International airport. Theres the flames, as the plane hits the ground and explodes. You can see the flaming debris. Hundreds of pieces of the plane strewn across the area. Cnn is covering this Major Development with our teams throughout the region and beyond. Fred pleitgen is live this hour in tehran with more on what the iranian government is saying. Ben wedeman standing by in beirut how new sanctions could play out in the region where u. S. Faces demands following the military leader qassem soleimani. Lets start in tehran with our Fred Pleitgen. Fred, give us a sense of what youre searing with officials. What more are they saying, now that theyre doing a 180 on this. Reporter yeah, were hearing a lot from iranian government officials, political leaders, religious leaders and military leaders as well. Actually as we speak right now, were waiting for a press conference from the head of irans press forces that is the commission in charge of the air to surface missiles. Were hearing from the Supreme Leader, apparently the Supreme Leader was informed about this incident. Thats according to Iranian State media yesterday. He then called in a meeting of the security council. Had had been informed of the accidental shooting down of the aircraft. In that meeting, apparently, im paraphrasing a statement by the principal of the incident he said and the result of the investigation will be told to the people honestly and frankly. Now, were having iranian officials come out and actually give quite a bit of information on what exactly happened at least according to their account. They say this obviously happened during a phase of heightened tension after the iraqi strikes on bases housing forces. Fearing that the u. S. Might strike back, in all of that, they say they mistakenly shot down that plane, mistaking it for possibly being an adversarial plane. The iranians say theyre going to launch a fullon investigation. They claim theyre going to hold those culpable. Theyre going to hold them accountable. They say theres possibly even a military court taking place. Irans president has come out and highly critical of the shooting of the plane. He called unjustified mistake. He issued apologies to the iranian nation and the Iranian Foreign minister and, of course torque the countries that has the other passengers on that plane where they came from. Of course, many of them are dual iranian citizens. So this is a big tragedy for this country, as well as the other countries. But many iranians, of course, perished on that plane. And thats certainly something that hurts a lot of people here a great deal. You can really feel the city in mourning. A few hours from now. Three or four hours from now, theres going to be a candlelight vigil all around here for the victims of the shooting down. Aircraft, mistakenly, the iranians, say, by their military, george. Fred, the initial denial, why the denial, some are asking . Why the denial . And now, we understand, this aboutface . Reporter its very difficult to say why the denials took place. Whether or not there was any malice involved is really unclear. Part of it may stem from possible miscommunication between the military and civilian authorities. The denials we were hearing came from the civilian authorities including the ahead of the Civil Aviation authority. Navnlg, in fact, we spoke to them several times. The denials, you wouldnt imagine it was a missile that took that plane down. He believed that the debris field would be a lot larger than it was. Then when you hear the Supreme Leaders statement from today that he was informed by the military yesterday about what happened, and then immediately ordered that this be made public, or at least that there be as much transparency as possible, it almost seems as though, and this is just me trying to connect the dots here, i have to say, it almost seems as though there was this official investigation going on, and parallel to that it seems that the military conducted its own internal investigation until it came to a result. Im not sure how much communication there actually was between the civilian situation going on which, of course, the ukrainians are also a part of and the military organization. Its not clear why the denials were issued for such an extended period of time, rather than leaving it open what happened to the plane when authorities didnt know exactly what brought the plane down, george. Our Fred Pleitgen live in tehran. On the story, fred, thank you. From australia, joining me now, Jeffrey Thomas the editorinchief at airlineratings. Com. Jeffrey, why would a commercial airline be operating during this time . Well, thats a very good question. And right to the point here, one hour earlier, than this tragic accident, tragic shootdown, i should say, took a lions 873 took off en route to the same airport to istanbul and took off the exact same flight as that aircraft. There were other aircraft that took off. An a30 took off as well. Planes were take off an hour to hour and a half before this ukrainian aircraft took off. Apparently the authorities thought it was safe and all of these planes took off safely. All of a sudden, this ukrainian plane takes off as exactly all of the other aircraft have done but it gets shot down. So, to say it was an accident doesnt really ring true, because other aircraft had been operating in exactly the same manner as this aircraft had in the previous hour. Right. In issuing a statement that perhaps the transponders would have been off, if it was a military plane, that they were being confused with. So that doesnt make sense. And they had just said that their air Defense Systems are very accurate. So, yes, questions about how this would happen. Go ahead. Well, i was going to say the transponder was on in this aircraft because flight 24 picked it up. It was tracked until it was flown out of the sky. So suggesting that the transponder was turned off on the aircraft, again that is wrong as well. Im sorry, i misspoke, what i meant to say, if it was an incoming military plane, that would mean that their transponders were turred off. Yes. And look, indeed, if it was a threat that aircraft would be probably below the radar. And or a stealth aircraft. It didnt ring true. It doesnt matter which way you slice and dice it. So, they have finally come clean and said, yes, this is what happened after denying it. So that is Something Else that theyll have to deal with. What do you think, as far as in situations like this, is it typical that commercial airlines are well, that countries stop their commercial flights . Look, thats a very good point. It seems almost bizarre that any airplane was allowed to take off after that missile strike on the irraeblg ba iraqi bases because one would naturally assume you would have incoming missiles targeting Iranian Defense stallations which are around tehran airport. So why the authorities allowed aircraft to fly is perplexing. It doesnt again, it doesnt ring correctly. And then the other thing about this is that the faa and the United States has banned u. S. Airlines from flying over iraqi and iranian airspace. And one would presume other countries would follow suit. But in actual fact, they havent. Theres lots of airplanes flying over iraqi airspace right now. And theres lots of airplanes flying over iranian airspace right now. So, it really is perplexing, you know, how Airlines Deal with these issues and how authorities are dealing with these issues because theres obviously a clear and present danger to passengers. Yeah, certainly is. Thanks for bringing that up. Thats questions that we need to continue to explore as we cover this story. Thank you, Jeffrey Thomas from perth, australia, we appreciate your insights. The Trump Administration has announced new sanctions on iran. This as tehran admits to downing a ukrainian passenger plane. Well have more about it, when we come back. Leanfire supplements from force factor contain ingredients clinically shown to help increase energy, burn fat, and double your weight loss. Dont struggle to fit in. Unleash your potential, with leanfire. Available at retailers nationwide. Is your cleanser cleansing well . Try garnier micellar cleansing water. Micelles work like a magnet to remove makeup without rubbing. Cleanse without rinsing. Even for sensitive skin. 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Some common sideeffects include temporary numbness, discomfort, and swelling. Dont imagine results, see them. Coolsculpting, take yourself further. Save 100 on your coolsculpting treatment. Text resolution to 65190 to learn more. Breaking news, iran now admitting that a ukrainian passenger plane was targeted and shot down unintentionally on wednesday. Iranian president Hassan Rouhani says in a tweet, he deeply regrets the disastrous mistake and vows to prosecute those responsible for downing the plane. That crash killed 176 people on board the flight. Iran isnt taking all responsibility, it blames radar activity and aggression for the mistake. Lets talk about more live in the region with sam kiley in baghdad, iraq. Sam, iraq is caught in the balance of this thing, and theres 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, its 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, weve 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, what is the problem here that iraq, over the next couple of weeks that is the iranianbacked militias, the hard core share militias now is the time for iraqis to retire this bases from iraqi soil. Sunnis, moderate shia and of course, all. Kurds say, no, we want the americans to stay because the fight against the Islamic State is not over. But the shia militia is saying its a matter of perhaps less than weeks before they start using violence against United States forces in order to force them out. The government here, Prime Minister saying in a phone call with mike pompeo, u. S. Secretary of state, that hes asked americans to begin discussions on withdrawal from iraq. That is not how mr. Pompeo said he would characterize the phone call. But nonetheless, it is clear that is the focus of diplomatic engagement between the u. S. And iraq because the danger it become a literal military engagement on the ground. And again, inevitably, there will be tragic civilian casual this if that were to occur as well. Sam, in the background of all of this, the concern about a resurgent isis. Tell us more about where that stands, and if the u. S. Were, you know, to leave, if the u. S. Presence were to change there, how would that play into this . Reporter well, the u. S. Contribution here, and theyre not alone, there are british and german and other troops, but the overwhelming majority of them are american, are in a training capacity. And they have been throughout the campaign against the socalled Islamic State on the ground. In the air, though, its the u. S. Led coalition thats been absolutely critical in destroying the capability of socalled Islamic State to hold ground. Establish it and then to hold its caliphate. That is now over, the ideology and part that is, sustaining the attacks on the iraqi troops just a couple of days ago, two iraqi soldiers were killed here kirkuk in the Islamic State, thats a roiling environment there on the frontier between the iraq proper and the kurdish control of the country. Particularly, sunni population dont want to see the backout of u. S. Troops, because it would open up an opportunity for the islam make state to return. And in fact if the shia, it would be open season on troops and a concern for isis as well. That is a chaotic security situation that these militant groups would inevitably seek to exploit and keep the levels of bloodshed to the catastrophic let mes that we saw a few years ago, george. And the reporting and context from sam kiley, live in baghdad, iraq. Thank you for your report. Heres another angle to the story. The Trump Administration announcing new economic sanctions on friday against iran. For more on this cnn Foreign International correspondent ben wedeman is live in beirut. How might these sanctions, ben, affect iran . Reporter natalie, its difficult at this point to say how they would affect iran, given that United States has imposed a series of ever more draconian sanctions on iran. This latest round including the metallurgy textile sectors, as well as eight senior military and security officials. But for quite some time now, most analysts say that iran is sanctioned out. Theres not much left that can be affected by these u. S. Measures. This is part of the maximum pressure policy of the Trump Administration. Which has been really the par for the course for u. S. Policy towards iran, now since may of 2018, when President Trump announced that the u. S. Was going to pull out of the Iran Nuclear Deal. The problem is, as the sanctions go ahead, the iranian economy is evermore crippled which puts iran in a corner. So its difficult to say how this latest level of sanctions is going to do anything more than simply increase the heat, when it comes to relations between washington and tehran. Natalie. If it can get any more heated, yes, it probably can. Well, lets pivot to a new story that broke overnight, the death of the sultan of oman. He was so important in the region, ben, and also in dealing with iran. Reporter yes, the sultan was in power in oman since 1970. And what was remarkable oman was that it somehow managed to steer clear of the proxy war that are ripping the middle east apart. He maintained very warm relations with iran and with the United States. And he was critical in mediating between the two, when it came to the Iran Nuclear Deal, which is sort of the mediation began in 2013 and resulted in the 2006 Iran Nuclear Deal which, of course, is now in tatters. But, certainly, oman managed to steer this middle course, with very lowkey diplomacy, bringing together all sorts of enemies to the very recently. And therefore the passing of Sultan Qaboos can limit the possibility of the war in region. Now, his successor has been named. Its his cousin, a man, a minister of culture. He also had a position in the foreign ministry. Perhaps he will continue this middle road followed by oman over the years, natalie. Well see, thank you so much. Ben wedeman for us. Thanks thanks, ben. Lets get some context now, the director at the crisis group joining from us brussels, belgium, its good to have you with us. Thank you. First, id like to get back to the breaking news were following. Iran now doing a 180 on this plane that was shot down by the russianmade missile. The question here, why the 180, do you figure . And why the denial from the start . Well, i dont know when exactly the iranians realized or iranian leadership realized that it was their side that had caused this. But they certainly needed some time to figure it out. And figure to out among themselves who was going to take the fall for this. Sand in the end, the top leadership decided that it was inescapable that he had to take responsibility for this. But the western pressure, immediately, the western Intelligence Agency saying it was your own missile that may have pushed them on the incentive and it was the Ukrainian Team that pushed them to investigate, lets not jump to conclusions that may have help iran to actually take this course and now take the blame for it. This speaks for the broader conflict between United States and iran. This particular incident. An indirect incident, nonetheless. Is being pulled into the blame game. Both sides blaming each other for the heightened tensions. The question is, where do you see that broader conflict going from this particular point . Well, i think for the iranians, this is a serious setback. Because after they fired the missiles at the iraqi air base where is the u. S. Troops are colocated, a couple days ago, you know, it wasnt clear this would be the last step they would take. In fact, it was pretty clear that it would be further ones, but maybe down the road at a more suitable time and maybe not as over vetly as these attacks were. Now, they have to think twice because this clearly has internal repercussions, people mourn the passing of general soleimani. But they dont necessarily support the regime and everything it does. And when they make a mistake like this, a blunder, they have to be how it plays in the local scene, especially in light of the protests that weve seen earlier, you know, in the last couple of months. So theres the 180 that were covering with iran. And then there are the questions here in the United States about the word eminent. Weve heard the secretary of state mike pompeo say that there was an eminent threat, weve heard that from u. S. President donald trump, even suggesting there were several targets that could have been in play here. But no direct evidence to back this up. Just the word of these politicians. Yes, thats just what it is. And everybody outside the United States, i think, is skeptical in the extreme that this was and maybe many in the United States, too, that this was a true story and there in fact there was an eminent attack. I mean, general soleimani played many roles in the iranian stability. He was not a rogue military guy, terrorist, this or that, whatever you call him. He had serious military and diplomatic responsibilities which he was carrying out so, you know, its possible that another attack was being planned. But its also possible that in fact he was trying to negotiate a better solution for the iraqi situation, which was very difficult for the iranians. So, you know, theres all kinds of speculation. But this is the problem. In the heat of war when everything is, you know, at a trigger level, these guys there are accidents happen, and people, military action is undertaken against people, when in fact, you know, they may not even be justified by what is in reality going on the ground. We appreciate you taking time. But he escalate it. Go ahead, please. No, i said, that raises the rick of escalation that is inadvertent and this is what we reach. I understand. Heightened tensions in that region, for sure, on a hair trigger on what can come next. We appreciate your time, thank you. Thank you very much. Next here, we get the view from tehran. Well go there live to talk with our Fred Pleitgen. Stay with us. At this point, i dont make compromises. I want nutrition made just for me. But i also want great taste. So i drink boost for women. New boost women with key nutrients to help support thyroid, bone, hair and skin health. All with great taste. New boost women. All with great taste. 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Announcer this is cnn breaking news. We are following the breaking news for our viewers in the United States and around the world. Iran now admitting to shooting down the ukrainian passenger plane unintentionally. Im george howell. And im natalie allen. The admission comes after iran initially had denied it shot the plane down. Cnn International Correspondent Fred Pleitgen is live this hour in tehran. Fred, what is the latest on what iran is saying about this . Reporter hi, natalie, well, we do have some new information for you. There was just a press conference, either still going on or just ended about the head of irans Aerospace Defense forces, a member of the revolutionary guard, a high member of the revolutionary guard. And the revolutionary guard says it takes full responsibility for the downing of that airliner. They did offer new information, remember, weve been saying throughout the morning that the iranians were in a heightened state of alert because they had just conducted the strikes on military bagss s bases that ho troops and they feared there could be a counterattack by the United States. They say their entire air Defense Systems were on a high state of alert, a wartime footing fearing attacks were going on. They say they had information, but there might be Cruise Missiles on their way to iran. And apparently, the operator of this surfacetoair Missile System mistook the plane that was flying for a Cruise Missile that may have been coming in that shot the plane down. Were still translating that information, were getting a lot more of that as we go on but thats the latest that were getting from the iranians right now. Of course, theyve also been saying there have been apologies issued, but by the iranianing leadership and by the foreign minister of this country, the president of the country, Hassan Rouhani calling this an unjustifiable mistake iranians say there is going to be justice. There might be a military court, they certainly are going to hold those erroneously, they say, shot down the plane, theyre going to hold them accountable. The Supreme Leader has said he wants transparency in that and a full investigation. And the iranians are also saying, natalie, that they are definitely going to look at their procedures for surfacetoair Defense Systems, going to refine those systems to make sure an incident like this does not happen again like this, natalie. Yes, time like these when mistakes do happen. And a lot of questions about why they were continuing their civilian flights there at the airport during this time. Thanks so much, fred. We appreciate it. Gopher t over to george. Get go to ukraine where cnns Scott Mcqueen is standing by for what is a News Press Conference that is expected to start. Scott, tell us what were expected to hear there. Reporter hey, george, after the press conference starts in less than 30 minutes it will be with the ceo of the Ukrainian International airlines. Hes been on the job for five, six months or so, so, now, he is dealing with the first fatal crash in this countrys history. The airline held a press conference on wednesday after the news first came out but they have said precious little since then. They havent returned calls, 0 at least made comments. There are plenty asking questions about why this aircraft was allowed to take off in the first place, given the tensions between iran and United States at the time. And missile strikes in iraq on u. S. Targets just hours before. When he was asked about that on wednesday, or when the airline was asked about that on wednesday, they said, look there was no indication of danger. If they knew there was even a shred of a possibility that something would have happened, they would have kept that plane on ground. The foreign minister yesterday when he was asked, a very similar answer saying theyve analyzed the flight path. That airplane was in the corridor where it was supposed to be, where other planes had gone previous. And again, there were no indications of danger. But just given the tensions, it will be interesting to hear the decisionmaking now that we know for certain that this is in fact the missile, as to whether or not there will be procedures changing in the future, or what exactly the decisionmaking process of this airline is. Now, here in ukraine, george, theres been plenty of reaction to this. It may not come as a surprise to ukrainian officials, though, that this plane has been shot down. We know that yesterday the foreign minister told cnn that he had gotten some intelligence and information from the americans and british that they said was very solid that seemed to indicate this missile strike. It may not come as a surprise to many of the family and friends that weve been speaking to of the flight crew who was on board. They could not say enough about the professionalism of the crew and the vast experience. So at least in their mind, there was no chance this could have been pilot error or some technical error. The president zelensky will have a call. Hes insisting on an apology and also insisting on compensation paid to the victims of this crash, george. Scott mclean live in ukraine, where a press conference is set to start. Well stay in touch, scott. Also, a shifting story over what led to the killing of irans second most powerful official, we take a closer look at the Trump Administrations inconsistency in the death of qassem soleimani. Thats next. 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Talk to your advisor or consultant oh no, here comes gthe neighbor probably to brag about how amazing his Xfinity Customer Service is. Im mike, im so busy. Good thing xfinity has twohour appointment windows. They have night and weekend appointments too. Hes here. Bill . Karolyn . Nope no, just a couple of rocks. Download the my account app to manage your appointments making todays Xfinity Customer Service simple, easy, awesome. Ill pass. So, if youre looking for eminence, you need to look no later than the days that led up to the days of soleimani. There were imminent. What is your definition of imminent . Imminent . That is the question according to the u. S. Secretary of state mike pompeo, it was an imminent threat to justify the killing of qassem soleimani. It comes as iran has been admitting as weve been seeing it shot down the passenger plane unintentionally killing all 176 on board. President Hassan Rouhani of iran said it was human error and has vowed to prosecute those responsible, calling it a terrible mistake. However, the foreign minister is calling it adventurism. The Trump Administration keeps switching its story on why it killed soleimani. Cnns jim acosta looks into that. Reporter still in search of a justification for taking out iran general qassem soleimani, President Trump now says iran was plotting to attack multiple u. S. Embassies. I can reveal i believe it would have been four embassies. Reporter thats more than what the president said one day earlier. We did because 33 were looking to blow up their embassy. Reporter and that after mounting inconsistencies as top officials suggested that an attack was imminent. Is there is know doubt that there was a series of imminent attacks being plotted by qassem soleimani, we dont know precisely when and precisely where. But it was real. Time and place . But it was imminent, you never know the time and place of these things with perfect particularity. Reporter in the briefing room, secretary of state mike pompeo tried to do cleanup. We had specific information on an imminent threat. And those threats included attacks on u. S. Embassies. Period. You say you didnt know precisely when and no, completely true, those are completely consistent thoughts. Reporter pompeo claims they were briefed on the imminent threat. We did. We told them about the imminent threat. All of the intelligence that we briefed, that youve heard today, i assure you in the unclassified setting we provide in the classified setting as well. Reporter but democrats say thats all news to them. Not one word of that was mentioned. Is it true . I dont know. We didnt hear it. I have no idea where he got that from, but thats par for the course for this president. Consistently on the briefings ive seen on this they have not season imminence. Reporter there was no way they were going to brief House Speaker nancy pelosi before the strike. We got a call. We heard where he was. We knew the way he was getting there and we had a time to make a decision. We didnt have time to call up nancy who was not operating with a full deck. Reporter the inconsistencies could become a major headache for President Trump who waonce told wolf blitzer that george w. Bush who have been impeached for getting us into the war with iraq. Bush saying they had weapons of mass destruction turned out not to be true. Reporter as for iran, the Trump Administration admitting new details saying on the same night of the strike, forces targeted a separate iraqi official in yemen but that mission was unsuccessful. And theres one other problem for the white houses the iraqi Prime Minister is requesting a time line for the american withdrawal from the country. We are happy to continue the conversation with iraqis about what the right structure is. Our mission set, it is very clear. Were there to perform a Training Mission to help the iraqi forces be successful and to continue the campaign against isis. Reporter the Trump Administration issued new sanctions on iran in an attention to punishing that country and Senior Iranian officials. The white house hoping that they will send off to get back into the nuclear program. But its hard to imagine that happening as iran has closed the door on sitting down to talk about much of anything. Jim acosta, cnn, the white house. Well, lets talk more about this story with independent drj parmar, joining us from the london studios. Good morning to you, inderjeet. Good morning, natalie. Lets talk about this shifting story and the meaning of imminent when it comes to the killing of soleimani. Their reasons have changed. What do you make of it . Well, i think the issue of imminence is very, very important in international law. Any state is only allowed, under international law, to launch a military attack on another state, where its assets, if theres an imminent threat to assets or forces or people. And thats why i think the issue of imminence is so important. The problem is that imminence has to be proven as well. And as a result of its being difficult to prove, iraq has gone to the u. N. Security council, the secretarygeneral, to make a complaint about this particular actor and the killing which is illegal on general soleimani. Thats an interesting angle that well continue to explore there. And then there were the lawmakers who say they were not briefed. Mike pompeo say they were. No clarity there. But what if they were not . Well, the key issue here is that normally, under the war powers act, if you like, at least the resolution way back from the 1970s, the congress is supposed to be informed, theyre supposed to be consulted. And there should be some decisionmaking which is shared, at least, between the president and the congress. This clearly does not occur. You have cited some democrats who said they have not really told any details. Senator rand paul said effectively the same thing, he said we were told about certain things but we would have picked those up from the newspapers ourselves. So i dont think any real detail was provided. What this to me suggests, contrary to the chaos theory of President Trump and the decisionmaking is actually there was kind of a wider set of attacks going on which is by yemen, as you said in your report, but also by israel on the Popular Mobilization forces to follow the iraq party linked with the Iranian Forces and so on. So i think theres more of imminence going on here. This is kind of a general military campaign by the u. S. And at least one al like to weaken iranian positions. So i think imminence was needed as a device to say we were within the international law. But i think its also something which they have failed to prove, i think. Lets pivot to impeachment because nancy pelosi now says the wait is over. She will bring articles of impeachment to the floor next week, and that would start the senate trial. What do you make of her decision now . Well, i think in the end, there are two things, one was, you delay in order to basically try to find out exactly what the rules of the game, in terms of the trial were going to. Second was to try to wait for further information to be leaked from within the white house. And the hope was that it would be leaked, it was, and there would be impact on Public Opinion. Now, nationally speaking, not much of a shift in Public Opinion has occurred in regard to witnesses to be called. And documents which had been previously withheld by the white house, to be released. But as i understand it, when morning results, recent polls, in six Battle Ground states, theres a twothirds majority of voters saying they want witnesses to come forward to be called in the senate trial. And they want those documents which are withheld by the white house to be released to the senate. I think thats what nancy pelosi was effectively waiting for, to try to weaken the senates political position and to try to negatively message against it in Public Opinion and hope there will be some sort of a result on that front. She certainly has shown her expertise as a techniqactician, she not. Well wait to see what happens. Inderjeet parmar, thank you so much. We appreciate your insights. Thank you very much. We continue to follow the breaking news out of tehran. Irans military saying they shot down the passenger plane by mistake. Plus, australia is getting a rare reprieve after months of fires. But danger still remains. Derek van dam will have the latest on that for us. 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We say, derek, 136 fires are still burning over 150, if you count victoria as well, those are two of the hardest hit states just to give a broader scope of whats happening down there. But, wow, what an unprecedented run of intense bush fires across eastern australia. Its been our top weather story for several weeks now. We do have a bit of a reprieve in the weather, thats thanks to a cold front going through. You can see the ongoing fires at the moment. The cold front created across the region making it difficult over the past few days for firefighters on the ground, but the good news, the winds are starting to relax. You can see that with the omission of shades of green and yellow along the coastline there. So lighter winds expected for the foreseeable future. Weve extended the forecast radar imagery out for ten days just to give you an overall general picture of what the weather is like for the region. And we like to see the shade of blue on this because that indicates precipitation and rainfall. In terms of totals, good news as well, 50 to 150 millimeters or roughing 2 to upwards of 6 inches of rain, in some of the hardest hit areas. We will take that rainfall. Theres that brief break from thetreme heat to end the weekend. But the mercury goes up. But nowhere near the heat weve experienced in the past couple of weeks. Good news there. Let me take you to the u. S. , weve had a multiday Severe Weather event unfolding across the u. S. Four unconfirmed tornadoes. In the oklahoma area. Dark skies. This is just one of the several thunderstorm cells marching eastward as the country. Getting back to the graphics, the cold front, a lot of Severe Weather dealing in atlanta today. Were having a fullfledged ice storm taking place with half an inch of ice in and around detroit. Heres a look at damaging winds and tornadoes. Greatest threats includes jackson and montgomery. And the metro region, flood as well. Over 50 million americans impacted across the midwest and southern plains. Another 2 to 4 inches of rainfall possible. Look at that heavy strip of snow for my home state. Across the thumb of michigan, thats where we have the potential to see half an inch of ice. When you get winds gusting over 50 Miles Per Hour and that glazing on the trees and power lines, you can bet theres going to be some power outages. Something to watch. A lot of people getting it. Thank you. Thanks. We want to emphasize our top story yet again, iranian president Hassan Rouhani apologizing for what he calls a disastrous mistake. It has been concluded that missiles fired unintentionally brought down a ukrainian plane killing all 176 on border. Irans president Hassan Rouhani is vowing to prosecute those responsible. It comes just a few hours after iran launched a barrage of missiles in iraq where u. S. Troops are stationed. Thank you for joining us the past three hours. Im natalie allen. And im george howell. Breaking coverage continues here on cnn with new day next. See you later. Sign your lips with weightless matte color. Rouge signature by loreal. Finally a lasting lip stain. For a matte color impact, with a barely there feel. Luxuriously intense matte shades. Rouge signature by loreal paris. Were worth it. Rouge signature by loreal paris. sensethe lack of control when iover my businessai, made me a little intense. But now quickbooks helps me get paid, manage cash flow, and run payroll. And now im back on top. With koala kai. vo save over 40 hours a month with intuit quickbooks. Through the at t network, edgetoedge intelligence gives you the power to see every corner of your growing business. From using feedback to innovate. To introducing products faster. To managing website inventory. And network bandwidth. Giving you a nice big edge over your competition. Thats the power of edgetoedge intelligence. And with the sXfinity Stream app, screen is your big screen. Which is free with your service, you can take a spin through on demand shows, or stream live tv. Download your dvrd shows and movies on the fly. Even record from right where you are. Whether youre travelling around the country or around the house, keep what you watch with you. Download the Xfinity Stream app and watch all the shows you love. The iranian plane was shot down intentionally. Theyre saying, yes, they made a giant and fatal error. Hits close to home when its such a tightknit community. There are no words. I think most of the community is still in shock and disbelief. When it comes to bolton, President Trump has made it clear he wants him nowhere near the witness stand. Are you invoking second ittive privilege . I think you have to. John bolton has something to say thats going to be harmful to donald trump. T