CNN reporter Becky Anderson was forced to evacuate the CNN International studio in Abu Dhabi early Saturday after missile alerts sounded during a live broadcast amid Iranian retaliatory strikes across the region.
The dramatic moment unfolded as CNN International carried wall to wall coverage of escalating tensions following U.S. and Israeli operations targeting Iran.
At approximately 2:30 a.m., President Donald Trump posted a video message from Mar a Lago announcing that the United States was in the process of attacking Iran and urging the Iranian people to overthrow their government.
As CNN continued its live coverage, Anderson began her segment from Abu Dhabi.
“I’m Becky Anderson in Abu Dhabi–,” she said.
Suddenly, alarms began blaring inside the studio.
“(ALARMS BLARING),” the broadcast audio captured.
“With the alarms going off here suggesting we should seek immediate shelter in the closest source,” Anderson said. “So we’ll do that. Our breaking news coverage continues after this short break. Stay with us.”
The feed then shifted to a static exterior shot from Jerusalem before heading to a commercial break.
When coverage resumed, Anderson explained what had happened during the interruption in a conversation with anchor Victor Blackwell.
Blackwell said, “I understand, Becky, that you had to clear out of this position a short time ago, because some of the the strikes have been there in Abu Dhabi.”
Anderson responded, “There was a wide alert on our phones, and so we just stood down for a couple of minutes to ensure that the staff here were all safe.”
She continued, “But we have had retaliatory strikes now from Iran here in the in the UAE in Abu Dhabi and indeed some reports of explosions in Dubai in in Bahrain in Kuwait and indeed in Qatar.”
“These had been threatened by Iran should they be attacked by the U.S.,” Anderson added.
She then read from a statement issued by authorities in the United Arab Emirates.
“And the statement has just come through from the authorities here in The UAE and I’ll read this for you,” she said. “The Ministry of Defense announced that the UAE today ‘was subjected to a blatant attack involving Iranian ballistic missiles,’ noting that UAE air defense systems dealt with the missiles with high efficiency and successfully intercepted a number of those missiles.”
The live evacuation underscored how quickly the conflict expanded beyond Iran’s borders and into countries hosting U.S. military assets, bringing the region’s escalating confrontation directly into a live television broadcast.
President Donald Trump encouraged the Iranian people to take over their government once the United States and Israel finished “major combat operations” in Iran, marking a dramatic escalation in tensions between Washington and Tehran.
The U.S. and Israel launched the joint attack just after 9 a.m. local time in what the War Department has dubbed “Operation Epic Fury.”
In video remarks posted to social media, Trump addressed the Iranian people directly and told them to “seize control of [their] destiny.”
“The hour of your freedom is at hand. Stay sheltered. Don’t leave your home. It’s very dangerous outside. Bombs will be dropping everywhere. When we are finished, take over your government. It will be yours to take,” Trump said. “This will be, probably, your only chance for generations. For many years, you have asked for America’s help, but you never got it. No President was willing to do what I am willing to do tonight. Now you have a President who is giving you what you want.”