[Anderson Cooper, Cnn:] Good morning. It's 4:00 p.m. in Iran's capital, the middle of a sleepless night for some as they and we await for the next step in the crisis that escalated today, for the shoot down of an American surveillance drone. On the left is Pentagon video of it shortly after it was hit. On the right, what Iranian state TV is claiming to be the antiaircraft missile hitting its target. And we should point out we have not independently confirmed that, nor is there any independent assessment of where the drone actually was, whether it was an Iranian air space as Tehran is claiming, or not, as the Pentagon says. There is new reporting on that which we're going to bring you tonight. Either way, because this is, in fact, such a tense moment, we are taking extra care throughout the entire broadcast to clearly label any and all unverified claims as such no matter who is making them. We're making sure to bring you strong advocates on both sides of the debate over what to do next. The president today sent mixed signals, telling reporters he thought the shoot down was accidental, but also suggesting some kind of a response is in the works.
[Donald Trump, President Of The United States:] I find it hard to believe it was intentional, if you want to know the truth. I think that it could have been somebody who was loose and stupid that did it.
[Reporter:] Mr. President, how will you respond?
[Trump:] You'll find out.
[Reporter:] Are you willing to go to war with Iran over this?
[Trump:] You'll find out, you'll find out.
[Cooper:] A short time later, he briefed top lawmakers. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell saying the president is weighing, quote, a measured response. His words. His Democratic counterpart, Chuck Schumer, saying he worried about the president bumbling, that was his word, into war with Iran. We talked about that tonight, about the risk ahead and the possibility of escalation or de-escalation. We begin, though, with CNN's Barbara Starr at the Pentagon. So, Barbara, exactly what do we know happened here? Because the accounts coming obviously from the U.S. and Iran are very different.
[Barbara Starr, Cnn Pentagon Correspondent:] They are different, Anderson, and perhaps that is not unexpected. The U.S. began the day saying that one of its drones, the biggest drone it's got actually, was shot down over international air space near the Strait of Hormuz by an Iranian surface to air missile some 20 miles or so off the coast of Iran, in that international air space. The Iranians a short time later saying that, no, the drone had strayed into Iranian air space and they shot it down. All of this resulted in the dueling videos you showed and dueling maps and graphics from both sides as to where exactly this occurred. It is going to be up to people to make up their own minds at this point who's got the better track record on truth, who they choose to believe. For the president, the challenge at this hour is what to do about it, whether to respond, whether there is something to be done about it. We know the president is very reluctant, as he looks at all of this intelligence, still to commit to a significant action in Iran. He has been for several days downplaying the tensions, if you will calling them minor, the attacks minor on the tankers, and trying not to escalate it. He has advisers who probably would like to see it escalated Anderson.
[Cooper:] Has the drone been recovered yet? Do we know? Can it be recovered?
[Starr:] Well, the Iranians are making some claims about that. But we checked a short time ago with the U.S. military. The weather out there has been bad today. We are told that the seas are very choppy. The winds are pushing towards the Iranian coast, and it is making it difficult for the U.S. to mount any efforts to try and get any of the debris back. The Iranians claim they have some, but they haven't shown it to the world yet.
[Cooper:] If the U.S. does decide to respond militarily, is there any idea what that might look like?
[Starr:] Well, we already are seeing, of course, the Pentagon put thousands of troops into the region for the current strategy of defense and deterrence against Iran. The Pentagon adamant it is not looking for war with Iran, but it wants to deter further aggression. So, the question it had now is if you want to respond with some kind of kinetic activity to this drone attack, if you want to bomb something, is there a limited strike option against Iran, against missile sites, against radar, some kind of limited strike where you do not risk an Iranian reaction that leads to a wider war with Tehran. And that is the calculation right now. We do not know exactly where the White House will come down on that Anderson.
[Cooper:] Yes, difficult calculation to make. Barbara Starr, thank you. More now on the messages coming out of the White House and briefing top lawmakers received there late today. Our Pamela Brown joins us with that side of the story. So, President Trump's message on Iran seemed to shift over the course of the day. Can you explain that or do we know what was behind the thinking?
[Pamela Brown, Cnn Senior White House Correspondent:] That's right. We're seeing the president downplay this once again, calling it a big mistake, literally saying whoever did this was loose and stupid. All of this happening around the same time, Anderson, that congressional leaders were called to the White House for this emergency briefing in the Situation Room. GOP congressional leaders left, calling for a measured approach, Democrats emerged with a stark warning, that President Trump must get congressional approval before using military force with Iran. Senator Schumer, as you said, said he's concerned the administration, in his words, will bumble into war. But the president is sending mixed signals. He is remaining noncommittal on how this administration will act. In fact, Anderson, just moments after appearing to put Iran on notice, that is when the president made the statement that he thought it was all a big mistake. However, Iran contradicted the president saying it was intentional because it believes the U.S. drone violated its airspace. The Pentagon, as Barbara said, maintains it was over international waters and released video that it claims shows a smoke trail in international air space. But deliberations continue tonight, Anderson, over what the next steps should be on top of already sending 2,500 troops to the Middle East in response to the recent acts by Iran prior to this latest act, officials said the president resisted military engagement. Tonight, he faces pressure from allies, like Senator Lindsey Graham who said he risks looking like he's all talk if he doesn't take action. The president said we'll have to see if the U.S. decides to use military force. I'm told by an administration official he is constantly being briefed on Iran by his national security adviser John Bolton who is known to have more hawkish views on Iran. The president said today he is not being pushed into war by his advisors, Anderson.
[Cooper:] And do we know exactly the kind of advice well, you talked about John Bolton. What is the next step for this White House? Is there a sense of when a decision might be made?
[Brown:] It certainly feels like something could happen soon, Anderson. I don't know that, but it certainly seems in terms of the posturing with what the president has said that, look, we will have to wait and see if there will be a military strike. All of this pressure growing on him from his allies, like I said, Lindsey Graham, that he will look weak if he doesn't do something in response to this latest act by Iran. He has been downplaying it consistently. He is someone who has said repeatedly he doesn't like intervention. He campaigned on that. But there are several provocative acts by Iran with the latest one being the downing of the U.S. drone that has the president in a tricky situation here. He tried to, again, give himself some wiggle room by saying I thought it was an accident. Iran made it clear it was intentional, though. And so, we will have to see if the administration does choose to take any military action or look at other ways to respond, Anderson.
[Cooper:] Pamela Brown, appreciate it. Thank you. CNN's Fred Pleitgen is the only Western correspondent in Tehran where it's early in the morning right now. He joins us. So, President Trump is saying it couldn't have been a general or somebody who made a mistake and decided to shoot down this drone. Is that what exactly are the Iranians saying?
[Frederik Pleitgen, Cnn Senior International Correspondent:] Well, the Iranians are pretty much saying the exact opposite of that. I've been looking for any sort of statements, any Iranian commander, anybody from the military or politics who might have said this could have been an accident or some rogue commander, or even the Iranians possibly trying to walk this back, Anderson. So far, there's been none of that. The Iranians are clearly saying this was a deliberate shoot down of the U.S. drone because they believe the U.S. drone infringed upon their air space, violated their air space. The interesting thing about this is I've been here I think 16 or 17 times, Anderson. And I have never seen the Iranians on all levels, the moderates, the hard liners, the military, the politics, come out with so many statements so quickly and pretty much all of them seem to be in sync. Iran's foreign minister is even getting involved in this. He pretty much tweeted a play by play of how he saw this drone flight unfold. He said it took off in the early morning hours from the UAE, then circled around. It had its transponder off. And it said it violated Iranian air space and even gave coordinates for where he said the drone was shot down. Now, we looked up those coordinates. That would put it about 9 miles off the Iranian coast. Again, the U.S., of course, has a very different view of where that drone was shot down. The Iranians for their part, however this is coming from the military, the Revolutionary Guard which is the unit that shot that drone down they're saying this is definitely a clear message to the United States that if you infringe upon Iran's airspace, this is what's going to happen. The Iranians are saying this is a red line. And, Anderson, the top commander of the Revolutionary Guard, he came out earlier today, also shortly after the drone was shot down and said Iran does not want any sort of war with the United States, but at the same time, they're also saying that Iran is prepared for a war with the United States. And one of the things that senior Revolutionary Guard, former commanders and commanders have told me, they said if this does get out of hand in any way, shape or form, the U.S. would not only be dealing with Iran's military but, of course, also with the many proxy forces that it controls throughout the entire Middle East, Anderson.
[Cooper:] Right. I mean, Iraq, there is obviously a huge number of proxy forces as there are elsewhere throughout the world. There's been any has there been talk of taking retaliatory action against the U.S., you know, if, in fact, the U.S. does respond in a military way?
[Pleitgen:] Well, yes and the Iranians, the way they're putting it, first of all, they said that if the U.S. does make a military move we've seen the U.S. say they want to deploy those thousand troops here. That's something the Iranians feel is a threat to them. But they say they are monitoring what the U.S. is doing. They've been saying that the past couple of days. And they say if the U.S. strikes first, there would be what they call a crushing response. They call it their iron fist. But the interesting thing that you hear from them again and again, Anderson, they always say it is going to be in a wide territory. So you can expect that to be in places like Iraq, possibly in Syria, possibly in Lebanon, all these places where the Iranians have their militias. The other thing that the Iranians keep talking about a lot is the fact that they've really advanced their ballistic missile program as well, and that's another thing the Iranians say they would use as well. So, they're saying, again, they certainly don't want this to escalate is the view from Tehran. They don't think President Trump wants it to escalate. But they say if it does, it's going to be painful for the U.S. Anderson.
[Cooper:] All right. Fred Pleitgen, in Tehran, thank you very much. Coming up next, a new up close look at one of the tankers allegedly targeted by Iran in the roundup to today, as well as a leading member of the House Intelligence and what we know on Iranian intentions. Two military analysts joining us as well. And later, breaking new in the wake of what Joe Biden said about getting along with segregationist senators. Dr. Cornel West joins us as well with his thoughts which is always worth hearing. We'll be right back.