is our headliner. we will talk to him coming up next.ow you $2,000 every year. an se and once you refinance, the savings are automatic.

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>> bill: another big story now, no survivors after ukrainian passenger jet burst into flames shortly after

takeoff at tehran's international airport. it happened last night, 176 on board dead. the investigation now just beginning, senior foreign affairs correspondent greg palkot has more on this out of london. greg, what can we say about the facts on the ground for this one? >> bill, quite incredible. an incredibly sensitive time and place for this airplane crash. the ukrainian international airline plane went down just minutes after taking off from the tehran airport, headed for the ukrainian capital of kiev. it was loaded with fuel, a person to flames. initially, in fact, they said it was a technical error. one of the engine seemed to be on fire. no authority say they are investigating the cause of the 176 people on board, ukraine since 82 rear indians, 63 were canadians. there were no americans on board. iran says that most of those canadians were dual nationals on their way back home to canada after holidays in iran with their families.

news turned to the missile tech overnight by iran on the iraqi base housing those u.s. troops. officials have pretty much rejected any kind of linkage there. the missile sites were several hundred miles away. the plane was a boeing 737, but not the 737 mack that's been grounded amid safety concerns. it's an older model, but only about three and have result. officials say they don't think the point where the crew was to blame. the two coblack boxes, bill, have been recovered. maybe some answers coming from that. however, iran is resisting boeing come to help look at that. not too much friendship between the u.s. and around right now. that might complicate the investigation. back to you. >> bill: stunning report, greg. thank you, greg palkot, in london on that. >> this was an act of war, sean, by any reasonable definition. the missiles were launched from iran at targets inside of iraq,

housing u.s. military personnel. the president has all the authority needs under article two to respond. how he responds is it to be determined. but he has the authority to respond. >> sandra: that was senator lindsey graham responding to a barrage of missiles and that u.s. forces in iraq. another dangerous escalation of tensions there. texas congressman michael mccaul, ranking republican on the foreign affairs committee. we wait the president. first, your reaction to what we saw play out last night. >> we expected and anticipated a response from iran. 15 ballistic missiles, it's a very bold response. i do find it interesting that they were so off target, that there were no casualties in this response. we will wait and see. i think the president -- again, not interested in starting a war, but he had to respond to soleimani. that attack was imminent by

soleimani. he was meeting with his counterpart in iraq. i think, as general milley said, it would be culpably negligent if the president did not ask. let's remember who soleimani is. he's not a household name, but for the last two decades he's been the mastermind of terror in the middle east. as jeh johnson, former obama secretary of homeland and legal counsel, authorizing the strikes, he was a legitimate military objective. >> bill: you said a lot there. you also said soleimani was going to act in an imminent way. characterize that better for us. days? weeks? what was his intent? you been here for some of these briefings. >> i got briefed by the national security advisor after the strike. the vice president, state department. we believe -- i can't get into the classified nature, that will happen at 1:00 today with the other members -- based on the evidence i have, that general milley says is clear and

unambiguous, when the national security advisor o'brien says there's 100% certainty. you look at all -- you look at what happened since last october, all the strikes that have taken place. the president seemed to have -- i wouldn't say red line, but "if they kill americans i will have to respond." i do think if you look at the mounting weight of evidence since october, the president showed great restraint, bill. i was in the white house wind that uab was struck down by iran and solve the president saying, backing off of that, showing restraint, "i won't attack drones because i won't start a " i think with soleimani and our bull's-eye, we had to take him out. >> sandra: that's the point general keane continues to make. congressman, going back to the imminent nature of the attack, mark esper went on the record yesterday when asked about that, saying he believes it was days away from an attack.

i want to ask you, though, about the advanced nature. the warning the united states received of the attack last night. per our own reporting from the pentagon, pentagon officials say that there was advance warning of the missile attack. that is the reason why mark esper then held that hasty news conference at 2:00 yesterday afternoon. he wanted to offer iran and off-ramp, talks without preconditions. what more can you add to that? >> i think the iranians are playing it both ways. they want to sort of appease their base in the country, to show that they took action, while at the same time not fire with great casualties. in a way, that is how the iranians play ball. it's a little bit of speculation, but there was some advance notice, we know that. and the fact that they give advance notice, that there are

no casualties, and the propaganda inside iran is huge that there were a lot of casualties. they are trying to galvanize the people behind them. the majority of iranians don't support the ayatollah. >> bill: we've been talking quite a bit about this foreign minister zarif, and the tweet he sent last night. about 12 hours ago. just put on the screens of our viewers get a chance to see it. that language is very important, as you well know. "iran concluded proportionate measures." i think it went is very important. "in self-defense under article 51 u.n. charter, targeting base from which a cowardly attack on our citizens and senior officials was launched. we do not seek escalation or war, but will defend ourselves against any aggression." the message and there seems to be quite clear. >> yeah, this is where diplomacy can come into play. i do think the president doesn't want to escalate that, the tension, if you will.

i think that's what you will hear in the next several minutes. >> bill: from that wording, they do not want to go there, either. would you agree? >> i think that's correct. we do have channels through the swiss government to communicate with the iranians. i would encourage that route, to de-escalate this and not escalated. >> sandra: quickly, your thoughts ahead of hearing from the president? what do you suggest has purpose, tone, and wording will be from the white house moments from now? >> i think he should be very solemn, that he should address what a threat soleimani was pretty killed hundreds of americans, thousands in syria. he was a mass murderer. that was clearly justified under article two of the constitution. the idea that pelosi wants to bring up this war powers resolution, at this point in time we need to be united as americans, not divided.

i remember when bin laden was killed and we as republicans rallied as americans with the democrats saying what a great victory that was. general petraeus said it was the equivalent of bin laden in iran. >> sandra: congressman michael mccaul, we appreciate your time. >> bill: thank you so much for your time today and we will talk soon. we are now about 20 minutes away from hearing the response from president trump, his response we will carry that lie for you as soon as it begins on the slate for 11:00 a.m. eastern time. >> sandra: plus, senator elizabeth warren releasing a new plan on how to handle personal bankruptcy, setting her on a collision course with joe biden on all of it. how this could affect the race for 2020. moneyman charles payne will be here next. ok everyone!

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>> bill: fox news business alert, stock market and reacting

the increasing sections don't like tensions with iran many men charles payne here to talk about this, oil, et cetera. >> 5:30, the first reports come in of missiles attacking american targets in iraq. in the futures start tumbling. this is the aftermarket, and at one point indicated we would be down for under 45 points today. so we are looking at -- it's mind-boggling. i will talk about this a lot on my show today. i'm saying today it's election night all over again. remember during the election, it became apparent as trump kept winning state after state of the stock market kept going lower and lower. there was a point where the dow was up 900 points. all the networks kept bringing up people who were saying our economy would never be the same. "we will never recover it, it's all over."

happen? president trump gave his speech. >> sandra: to be fair, there is huge concern there was american casualties here. then the president treats it out, "all is good." because that helped a lot. that's why i'm saying, the parallels are amazing. president trump has an opportunity to give his speech and say, "listen, we will facilitate this. by the same token, diplomacy, with hard actions behind it if necessary." >> bill: see your wager is that things go back to a level f calm for a period of time? >> absolutely. i think that's what the market is wagering, as well. although it's relatively unchanged based on where you were. at one point we could have been -- we could've opened it up. it could have been a lot worse. >> bill>> bill: oil prices go u, they go back down again, they stabilize. this is an american story. >> it's a huge american story. i think one time on the show you

and sandra mentioned that we was an american story. i got a lot of pushback on that. we got our tree numbers in. our exports and crude oil, $58 billion this year through november. up $14 billion year-over-year. we are a crude oil juggernaut. export is the operative word there. >> sandra: ten years ago would be a different market situation because we would have been imported. >> everybody remembers the arab oil embargo, '73. the use of oil throughout the years. that no longer works, because we are as close as we can be to energy independence right now. >> sandra: to put the resilience of the market in perspective, the stock market today, even with the judiciary started with and the uncertainty globally, the stock market is sitting 1% off of record highs. >> as it should be. beyond all the stuff we are talking about, according to adp we had 202,000 jobs created last month. the largest homebuilder in this country just put out a blocked number, great guidance for the

year. all of the underpinnings look phenomenal. our trade deficit is at the lowest point it's been in three years. economically our market has justified being at this level. the anxiety and unknowns hit it from time to time. >> bill: thanks for bringing us a preview of 2:00 today. [laughter] >> i'll see you. >> sandra: we are moments away from a major address from the president at the white house, on the heels of iran's retaliatory strikes on u.s. forces in iraq last night. we will bring you the president when he begins moments from now. d to near 50 year lows. call newday usa. one call can save you $2000 a year. with the newday va streamline refi there's no income verification, no appraisal and no out of pocket costs. and my team can close your loan in as little as 30 days. one call can save you $2000 every year.

>> sandra: tensions are high in washington and tehran this morning after, of course, last night iran launched missiles that u.s. forces in iraq. but what are hearing in main street america? gillian turner he was a reaction this morning. good morning, gillian. >> good morning from president trump now facing the prospect of iraq's government demanding a meeting. as you know, thousands of u.s. troops have been stationed there since 2003. the american people aren't so sure u.s. entitlement in that country has been worth it. many americans remaining highly skeptical of continued u.s. presence on the ground inside iraq. president trump himself making it clear that he is not planning on a pullout. take a listen.

>> i think it's the worst thing that can happen to iraq. if we leave, that would mean iran has a much bigger foothold, and the people of iraq do not want to see iran running the country. that, i can tell you. >> it turns out u.s. public opinion is measured in the most recent polls we've got is far less definitive. the latest poll from gallup found over half of americans believe the war in iraq has made the homeland list safe. that's 51% compared to 39% who think it has made the u.s. safer. half of americans, 50% on the nose think the u.s. military engagement with iraq in the first place was a mistake, while 45% say they think it wasn't a mistake. now when it comes to iran, the other foreign policy hot spot commits clear and unequivocal on the fact that the iranian regime poses eigh if it needs be confr.

just 27% say it doesn't pose a threat. over half of americans favor tao prevent iran obtaining a nuclear weapon. that is 53% in favor of taking military action. sandra and bill, that is just some steps to keep in mind, with this potential withdrawal looming in the prospect of some kind of military confrontation with iran heating up overnight. back to you guys. >> sandra: we've got the shot up at the white house there. gillian turner, thank you. >> bill: moments away from the address now come after the rising tensions with iran and the news we all watched lead into the night in the early morning hours today. a live look now as we await the direction from the president. we will take you their lives as soon as he begins. first, a quick commercial break, and we are back with this important address. next. the epson ecotank. no more buying cartridges.

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>> melissa: fox news alert, any moment now president trump is set to address the nation on. welcome back to make his vision, and sandra smith. >> bill: i'm bill hemmer. the president speaking after iran fired more than a dozen missiles into iraqi military bases, which house u.s. troops. it happened late last night, early the morning hours. this as we are now learning the u.s. has some form of advance warning of last night strike. >> sandra: fox team coverage this morning out of the president. national security correspondent jennifer griffin live at the pentagon. we begin with chief white house correspondent john roberts. john? >> sandra, bill, good morning to you. you're in a room called the grand foyer of the white house. this is the area just inside the north portico. typically this is reserved for ceremonial occasions, very often there will be a visiting leader and the president will meet with a visiting leader and have a press conference here in the grand foyer. either that or the east room. it significant that the president's address this morning will not be coming from the

oval office, which may suggest that the president is not about to announce that there is going to be some sort of military retaliation for what happened between iran and iraq and the united states last night. in fact, i am being told that in his remarks this morning -- we don't know exactly what the president is going to say, but the overall theme of this will be that the president will not seek escalation but will seek to continue the "maximum pressure campaign against iran." which would suggest that given the fact there were no u.s. casualties last night, which the president definitely delineated as a redline, that the president will likely not announce any sort of military retaliation against iran for what happened last night. his goal is to change iran's behavior in terms of allied activities in the middle east and ballistic missile programs getting rid of qassem soleimani definitely was a step down that.

if you look at the fact that soleimani is now gone, but iran launched 15 ballistic missiles against what are effectively iraqi and kurdish targets it would appear, center, for the moment at least have the upper hand. >> sandra: we are looking on at the grand foyer. any idea why he has chosen that particular room to deliver this message? >> we don't know the exact reason why the grand foyer, other than to say it's a location other than the oval office or other than the diplomatic room, which is where more grave addresses to the nation might come. i think with the president is going to do this morning is, as mark esper, the dispense secretary, did yesterday, offer iran a very steep don't like steep off-ramp

to the escalation of scene between the two nations. mark esper yesterday said the united states is open to talks with iran without precondition if iran choose the path of de-escalation. iran felt it necessary to respond to soleimani's death last friday with the missile attack last night. there is a lot of thinking among many senior administration officials that iran specifically missed very sensitive targets, at al-assad end up in erbil, so as not to inflict u.s. casualties so that it can have the propaganda victory at home to say, "we responded and we responded in a large way, firing off 15 ballistic missiles in response to the soleimani death. but we did not do anything that would invite escalation and retaliation on the part of the united states." i would think that the setting this morning suggests a more diplomatic outreach of any military one. sandra?

speed before go to the pentagon here, one final question about that advanced warning we are learning about from pentagon officials per hour reporters there. any word from the white house about that advance notice that then lead to mark esper holding that 2:00 p.m. news conference yesterday afternoon? >> we do know there were meetings in the situation room throughout the day. the president was briefed continuously by his national security team. the secretary of state was over at the white house. general mark milley on the secretary of defense said there were a lot of conversations that went on here at the white housee press conference. don't forget, the secretary of state also held a press conference in the morning, as well. then we saw the president and the oval office with the prime minister of greece. so we had three a of the top american officials, including the president, all speaking out to iran. sending messages to them to not do anything precipitous that would demand u.s. retaliation. >> sandra: john roberts of the white house where we expect the president shortly. thank you, john.

>> bill: more on that last point about u.s. officials confirming about the u.s. military getting some sort of advance warning about these strikes. jennifer griffin tracks down that story. she wa's live at the pentagon. >> good morning, bill. ark millie was here until at least midnight last night after returning from the white house and meeting with the president. what is most notable is how quiet the u.s. response has been so far. no tomahawk's fired, even though this was the first time iran had ever fired ballistic missiles at bases in iraq. no americans were hurt or killed, as we've been reporting, by the iranian strikes. some of those missiles did not explode. just moments ago, iran's foreign minister said those two iraqi bases were chosen because that is where u.s. special operations forces are based, who carried out the drone strike killing qassem soleimani pretty u.s. intelligence was tipped off ahead of time. according to u.s. officials, the

picked up chatter from iran telling u.s. forces to expect the strike around 5:30 p.m. eastern. 1:30 a.m. local time. iran launched more than a dozen short range ballistic missiles into iraq around the same time. some of the ballistic missiles traveled at least 300 miles from iran to reach al-assad air base. officials say the advance warning they had about the attack led to defense secretary mark esper's hasty press conference tuesday afternoon. he wanted to offer iran and off-ramp, as john roberts just reported, to military escalations. talks without preconditions. officials say prior to the strike suspicious iranian activity was being monitored from american spy satellites in space, and early-morning spy planes alluded u.s. forces to an impending strike. we now know 15 short range ballistic missiles were launched from inside iran, violating iraqi sovereignty. officials don't think it's a sparsely public

base in western iraq. one landed inside the military base in erbil, kurdish-controlled territory. four of the missiles failed to reach their targets. in other words, one-third of iran's missiles failed. >> bill: the report came out yesterday that the ayatollah apparently told a small group in tehran that iran would respond directly and not through proxies. that's what they did yesterday by firing these missiles from the territory just east of iraq. the ayatollah said this earlier today. "military operations do not suffice. what's important, in addition to retaliation, is to end the u.s.'s corrupting presence in the region." he concluded, "the discussion about revenge or something else, this was just a slap in the face last night." have you had a chance to get reaction as to how the pentagon interprets that message? >> i think it significantly iranian proxies were not used. that's why in the first hour, when there were reports that rockets are being fired at the bases, those rockets would have

been fired by shiite iraqi forces that answer to iran. those are very hard to control, and things can spin out of control. this was a very calibrated, very precise response. it was designed for the television images that iranians could play at the very same time they were lowering qassem soleimani's body into the grave in iraq. iran, excuse me. that is what we were seeing at the same time as we were seeing the imagery of those missiles, those ballistic missiles were even cruise missiles, we are told. they could have been cruise missiles, flying towards those bases in iraq. if they had launched the proxies, that could have spun out of control and would have required an american response. what we are seeing right now is a very calibrated strike by the iranians that now the u.s. will decide how it will respond. but we can't predict is the future. the iranians play the long game. their long game is to get all

u.s. forces out of the middle east, including out of iraq. they think they are going to be able to leverage the anger in the iraqi parliament and elsewhere at the u.s. assassinating, essentially, qassem soleimani on iraqi territory. they think they can leverage that to push the u.s. military out of iraq. the u.s. military says otherwise. the pentagon has said repeatedly that u.s. forces are not living. bill? >> bill: soleimani was killed on friday morning. yesterday you had a stampede were 56 people were killed in iran during the burial procession for soleimani. then you had the plane crash that killed more than 170 people in tehran, late last night in the middle of all these missile attacks here. is there any sense in the pentagon that that is something they would have a look at? either through satellite images or possibly to make a conclusion as to how this plane went down right after take off? >> no, i think we have not heard

anything definitive about any information they might have had, as to perhaps some of the airwaves being scrambled or radar being scrambled after the missile strikes that might have led to that plane crash. i think i do something they will be looking into, but the question is, will iranian authorities ever release that information? they are not exactly going to allow the faa in to investigate. the stem paid at qassem soleimani's funeral is interesting, because that delayed the burial of qassem soleimani, and his body was then laid to rest later that day at about 1:00 a.m. when those missiles were being fired off into iraqi territory. so there was no coincidence with the timing of that and the release of that imagery by the tehran regime. again, very notable that no americans, no u.s. forces were killed in this strike. if they had wanted to kill american forces, there were

other targets they could have chosen. it is clear that they did not want to escalate this beyond what we have seen right now. the question is, when is the president going to do in response? i think, as john roberts has reported, what we see from the pentagon and elsewhere as they want to get iran to the negotiating table. they want to get back to negotiating about the nuclear program, and they want to de-escalate very quickly from this military confrontation. >> bill: terrific work, long hours there. thank you very much, jennifer griffin at the pentagon. we will check back in shortly. to be >> sandra: great reporting from there. john roberts standing by the white house. john, can you add more context to what we are about to see and hear from the president? >> just rolling off of what jennifer was talking about, the path to de-escalation is open right now. but if the united states were to retaliate, were to start hitting some of the running infrastructure -- whether it's where the missiles were launched from or whether it's those petrochemical facilities, because the united states has

threatened -- well, senator lindsey graham of south carolina certainly said the president will put iran out of the oil business if iran continues to escalate. so, rather than going down that route of escalation, which could lead to all-out war, there appears to be a window here. an opening for de-escalation. i think it's pretty clear that, in de-escalation, the united states has the upper hand right now. when you look at what has transpired over the last week, the united states has eliminated a person who was deemed a terrorist by the obama administration. qassem soleimani, a man who was responsible -- at least directly or indirectly -- were so many american deaths during the war in iraq. and in some degree in afghanist, as well. iran has only managed to put off what is essentially a big loud fireworks display in the middle of the desert without hitting anything significant. so the united states would appear to have the upper hand here. they have gotten rid of what is literally, for all intents and

purposes, the number two person in the iranian regime. a person who cannot be easily replaced by the next person in line. when president trump comes out this morning, i think the message is going to be too iran, "there's an opportunity here for diplomacy, the united states is open to talks." as genter pointed out, mark esper, the defense secretary, said that yesterday. i wouldn't call it an olive branch, i would call it sort of an offer from the president to say, "look, we are on this road that could go down a very dangerous path. let's take this opportunity to get off of it." something else very significant, and mentioned the two bases that were hit were iraqi and kurdish. iran has threatened over recent weeks to hit many of the other u.s. bases in the region. that would include bases in bahrain, kuwait, syria, oman. the united arab emirates. those are actually u.s. bases. they are not iraqi or kurdish bases where united states troops

are being housed. if those had been hit, the calculus would be much different. but iran chose last night, in its response to the soleimani death, do not take on any of those facilities. so i think that helps contain the situation, as well. sandra, bill? >> sandra: all good information. john roberts ending by as we await the president. we will bring in our panel this morning. charlie hurt joining us, opinion editor at the times and fox news contributor. also capri cafaro, from the school of public affairs. paid good money to both of you. charlie, to you first. we haven't heard from the president. he tweeted 13 hours ago, "all is well." that certainly turned around markets in the u.s. that were selling off sharply after the attack last night. the dow, in fact, has now turned positive. it's up 73 points, in the face of all this uncertainty. what do you expect to hear from the president? >> i think the markets are a reflection of people starting to sort of understand this president. it is certainly a high-stakes game right now.

president trump did not get elected to start a war with iran. i think the vast majority of americans don't want a war with iran. probably not as much as iran does not want a war with the united states. but certainly it's a high-stakes game right now. i don't think at this point the president has any interest whatsoever in trying to get us more enmeshed in any sort of military quagmire in the middle east than we already are. so it's a little bit sort of odd to listen to all these people in congress like during the president about not bubbling into war, when the only people involved in the situation right now who have been bumbling the united states into war over the past 20 years is congress. and previous administrations, not president trump. what you see is a lot of people who are beginning to have faith that maybe president trump really is trying to do exactly what he says he's trying to do. >> sandra: capri, we will hear from the president himself in just a moment when he steps up in the grand foyer of the

white house and as you can see in your screen there. mitch mcconnell just issuing a statement saying, "we must remain vigilant in the face of the serious threat posed by tehran." capri, what do you expect to hear from the president? >> well, i think that a lot of this is going to be colored by what iran has done yesterday evening in their strike. the fact that -- and we just heard, i believe, john roberts talk about this -- the fact that it iran chose to avoid u.s. casualties. it seems like they're trying to save face by making some kind of military strike, to respond to the taking out of soleimani. but at the same time they are trying to avoid an escalation. so i think at this point president trump is probably more likely to take a more measured approach. president trump is also very well known for being unpredictable, so it's hard to say whether or not president trump will feel as if,

basically, trying to go down a more diplomatic road at this point is going to be sufficient to save face and show that america is strong in the middle east. because we are also still dealing with the fact that iran is chanting "death to america," that in the region there's a lot of instability. they are basically saying get out. there's a lot of mixed messages right now. there's a lot of uncertainty still in the region, and i think it's incumbent upon president trump to find a way to calm things down in an area that has been a tinderbox for generations and centuries. >> sandra: there are a lot of options on the table, there's no doubt about that, charlie. the president could choose to do nothing, pull troops from the region, talk of further economic sanctions on iran. there are a lot of options. do you expect to hear anything definitively from the president when he begins speaking? >> i think it's quite likely that we do. one of the things i will be most interested in hearing from him is any sort of new light he is

willing to shed on the intelligence that the white house had that led to the strike against soleimani in the first place. of course, a very good argument can be made that striking soleimani for his past behavior, for the fact that he fomented -- he was responsible for fomenting the attack on the american embassy in iraq -- but all that is perfectly justified in attacking him. remember, this is a guy who was designated as a terrorist, who was the top military leader in the world's largest state sponsor of terrorism. taking them out doesn't seem to me to be anything terribly unusual or ill-conceived. it seems actually like probably a pretty good idea. that said, the idea that we would like to de-escalate and

curtail the amount -- the places around the world where we are involved militarily, it's a very good and a smart idea. speech john roberts reporting for the white house, per his sources, said that line from the president speaking and just momk escalation. but that he will announce that the maximum pressure campaign against iran will continue. capri cafaro and charlie hurt, appreciated. thank you very much. >> bill: we want to bring in will hurd now. serves on the house until committee. good morning to you. in your past life you were in intelligence, now you are a member of congress on her way out back to texas at the end of your term. what do you think we need to understand now? >> i think it's important to know that this strike on qassem soleimani sends a message to the iran regime that there will be consequences for the continuation of their reign of terror. two previous speakers said, qassem soleimani was a member of

the most well-equipped terrorist organization in the world. to terrorist organizations around the world, the messages that if you want a terrorist organization, this is ultimately what is going to happen to you. i think one of the next steps that we see in this maximum pressure campaign is that our european allies join us in sanctions on the iranian government. the iranian government is not a normal government. unfortunately there has been a lot of western press that have been portraying the iranian government as the victims in this situation. they are not the victims. they are the culprits. if the iranian regime wants to be welcomed back into the international community, they can do very simple things -- stop killing americans, stop killing our allies, stop threatening american interests, stop killing your own people. they killed 1500 unarmed protesters back in november. stop lying about your nuclear weapons program, and stop trying to influence governments in

iraq, lebanon, yemen, and afghanistan towards your sick foreign policy. do those things, and guess what? you will be welcomed back into the world community. we have seen an analysis of the war in iraq, that when the iranians suffer consequent is for their behavior, they stop that behavior. i think the strike on qassem soleimani and their response is an example of how they are realizing that they are going to have to change their ways. i think today there are the shia militia groups in iraq concerned that they may or may not have the backing of the iranian government anymore, as though shia groups in iraq try to continue to pressure the united states and our allies there. i also know that qassem soleimani's replacement is probably looking over his shoulder, and other military and iran are likely looking at what the responses now that they've seen this strike on soleimani. >> bill: the new leader of the

quds force, you wonder if even leaves around in the near term. your intel experience with the cia, why not take civi soleimant earlier? >> it's a good question, i don't know the answer to that. if we have the opportunity to get him, we should have. we have evidence, and there has been reporting -- i think it was the army war college did a report and how they've seen that when the iranians suffer consequences they change their behavior. so why that decision hasn't been made in the past, i don't know. but i think all of those that were doubting whether or not this was a good decision, i think time is telling us that it was a good decision. again, when you have the opportunity to take out somebody who has been, for decades, involved in the iranian reign of terror in killing american citizens, killing our allies, you take that opportunity. there has to be consequences to that behavior and why those decisions were made.

>> bill: that goes back over two previous administrations, too. you believe iran intentionally gave iraqis or the u.s. government a heads up on this before it happened? willard i do believe we've lost the connection, and that is okay. hang on here. that's a little unfortunate. to our viewers at home, hang with us. do you still have me now? okay. um... all right, okay. nothing's going on behind the scenes, it's a technical aspect that happens here live tv. back to the question. do you believe iran intentionally give us a heads up one way or another before the seven last night? >> there you go, i can hear you now. we were disconnected. >> bill: did you hear the question? >> i didn't. i can hear you now. >> bill: i will try the third time here. i apologize, a little sticky right now. do you think iran intentionally give us a heads up fo before the missiles were launched? >> i can't confirm or deny that happen, but their weapons were

sophisticated enough that if they wanted to hit targets that would cause damage, they could have. this is important to know, this is the first time we've seen missiles like this coming from the territory controlled by iran. usually they use proxies. i think this shows the threat our forces are under, not only in iraq but in other parts of the world. the fact that there were no deaths, and they launch these missiles basically into the dirt, it looks like this was a high-stakes face-saving exercise, so they could use and talk about this to their domestic population. we already know that iran -- iranian state-run media is claiming that the iranian government killed several dozens of americans, which we know is untrue. so they are using this, and their information operations within their own country. i think this was ultimately -- it can be seen as a face-saving

exercise by the iranian government, because they knew and they were probably afraid of what the consequences would have been had they taken american lives. >> bill: you haven't been privy to the information about the killing of soleimani just yet, right? you have not yet had that? >> there is a briefing later on this afternoon. >> bill: but do you have any intel at the moment? >> about the nature of the killing? a lot of people focusing on whether or not there was imminent attacks were not, i think we need to remember is that qassem soleimani has been involved in escalating attacks on our interests for a long time, throughout the summer in the early parts of this year. the fact that he inspired their proxies in order to overrun our embassy, that is dangerous. i've been in situations in my past life where i had embassies that were bound and people trying to overtake our embassies. there should be response to that. we should be protecting our

diplomatic and military facilities. whether or not there were imminent details doesn't change the fact that taking qassem soleimani off the battlefield is a good thing, and it degrades their ability to continue to press their terror regime. >> bill: two questions -- what do you know about back channels of communication we have with tehran? how active with those be? >> that is a sticky situation. i don't have any intelligence to suggest that was happening prior to this attack. if it is going on, that's going to be something that should be ultimately very protected. if there are back channels happening, that is a good sign that there is ultimately a potential de-escalation in this. we have to remember, the iranian government is going to continue doing what they've always done, and that is continue to use proxies to attack our allies and our interests. >> bill: will hurd, thank you

for your time. the republican from texas, we appreciate your analysis, especially given your background in intel. thank you, sir. sandra? >> sandra: as you can see, defense secretary mark esper walking into the room, followed by the vice president, mike pence. and the national defense team. we are looking alive at the grand foyer of the white house, where the white house says we hear from the president. he will address the nation on the events in iran that took place last night. john roberts is standing by at the white house. we've got notice -- oh, jennifer griffin at the pentagon right now. jennifer, you are reporting all morning on this that of the president. your thoughts? >> sandra, i think what's notable, look at the national security team standing -- they will be standing behind the president. this is a strong, forceful message. what was notable here at the pentagon yesterday, when mark esper, the defense secretary, give his press conference, he did not have general mark milley, the chairman of the joint chiefs, standing next to him. because they did not want to

send a military message to iran. right now, i would expect the president to come out and to offer the iranians and off-ramp, to de-escalate this militarily. but he has his national security team there to say what will happen if they don't. back to you. >> president trump: as long as i am president of the united states, iran will never be allowed to have a nuclear weapon. good morning. i am pleased to inform you, the american people should be extremely grateful and happy. no americans were harmed in last night's attack by the iranian regime. we suffered no casualties. all of our soldiers are safe, and only minimal damage was sustained at our military bases. our great american forces are

prepared for anything. iran appears to be standing down, which is a good thing for all parties concerned, and a very good thing for the real. no american or iraqi lives were lost, because of the precautions taken, the dispersal of forces, and an early warning system that worked very well. i salute the incredible skill and courage of america's men and women in uniform. for far too long, all the way back to 1979, to be exact, nations have tolerated iran's destructive and destabilizing behavior in the middle east and beyond. those days are over. iran has been the leading sponsor of terrorism and the pursuit of nuclear weapons, threatens the civilized world. we will never let that happen.

last week we took decisive action to stop a ruthless terrorist from threatening american lives. at my direction, the united states military eliminated the world's top terrorist, qassem soleimani. as the head of the quds force, soleimani was personally responsible for some of the absolutely worst atrocities. he trained terrorists, including has below, launching terror strikes against civilian targets. he fueled bloodied civil wars all across the region. he viciously wounded and murdered thousands of u.s. troops, including the planting of roadside bombs that maim and dismember their victims. soleimani directed the recent attacks on u.s. personnel in

iraq that badly wounded four service members, and killed one american. and he orchestrated the violent assault on the u.s. embassy in baghdad. in recent days, he was planning new attacks on american targets, but we stopped in. soleimani's hands were drenched in both american and iranian blood. he should have been terminated long ago. by removing soleimani, we have sent a powerful message to terrorists. if you value your own life, you will not threaten the lives of our people. as we continue to evaluate options and response to iranian aggression, the united states will immediately impose additional punishing economic sanctions on the iranian regime. these powerful sanctions will remain until iran changes its behavior.

in recent months alone, iran has seized ships in international waters, fired and provoked strike on saudi arabia, and shutdown to u.s. drones. iran's hostilities substantially increased after the foolish iran nuclear deal was signed in 2013. and they were given $150 billion, not to mention $1.8 billion in cash. instead of saying "thank you" to the united states, they chanted "death to america." in fact, they chanted "death to america" the date the agreement was signed. then iran went on a tear spring, funded by the money from the deal, and created a l in yemen , syria, lebanon, afghanistan, and iraq. the missiles fired last night at us and our allies were paid for

with the funds made available by the last administration. the regime also greatly tightened the range on their own country, even recently killing 1,500 people at the many protests that are taking place all throughout iran. the very defective jcpoa expires shortly, anyway. it gives iran a clear and quick path to nuclear breakout. iran must abandon its nuclear ambitions and end its support for terrorism. the time has come for the united kingdom, germany, france, russia, and china to recognize this reality. they must now break away from the remnants of the iran deal, or jcpoa, and we must all work together toward making a deal

with iran that makes the world a safer and more peaceful place. we also must make a deal that allows iran to thrive and prosper and take advantage of its enormous untapped potential. iran can be a great country. peace and stability cannot prevail in the middle east, as long as iran continues to foment violence, unrest, hatred, and war. the civilized world must send a clear and unified message to the iranian regime -- your campaign of terror, murder, mayhem, will not be tolerated any longer. it will not be allowed to go forward. today i am going to ask nato to become much more involved in the middle east process. over the last three years, under

my leadership, our economy is stronger than ever before and america has achieved energy independence. these historical compliments change our strategic priorities. these are accomplishments that nobody thought were possible. options in the middle east became available. we are now the number one producer of oil and natural gas anywhere in the world. we are independent, and we do not need middle east oil. the american military has been completely rebuilt under my administration, at the cost of $2.5 trillion. u.s. armed forces are stronger than ever before. our missiles are big, powerful, accurate, lethal, and fast. under construction are many hypersonic missiles. the fact that we have this great military and equipment, however, does not mean we have to use it.

we do not want to use it. american strength, both military and economic, is the best deterrent. three months ago, after destroying 100% of isis and its territorial caliphate, we killed the savage leader of isis, al-baghdadi, who is response will for so much death, including the masked beheadings of christians, muslims, and all who stood in his way. he was a monster. al-baghdadi was trying, again, to rebuild the isis caliphate and failed. tens of thousands of isis fighters have been killed or captured during my administration. isis is a natural enemy of iran. the destruction of isis is good for iran. we should work together on this

and other shared priorities. finally, to the people and leaders of iran, we want you to have a future, and a great future. one that you deserve. one of prosperity at home, and harmony with the nations of the world. the united states is ready to embrace peace with all who seek it. i want to thank you, and god bless america. thank you very much. thank you, thank you. >> no questions. the president, perhaps the most significant moment came before he began his address, when he walked to the microphone and said, "as long as i am president, iran will never have a nuclear weapon." then he went into his remarks. some of the headlines there, sanctions are made, additional sanctions will be added on the iranian government. no americans, no iraqis killed, in the missile strikes last night.

they will work together to make a deal with iran to make the world a better place. the message from the president a moment ago. and this, "i will ask nato to get more involved in the middle east peace process," referencing america's lack of dependence these days on middle east oil. so the remarks from the president, we've been waiting now, sandra, since the early morning hours. now we have it here from the white house. >> sandra: with his national defense team at his side, national security team at his side, he said the american people should be grateful and happy there were no american casualties. all soldiers are safe. minimal damage, he said, sustained at the military bases there in iraq. john roberts sitting there at the white house. we all listen to that together. the president said iran appears to be standing down and talked about that early warning system, john, that worked very well to give the u.s. advanced notice that the attack was coming. >> javad zarif said left side

that had completed the retaliation against the killers of soleimani. it was unlikely we would hear from them last night or during the day today. the scene we saw here in the grand foyer with the president there, with the vice president, the secretary of defense, the secretary of state, the chairman of the joint chiefs, the joint chiefs, and the commandant of the coast guard, admiral carl schultz, is something we have not seen before here at the white house. it was a real symbol of strength and resolve and determination on the part of the united states to stand up in the face of the ongoing threat from iran. to say, "we are not going to take it anymore." the president, very firm in saying iran will never be allowed to have a nuclear weapon. at the same time as jennifer griffin and i have bee, offering iran a very steep off-ramp to come down from the escalation over the last few weeks. the question ahead is, will iran take that off-ramp? will they be open to talks?

the ayatollah, as well as president rouhani, have said they will be no talks as long as distinctions are made on them as long as the united states billy to behaves in the way it has been towards iran, which they see as unfair. the unite says it's only prude prudent. if they're willing to come off by horse and come to the negotiating table, is a matter of question. the president clearly offering iran a way out of this. the rounds negotiating hand is not as strong as it was before. you can replace certain leaders, but replacing soleimani is a difficult thing to do. he had his finger on every maligned activity that iran was exporting around that region, and it's difficult to think that anybody could have the same influence on that region. among the forces in the region, as he did.

perhaps it's possible. iran is in a week into position in terms of white iran did not go after american targets more forcefully last night, last evening, iran said it looks like an intentional mists. maybe even "nothing burger," as this person said. nearly designed to save face on the part of iran. it's wrapped around this idea that the ayatollah khamenei is now in his 80s. he's rumored to have cancer. did he really want to go out by blowing up his regime? iran was showing that even though it was showing bellicose behavior in terms of firing off those missiles, did show restraint. the fact that some of your other guests have said this morning, they could have hit more sensitive targets with much greater accuracy than they tried to last night. looks like he was an attempt on the part of iran to save support domestic consumption. we responded to the great crime

that has been perpetrated upon the american people, perpetrated among the iranian people by america, which the united states was that it was purely retribution for what soleimani has done in the past. we have responded now, we are done. the path ahead is still uncertain, but there is the potential there -- i don't want to say for reproach meant to come up with him an opening to begin some kind of a dialogue. as the present said, to work together and maybe try to forge a less confrontational type of relationship than these countries symmetric with each other's 1978. >> sandra: final words there. john, the u.s. is ready to embrace peace. john roberts at the white house for us. thank you , john >> sandra: also indicating that he believes in iran is hearing the "stand down." "we want you to have a great future." i want to bring in bret baier now. working late last night come

back with us today. bret, good morning to you. one of the other headlines, asking either to get more involved in the middle east peace process. is that a change in strategy for this administration? speak of the president is not only talking about nato getting involved, but specifically mentioning allies. the u.k., france, germany, even china and russia, interacting with iran. essentially telling them to force them to the table to start this negotiation again. this was the off-ramp that a lot of people were talking about. senator lindsey graham had mentioned it last night, after talking to the president. i think this speech was designed to do just that. a couple of interesting points. senior ministers and officials in the past hour or so, the private feeling is that they think they've turned the corner. they don't know what they don't know about iran, but everything they've seen from not only the

ballistic missile strikes into iraq but also what's being said publicly and privately by iran, there are indications that iran wants that off-ramp, as well. what is the biggest? and john alluded to this from the white house, is what those iranian proxies -- how much command and control iran has over them. remember, their rv shia militias inside iraq, there is hezbollah not only in syria but inside lebanon. without soleimani at the helm, the command and control over those elements loyal to iran is in question. if something else happens, it puts u.s. service members were americans overseas in danger, this whole thing is a big question mark. as of this moment, administration officials are looking hopeful this is the off-ramp they've been looking for. >> bill: one more point on this, "let's work to give it to make a deal with iran and make the world a better place." in these circles in washington, how much thought as they given

to the possibility that you can have talks at some level some point soon? is that realistic or not? >> listen, that was the hope from what this whole sanctions regime was set up for. this maximum pressure campaign. that eventually iran would get to the point where they would say, "this is enough, we have to sit down." they actually believe, the administration does, that iran is at that point. the sanctions have been really strangling. there has been a boot on the neck of iran financially, and now, after soleimani's killing in baghdad, there is a sense that this might actually be a moment where iran -- whether they do or not, we will see. what with the foreign minister said yesterday, tweeted out, that we wanted to be proportionate and wanted to end -- if you the u.s. does not

attack again, iran won't. as a signal they were getting out publicly yesterday. c7 iran took and concluded proportionate measures, from javad zarif. they told iran, "don't touch our guys. you touch our guys, that's our redline." and this contractor was killed two days after christmas. we now know his identity. he was a father of two, born in iraq, he became a u.s. citizen in 2017. he leaves two young children behind here. with the president said at the outset, it really goes to what i believe his policy is toward this iranian regime. that is, "as long as i'm president, iran will never have a nuclear weapon." take that on its face value. he told them, "you touch our guys, that's our redline." he has no signal to iran yet again, "don't mess with the policy that i'm trying to pursue here as u.s. president." so then when it comes to nuclear weapons and iran comes out two days ago and says, "we can fast

forward this program and we can break out within a year." some even suggested nine or ten months. what does that say to the iranian regime, and their pursuit of nuclear weapons, when they now know this is a president who means business? >> i think it's significant, bill. the fact that it was the very first thing president trump said in that address is also significant. listen, he did draw that redline. he did say, "if you kill an american, we are going to strike back and strike back hard." they did. there's all this talk on capitol hill, and the briefing is not ongoing for house and senate members. the gang of eight were briefed yesterday about the imminence of this threat. you talked about earlier, as far as soleimani and taking him out. there is this sense that this president perhaps does not get credit when something goes

right. originally, as this was happening, it was going to be world war iii. "he started world war iii and there's no strategy here." now we saw what iran did in response. we see what the u.s. is saying in response to that. and you wonder whether trump derangement syndrome factors in with some of the responses you hear publicly here in washington. >> bill: bret, thank you. we will see you throughout the day today and at 6:00 on "special report." bret baier, thanks. >> sandra: president trump addressing the nation moments ago, live from the white house, saying iran appears to be standing down. so what is next? former national security advisor to dick cheney, john hanna, is our guest next. made me a little intense. but now quickbooks helps me get paid, manage cash flow, and run payroll. and now i'm back on top... with koala kai. (vo) save over 40 hours a month with intuit quickbooks.

>> for far too long, all the way back to 1979, to be exact, nations have tolerated iran's destructive and destabilizing behavior in the middle east and beyond. those days are over. iran has been the leading sponsor of terrorism and the pursuit of nuclear weapons threatens the civilized world. we will never let that happen. >> sandra: that was the president just a few moments ago, addressing the nation following the attack in iraq

last night. let's go to john hannah, former national security advisor to vice president dick cheney. good morning to you, thank you for being here this morning. could you just take on what we heard from bret baier and that conversation following the president's address, about iran's proxies? and the control iran has over them now in the wake of soleimani's death? >> as bret said, that's the big question mark. which of the proxies do now? the fact is that these proxies have all pledged allegiance to the iranian system of clerical rule. ayatollah khamenei in iran tells them this retaliation is done. you need to stand down. do not kill an american because this president is deadly serious that he will hold iran itself accountable for these proxies that kill americans. let's not forget, what happened

in iraq over the last ten days or so, the killing of soleimani was triggered by what iranian proxies did. they killed an american contractor first and then stormed our embassy and ended with the second most powerful leader in iran dead. >> sandra: what struck you as you listen to the president addressing the nation, that they appear to be standing down, ready to embrace speedy doughnut piece? >> the president confirmed what a lot of us felt after we watched with the results of that attack was last night. this in fact was a nonattack attack. the iranians used some very accurate missiles, cruise missiles, and literally just pounded sand after the second most important leader in that regime was assassinated by the united states. they clearly have, as their first priority, regime survival.

they got the message from president trump loud and clear now, that he is deadly serious. you arm america, and americans, and we will take the fight directly to iran in a way that we don't know if that regime will be left standing after it's all over. >> sandra: i should be clear, the president ended by saying the u.s. is ready to embrace peace. the headline is iran appears to be standing down. no american casualties in those attacks, and those bases in iraq last night. john hannah, we appreciate you coming on following the breaking news this morning. thank you. >> bill: thank you, john. no nukes as long as he's president, that was a strong message delivered a moment ago at the white house. we will get a break, more in a moment after this. ows. one call to newday usa can save you $2,000 every year. and once you refinance, the savings are automatic. thanks to your va streamline refi benefit, at newday there's no income verification,

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you see that spike in the green. that's when the markets took off. >> that is it for us. "outnumbered" starts right now. we begin today with a fox news alert. president trump has addressed the nation. it happened moments ago after iran acted on its threat to retaliate for the killing of its top military commander. firing more than a dozen missiles at american forces in iraq. the president while saying that iran appears to be standing down from a further military confrontation says he will never allow iran to have nuclear weapons under his watch. more sanctions will be imposed. watch. >> as we continue to evaluate options in response to iranian aggression, the united states will immediately impose additional punishing economic