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Trump Withdrawing U.S. from Iran Nuclear Deal; Pompeo in Pyongyang; Michael Avenatti Details Payments to Trump's Attorney; Iran Nuclear Deal: European Powers Try To Save Agreement after U.S. Exit; Oil Prices Likely To Rise After Renewed Sanctions; Venezuela's Economic Crisis Hits Oil Patch; U.S. Soldier Watches Birth Of Daughter On Phone. Aired 2-3a ET
Aired May 09, 2018 - 02:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN ANCHOR: Donald Trump takes the U.S. out of a deal aimed at controlling Iran's nuclear ambitions. How American allies and rivals are reacting.
A return to North Korea. The U.S. secretary of state in Pyongyang for the second time in just a few weeks, this time there are high expectations for what he will bring home.
Plus new questions surrounding Donald Trump so-called fixer and lawyer and hundreds of thousands of dollars he allegedly received from a company linked to a Russian oligarch.
Hello and welcome to our viewers joining us from all around the world. I'm Rosemary Church and this is CNN NEWSROOM.
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CHURCH: Donald Trump's decision to pull out of the Iran nuclear deal is being met with disapproval from U.S. allies around the world with one big exception: Israel. Mr. Trump says the deal is defective and won't keep Iran from getting nuclear weapons.
He signed a presidential memorandum to reimpose economic sanctions on Tehran but he's willing to renegotiate a better deal anytime Iran wants.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: At the point when the United States had maximum leverage, this disastrous deal gave this regime -- and it's a regime of great terror -- many billions of dollars, some of it in actual cash, a great embarrassment to me as a citizen and to all citizens of the United States.
It is clear to me that we cannot prevent an Iranian nuclear bomb under the decaying and rotten structure of the current agreement. (END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: Iran says it will take a few weeks before deciding how to respond to President Trump's decision. They could restart their nuclear program, of course, or they could hold firm to the existing deal after talking with the other countries who signed on.
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HASSAN ROUHANI, IRANIAN PRESIDENT (through translator): Our people will see that our economic growth will continue and there will be a calm in the market, to the foreign exchange needed by the country will be obtained and regarding essential goods and commodities needed by the people, there should be no concern.
In fact, what Trump did was psychological warfare and economic pressure. We will not allow Trump to triumph in exerting economic pressure on the Iranian people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHURCH: To Tehran right now and "Los Angeles Times" correspondent Ramin Mostaghim joins us now.
Welcome to the program.
(CROSSTALK)
CHURCH: Now that President Trump has pulled to the United States out of the nuclear deal this gives Iran an opportunity to resume its nuclear weapons program if it decides to do that. Or it could enter into discussions with European nations to try to salvage the deal.
What would you expect Iran to do next?
And how likely is that the deal can actually be saved without the United States being involved?
RAMIN MOSTAGHIM, "L.A. TIMES": So far I can say that Iran has taken also are considering a wrong as they can resort to diplomatic and that's a good sign for international peace and diplomacy because we don't know within the several weeks as Mr. Rouhani said, what will happen and negotiations may be fruitful, may not be fruitful.
And then, until then, diplomacy prevails. And that's a good sign for international peace. And President Rouhani just called it psychological warfare. It means that is a ranting from both sides. Trump has told (INAUDIBLE) civil society (INAUDIBLE) any chance for democratization in Iran.
And also Rouhani is counter arguing and just answered the rhetoric by rhetoric. So until then, we should be looking for what diplomacy will prevail and negotiations behind the curtains, back channels or face- to-face transparent negotiations.
CHURCH: Yes, certainly it's taking its time. It's taking a breath to see what to do next. President Trump of course seems to think that after his new sanctions are applied, Iran would come back to the negotiating table and make a better deal, a better deal for the United States, that is.
How likely is that, do you think?
MOSTAGHIM: I don't think that is a better deal, a chance for (INAUDIBLE) states as he's told (INAUDIBLE) the nuclear deal. But there is a better deal --
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MOSTAGHIM: -- maybe between Iran and European Union and, in fact, five powers. There might be a better deal within them and regional roles and other projects that Trump is worried about, maybe settled between Iran and European countries and Germany and France but no deal with America in foreseeable future. Not at all.
CHURCH: Ramin Mostaghim, thank you so much for joining us and bringing us some reaction from Iran. We do appreciate it.
MOSTAGHIM: Thank you.
CHURCH: The United States is now at odds with European allies over the Iran nuclear deal, France, the United Kingdom and Germany say they regret President Trump's decision to withdraw the U.S. from the agreement.
They are pledging to work on a new broader framework that will deal with Iran's longer-term nuclear program. The European leaders are also urging Iran to continue to abide by its obligations under the accord.
Our Melissa Bell joins us now from Paris as well as CNN's Ian Lee, who joins us from Jerusalem.
Good to see you both.
Melissa, let's go to you first in Paris, where President Emmanuel Macron has made it quite clear that he is very unhappy with President Trump's decision to pull out of the Iran deal.
What all is he saying about it?
And what are other European leaders saying about what will happen next?
MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: They've signaled their determination, Rosemary, to stick to this deal and talk with the other signatories, Russia, China and Iran, to try and hold the deal together despite the American withdrawal.
A great deal will depend on the Europeans' absolutely to convince Tehran that despite American withdrawal, this deal remains promising for its economy. And that itself will depend on the ability of European countries, so many of them who've invested so much money in Iran already, to get around the sanctions that are being imposed by Washington.
Those sanctions apply to any countries that have either a presence in the United States, do deals in dollars or through American banks. That makes a lot of European companies vulnerable.
Some of them like Total, the French oil and gas group that has a $2 billion in invest in Iran, will be looking for the sorts of exemptions they've had from this back in the 1990s. Another French -- European company that is vulnerable in Airbus. It's $17.5 billion investment there in Iran, they have a branch as well in Alabama and are vulnerable to any retribution from the United States as a result of continued presence in dealing with Iran once these American sanctions come into effect.
So I think a lot will depend in the coming days on a signal from Europe that it will continue with these important investments, therefore bringing economic benefits to Iran, therefore convincing Iran to stay within the deal -- Rosemary.
CHURCH: Melissa Bell, many thanks to you, bringing us the reaction from Paris.
Ian, let's go to you now and a very different response from Israel's Prime Minister Netanyahu, who was thrilled to hear President Trump was pulling out of the deal, not surprisingly, given Mr. Trump hit most of Mr. Netanyahu's talking points from last week.
How is this all playing out in Israel right now?
IAN LEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I think you're exactly right, Rosemary. Prime Minister Netanyahu is thrilled. There is a limited number of people who are thrilled around the world. You have Israel as well as Saudi Arabia.
But in Israel the Prime Minister has advocated this for this for a long time and this is a victory. This is what he had to say after the president made his remarks.
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BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, PRIME MINISTER OF ISRAEL: Israel thanks President Trump for his courageous leadership, his commitment to confront the terrorist regime in Tehran and his commitment to ensure that Iran never gets nuclear weapons, not today, not in a decade, not ever.
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LEE: Rosemary, it reminds me of the old expression, you break it, you bought it. So the United States pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal, breaking that agreement.
So now what does this mean?
What is the next plan?
What are they going to do? We haven't really heard what the United States plans. We haven't
heard from the Prime Minister what he wants to see. He always said fix it or nix it. The things that he would like to see, obviously Iran's nuclear ambitions curbed but also Iran's missile program as well as their influence and activities within this region.
But also need to say last night, when all of this was happening, we were hearing from Israel's military of increased tensions in the northern part of the country as well along the Golan Heights.
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LEE: They said that there was some regular activity of Iranian forces inside Syria. The United States also said that Iran might attack Israel, although they didn't give any evidence to this.
We are hearing that the Israeli military has urged communities in the North to open up their missile shelters as well as calling up reservists. These reservists serving a noncombat role, intelligence, medics, also people who can operate the Iron Dome system. This is Israel's anti-missile system.
So that happened last night although this morning we are hearing from Israel's military saying that they are drawing down that alert, that people can go back to their lives as normal -- Rosemary.
CHURCH: Important to get that in. We're keeping a very close eye on that as well. Ian Lee, many thanks to you, joining us from Jerusalem with reaction.
David Sanger joins me now for more analysis on Trump's decision to leave the Iran nuclear deal. He is a CNN political and national security analyst and a national security correspondent for "The New York Times."
Great to have you with us.
DAVID SANGER, CNN POLITICAL AND NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Great to be with you, Rosemary.
CHURCH: President Trump has withdrawn the United States from the nuclear deal but has offered no plan B, essentially giving Iran the green light to start up its nuclear weapons program from where it left off.
What's the point of that and what will a likely outcome be, the ramifications of that?
SANGER: We don't know yet what the ramifications would be because for now the Iranians are saying they plan to stay within the terms of the deal and clearly what they're trying to do is shave away the British, the French, the Germans, the Russians and the Chinese, put them all together.
So the initial reaction for each one of them is that the operative elements of the deal is still together, still embraced by United Nations resolution. They're trying to isolate the U.S.
The American plan B right now appears to be that they don't have one, that their hope is that sanctions against Iran, both enforced by the United States and the secondary sanctions, sanctions against firms abroad that might be doing business with Iran, that those will put pressure on Iran, that they will come to the negotiating table and negotiate a new deal.
The Iranians say to us they have no intention of doing that.
CHURCH: Let's just listen to what former CIA director, Mike Pompeo, said just last month about Iran and its compliance.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you have any evidence to dispute the IAEA assessment, that Iran is in full compliance with the JCPOA?
MIKE POMPEO, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: Senator, with the information I've been provided, I've see no evidence that they are not in compliance today.
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CHURCH: So, David, just a few weeks ago, the U.S. said Iran was in compliance with the nuclear deal but after Israel's prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu last week dramatically presented his view that Iran had lied and could not be trusted, Mr. Trump hit all Netanyahu's talking points and went with Israeli intelligence that basically runs counter to U.S. intel.
What do you make of that?
SANGER: Well, I didn't think that the Israeli intelligence actually did run counter to it. The Israelis found a very large trove of weapons design, warhead design, experiments, all these kinds of paperwork around.
But they all dated back to 2003-2004, maybe a little bit beyond, part of something called Project Ahmed (ph), which had been the Iranian project to go develop what these weapons look like. We knew about a lot of these documents as early as 2008, when many of them were presented to the International Atomic Energy Agency.
I wrote about many of them at the time. Now Prime Minister Netanyahu delivered a trove that indicates that the program was even bigger, more expansive than we knew but he showed no evidence that it was current.
And so the stubborn facts here, as laid out by Director Pompeo, now Secretary of State Pompeo, are that Iran appears to be complying with every term that we've seen within the four corners of the deal.
John Bolton, the new national security advisor and opponent of the deal, made the argument that you don't have to be in noncompliance for the deal not to be in the United States' interest. So he's basically saying we don't think the deal did enough. It didn't deal with missiles. It didn't deal with Iran's other malign activities.
Therefore we're out. He did not make an argument that the Iranians were in violation.
CHURCH: So how much of this is about politics, about President Trump fulfilling a domestic political pledge rather than assessing if this is the right move at this time for the world --
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CHURCH: -- not just for the United States?
And how much is it about getting rid of Barack Obama's name because it's linked to that deal?
SANGER: Well, I think a lot of this is that it was an Obama-era deal. I think some of it is that he's got a legitimate complaint, that the deal expires after year 15 or at least the limits on Iranian production of uranium and plutonium expires and it's still not allowed to make weapons at any point because they're members of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
But the issue at hand here is why get rid of the deal that's working now and just spend the next decade working on improving it?
Why create a crisis today?
And the administration's answer to that question is that fundamentally you have to rip it up to force the Iranians to come back to the table.
Well, that's a big gamble.
CHURCH: David Sanger, we appreciate your analysis. Thank you so much.
SANGER: Thank you.
CHURCH: Time we take a short break here. But still to come, after rejecting the Iran nuclear deal, the U.S. looks to make a different agreement with North Korea. The goals for the secretary of state's second surprise visit to Pyongyang. We'll have a live report.
And the confirmation hearing for the CIA director nominee is hours away. What Gina Haspel will say about controversial interrogation tactics. We're back in a moment.
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CHURCH: Welcome back, everyone.
President Trump's aides argue quitting the Iran deals strengthens the U.S. position in upcoming talks with North Korea victory. Secretary of state Mike Pompeo is in Pyongyang for a second time to discuss details for the summit between Mr. Trump and Kim Jong-un.
A South Korean official said he expects Pompeo to leave with three American detainees. One of them is Kim Sang-duk, also known as Tony Kim, spent a month teaching at Pyongyang University of Science and Technology before he was arrested last year.
His son describes how hard it is to wait for news of his release.
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SOL KIM, TONY KIM'S SON: As time goes, I think it slowly wears you down more. Starts to feel heavier. I think maybe now that we're kind of close to the end or it seems like it's going in the right direction, I think --
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KIM: -- it gets even harder. Less few steps for him to be released seems to be going a lot slower than maybe the first year.
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CHURCH: CNN's Paula Hancocks joins us now live from Seoul, South Korea.
Paula, as we just heard, a South Korean official has raised expectations that these three American detainees may be released to return home with U.S. secretary of state Mike Pompeo.
What is the situation, what are you hearing right now on this?
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We do have that one South Korea officials who is in Japan at the moment, saying that Pompeo is expected to come out with the three detainees and also expected to have pinpointed the date, the location potentially, even announcing that we don't know anything for sure. This is just an expectation at this point.
But the very fact that the U.S. secretary of state is on his second trip to Pyongyang, on the way to Pyongyang he said that North Korea had invited him, that they had wanted him to go, that he was going to be bringing up the issue of the detainees once again.
Also pointing out that they have been asking about this for 17 months. So showing that they don't have a guarantee at this point that they are going to be able to bring those U.S. detainees out with him.
But that would be the hope for two visits by Mike Pompeo to leave Pyongyang once again without the U.S. detainees ahead is a crucial summit between U.S. president Donald Trump and the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, would be criticized in some quarters.
Certainly the families are going to be hoping that he will come out with these detainees and, of course, the date and location of this Kim-Trump summit is also up in the air. We heard from the U.S. president, Donald Trump. He said it was set, that the date and the location has been decided, less so from the State Department.
We're hearing from officials within there that it's not completely set. Potentially that is another reason why Secretary of State Pompeo is in Pyongyang to discuss that with Kim Jong-un and trying to pin down the specific details of the summit.
CHURCH: Of course, Mr. Trump himself and his new lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, have raised expectations for the release of the these three American detainees. We will see what happens with that.
And the big news has been that the United States is withdrawing from the Iran nuclear deal.
How is that likely to impact these talks with North Korea?
HANCOCKS: I think it is inevitable that it is going to impact the talks. There are critics who are saying this will be in the back of Kim Jong-un's mind as he's discussing with the current U.S. president about denuclearizing, giving up his nuclear weapons.
And this is effectively proving to him that he doesn't know what the next U.S. president will do.
Why would he give up his nuclear weapons if he can't guarantee that this agreement will be respected by the administration and the United States that follows?
From the White House's point of view, President Trump said that this shows a position of strength, saying that this shows that they are going to have a proper deal and that they won't have a weak deal in the future.
John Bolton as well, his national security advisor, showing that that is a position of strength that the United States is coming from.
But there are many critics on both sides of the political spectrum that are questioning whether or not Kim Jong-um is going to be able to feel he can trust what President Trump says when he doesn't know what the next president will do.
CHURCH: Some good points there, Paula Hancocks with that live report from Seoul in South Korea, we will talk again next hour. Appreciate that.
A source tells CNN investigators working for special counsel Robert Mueller have questioned Russian oligarchic Viktor Vekselberg about hundreds of thousands of dollars paid to President Trump's personal attorney. The lawyer for porn star Stormy Daniels tells CNN half a million dollars went to a shell company. And that account was used to pay off Daniels to keep quiet about her alleged affair with Mr. Trump.
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MAVENATTI: What we do know is that there was about a half million dollars worth of payments that took place between January 2017, after the election that occurred in November 2016, and then up through approximately August 2017.
So about an eight-month time period of payments totaling approximately half a million dollars. We have yet to hear an explanation from Michael Cohen as to why the personal attorney to the president of United States, who, at the time, at least for a portion of that time, was employed by the Trump Organization, would be --
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AVENATTI: -- accepting payments from a Russian oligarch to the tune of half a million dollars.
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CHURCH: Avenatti also says documents show the payment of the company was made by a U.S.-based firm linked to a Russian oligarch. But the general counsel for that U.S. firm, Columbus Nova, issued a statement saying this.
"The company is 100 percent owned and controlled by Americans and that any suggestion that at any point in time Viktor Vekselberg or any of his companies owned or exercised any control of the Columbus Nova is patently untrue."
Avenatti also claims the shell company received nearly $400,000 from pharmaceutical giant Novartis, $200,000 from telecom conglomerate AT&T and $150,000 from Korea Aerospace Industries. Novartis and AT&T confirm the payments and say their contracts have since expired.
President Trump's nominee for CIA director is moving closer to confirmation. Gina Haspel's confirmation hearing Wednesday comes just days after she reportedly offered to withdraw her nomination over her role in CIA interrogation tactics in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks.
Critics say it amounted to torture. In prepared remarks for the hearing Haspel says, "Having served in that tumultuous time, I can offer you my personal commitment clearly and without reservation that, under my leadership, the CIA will not restart such a detention and interrogation program."
"The New York Times" reports the principal planner of the 9/11 attacks asked a judge at Guantanamo Bay for permission to share some information about Haspel with the Senate Intelligence Committee. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed was captured and tortured by the CIA in 2003.
A former CIA officer has been charged with espionage. Jerry Chong Shing Lee (ph) was allegedly asked to trade information for money by Chinese intelligence officers. The U.S. Justice Department says he helped China dismantle a U.S. spy network and identified informants who were later imprisoned or killed.
His attorney says Lee is not a Chinese spy but a loyal American, who served his country.
And coming up next, Turkey's president says new crises could break out in the Middle East after the U.S. pulls out of the Iran nuclear deal. CNN's exclusive interview coming up next.
And Venezuela's once booming oil business is going bust as its economic crisis slowly strangles production. We're back in just a moment.
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[02:30:14] CHURCH: And a very warm welcome back to CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Rosemary Church. I want to update you know on the main stories with me in following this hour. Donald Trump says the Iran nuclear deal will not keep Tehran from getting nuclear weapon, so he's pulling out. He wants a better agreement that addresses Iran's missile program and its support for terror groups in the Middle East. Iran says it will take a few weeks to decide how to respond. Not long after President Trump announced his decision, Syria claimed it had shot down two Israeli missiles south of Damascus. Israel has not commented but the Israeli military went on high alert citing unusual Iranian military activity in Syria. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is now in North Korea for more talks on the proposed summit between President Trump and Kim Jong-un.
And a South Korean official believes Pompeo will leave there with the three American detainees that North Korea was held for months. This is Pompeo's second face-to-face meeting with North Korean officials. More now on President Trump's decision to pull the U.S. out of the Iran nuclear deal and the reaction this is getting around the world. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has condemned the move saying, the U.S. has already failed to live up to its international commitments under the agreement and he warns Iran is prepared to restart uranium enrichment if the deal collapses entirely.
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HASSAN ROUHANI, PRESIDENT OF IRAN (via translator): I have also ordered the Atomic Energy Organization to be fully prepared or subsequent measures if needed so that if needed we will start our industrial enrichment without limitations.
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CHURCH: European allies of the United States also parties to the Iran nuclear agreement expressed disapproval at President Trump's decision. British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson tweeted, the U.K. remains strongly committed to the deal and will work with its partners to maintain it. Now, meantime, Turkey's president spoke exclusively to CNN about President Trump's decision. Recep Tayyip Erdogan fears new crisis will break out in the Middle East and says the world's economy is at stake.
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RECEP TAYYIP ERDOGAN, PRESIDENT OF TURKEY (via translator): This nuclear deal was previously called (INAUDIBLE) that it was rendered possible after years of negativity raising hope all around the globe (INAUDIBLE) and in a drop of a hat turning this deal around and achieving from this deal possibly is not just going to impact the region or also the entire world. The whole world economy is at stake and that is the reason why. As Turkey, we will be hit. And the United States might gain some certain positivity's out with the withdrawal from this or the rising oil prices. But many of the other countries in poverty will be hit even harder and deeper. And at the same time, we fear crisis will break out -- would break out in the region. We don't need new crisis in the region.
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Do you believe or are you concerned that a geopolitical war will break out? What is -- what is the biggest risks here, sir?
ERDOGAN (via translator): That's not really we wish to see. Of course, this is not what we would like to expect. However, in my point of view, the U.S. will be the ones to lose. Iran will never compromise on this agreement and will abide by this agreement until the end. That's what I see. But however, the U.S. will lose in the end.
ANDERSON: How so?
ERDOGAN (via translator): Because you should respect an agreement that you have signed. This is not how the international mechanisms work. International governance and international conventions cannot be annulled upon will if any document is bearing your signature, you need to respect that. You need to abide by that.
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CHURCH: And now, Jomana Karadsheh joins us now from Istanbul. So Jomana, as we just heard Turkey's president worried Mr. Trump's withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal could trigger new crisis in the Middle East. Is that a concern shared by other leaders in the region and how might this all play out? What is the biggest concern here?
JOMANA KARADSHEH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rosemary, that's what everyone is waiting to see and I think a lot will depend on Iran's reaction in the coming weeks.
[02:35:06] This is a very polarized region, so you're not going to get the same answer from the different countries and the different leaders. You heard the warning there from the Turkish president. We've had mixed reaction as you could imagine. There are countries that are pro-Iranian within the region. You have others who are vehemently anti-Iran, you know, for example, and Iranian-ally, the Syrian regime coming out straight after the announcement condemning saying, this shows that the United States is not committed to its international agreement. On the other hand, you've got the anti- Iranian block. You've got the Sunni powers in the region with Saudi Arabia at the helm. They're coming out in favor of this decision. They have been opposed to the nuclear agreement.
They have been pushing for stronger international action against Iran that they say has been, you know, a really destabilizing power in this region and they want it to see more done. So you have that decision welcomed by countries like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Of course, as we heard the warning from the Turkish president, a lot of people are also concerned about what might happen. Is this going to lead Iran to more aggressive behavior as some would call it in countries for example like Syria and Iraq where it has a presence where it also has proxies there where the situation is already extremely tensed where you've had confrontation in the past? Could this lead to any sort of armed confrontation? At this point in time, Rosemary, it would seem the ball is in Iran's court, so we'll have to wait and see how this plays out in the coming days and weeks.
CHURCH: Yes. A lot of uncertainty across the region indeed across the world. Jomana Karadsheh joining us there from Istanbul, many thanks to you. And this quick programming though too for our viewers, Becky Anderson's full exclusive interview with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is later today. The interview is first on connect the world at 6:00 p.m. in Ankara, 4:00 p.m. in London, so do catch that. Within minutes of President Trump's announcement on the Iran, Israel's Prime Minister expressed his support for the move. Benjamin Netanyahu who was in Russia right now on -- oh, no, in Wednesday where he will attend the Victory Day parade with President Vladimir Putin. It is a complex relationship of course between the two men.
Russia is a military ally of Iran, Israel's sworn enemy. And at the parade, Mr. Netanyahu will see some of the hardware Iran could use to boost its military arsenal. Russia has said it's disappointed in President Trump's decision on the Iran deal and CNN's Matthew Chance is near the Red Square on Moscow. He joins us now live. So Matthew, it is a very complicated relationship between Putin and Netanyahu, isn't it? How is it all likely to play out while Mr. Netanyahu is there given though both have very different views on what just happened with the Iran nuclear deal?
MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Indeed. They're both on opposite sides of the argument with Benjamin Netanyahu, the Israeli Prime Minister being perhaps the world's most vocal critic of that Iran deal and I expect he will be, you know, celebrating the decision by President Trump to pull out of it. The Russians on the other hand that of course by Vladimir Putin have expressed their regret. They've (INAUDIBLE) of harmful consequences as a result of the pullout by President Trump of the Iran deal and they've said they're deeply disappointed. And so it is going to be an interesting meeting when these two figures meet today. They've meet many times in the past. Today is a special day because it comes against the backdrop of all these here which is Russia's annual Victory Day parade in which it commemorates the victory in the Second World War over Nazi Germany. Benjamin Netanyahu is the guest of honor.
He'll be standing next to Vladimir Putin in the stands as he watches all that Russian -- it's not just a show of Russian nationalism and patriotism. It's also a show of Russia's most high-tech advanced weaponry and all of that will be parading in front of Benjamin Netanyahu and Vladimir Putin indeed for all the tens of thousands of people that are aligning the streets of the Russian capital to watch it as well. Some of that equipment could find its way to the Iranians. They're actually -- right, to make that point already. The Russians have sold very sophisticated surface-to-air missiles to Iran which has deployed Iran its nuclear facilities in anticipation of or to protect against any kind of air assault by Israel or by the United States or anyone else. And Russia has already said that neither this deal has been broken by the United States, that could drive Russia and Iran even closer together.
[02:40:01] So far from saying, look, you know, we're going to step away from Iran now that U.S. has pulled out of this nuclear deal. With it, the Russians along with other countries indeed like the Europeans and the Chinese are saying that that relationship between Tehran and them could be become even closer.
CHURCH: Yes, no doubt a pretty unnerving day for Mr. Netanyahu. What -- will he and indeed the rest of the world likely see with this hardware as it's paraded through the streets near Red Square there?
CHANCE: So I mean you're going to get all the regular stuff or the infantry parades and things like that. But there's also going to be some new things which we kind of look at every year. This year, we've been told by the Russian Defense Ministry they're going to be showing their unmanned tank, fighting vehicles. They've got a sort of robotic version of their latest main battle tank which we expect will be on display. We're also told by the Defense Ministry, they're going to be exhibiting or parading their Kinjal missile system which is this sort of highly controversial missile system which is hypersonic and according to the Russian president, the missiles can travel 10 times the speed of sound and avoid any kind of anti-missile defenses.
In the skies, there's going to be a display as well and we're expecting to see aerial drones called the Korsar which is sort of Russia's unmanned aerial vehicle project. They're going to be flying over Red Square as is the Su-57 -- Sukhoi Su-57 which is Russia's most advanced fifth-generation fighter jet which hasn't been seen before and so we're expecting that to do a fly pass as well. And so as a -- when you put that alongside the intercontinental ballistic missiles that Russia routinely displays in this annual parade. There's plenty for Russian's to be proud about and they are proud in their military hardware and so plenty for the rest of the world including Israel to be concerned about.
CHURCH: Yes, indeed. And we will wait to see what is paraded out there and what comes of the meeting between those two leaders. Matthew Chance joining us from Red Square in Moscow. Many thanks to you as always. Well, Donald Trump's decision on Iran could bring big changes at the pump. Up next, what the head of OPEC is saying about the future of gas prices around the globe. And oil production in crisis torn Venezuela sinks to its lowest level in 30 years. We'll take a look. Back in a moment.
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[02:45:12] ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Welcome back everyone. We want to return to our top story. The US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal. The trump administration says, existing Iran contracts will be given a 90 or 180-day wind-down period. But eventually, many deals will likely be impacted.
Now, these include aviation deals with some tens of billions of dollars with manufacturers Boeing and Airbus. French energy company total struck a $2 billion dollar deal to develop natural gas fields in Southern Iran and comic as Peugeot, Citroen, and Renault signed up to build hundreds of thousands of cars each year at Iranian and manufacturing plants.
All those that could be affected include to people who use oil since Iran's crude oil supplies could drop by 1 million barrels per day by 2019. Airlines and hotel groups hoping to take advantage of Iran as a tourist destination could also lose business. And Iran's economy could take a hit, already the country's currency has lost a third of its value in the past year.
Well, the head of OPEC is warning of high oil prices as a result of renewed US sanctions against Iran. He spoke exclusively with CNN's Emerging Markets Editor John Defterios.
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MOHAMMED BARKINDO, SECRETARY-GENERAL, ORGANIZATION OF THE PETROLEUM EXPORTING COUNTRIES: For us, we all focus on stability. Whatever extremist factor that affects supply or demand will no doubt, sent market into disequilibrium. Which is not in the interest of producers or the interest of consumers. We look up to our leaders to ensure the keys and stability especially in our own regions is sustained.
JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR: So, utilize against at that the stage knowing the state of the market? And the state of tensions --
BARKINDO: We are not -- we are not in the business of God looking on policy issues such as nuclear, such as solar or other sources of energy. All what we are focused on is on this industry. And whatever will affect the smooth running of this industry, the smooth extraction, production, processing, transportation, marketing of oil in this market of today will not be in the interest of the global economy.
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CHURCH: And once awash in oil, Venezuela's hard times have seen a once-thriving trade got best. CNN's Paula Newton, explains.
PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Oil, black gold was ones Venezuela's cash cow, but not anymore. The country's economic crisis has spared no industry. Not even the once-booming oil fields that are now on the verge of collapse. Gregory Perez, says he seen the industry changed drastically over the past 10 years.
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GREGORY PEREZ, OIL WORKER, VENEZUELA (through translator): As an oil man walking down the street, people use to point and say, this guy has money. Now, your salary, your work, it lasts for nothing.
NEWTON: Perez, now works two additional jobs using his car to run a taxi service and harvesting vegetables just to make ends meet. Jose Bodas, himself a 30 year veteran of the oil industry and leader of the Petroleum Workers Union, this corruption within the government oil company feted as a -- is one of the main things that's killing the industry. Now accounts for more than 90 percent of Venezuela's export income.
JOSE BODAS, LEADER, PETROLEUM WORKERS UNION (through translator): They pay contracts, three or four times and never built anything. They stole and deter production most above the level that it is.
NEWTON: Venezuela's chief prosecutor, launch a multimillion-dollar corruption probe shortly after taking office, but has led to the arrest of the president and five vice president, a Citgo as well as workers from Chevron. He accuses his predecessor who've fled the country and turning a blind eye to embattlement.
But Bodas, says Maduro's government itself is also to blame. That one's voters to remember that when they go to the ballot box in May.
BODAS: If a government that criminalizes protest and repressed workers. A government which is profoundly anti-worker. This government is not progressive, it is a fraud.
[02:49:53] NEWTON: Rampant inflation has reduced the average wage for oil workers to the equivalent of just two dollars a month. As a result, workers have fled the country in their tens of thousands to go to neighboring nations to find jobs. Those that remain like Perez, wrestle with broken equipment, refinery fires, and attacks by criminal gangs.
PEREZ: We've been attacked, hit, robbed by our own staff and the company staff, be it clothes, boots, films, everything.
NEWTON: Perez himself injured in an oil rig accident, says he has no choice but to stay.
PEREZ: People keep working in oil because they are threatened by the government. They are not giving permits, they are not letting anyone leave.
NEWTON: CNN reach out to the Maduro government for a response, but has not yet received one. Meantime, oil production in Venezuela continues to fall, slipping to its lowest level in 30 years creating even more of people in an already decimated economy. For Perez, that means a times can't even afford food for his wife and five children.
PEREZ: It hits me hard, then sometimes I cry. The son asks his father for things, and when the father doesn't have it, it breaks his heart.
NEWTON: Paula Newton, CNN.
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CHURCH: And we'll take a quick break, but when we come back as Turkish capital recovers from flash floods, there is now a possibility that more flooding is on the way. We turn to our meteorologist, Pedram Javaheri, for more details on that, back in just a moment. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHURCH: Welcome back everyone. Well, the paradise at Hawaii's some beach and sand has turned into a volcanic nightmare for the some parts of the state's Big Island. Take a look at this incredible video of a lava lake, it show's molten rock bubbling during the continued eruption of the Kilauea volcano.
In just the last few hours, two new vents have formed and any remaining residents along the Southeast Coast were told to immediately leave. Dozens of homes have been destroyed. And there are fears of more flooding in parts of Turkey after non-stop rain the past few days. And Meteorologist Pedram Javeheri joins us now from the International Weather Center. He's keeping an eye on all of this. So, what's been happening there and when this going to come to an end?
PEDRAM JAVAHERI, CNN INTERNATIONAL METEOROLOGIST: Yes, you know, we're coping by this weekend, Rosemary, we get a little bit of a break and really happened here across parts of Turkey, the capital city of Ankara. Remarkable to say the least, the footage among the most incredible to watch here.
And it was more impressive, but you take a look at this footage is no one losing their lives in an event that frankly, when you have something like this that if you also have dozens of fatalities. We know some of 150 cars are damaged across the streets, and 25 building damage as well to severe flash flooding.
This is from a couple of days ago where we had tremendous rainfall. But unfortunately, the system responsible for the seaplane at here not yet to move. So, we're still dry in moisture, reposting issues play out across this region and put them as emotion for you. Surely the graphics you're in.
But when you look at Turkey in particular, we know natural disaster is, of course, are probably on across this part of the world. But flooding, it accounts for 30 percent of the disasters of Turkey alone.
In fact, number one, earthquakes, the leading cause of natural disaster fatalities. Number two, flash flooding. The renovation portrayed as a construction often is the case industries and of causing a lot of water to pull up very quickly. And we do have a storm system, the same feature that's been part in place across the Black Sea.
Counterclockwise floor around, this is tapping in a moisture from the Black Sea and also the Eastern Med, and the area that the moisture is really lining up. Put parts of the Istanbul. Even Izmir towards the west and Ankara, where you expect to expect. Quite a bit of time with this beautiful as it place you'll find on your plan this year. But the set up meteorologically is a far from beautiful because rainfall going to be persistent the next couple of days, and which we could see some additional flash flooding in.
I want to show you this, because water, it really has an incredible amount of power associated with it, and when you look at exactly how this all translates, how it all breaks down, the perspective is such a -- if we can get up free here with automobiles in particular. Water as much as 15 centimeters high, typically to move a person off their feet. You bring that up to 30 centimeters, that's enough to lift the car off and, of course, you push that up to just two feet or 60 centimeters that will move the car lie right along.
In fact, the force of water, the lateral force of water and moving an 11 km/h equivalent to a force of an E.F.-5 tornado, Rosemary. So, really hard to kind of conceptualize that because you think 11 km/h not that much but you put that with water, equivalent force as a strong scale tornado. So, really I talk about severely what's been happening in parts of Turkey.
[02:56:16] CHURCH: Yes, yet, you can't -- you can't tell people enough the dangers at there. Thank you so much, Pedram. Appreciate that.
JAVAHERI: Thank you.
CHURCH: Well, a video that's going viral is a reminder of the sacrifices soldiers often make. Watch as a U.S. Army Soldier from Mississippi watches the birth of his daughter on his phone. It happened right after his flight was delayed in Texas.
Great eye-popping video there. And you're watching CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Rosemary Church. I will be back in just a moment with another hour of world news for you. Do stick around.
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