Welcome to the lead, and im jake tapper. We lead with the conflict of iran and the United States looks to be on hold for now. And President Trump said that iran appears to be standing down after firing more than a dozen missiles on sites where u. S. Troops are stationed. Cnn has just learned that iran sent multiple messages through three different back channels to u. S. Officials all indicating the same thing. Iran saying, hey, we are done, but u. S. Officials remain concerned about ongoing threats from the iranian proxies, and mr. Trump confirmed that there were no americans injured or killed in last nights attack, and the Iraqi Military says the same about their personnel and multiple Administration Officials tell cnn they believe that iran intentionally avoided hitting the u. S. Troops, and hit deliberate targets with minimum damage and maximum warning. President trump tried to blame today president obama for the iranian attacks the and repeating the lie that the u. S. Gave iran billions of dollars, and that money had consisted of frozen assets that belonged to iran, and the president said that there is no evidence that the money funded a terrorist spree, and others say there is no evidence to back that, and so that only happened after President Trump withdrew from the iran deal, and the president is claiming falsely that 100 of isis has been destroyed and according to his own pentagon, that is not true. But either way, the 16 missiles that were launched might only be a retaliation in the short term. The American People should be extremely grateful and happy. Reporter surrounded by the National Security team the president announcing a deescalation right now with the crisis in iran. Iran appears to be standing down, which is a good thing for all parties concerned and a very good thing for the world. Reporter the pentagon waited until there was daylight in iraq to determine officially that the iranian officials harmed no americans and left no major damage at either of the two areas target and according to the pentagon over a dozen Ballistic Missiles were launched to two parts of iraq in the west and the north where the u. S. Troops are stationed. In irbil one at the International Airport and one exploded and another hitting the u. S. Consulate, and most were aimed at the sprawling air base west of baghdad and home to hundreds ou. S. Troops. The satellite images obtained by cnn show the before and after. Here a number of buildings appear to be destroyed or damaged next to the a row of helicopters and other buildings were also hit. Of the 16 missiles launched, four appear to have failed in flight. The president gave credit to the Early Warning system that the shortrange missiles were coming and the intelligence had picked up early signs they were fueled up and then launched. Iran had warned the Iraqi Government, and likely knowing that it would be passed on the the americans which gave the u. S. Troops a chance the take cover, and some trump Administration Officials now telling cnn they see the irans strike as intentionally missing the areas where the americans were housed so they were not killed, but a clear message was sent. We have a pause. We should be trying to deescalate in any way we can, deescalate this situation on both sides. Reporter immediately following the attack, irans foreign minister tweeting that iran had concluded the response, but the regime later warning of crushing responses in case of new u. S. Aggression. And today, the Supreme LeaderAyatollah Khomeini saying we slapped nem the face. And last night, they did say they were done retaliatinretali a source telling our pamela brown that iran used three of the back channels including the swiss and other countries to convey the message, but multiple agencies are still concerned about irans proxies in the middle east and now the department of Homeland Security and the fbi have just put out a bulletin about potential cyber attacks. Jake. Thank you very much. And now to discuss retire fourstar marine general who served in iraq and fallujah and near the base that was attacked last night and i also visited irbil and you were Deputy Commander at cencom. And so do you see it as standdown or fearful of the proxies of iraq . Well, first let me say that i am very glad that we had no injuries or deaths. And so i am praying for the families of those who went down on that plane as well. So the iranians knows that the president has all of the cards right now, and the contingency plans of the United States gives him the capacity to deescalate or escalate in a major way with quickly overwhelming force. The iranians know that. They had to do something. Whether those missiles were in fact targeted to not damage or kill any americans or just lucky they did not land on those targets, i think that it remains to be determined, but they are the fact that they came through a series of multiple back channels, trying to stand down any american retaliation for that attack, i think that it indicates they are desperate. I think they understand that the United States has the capability of inflicting enormous Battle Damage on that regime, and right now, the regime cannot afford an american slap in the face they had offered to the United States. Do you think they purposely did not kill anyone last night . No. We dont know. I know that we dont know, but what is your suspicion . My suspicion is that they shot the missiles to the bases hoping not the kill any iraqis, but with the full intent of inflicting damage. And they have no idea in the end where those missiles are going to come down, and so i dont buy the idea that they were pure with the targeting with no intention of hurting the United States or the iraqi forces. One way that iran has responded in the past has been to wait a month and then some proxy stages, and some devastating terrorist attack with no obvious links to iran, and it happened when the israelis killed the leader of hezbollah. That is right. And then a month later an explosion killing innocent jewish observers in argentina, and then another one when they were suspected of killing a nuclear science, and then a month later they went after diplomats in three countries and busload of israeli tourists, san diego that wh and is that wha suspect . Yes, it is. And there is no way they can compete with a headtohead symmetric conflict, so they will do what they have done always in the region which is to motivate the quds force which is a special Operation Force which is largely a terrorist organization, and also unleash many of the shia militia elements, and so we have killed the head of the quds militia, and so we will see them acting independently or at the behest of iran, but we may not know, but there are other capabilities that we should not underestimate. And i will add that the cyber army is something that we should be focused on, because they could hit us in an unconventional way or also in the cyber domain as well. And so, here is something that the president said about Qassem Soleimani. Soleimanis hands were drenched in american and iranian blood. He should have been terminated long ago. Why wasnt he killed long ago . I think that there were Strategic Decisions made that were predicated on the sense that his being alive strategically was better than him being killed tactically. Because the situation could spiral out of control. That is a statement that the president is right, his hand is covered with blood of americans and iraqis and iranians. So he in fact as when i was the commander in afghanistan, we perceived him as owning the Foreign Policy and security and defense portfolio of the eastern onethird of the shores to afghanistan. It was a large portfolio and he had largely singular sway of the behest of the Supreme Leader. We had him in the gun sights on a number of occasion, and the idea of ultimately of killing him has to be taken as a strategic decision, because as you say, there is a potential for the instability, and the instai instability that would come from it in the region. Was it a mistake not to shoot him before or gof a hi after hi . It is difficult to say, because each occasion provided different opportunities. The president weighed the intelligence provided to him for this particular attack and he decided to kill him and took out, and he also took out a senior Iraqi Militia leader at the same time. Always great to have you here with us. Thank you. And so President Trump is calling for help from the same organization that he has called obsolete and not a all that he is asking nato for, and Senate LeaderMitch Mcconnell says he does not need to haggle with nancy pelosi. Everything your trip needs, for everyone you love. Expedia. Wyou can see relationships. Gy, connections. Patterns. You can see what others cant. Walkabout wednesdays are back get a sirloin or chicken on the barbie, fries, and a draft beer or cocacola all for just 10. 99. Hurry in wednesdays are for outback. Outback steakhouse. Aussie rules. I like working. What if my Retirement Plan is, i dont want to retire . Then lets not create a Retirement Plan, lets create a plan for whats next. I like that. Get a plan thats right for you. Td ameritrade. The world lead now, and surrounded by his closest National Security advisers and top advisers President Trump declared that the u. S. Military had big powerful accurate and lethal and fast, unquote, missiles, but he did not have to use them and instead the president said that iran appears to be standing down and insisting that the nation would never have a Nuclear Weapon he would impose new sanctions against that nation. And now, kaitlan collins, today, the rhetoric is something of a shift from the threats he had been making. The United States is ready to embrace peace with all who seek it. Reporter on the cusp of war with iran, President Trump stepped back today. Iran appears to be standing down. Reporter flanked by the joint chiefs of staff, the response is not a military one, and so after the Iran Military attacks on military bases in iraq. All of the soldiers are safe and only minimal damage was sustained at our military bases. Reporter despite threatening for days to retaliate with force if iran targeted americans. If iran does anything that they shouldnt be doing, they are going to be suffering the consequences and very strongly. Reporter today, trump urged restraint. The fact that we have this great military and equipment however, does not mean that we have to use its. Reporter instead the president said he would imposed a additional sanctions on iran. The United States is immediately going to deliver economic sanctions, and i will ask iran to become much more involved in the middle east peace process. Reporter and also he asked to abandon the 2013 nuclear deal, and made this claim about his predecessor president obama without evidence. The missiles fired at us were made available with the funds provided by the last administration. Reporter he spent last night and this morning huddling with the National Security team in the situation room. While officials believe that it is contained for now, there are still Big Questions about trumps longterm strategy when it comes to iran. In recent months, trump claimed that iran has changed the behavior since he took office and despite continuing to provoke the u. S. Mr. President , you are saying that iran is a different country, and do you hold that opinion . Absolutely. Reporter and jake, a better look at how the president spent tonight, and watching the details of the attacks coming in, and you can see the photos released from the white house a few moments ago where he is surrounded by the defense secretary, and the treasury secretary, and of course, the Vice President is there and as well as some white House Attorneys and the press secretary all in the room, and we are told by the sources that one of the big things that the president is looking at and he made it clear in the speech today whether there is going to be any american casualties in the attacks. Thankfully not. No american or iraqi casualties. Thank you for the piece. Stay here on our panel, and jen psaki, the top general head of a terrorist group is gone, and is this something of a success for President Trump . Well, we all should certainly celebrate there were no american casualties, democrat or republican or any affiliation, of course, but looking at this is the question of what now. The effort right now the effort against isis is frozen, because the administration is to freeze bases around the middle east. And we also have iran who also has decided they wont abide by any of the nuclear commits that they have made. And maybe we were on the path of that, but this expedited it. And we have personnel around the World Military and diplomatic on high alert. I dont know if that is a win. I dont think it is a win. David urban you are a come on, jen. I will get to you in a second, and you are a 2020 trump lobbyists and served in the army and there are all of your credentials there. And so, i wanted to listen to acting secretary mike morrel who says that the immediate threat is over. I think what is not over is the covert war, and i still think that down the road, we will see the iranian terrorist attack against senior officials. So, like, does anybody really think that at somehow iran had given up on harming america or hezbollah or hamas and sitting back . No, they werent. So what this president did, this administration did and this military did was to remove a really bad guy from the planet who was going to do really bad things to americans in an imminent fashion. He was not showing up there in iraq to play poker that night with the iraqi general who is leading protests outside of the embassy. And maybe people forget and i dont forget and you dont forget and i hope that no one forgets that the embassy was stormed and hostages were taken by the iranis before, and i mean, executed and led by some of the same folks who were eliminated and so the and you are referring to baghdadi. Yes, and the marine corps barri barracks are funded by the ir i iranis, and nobody has called for it except for this action and i challenge anyone to say. I will give you an opportunity to respond. No, what general allen and other experts i have talked to today have referred to the shia people around the world are now really going to set them off. Because they werent already . And the question, david, what are the consequences, so whether it is hezbollah in lebanon and whether it is in yemen and the houthis in yemen and what does that mean . The cyber capacity and as mike morrel said, assassination, and assassination of high level people is something iran has done in the past if you are looking back to the Nuclear Scientists in israel, so there is some validity that it is possible and the retaliatory tactics may not be the same as last night. And i think that the enemies hate us, and now they hate us extra more because we did this. It does not hold water. And now the issue that the iranians say they that are not going to abide by the nuclear deal, and obviously the u. S. Had withdrawn, but the deal was still in the country including germany and russia and others and that is on President Trumps mind, and this is what he said even before he said good morning to give the presentation today. As long as i am president of the United States, iran will never be allowed to have a Nuclear Weapon. It is interesting, because the killing of soleimani had nothing in at least what they stated had anything to do with the iran nuclear program. That is why it is not over. It is too early to declare it a victory or loss for the president , because a lot of the times the president comes out to speak to the tell prompteprompt then accolades and then the situation changes. So in iran, they have said they will not abide by some of the restrictions of the nuclear deal, and President Trump said that the nuclear deal was part of the reason that iran is so aggressive and even blamed the Previous Administration for what had happened in recent weeks with iran and aggression from teheran, and the president is going to put himself in a tough situation where if iran does break out and begin to take action to show they are not abiding by the structures of the nuclear deal, then the President Trump is going to have pressure to increase sanctions is or take other actions to show that he is not just going to speak about them not getting a Nuclear Weapon, but enforce what he has made a red line at this point. The white house is bracing for what might come, but hoping that it is over, and the president is talk about getting nato involved and imposing more sanctions against iran. Yes, those are the paths that he want