and sam kiley in baghdad for us where the u.s. faces demands to withdraw its troops following the killing of qassem soleimani. let's start in tehran with fred pleitg pleitgen. now that iran has had mitted what happened, the question is why and how this mistake was made. >> reporter: you're right. and i think that is something that the nation is grappling with. iranians are saying that they will have a full investigation into all of this, they say that they will hold the folks who were culpable for this, that they will hold them accountable. iranian military is talking about a military judicial system and iranians are saying that they are going to review their procedures and everything around their air defenses to make sure that something like this does not happen again. news that we just got, some information coming from iran supreme leaders office. explaining why we're learning of this now and the circumstances around it. and i'm sort evof paraphrasing. he says about the air defense system, the supreme leader issued an urgent ord

let's bring in our sam kiley. sam following the story in abu dhabi.s targeted attack has whipped up sentiment in the region. there is a push to force u.s. troops out of the region. what would that mean for iraq and the region if u.s. troops are forced out? >> well, george, just in the last few hours, the iraqi government has announced that it lost two more iraqi soldiers to isis terrorists on the outskirts of kirkuk. there is an ongoing terrorist insurgency inside iraq the iraqis are very much leading. they have relied up until now, not only on heavy american training, but also american-led coalition and support in that campaign. that campaign, whatever donald trump may say, both inside syria and iraq, has not been won. there are still arguably growing levels of isis insurgency. this would present an absolute win. the only organization on the planet really that would be delighted with u.s. withdrawal from iraq would be the principal enemies, ironically both of the united states and the iranians in iraq, which is the so-called islamic state. they actua

but as sam kiley reports this isn't the first time that the country has found themselves in the middle affairs. >> reporter: ukrainians once again found themselves in the center of issues that really have their roots in washington, d.c. and donald trump's impeachment trial now. the latest evidence suggesting, from the ukrainian perspective, that they should open a criminal investigation. this follows a text exchange that suggests in text between robert hyde, a congressional candidate. and lev parnas, at the time, a close associate of rudy giuliani, the president's personal lawyer, frequently a traveler here to ukraine, in which mr. hyde seems to suggest he's got some kind of information. perhaps even some kind of a surveillance operation that he's got access to. or privy to, involving the u.s. ambassador to kiev. now, as a consequence of that, the ukrainians have launched a criminal investigation, an extraordinary situation, really, in which americans are being potentially investigated for spying on americans in a third nation. that being ukraine. this has angered the ukrainians who ar

i want to turn to senior international correspondent, my colleague here, sam kiley.d it is interesting, isn't it? because, you know, the sort of -- the sort of, you know, immediate reaction was -- around this region -- you know, what is going to happen next? this is just -- you know, this is all-out war. i mean, the iranians -- one of the iranian leaders has said this is an act of war. but as the dust has settled somewhat, thoughts on where we are at? >> the first thing, diplomatic response has come. about to dispatch their foreign minister to go to tehran. presumably, and this has been a role has played to try to deescalate. they sit somewhere between they are a gulf arab sunni monarchy. but they are in friction, to say the least, with their colleagues. that gives them, oddly enough, an entree with the -- with the iranians and an opportunity to deescalate. their business, just like everybody else's business in the gulf, relies on the fact that those straits of hormuz don't get closed. so that kind of local geopolitical i think is the immediate reaction. more widely,

let's talk about more live in the region with sam kiley in baghdad, iraq. raq is caught in the balance of this thing, and there's a blame game going back and forth, on what happened with the plane, indirect downing of the plane, mistaken downing of the plane, how does that play into the broader tension? >> reporter: well, i think, really, george, it's sort of tragically symbolic of the dangers of the casualties that will follow from any escalation in this region to innocent lives. in this case, it was an accidental downing of a jet. and in other cases it will be this term collateral damage, casualties that have flown to tens of hundred us of thousands in the region since the u.s.-led invasion back in 2003. in that context, of course, we've had this tit for tat exchange in the united states killing qassem soleimani, leader of the qods force with retaliation from iran, not mercifully causing any casualties, either civilian or military in attacks on u.s. bases. but in that context, during these heightened periods, this kind of an accident has occurred. now, wha

sam kiley, cnn, kiev. >>> and we want to point about out that hyde denies monitoring yovanovitch and as we've mentioned, u.s. secretary of state mike pompeo has announced that his department will investigate the possible surveillance. bottom line, there is a lot going on in ukraine right now. you heard that police are investigating the possible surveillance on former u.s. ambassador yovanovitch. cyber police have opened an investigation into reported hacking of burisma, that is the gas company at the heart of the trump impeachment process, the one that hired joe biden's son hunter. and remember, from the lev parnas interview with anderson cooper, he said president zelensky and other leaders are still rocked to this day over that fateful phone call with mr. trump. for more, we're joined now by a global affairs analyst and former spokesman for the organization for security and cooperation in europe. thanks so much for joining us, michael. >> my pleasure. >> all right. first, i want to get your reaction to this story about the possible surveillance of a former u.s. ambassador allegedly

cnn's sam kiley live there. sam, tem us what the iraqi military is saying about damage to these sites from the iranian missiles. we know there are no casualties on the iraqi or american side. physical damage to equipment, planes, et cetera? >> reporter: jim, the iraqi military have said only that iraqi territory was attacked with 22 rockets, 17 hit in or near the al asad base, two did not explode and five more were in locations in erbil in the kurdish-controlled north of the country. they're also saying there was no significant damage, no casualties, which is consistent with what the pentagon has said. my own sources inside base, the al asad base have confirmed that indeed. one security contractor said we're used to rockets as usual. they're back out on patrols with iraqi and american forces at first light this morning at al asad and the concern really in terms of security, though, is that two of the main hardline iranian-backed militias here, jim, have said this is the first phase of retaliation for the death of

. >> sam kiley live in baghdad. thank you. >> another track we are following in the story, the trump administration announced new economic sanctions against iran following attacks on u.s. troops earlier in the week. for more we are joined live from beirut with more on this. ben, the u.s. has been squeezing iran in sanctions now another round. what do you expect? >> clearly natalie the united states is continuing or resuming its policy of maximum pressure on iran. now the latest is that eight senior security and military officials will be sanctioned as well as the mproduction and textile sectors showing the trump administration does not have a policy towards iran but one thing and that is to make life difficult for the regime and for the people of iran. as long as it continues with the policy of maximum pressure it will encounter maximum resistance from the iranians. we are sort of back where we were pre the assassination of qasem soleimani where the united states is continuing to pressure the iranian regime with no

. >> sam kiley is in the house as what can only be described as expert analysis. fantastic, thank you so much indeed. your support is important. we'll be back in a short break to baghdad where the killing of the commander has a massive procushiopr processi procession, not just there but in najaf as well. >>> well, thousands of people have been slowly making their way through the streets of back dad, in the funeral procession for qasem soleimani and others killed friday by a u.s. drone. here in iraq's foreign minister was there. soleimani was iran's top military commander, not all the iraqis welcomed his influence in their country. but many are angry at the u.s. for killing soleimani on iraqi soil. iran has vowed to avenge his death. u.s. officials claim soleimani was killed to prevent an imminent attack on americans. and this happening as we speak. supporters gathering to show their respect for soleimani and others killed in that drone attack friday in najaf. well, i'll leave you with these images. that wraps this hour of "cnn newsroom." i'm becky anderson in abu

. >> sam kiley, thank you. >>> a number of u.s.ing some distance between themselves and that strike that took out qasem soleimani in baghdad. how the killing is sparking global concerns and appeals for calm up next. >>> plus, australia facing an unprecedented bush fire crisis. see what residents are facing as they try to evacuate. we're live for you in australia. >>> welcome back. iran bidding farewell to the military commander killed in a u.s. strike. huge crowds of supporters turning out for a mourning ceremony for qasem soleimani in the city of mashhad. he is revered as a hero in iran. the u.s. holds him responsible for killing hundreds of americans and said he was taken out to prevent an imminent attack. that has tehran and washington trading threats over what comes next. and many u.s. allies are calling for restraint. nic robertson is in the saudi capital of riyadh and, nic, let me start with you. one of those close allies, saudi arabia, calling, echoing those calls for restraint. just how concerned is riyadh that the trump ad

sam kiley, from iraq. >>> all members of the house being briefed on the iran conflict. i'll be speaking to a congressman. did the president's erratic style work? we will discuss his response. >>> and what iranian missiles show how advanced they have become. this is cnn's live coverage. ♪ i don't have to worry about that, do i? actually, you do. harmful bacteria lurk just below the gum line, and if you're not taking care of your gums, you're not taking care of your mouth. so now i use this. crest gum detoxify. crest gum detoxify, voted product of the year. it works below the gum line and is clinically proven to neutralize harmful plaque bacteria and help reverse early gum damage. gum detoxify, from crest. gums are good. so is my check up! crest. healthy, beautiful smiles for life. and let me tell you something, rodeo... i wouldn't be here if i thought reverse mortgages took advantage of any american senior, or worse, that it was some way to take your home. it's just a loan designed for older homeowners, and, it's helped over a million americans. a reverse mortgage loan i

to abu dhabi and sam kiley is there. the response from iranian leaders so far as you've seen with threats and now a major announcement that they're no longer going to be abiding by any limits that were agreed to in the 2015 nuclear deal. what are you hearing? >> reporter: well, the interesting thing about this nuclear deal is that it was the united states, of course, under donald trump that tore the deal up and the iranians tried to stick to it whilst arguably trying to put pressure via attacking tankers in the gulf of hormuz, support for the houthis, blamed for rocket attacks against saudi arabia, to try to force the united states' hand. that didn't work out, not least for the killing of mr. soleimani. now we have -- general soleimani -- now we have the hezbollah faction inside iraq, backed by iran, openly threatening to close the straits of hormuz if there is any further military action by the united states. this causing extreme anxiety, right across this region, with the prince salman, the deputy defense minister, for

cnn senior international correspondent sam kiley is there for us in baghdad. tell me more about this al asad facility. >> it's a vast base that's been used across the region now for many, many years. the main operational air force operational base for the united states, and a lot of iraqis too. it's also a location transited through by special forces in significant numbers. so it's a very high profile location to hit, and very interesting indeed. i think the iraqis were able to demonstrate a level of missile technology that was capable of deliberately missing human beings to rain some 17 missiles down on that location and not kill anybody is a sign of the highly effective targeting system. they did the same up in northern iraq and around erbil firing five missiles there, again, not killing anybody, but clearly signaling a capability that has sent shock waves, i think, across the middle east. if you'll think of how close saudi arabia, the gulf allies of the united states, the emirates, qatar and others are to iranian territory, it does signal that they're capab

sam kiley for us in kiev. thank you very much for that reporting.nt thing to remember here is the ukrainians are investigating this and have expressed concern. we've heard no concern from the state department or the u.s. secretary of state mike pompeo about this at all. >>> all right. the sign stealing scandal in baseball has claimed some huge names already, but now there are new allegations that even go to the next level. allegations that astros players were wearing stuff that may have helped them steal these signs. details on the bleacher report next. (groans) hmph... (food grunting menacingly) when the food you love doesn't love you back, stay smooth and fight heartburn fast with tums smoothies. ♪ tum tum-tum tum tums >>> social media is buzzing alleging that the astros used concealed devices to notify each other of certain pitches. this cheating scandal continues to grow. andy scholes has more in the breacher report. what now, andy? >> major league baseball tells cnn in a statement that they explored wearable devices during the investigation of