CNN "The Situation Room" - Transcript: Ships Leaving Iran

Interview

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BLITZER: It's a serious, serious development.

All right. Jim Sciutto, thanks very much.

Let's dig deeper right now. Joining us, the Republican Senator James Risch of Idaho. He's a member of the Foreign Relations and Intelligence Committees.

Senator, thanks, as usual, for joining us.

How worried are you about a possible confrontation on the seas between the United States and Iran?

SEN. JAMES RISCH (R), IDAHO: Well, you know, right now both sides are using restraint. This is -- it's pretty obvious what's going on. You have these ships that have left Iran. Obviously, I can't sit here and confirm what's on them.

BLITZER: They deny that they include weapons. They say they are humanitarian supplies.

RISCH: I understand that. It will be interesting to see when they, when they are unloaded what kind of supplies are on there. If they're boarded or if they're inspected when they land, I suspect it's probably going to be by the Saudis. They're the ones that have been carrying out the operations there.

I'm not so sure that the Iranians will unload or allow boarding, given their claim of what they say --

BLITZER: Because it's one thing if the Iranian ships, there may be nine of them. Cargo ships, war ships are international waters as opposed to when they actually go in Yemeni territorial waters.

RISCH: No question about that. But again, if indeed they are humanitarian supplies, no one is going to stop them.

BLITZER: So, the rules for engagement for the U.S. military and there are thousands of U.S. sailors and marines aboard that aircraft carrier the USS Teddy Roosevelt, the other warships there, what are the rules of engagement if they suspect that there are weapons on those Iranian ships.

RISCH: You know, Wolf, I can't tell you what those rules of engagement are from direct knowledge. Having said that, I don't think it takes much imagination to understand that the rules of engagement will be such. That the U.S. is going to keep order there. They sent the ships there and they got the Normandy there, they got the Teddy Roosevelt there, both of them are there to see that order is kept.

The work is going to be done, I believe, by the Saudis when it comes to actual engagement, if that happens.

BLITZER: Let's talk about what happened in France today. The arrest of an individual suspected -- a terror suspect suspected of plotting to blow up churches in France. This comes on the heels of what happened a few weeks ago. As we all know, they found guns, ammunition, bulletproof vests and handwritten documents dealing with possible targets. Have you been briefed on what's going on over there?

RISCH: I have. It's bizarre -- it's another one of those bizarre situations. It appears to be a loner, again. He killed a woman, apparently, some time ago. This incident actually happened on Sunday. The report of it wasn't released until today.

But they did find a lot of terrorist supplies when he apparently accidentally shot himself and asked for medical help. The automobile was searched, his home was searched and they found a number of things that would indicate another loner type of attack.

BLITZER: To say loner -- loner inspired on the social media by what, ISIS, al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, al Shabaab? Who?

RISCH: The indications are that the directions came out of Syria. No specific group was identified, however, again, one would tell this common sense three years of common sense that it was at least ISIS.

BLITZER: And you still believe ISIS has aspirational goals to go after targets right here in the U.S. homeland?

RISCH: I don't think there is any question about that. I think, again, this is continuing indication of it. These are the kind of things they're using and very difficult to guard against and actually very easy for them to pull off.

You and I have talked before about the fact that they are people who have left the United States, U.S. citizens, indeed, who have left the United States. Gone and fought in Syria and have come back. There's open source reporting saying that one of the reasons they send them back is to do just the same thing in the United States. So far we've been lucky to -- not lucky, but skilled in keeping those people from doing that.

[BLITZER: Yes, so far, the keyword.

RISCH: And lucky. Skilled and lucky.

BLITZER: All right, thanks very much, Senator Risch, for joining us.

RISCH: Thank you.

BLITZER: Senator James Risch from Idaho.

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