jennifer griffin is live at the pentagon. with the details on that strike? >> reporter: absolutely, lauren. major general pat ryder just spoke to us here at the pentagon, and u.s. officials say this was a precision drone strike on a vehicle carrying a leader of an iraqi shiite military group responsible for planning attacks on u.s. forces in iraq and syria. it's the first targeted killing of an iranian proxy leader by u.s. forces since those forces began carrying out more than 120 instances of drone and attempted rocket strikes on u.s. bases in the region. >> this was a necessary and proportionate action against this particular individual who was person personally involved in the planning and execution of attacks against american personnel. >> reporter: there have been 25 attacks by iranian-backed houthi forces in yemen targeting merchant vessels in the red sea and gulf of aden. the u.s. navy if has shot down 61 houthi drones and missiles since november 18th. today an alarming new development, according to the head of the u.s

jennifer griffin just brought it to our attention. the "wall street journal" broke it and originally reported the u.s. official now has confirmed to fox news the iran proxy drone that got past our defenses for tower 22, because it was mistaken for a u.s. drone expected to return to the base at the same time. this has now been confirmed by a u.s. official. now, what i said to jennifer moments ago was how well does the enemy know us? i don't mean all those proxies paid for terrorists, i'm talking about iran that they can do this. >> well, harris, at this point i'm speculating and we'll ask for briefings on exactly what happened. did our defensive measures fail? have they captured one of our drones and reverse engineered there? this is the cat and mouse game that's going on but bigger picture we're shooting down these 30, $40,000 drones with two to 3 million missiles. it's not sustainable and from my position as the chairman of military readiness how are we reacting when you can throw thousands of these things at little cost, buy them on

joining us in out on the phone to achieve national security correspondent jennifer griffin. ing new coming from the pentagon tonight? >> will john, we are hearing increasing bipartisan calls from senior members of the armed services committee on the hill to strike not only are rotting in proxy forces but i iranian targets. we have heard from senator roger wicker who is a senior republican on the senate armed services committee calling for the u.s. to strike iranian targets and its leadership. you also heard from congressman adam smith was a senior democrat on the house armed services committee calling also for iran to be held to account. this is the deadliest attack on u.s. forces since ab abbey gaten august 2021 with 13 service members were killed. it is notable u.s. defense official said in addition to three dead american soldiers there are also more than 30 -- up to 34 injured that number could rise given the traumatic brain injuries that are being scanned for right now. among those troops that were at the tower 22. some have been taken to germany and medevac to out some o

much live at the whwidest rate of joining us on e phone chief national security correspondent jennifer griffin. jennifer, any word from the pentagon? >> we have received a notification a statement in which they confirmed the deaths of the three u.s. troops. i'm also hearing reports that up to 25 americans may have been injured and that attack on the base and a northern jordan this is a very significant escalation as lucas reported. this is bound to test not only the white house but u.s. central command. we know there has been a great deal of frustration among top senior u.s. military officials. thinking the u.s. needed to strike back harder against iran. that iran was not given the deterrent message as lucas mentioned there been wonder 59 attacks almost daily about u.s. bases in iraq and syria and now jordan. it was only a matter of time before some of those drones the attack drones is provided to its proxies got through. you saw just last saturday there were 17 ballistic missiles filed at the airbase were 2500 u.s. troops are based inside iraq. talks with the iraqi government have begun this

jennifer griffin is live at the pentagon. >> reporter: this is the first time the u.s.led, the fighters since these attacks in the red sea started in november. an estimated 10 who these attempting to hijack the shipping container fired. early sunday four a running back houthi boat fired on the denmark owned container ship. this is the second time the ship has come under attack and just as many days. the u.s. attack helicopters launched from the uss eisenhower and the guided missile destroyer uss gravley. announced in the -- they are postponing the operation. the white house is discussing with great britain and others whether to strike back against houthi forces in yemen with missile and drone launch sites. uk defense secretary crankshafts wrote an op-ed in the uk and said the uk is willing to take "direct action" if these attack players continue." if we do not protect the red s sea, it risks emboldening those who wish to threaten elsewhere. we won't hesitate to take further action to deter threats to freedom of navigation in the red sea. >> what about a preemptive milit

>> bret: jennifer griffin live at the pentagon. u. ♪ ♪ >> bret: we have now reaction tonight from a bipartisan u.s. congressional delegation that visited parts of israel that were ravaged by the october 7th hamas tay attacks, that tour comes as the israeli military strikes target -- targets in central and northern gaza forcing residents to flee there. correspondent trey yingst has the story from tel aviv. >> israel's ground troops are advancing deeper into southern and central gaza. as the country's air force conducts new strikes against hamas positions. 90 days into the war, the idf says they are taken out new anti-tank cells amid fierce ground fighting. >> our forces continue to advance in the war. we are now focused on the southern part of the strip. >> on the other side of the border, a bipartisan group of lawmakers toured the kibbutz thursday afternoon. the community was ravaged by iran backed hamas and other palestinian factions on october 7th. iowa senator joni ernst calling on president biden to take tougher action against i

>> bret: jennifer griffin live at the pentagon. thank you.new images tonight from japan showing a massive blaze after coast guard aircraft collided on the runway at tokyo's errant. deadly incident comes as japanese officials are still searching for survivors in the wake of the powerful and deadly earthquake that struck new year's day. senior correspondent greg palkot has the latest. >> aftershocks hitting japan a day after the earthquake slammed the country's west coast leaving 55 dead. fiery crash at airport that could have been a lot worse. a japan airline's passenger plane collided into small japanese coast guard aircraft as the jet was landing. the plane set on fire and a cabin filling with smoke, the crew kept control. all 379 on board were able to get off the jet via emergency slides before it was completely engulfed in flames. i could only say it was a miracle. there were 18 injured in the passenger plane. the cause of the mishap under investigation. five on the coast guard plane were killed. and others seriously injured. they had been

chief nationals correspondent jennifer griffin is live at the pentagon with more on the spirit of hi,> hi, anita the white house weighing whether to strike out fentanyl targets in yemen as the iranian-backed houthis shipping lanes. this is the pentagon fed announced the u.s. navy state of the art aircraft carrier and the uss board with 5,000 sailors and attacking the aircraft on board is returning home. the fort has been stationed in the eastern mediterranean to deter iran and has below from expanding the conflict in gaza. the eight month deployment was extended by the secretary of defense two time since hamas launched a war on israel on october 7th. speak with his carrier are making history. sometimes, the greatest achievements are the things that we start. and in a moment of huge tension in the region, you will have been the linchpin to create a wider regional conflict. >> in its place, the 26th marine expeditionary unit known as americans 911 rapid response force has been sent to the eastern meant to replace the ford. it includes the uss bataan, uss carter hall, and the uss -- and

jennifer griffin, thank you. with the white house facing increasing pressure now for a strong respond to iran, will we see one? to jacqui heinrich. she is at the white house. she's got more on that. what are we hearing, jacqui? >> the president says that he's decided his response and a number of officials are now saying that will likely come over a period of time potentially in waves or with multiple actions. every time we ask if part of what is being considered includes strikes inside iran, officials say that they don't want to escalate, they don't seek a conflict with iran. republicans say that broadcast the wrong message. >> i think it is outrageous that we have a white house that is so concerned about escalation and yet we allow iran to walk all over us. this time taking the blood of american service members. >> democrats say biden has other angles to considered. >> it's very easy to talk about launching strikes within iran and going to war with iran. we have to understand, that's exactly what russia wants. b

>> anita: jennifer griffin live at the pentagon for us, thank you. rich? >> rich: let's bring in retired u.s. army brigadier general anthony tate. thanks for joining us, happy new year to you. look at how "the new york post" handled this, the red sea smacked down is what they are calling the sinking of houthi boats and put this in perspective for us. does this create more deterrence in the area or does this represent an escalation? >> it is responsive in nature, so i think we are seeing, obviously the red sea, the persian gulf, they are all major shipping lanes for commerce, for oil all around the world, so that's the primary mission of the navy, quite frankly, to help maintain commerce lanes around the globe to enable our economy. so this is part and parcel of what the navy's mission is, the u.s. navy. i'm glad to see there's a joint task force with other nations participating in the red sea and in the gulf of aden and surrounding areas around the horn of africa. so it's a good thing that we have these chips and this task force patrolling the waters tryin

with the latest on the ground there we begin first with chief national security correspondent jennifer griffine is at the pentagon tonight. hi, jennifer. >> good evening, gillian. as iranian proxies continue to bait the u.s. military, the biden administration seems to be pursuing the same strategy in the middle east that it has in ukraine. what some say is an overly cautious approach for fear of escalation and a wider war. >> u.s. has positioned 11,350 military personnel to the middle east since october 7th. to deter a wider middle east conflict. on thursday after 121 attacks on u.s. bases in iraq and syria, the u.s. sent a drone to kill the iranian backed militia leader it says planned those attacks in response, iraq's prime minister vowed to ask u.s. troops to leave his country during a speech to mark the fourth anniversary of the u.s. assassination of iranian general kassem soleimani in baghdad? we affirm our firm and principle position in ending the existence of the international coalition. after the justification for existence have ended? the u.s. has 2500 troops in iraq. they were sent t

>> bret: jennifer griffin live at the pentagon. jennifer, thank you.ttled palestinian militants today near the main hospital in gaza's second largest city. medics say hundreds of patients and thousandsed of displaced people are trapped by that fighting. israel has ordered residents to leave. a big swath of downtown khan yunis. that includes nassar hospital and two smaller medical facilities. up next, a bribery scandal cost the top republican in one western state his job: we'll take a look at that. plus, we look at how the media are covering the presidential race. first, beyond our borders tonight, a russian military transport plane crashes in a border region near ukraine. officials say all 75 people aboard were killed, including 65 ukrainian prisoners of war heading for a swap russia says ukraine shot down that plane but offered no evidence. ukrainian officials are not commenting. and this is a live look at rome. one of the big stories there tonight. dozens of students, relatives and young soldiers gather for a commemorative event at the sicily rome am

first, to chief national security correspondent jennifer griffin who starts us off from the pentagon with the latest. good evening, jennifer. jennifer jennifer good evening, bret. the president weighing one of the more important decision of his presidency tonight how and where to strike back after iranian proxy killed three americans. until now the retaliation for the near daily ballistic missile and drone attacks on u.s. bases was tit-for-tat. now the president must decide whether to target iran. the iranian proxy drone hit u.s. troops while they were sleeping in their barracks. >> the president and i will not tolerate attack on u.s. forces. >> defense secretary austin returned to the pentagon for the first time since december 22nd, following a hospital stay at walter reed and complications from prostate surgery. he briefed the president and his national security team at the white house on the iranian proxy drone strike that killed three americans. sergeant william jerome rivers, age 466 carrollton, georgia, specialist kennedy laden sanders of way cross, georgia. just 24 years old. a

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chief national security correspondent jennifer griffin starts us off tonight live from the pentagon. od evening, jennifer. >> good evening, bret. it's unclear if the iranian proxy group had knowledge an american drone was returning to the base at the same time it chose to attack or if it was coincidence. officials still don't know if the drone was launched from iraq or syria. president biden says he has made his decision on how to respond. >> i don't think we could be any more clear that we have called on the iranian proxy groups to stop their attacks. they have not. and so we will respond in a time and manner of our choosing. >> jen: the pentagon unimpressed by a statement by the leading suspect behind the drone strike that killed three americans. the parents of one of the slain service members, 24-year-old specialist kennedy sanders, who was posthumously promoted to sergeant spoke about their family's generations of service. her father was a marine, her grandfather was in the army. and her older brother is in the navy. >> she chose to serve the country and give us our freedoms, you

that's where we'll find jennifer griffin with the latest. jennifer? >> neil, we now know the identities of the three american army reserve soldiers killed in jordan. specialingist kennedy laden sanders of georgia, a soldier with the 718th engineering company, a u.s. army reserve unit. she was 24 years old. was killed along with sergeant william jerome rivers, 46 of carroll on the, georgia and specialingist, breonna moffett of savannah, georgia. >> we don't want a war with iran. again, these are iran proxy groups launching attacks. we don't seek a conflict but we own the clock here. we will respond at a time and place of our choosing. >> a u.s. official said a u.s. drone was returning to the tower 22 logistics base about the same time that the iranian proxy attack drone was incoming, which caused confusion allowing the defensive forces at the base to fail. the iranian drone was flying low, which also allowed it to evade the defenses. a senior u.s. official tells me that there was a combination of human error and technical failure that led to the traged

>> bret: jennifer griffin live at the pentagon. jennifer, thank you.rsations on the campaign trail with former president donald trump and former governor nikki haley. first, beyond our borders tonight, a landslide buries at least 47 people in a remote village in southwestern china. two survivors were rescued as crews continued their search and freezing temperatures and snow. state media there says at least 8 people have been killed. indian prime minister modi opens a controversial hindu temple built on the ruins of a raised historic mosque. the temple sits on a slope where hindu mobs tore down a mosque three decades ago. some see the temple of the example of the rise of hindu supremacy leaders under modey's tenure. this is a live look at victoria australia. one of the big stories there tonight a pro-palestinian protester throws papers on to australian open tennis court briefly disrupting a match between alexander and cameron nory before being stopped by other spectators. olympic champion says he didn't feel unsafe but questioned why it took several min

jennifer griffin joins me. jennifer, is there a direct confrontation with iran coming?> well, stuart, the tensions are certainly getting higher each day. all eyes on the red sea right now as the pentagon reopens after the new year holiday. for sitcom there was a break and it's caused shipping conglomerates to reroute their ships and stop using the red sea, that's bound to add to consumer prices and the danish shipping group issued the following statement and in cases where it makes most sense for the customers to make vessels rerouted and continue their journey around the cape of good hope and we'll continue to have all cargo movement in the red sea and the evolving situation. the latest development involves iran sending a navy ship into the red sea with eight cruise missiles and ranges over 600 miles along with recognizance helicopters and goods in a fire fight with iranian-backed houthi vessels and denmark-owned shipping container and the u.s. navy responded to the distress call and the mh60 crews sank two of the houthi vessels and ten houthi fighters. u.s. attack hel

joining us on the phone our chief national security correspondent jennifer griffin. jennifer, first question to the secretary of defense often back on the job what is the pentagon saying and their reaction about this attack? >> the pentagon is saying defense secretary austin will be in the pentagon for the first time since december 22 surgery, tomorrow he will be there to host but he did participate in all of the calls with the president and to brief the prespresident today he has been engaged from home by a secure link. this is what is interesting this is not just the deadliest attack on u.s. forces since october 7 the war in gaza it is the deadliest attack on u.s. forces since abbey gate in august of 2021 when the suicide bomber killed 13 u.s. service members tower 22 which is based on the border with syria just across the border inside jordan is at an interesting inflection point and crossing point. it is aware iraq comic jordan and syria come together and in fact not very far away is the airbase. as well as the base where those u.s. special forces have been base t

what it means for the war between israel and hamas but first jennifer griffin at the pentagon with thes going on in the red sea. jennifer. >> john, with tensions rising in the red sea we learned antony blinken called david cameron, comes a day after the british secretary of state for defense wrote in an opinion piece "if we do not protect the red sea, it risks emboldening those looking to threaten elsewhere, including in the south china sea and crimea. we won't hesitate to take further action to deter threats to freedom of navigation in the red sea." adding to the tension, iran has moved a navy frigate into the red sea, equipped with eight cruise missiles. iran's navy has been acquiring the missiles with ranges of over 600 miles along with helicopters. u.s. navy helicopters found themselves in a firefight with houthi gunmen aboard four small vessels attempting to hijack a shipping container. the u.s. navy responded to the distress call and when the houthis fired on the attack helicopters, the crews sank three of the vessels, killing an estimated ten houthi fighters. the u.s. attack hel

jennifer griffin live at the pentagon. the latest on this. sea. the pentagon reopens after the new year holiday. sent come there was no break. dramatic escalation in attacks from houthi fires have caused shippers to reroute ships and stop using the red sea bound to add to consumer prices. the latest development involves iran sending a navy frig yacht with cruise missiles. they have been acquiring cruise missiles with ranges of over of hundred miles and reconnaissance helicopters. navy helicopters were in a fire fight with houthi gunmen on board four small vessels attempting to hijack a denmark owned shipping container. the u.s. navy responded to the distress call and when the houthis fired on the attack helicopters, the crews sank three vessels killing an estimated ten houthi fighters. u.s. attack helicopters launched from the u.s.s. eisenhower and gravely. the first time the u.s. has killed houthis in the red sea since november. they postponed operations for 48 hours there. the german shipping company announced its vessels will avoid transit

jennifer griffin said there is indication they turned the corner, it is up to biden, generals can give plans, but it is his decision, what will he choose? afghanistan, he was given a different way out, which way did he choose? >> kayleigh: his favorite word is don't, not a foreign policy or world view. here he goes much watch him. >> what is mess annual to iran? >> don't. >> it was very important to send a clear message to anyone who might take advantage in gaza to threaten our people in the region, don't do it. >> what is your message to hezbollah and its backer iran? >> don't. don't, don't, don't. i've already delivered the message to iran, they know not to do anything. >> kayleigh: they don't understand the word don't, they understand unfreezing of 6 billion, oil sanctions, they understand weak actions. >> emily: there is no deterrence on the part of this administration and any message coming from this administration, if anything less than abject weakness, that is what it means. reality is the deaths are result of biden'sbiden's policies and escalation. and therefore no peace throug

jennifer griffin with more on this and why the prices are going all the way. they don't seem shattered by this, they seem to be stepping back from this. what the significance? >> it's very significant to send a warship, this is an escalation. are lies at the pentagon have been on the red sea as the pentagon reopens for the new year holiday. there was no break over the holiday, dramatic escalation and attacks from houthi fighters caused shipping conglomerates to reroute their ships and stop using the red sea which is bound to add to consumer prices. the danish shipping group maersk issued the following statement, in cases where it may smoke cents for our customers, vessels will be rerouted and continue d their journey around the cape of good hope. we will continue to track our cargo movement through the red sea as we assess the constantly evolving situation. the latest development involves iran sending a navy forget into the red sea equipped with more cruise missiles. iran's navy has been acquiring cruise missiles with ranges of 600 miles along with helicopters

but first, straight to national security correspondent jennifer griffin, live at the pentagon. mentioned, today marks the fourth anniversary of the killing of general soleimani and the head of iraq's, or iran's proxy, in a drone strike at the baghdad airport. that's why thousands of iranian mourners were making their way to the father of the militias oversaw for decades arming of groups like hezbollah, houthis. u.s. officials who i've spoken to say they have no indication israel was involved. there were two blasts, the first bomb was hidden in a suitcase about 700 yards from soloeimanis tomb, and additional 200 were injured by the pair of bombings, the largest terror attack on iranian soil since the revolution in 1979. iran's proxies had vowed to mark the anniversary of soleimani's assassination with more attacks on u.s. forces in the middle east. they have launched five attacks on iraq and syria, since the new year, the total 118 attacks since october 17th. tuesday night a container ship reported three explosions to its port side believed to be houthi missiles that were aiming

. >> john: and jennifer griffin live at the pentagon. has the president spoken with the families of the fallen soldiers yet? >> that's right, president biden just spoke to the family members of the three american soldiers killed in jordan and will attend the dignified transfer at dover air force base. they belonged to an army reserve unit from fort moore, georgia, killed by the proxy while they slept in their barracks. parents of 24-year-old specialist kennedy sanders spoke about all the generations from their family who served in the u.s. military. kennedy's grandfather was in the army, her older brother in the navy. uncle in the navy and cousin in the air force. >> she chose to serve the country and give us our freedoms, you know, be part of us getting our freedoms and stuff happens and it's hard for the parents to endure. that's why i honor her so much and believe she's a hero. >> she celebrated her 23rd birthday nine days ago and inseperable. the two were always together. >> kennedy was a fun-loving person, lived her life to the full

but right to jennifer griffin. live at the pentagon. what weapons carried out the strike on baghdad? >> sandra, u.s. officials say this was a precision drone strike on a vehicle carrying a leader, an iraqi shi'ite military group. the first target killing of iranian proxy leader by u.s. forces since those forces began carrying out more than 120 instances of drone and attempted rocket strikes on u.s. bases in the region. meanwhile, there have been 25 attacks by iranian-backed houthi forces in yemen, targeting merchant vessels. the u.s. navy has shot down 61 drones and missiles since november 18th. alarming new development according to the head of the u.s. navy fifth fleet, vice admiral brad cooper, fired a vessel packed with explosives that blew up. >> usv is of concern. houthi reckless attacks continued as you know and there are no signs that their irresponsible behavior is awaiting. >> a senior administration official says the houthis have been given their last warning to stop attacking international ships in the red sea. in a joint sta

jennifer griffin, national security correspondent is with us from the pentagon. >> the biden administration is preparing for a larger military campaign against the houthis we're told. u.s. has launched seven rounds of air strikes on houthi military sites since january 11th. the last five strikes targeted and destroyed houthi anti-ship missiles in yemen prepared to launch into busy shipping lanes in the red sea of gulf of aden. a-18 super hornets from the u.s.s. eisenhower. since the massive strikes on over 60 targets at 28 locations on january 11th, two u.s.-owned and operated commercial vessels have been hit by the houthis, including one in the gulf of aden last week. no injuries were reported from the u.s. owned and operated bulk carrier ship and still deemed seaworthy. iran is behind the houthi attacks. i'll say iran is clearly funding, resourcing, they are are supplying and they are providing training. they are obviously very directly involved. there is no secret there. as the u.s. ramps up its maritime defenses iran's proxy groups in irrelevant rack and syria continue to attack u.s. tr

maybe we will come at this through a different angl jennifer griffin, great job on your panel today. great job, she is here. and our president of fox news, jay wallace. jay is there. jay really spearheaded o involvemen it is awesome to be here. maybe we can try to figure this out. david, thank you for having us back here. it was good to see you as well. fox news has bn a part of this for seven years. i don't know if we heard north korea's -- heard north korea today. i know that you know, hypersonic missilesere all the rage. we can do this, we can catch up. i want to frame following session when you consider are coming into an election year -- as yourself where the issues of the world land within our people. we are familiar with the phrase peace through strength. i say that in two ways. you must also show the dese to use it. if necesry. that was part of the magic of o'regan. they let us through a whole new generation of peace. let's start our first topics. >> did not have a seating chart. we will fight it out. you got it. >> as i mentioned earlier, a lot has been chewed over today. i

as jennifer griffin reported last night, the u.s.iwan strait right here. this escalation on both sides really comes after presidential and parliamentary elections on the island. what we look at here is who is recognizing taiwan? there are actually 12 countries recognizing taiwan as an independent nation. but there are fears the number could be declining as dwindling, especially nations in the south pacific. ♪ ♪ >> we do not support taiwan independence and we remain opposed to lateral changes by either side. we continue to expect the peaceful resolution and differences. >> bret: the president saying we do not support independence. let's talk about the u.s. efforts to address the taiwan situation with china. illinois democratic senator tammy duckworth and alaska republican senator, dan sullivan. thank you both for being here. senator sullivan, this is really important, this escalation that we have seen from china. how do you read it after this election? >> welcome it is not surprising. we knew on the eve of the presidential election --

let's get to it with jennifer griffin with the very latest at the pentagon keeping track of these developments and boy, they came fast and furious. >> well, absolutely, neil. the u.s. has pushed back on the allegations from iranian officials that they were involved in the twin bombings that killed more than 100 iranians making their way to the grave of general soleimani. >> the united states was not involved in any way. any suggestion to the contrary is ridiculous. we have no reason to believe that israel was involved in this explosion. >> today marks the fourth anniversary of the u.s. military's targeted killing of the rainian revolutionary guard general in a drone strike at the baghdad airport. soleimani was the father of the proxy malitias that are targeting the u.s. and israel across the middle east. the man that oversaw for decades the arms of groups like hezbollah, hamas and the houthis. there were two blasts today. the first ballistic missile was hidden in a suitcase about 700 yards from soleimani's tomb. the second blast killed most of the 100 people on route to pay their respects. 200

jennifer griffin joins me. is defense sebaceous lloyd austin's first day back in the pentagon in more than a month. how is he responding to this attack? reporter: well, stu, first before we get to that, a u.s. defense official confirms to us that they now know how this iranian proxy drone got through the air defenses at the tower 22 base where the u.s. troops were sleeping. the defense system thought it was a u.s. drone that was supposed to return to the base at about the same time and that is how the iranian proxy drone got into the base. it was first reported by the "wall street journal" but now confirmed by fox news. we are also getting the first indications of who may have been behind the drone attack that killed three u.s. troops while they were sleeping in their barracks, injuring 34, eight of whom had to be metavacced to germany. president biden said the u.s. will respond. sunday's attack was the 160th attack by iranian proxy forces targeting u.s. troops in iraq, syria and now jordan. the islamic resista

here is correspondent jennifer griffin at the pentagon. >> reporter: ass the white house weighs its responses to the houthis in yemen, iran moved a navy frick it a equipped with a crews missiles in the straight into a congested area after us warships prevented another hijacking at sea on sunday. iran's navy has been acquiring cruise missiles with ranges of over 600 miles along with recognizance helicopters and has used a spy ship to help guide the houthi attacks. early sunday, u.s. navy helicopters found themselves in a fire fight with houthi gunmen on board four small vessels attempting to hijack a signify important flagged denmark-owned shipping container. us navy mh 60 helicopters responded to the distress call and returned fire when the houthis attacked. the mh 60 sank the vessel killing fighters. >> activities by the u.s. and britain in the red say are in the regional waters, especially in the red sea. >> reporter: meanwhile more shipping conglomerates have announced they are rerouting their ships to avoid the red sea which is bound to add to consumer prices. maersk postponed its operati

. >> sandra: right to chief national security correspondent jennifer griffin, an update live at the pentagon for us at this hour after learning of this tragic news last evening. jennifer. >> the navy is mourning two best and brightest after an exhaustive ten-day search off the northern coast of somalia, two u.s. navy seals have been declared dead. the seals were part of a team that boarded a ship smuggling iranian ballistic and cruise missile parts to yemen. these photos of the seized propulsion guidance and warheads were taken and provided by the u.s. military. one of the navy seals slipped and fell into the water off the ladder as they were boarding the dow for a flag verification and the other u.s. navy seal dove in to rescue his teammate. both were lost at sea. u.s., japan and spain searched more than 21,000 square miles to locate these missing americans. the seal team was operating from the u.s.s. lewis puller, expeditionary vessel, transported by helicopters and drones. this is the second loss of u.s. special operations forces in the middle east since the conflict in gaza erupted and t

learning is that this was a mistaken incoming drone by the reporting of our folks at the pentagon, jennifer griffin, that they believed this was a u.s. drone returning to the base. they were sound asleep in their barracks when this happened. from a military perspective, what do you think about what actually went on here? >> first of all, the administration's approach has been to play defense. they're waiting until missiles or drones get right up to the point of hitting a ship, hitting a base, hitting american casualties and then we shoots them out of the air. that's not what we should be doing. then you have to be successful 100% of the time, this is one time we weren't successful. these attacks will continue until you go to the source of the attacks, which is all of these military installations, ammunition depots, all the things in the proxy countries. one thing that i want to point back, i have the job that the deputy press secretary that you just head her briefing, that was a job i had in the reagan administration. in the reagan administration, when the iranian navy attacked american vessels in

. >> john: and with that, jennifer griffin live at the pentagon. >> we finally heard from defense secretary lloyd austin today for the first time since he underwent surgery for prostate cancer on december 22nd and two weeks hospitalized at walter reed. still working from home and addressed the 50 nations who make up the ukraine contact group today in virtual remarks. >> good day, everyone. thanks for working across time zones to join us for the 18th meeting of the ukraine defense contact group. we are eager to enter this new year with new energy. and we are all here to reaffirm our support for a free, secure and sovereign ukraine. >> austin did not address last night's joint attacks by american and british war planes and cruise missiles against eight locations in yemen. there were multiple targets at each of these locations, and we are told by senior u.s. defense officials about 25 to 30 munitions were dropped on houthi weapons storage facilities, including for the first time underground sites. australia, bahrain and canada offered their support but left the attacks to the u.s. and british

let's bring in our chief national security correspondent jennifer griffin. we understand the pentagon has a target list it has shared with the white house. are they going to go to that list now? >> a target list, there's been a target list. there is a campaign that has been drawn up for the president. the president has met with his national security team, including members of the pentagon, including lloyd austin back in the pentagon for the first time since his surgery, twice in the last 48 hours. what i can tell you from our reporting is that the -- we were trying to figure out how this drone got into the base because the defensive measures taken at other bases has been successful in shooting down drones in the past and what i can tell you is that it appears to have been a combination of human error and technical error. there was a u.s. drone returning to the american base tower 22 on the jordanian border around the same time as this iranian drone and a case of mistaken identity, it seems, that the iranian drone was allowed into that air space and then it w