Transcription
This is what you need to know now. The war on two fronts. Waves of Israeli strikes across Tehran and against Hezbollah in Lebanon. Video captures a US submarine sinking an Iranian warship. It's a great display of military strength. 11 countries now hit with Iranian drones and missiles. Americans scrambling to get home. The first charter flight has now departed. I'm so like ready to go. And I speak with a Kurdish Iranian opposition leader. Is the US arming the Kurds to launch a ground invasion? We have much more what you need to know now. I'm James Longman from ABC News. It's Thursday, March 5th, and this is what you need to know.
I'm at Iraq's border with Iran as this war enters its sixth day, and let's get right to the big story. The US and Israel ramping up attacks on Iran, striking major cities K and Ishvahan. The IDF released this extraordinary video of an Israeli F-35 in a mid-air dog fight with an Iranian jet. And this new video of US forces destroying what the Pentagon describes as an advanced Iranian warship with a torpedo fired from a submarine. They say 20 Iranian ships have been sunk. And as the military takes out more enemy missile launchers, Central Command is downplaying the concern about the supply of missile interceptors, they say the number of missile attacks from Iran has dropped nearly 90% and that drone launches are down more than 70%.
We have sufficient precision munitions for the task at hand, both on the offense and defense.
And the war is now spreading to Lebanon. Israel is forcing some 300,000 people from their homes in the south of the country. That's around 5% of the country's entire population. They say they want to push back the threat from Iranian proxy Hezbollah. Wednesday morning, an Israeli strike hit a hotel in an upscale neighborhood with foreign embassies nearby. Our Matt Rivers spoke with a Beirut city councilman.
I think nobody's safe now in the Middle East. Have we seen uh up to two days ago, UAE was the maybe uh the most the safest country in the world. Now they now Dubai is getting hit every night.
Yeah. So now I think nobody's safe.
We are ready for anything. That's what a leader of an Iranian opposition group told me here in Iraq as reports grow that the US and Israel have been arming Kurdish fighters to launch a ground invasion into Iran. Omar Baluki did not confirm but tellingly did not deny that his men were planning an incursion. I asked him if Americans should be concerned about getting involved in a forever war. What would you say to Americans watching now worried that their government is getting involved?
I think the USA owes the Iranian people a country, he says. And the US is scrambling to mobilize military aircraft for Americans stranded in this region as Iran intensifies their aerial retaliation across Gulf States. The State Department has announced the first charter flight has taken off, but commercial air travel has almost completely stopped. More than 20,000 flights have been cancelled since the conflict began.
I have hopes that every day is going to be the last day, you know, that I'll that I'll be here and ultimately get to go back home. Americans appear to be split on the war. A new NBC poll shows 52% of registered voters say President Trump should not have taken military action against Iran. 41% say it was the right call. Tensions boiled over on Capitol Hill when an anti-war protester interrupted a Senate hearing. Montana Senator Tim Shehy, a former Navy Seal, stepped in to help police remove the man from the room. This as Congress held a vote to reign in the president's military operation. Mary Bruce has more from the White House. James, President Trump is giving the American operation a glowing grades, but Democrats are furious. Trump went to war without congressional approval as required by the Constitution. Now, they tried Wednesday to force a war powers vote to prevent further US military action without congressional approval, but Republicans blocked it. In fact, Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson even claimed this isn't a war at all, saying flatly, quote, "We're not at war right now." That it's a quote very specific, clear mission and operation. But even the commander-in-chief is calling this a war.
We're doing very well on uh on the war front. To put it mildly, I would say somebody said, "On a scale of 10, where would you rate it?" I said, "About a 15."
A human rights group now says more than 1,000 people have been killed in Iran. And the Pentagon says one of the dead is the Iranian commander held responsible for an assassination plot against President Trump. That death toll also includes more than 170 people who Iran says were killed after an air strike on a girl school. US officials say they're investigating that incident. The White House pushed back on the allegation, although there is still no public explanation for what happened.
I would just tell you very strongly, the United States of America does not target civilians, unlike the rogue Iranian regime that targets civilians, that kills children, that has killed thousands of their own people in the past several weeks and uses uh propaganda quite effectively. And unfortunately, many people in this room have fallen for that propaganda. And the Pentagon is now identifying more of the US troops believed to have been killed in Sunday's Iranian drone attack in Q8. They include Major Jeffrey O'Brien of Iowa and Chief Warrant Officer Robert Marzan of California before other service members have already been identified.
And we have much more what you need to know. Now to some quick hits. Other ABC News stories we're following today. The House Oversight Committee has voted to subpoena Attorney General Pam Bondi over the handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case. Bondi will testify in a closed-door deposition. Democratic and Republican lawmakers have expressed frustration that not all of the Epstein files have been released as required by law. They've accused the Justice Department of redacting the names of powerful men while not protecting the identities of some survivors. Texas Republican Tony Gonzalez now admits to having had an extrammarital affair with an aid who later died by suicide. The three-term congressman, who's now under investigation by the House Ethics Committee, appeared on a conservative radio show after being forced into a runoff to fight for his House seat. Gonzalez claims he'd not spoken to the staffer for over a year before her death and had nothing to do with her passing. The father of six says he reconciled with his wife and asked God to forgive him.
and I had a lapse in judgment and there was a lack of faith. Um, and I take full responsibility for those actions.
A new report detailing decades of alleged child sexual abuse by Catholic priests in Rhode Island churches has been released. Rhode Island's attorney general says alleged crimes span 75 years, finding quote credible claims of abuse involving 75 priests and 300 child victims. So far, it has resulted in four prosecutions of current or former priests. Three are awaiting trial. Abuse survivors held the report, calling it monumental. The Dascese of Providence acknowledges serious missteps in its handling of earlier cases of abuse and calls its current protections overwhelmingly effective. And new today, jurors in New Mexico will hear more of a video deposition from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. New Mexico is suing Meta, accusing the company's platforms of becoming a marketplace for predators in search of children. The lawsuit also alleges Meta knowingly exposes children to sexual exploitation and harms their mental health. In a statement to ABC News, Meta calls New Mexico's investigation ethically compromised in that the company is focused on their commitment to supporting young people and providing parents with tools to manage their teens experiences.
And now, one more thing before you go. Another stark image from this war. An unexloded Iranian ballistic missile discovered in a field in northeastern Syria. The missile landed intact in an open area without causing any reported injuries. Local residents were seen gathering around the projectile with even a child climbing into it. And that's what you need to know for breaking news and live updates throughout the day. Check out ABC News streaming on Disney Plus. New episodes streaming every day on Disney Plus.