CNN’s Becky Anderson evacuates Abu Dhabi studio as Iranian strikes rock region

ABU DHABI, UAE: A live broadcast on CNN International was abruptly interrupted on Saturday, February 28 when anchor Becky Anderson was forced to evacuate her Abu Dhabi studio amid retaliatory Iranian strikes across the Middle East following a US - Israel operation against Iran.

The dramatic moment unfolded as Anderson was delivering breaking news coverage of the escalating conflict.

Alarms interrupt live broadcast

In the video that has gone viral on social media, Becky Anderson can be seen sitting the studio when alarms interrupt her.

“I’m Becky Anderson in Abu Dhabi”, she began, before alarms begin blaring.

“With the alarms going off here suggesting we should seek immediate shelter in the closest source. So we’ll do that. Our breaking news coverage continues after this short break. Stay with us.”

The network then cut away, holding on a static exterior live shot before heading to commercial.

Later, Anderson returned to explain the situation to colleague Victor Blackwell.

“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 said.

“But we have had retaliatory strikes now from Iran here in the UAE, in Abu Dhabi, and indeed some reports of explosions in Dubai, in Bahrain, in Kuwait and indeed in Qatar.”

Iran retaliates to US strikes

The strikes followed a late-night announcement from President Donald Trump, who said the United States was attacking Iran.

In a video message, Trump urged Iranians to distance themselves from the regime and suggested they should ultimately “take over” their government once military operations conclude.

According to Anderson, the UAE’s Ministry of Defense confirmed the country “was subjected to a blatant attack involving Iranian ballistic missiles,” adding that air defense systems intercepted a number of them.

The retaliatory strikes had been previously threatened by Tehran in response to US action.

The unfolding situation prompted heightened security alerts across several Gulf nations hosting US military installations.

Media outlets from Israel have reported that Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was killed in the strikes.

Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi has however denied reports saying both Khamenei and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian are alive.

The Israel Defense Forces have also published a video of its airstrike on missile launchers in western Iran and has claimed to strike hundreds of military targets.